On the 1st of March it becomes official
Published: Tue, 01/28/14
I had a chat with the owner of 3 to 5 South Street yesterday.
Lease is drawn up and it will effectively start on the 1st of
March. I know we are already training there but that is when the
ex furniture shop officially becomes the Somerset Stav Martial Arts
School. That may be a bit of a mouthful but it basically sums up
what we will be doing there. So another month and we open
officially. It does seem a bit daunting but I am encouraged by
training sessions like the one we had last night. Okay, numbers
were down, one person is overseas on business, another had twisted
his knee and yet another is going to train on Wednesday this week.
But this was the advanced weapons class so we are concentrating on
axe training at the moment. Yesterday we were focusing on the
three versions of the Trel basic drill. Using this drill you learn
how to work with the centre line and then the difference between
moving slightly off the line, staying centred and drawing back on
the line. You learn how to judge very small variations in position
and movement and how critical these small variations are. It
isn't easy but this is the foundation for seeing the lines of
the web which only comes with long term practice. This kind of
training is the practice you need if you are really going to make
progress with Stav.
It is rewarding to see three people engage with the drills and work
hard on them until I realised that we are running out of time and
it was well after nine pm when we have completed the second set of
stances.
I have also cleaned the windows but not yet put up any screening
(will do that this afternoon) so passers by were looking in last
night. No one actually stopped and stared but they could see what
we were doing. Battle axe training may not look very relevant to
self-defence. The Wednesday class is the one devoted to practical
close quarter combat which is arguably more realistic. However
advanced weapon training teaches you to read an opponent very
accurately, how to judge lines and distance very precisely and how
to manage your own position and movements so that you can avoid a
strike or thrust by a couple of inches while simultaneously landing
a cut of your own. That level of awareness and capacity for
judgment should enable you to see trouble long before it gets close
and position yourself so that actual violence doesn't actually
manifest. Of course the worst can still happen but that is why I
believe you need all three aspects of training, stances to manage
your energy, weapons to focus the mind and close quarter training
to develop sensitivity and awareness in the body. Develop all
three and you should be well prepared to cope with any situation,
even if simply by avoiding it.
First day course will be on the 15th of February at the Stav
Martial Arts School, not sure where we will be with the decorating
but that won't matter. Also weekend training when I will be
able to take you through the kind of training I have described
above later in the Spring. Don't forget to book on the Summer
Camp in August if you want to meet and train with Ivar Hafskjold,
my teacher. Dates and links are all here
http://iceandfire.org/calendar.html
regards
Graham
PS Having a full time Stav Centre will open up all kinds of
possibilities. Private lessons will be easy to arrange, let me
know if you would be interested. Also, although the Stav Camp is
only 3 days this year I am happy to provide an extra three days
training from the Wednesday to the Friday if anyone would like to
make it a full six days. I would only be able to accommodate a
maximum of 6 people for the pre camp training and the cost would be
another £90. If it makes traveling to the Summer Stav Camp
more worthwhile and you would be interested in this opportunity let
me know.