Getting the point
Published: Tue, 10/28/14
We were training with the spear at the Stav class last night. I
think the spear always has been my favourite weapon, for reach and
power it cannot be beaten. You may think of the spear as an
ancient weapon and it certainly does have a very long history,
probably right back to our cave dwelling ancestors hunting
mammoths. But it has also been with us until quite recently, a
musket is not really a gun, rather a spear with the capacity to
fire lead balls a few yards, in a not very straight line, if you
have had time to load it and assuming the flintlock actually
ignited the powder. Right up until the twentieth century the
bayonet was as critical on the battlefield as powder and ball.
Even in the first world war soldiers advancing over no man's
land had more in common with the formations of men at arms at
Agincourt than they did with modern soldiers. Not very smart when
you are dealing with barbed wire and machine guns but what do they
say about Military Intelligence?
Back to Stav training, the staff exercises and the two person
drills I teach prepare the student for safely handling a pole
weapon. Once the staff exercises and nine guards can be performed
properly then the spear can be introduced. The spear is effective
because so much power can be concentrated into one point at a
considerable range. But to deliver that power to that point the
weapon must be handled with skill and the line of the weapon is
merely an expression of the control and awareness you have over
your own body. So handling the spear becomes an exercise in
working with the stances, which develop awareness of your body and
seeing where you are within the lines of the web. I hope I never
have to hurt or kill a human being with a real spear, and I
probably never will. However being able to use a spear with real
accuracy in training confirms my ability to use the stances and see
the web.
This same focus and awareness carries over into other aspects of
life. Even preaching for example. A biblical text is appointed
for the Sunday service. It is there, in the book but until the
book is opened and the text is read it has as much meaning as a
spear left in a cupboard that no one trains with. But as a
preacher I am supposed to take the text, work with it, try and see
the message in the words and then make my point from the pulpit or
lectern to the congregation.
The principle is simple enough, the challenge is creating such
focus in all aspects of life.
regards
Graham
PS Unarmed combat skills are technically a bit different from
using a pole weapon but the essential awareness of the body and
understanding of the web and principles are exactly the same.
Seminar on Stav street defence 1st November in Crewkerne and 15th
of November in Salisbury, both starting at 1000hrs and I will try
and apply some spear point focus on getting the web page up to date
on this today.