I did the stances over 7000 times
Published: Tue, 09/25/12
You may already know the story, in the Autumn of 1992 I was living
in a village just North of Hull in Humberside. One day I was in a
newsagent in the Bransholme Centre idly surveying the magazines and
I felt compelled to purchase a copy of Fighting Arts International.
I am still not quite sure why, I wasn't in the habit of buying
Martial Arts magazines at that time but I do remember that one of
the subheadings on the cover said: 'The Viking and the
Samurai'. Why that would have particularly attracted my
interest I don't know. Either way I found myself at home
reading a five page interview with Ivar Hafskjold which had been
conducted and written up by Harry Cook. I found myself fascinated
by the account of Ivar's experiences in Japan where he gained
his 4th Dan in Ken and Jo Jutsu and how he had inherited the Stav
system from his family. I then noticed that Ivar lived quite
nearby in Beverley and was willing to take on students. So I got
in touch, met up with Ivar and we talked about martial arts and
many other things and I began training with him at a class he was
running in Driffield. So I started my practice of Stav in November
1992 which will be 20 years ago in a few weeks time. There have
been days when I haven't done the stances but I think I can
honestly say that they have been very few. So Stav has been a
daily practice for me for something around 7300 days. It was
certainly a privilege to get to know Ivar and train under him. It
has taken me to some interesting places in the UK and around the
world and I have met a fascinating variety of people. It certainly
hasn't always been easy but nothing worthwhile usually is. So
what I am working on at present is creating a series of DVDs
showing my way of practicing the martial aspects of Stav after 20
years of training, practice, testing and teaching. I learned the
stances from Ivar and practice them as I was taught. Most of the
rest of the training methods I use have been developed over the
past 20 years for my own practice and teaching. Everything is
intended to work with the five principles and according to the
lines of the web. There is always scope for improvement but I am
reasonably confident that the drills I use are capable of bringing
about an awareness of the lines and the ability to apply the
principles. The current members DVD which I have only just
finished shows the staff exercises in detail and their application
in the five principles drills. (There are also unarmed drills and
material on the runes as well).
DVDs are all very well but there is no substitute for face to face
training and at the three UK courses before the end of the year I
will be looking to share what I have learned in the past 20 years.
If you are a beginner then you will get a good introduction to the
stances and the basic drills. If you are more experienced I will
be doing some axe and advanced staff work. We will also explore
practical self-defence training too. I will have help with
teaching so experienced and beginner students can be accommodated.
So next date is the 20th of October in Salisbury, see
http://www.iceandfire.org.uk/train.html