Stav at Fightcamp2013
Published: Mon, 05/06/13
Registration for this years Fightcamp has opened today. My name is
on the list of about 46 instructors and I am sure it will be as
good if not better than last year. There is a rather good write up
of the 2012 event at
http://historical-academy.co.uk/blog/2012/08/24/review-of-fightcamp-2012/
and towards the end there is a comment about my axe class, go on
read it it is rather interesting. This year I am going to be
teaching staff and I will see what I can pack into the one and a
half hours available. I will probably split the session into three
parts.
The first part will introduce some of the staff exercises we use
with a particular emphasis on carrying the staff in the neutral
position balanced in one hand and then how to deploy the staff into
a combat position. This is something I have been working on for
some time and it actually goes back to some of the basics which
Ivar showed me when I first started training with him (okay it has
taken 20 years to realise what I was actually being taught but we
can't all be fast learners can we?). I have identified that
there are about 10 ways of deploying a staff directly into an
offensive or defensive position. Getting the staff directly onto
the right line will give you the best chance of finishing a
conflict situation before it has really started. All of these
deploying moves have always been there in the staff exercises I
have just become more conscious of using them intentionally. Those
who have been training with me and Hugh in Crewkerne have been
working with this concept.
The second part will look at working with two or three of the nine
guards by practicing with a partner. The emphasis will be on
distance and being on the right line and then developing
sensitivity in intercepting and redirecting the opponent's
weapon. This should also show how staff training provides the
basis for spear, long sword or even rifle with or without bayonet
training. There are plenty of exercises to work with so it will
just be a matter of deciding which ones are most appropriate for
Fightcamp. Most people will have competence with weapons but will
probably not be familiar with the concept of working with the lines.
In the third part I will teach how to retain, recover and remove a
staff when an opponent has hold of the other end of your staff (or
their own which you have managed to get hold of in order to disarm
them). The staff can be an effective weapon but it is very easy to
grab especially if you are working against an opponent with a one
handed weapon such as a knife or even if they are unarmed but
bigger than you. So it is essential that you can retain, recover
and remove a staff from an opponent, regardless of who actually
started out with the staff at the beginning of a fight. Some very
useful unarmed combat techniques can also be developed by working
with just one staff between two.
If you fancy coming to Fightcamp this year then book up quickly
because all 200 places fill up fast
http://www.fioredeiliberi.org/fightcamp/instructors/ where you can
see the list with my name on it, I am near the top (because my
surname begins with B, not for any other reason). Of course if you
want to spend more than 90 minutes learning staff with me then I am
in the USA this weekend and Salisbury on the 15th of June or of
course there is the Stav Camp in September all linked from here
http://www.iceandfire.org/