What makes Stav unique?
Published: Fri, 02/06/15
The third question on Dan’s list is: What makes your art/system unique? There are several very distinct features of Stav which I will return to in a moment. But the first thing to say is that I believe that there is a core purpose, or intent or spirit if you like which is at the centre of every martial art. The the question is whether or not practitioners or teachers actually remember, or ever knew, that it is there. Martial arts has many aspects, military skills, self-defence, law enforcement, theatrical display, sport, spiritual discipline, historical study, heritage, cultural and physical fitness. Some styles incorporate several of these aspects, some just a couple and this is why there is so much variation and diversity in the martial arts. This is all good in the sense that both creativity is expressed and tradition maintained. However it is also important to remember the core purpose of martial training which is to
create the whole person in body, mind and spirit. So I believe all martial arts should have the same fundamental intent of creating the whole person. Then there are many paths to the top of mount Fuji as the saying goes.
So in recognising this core purpose and steering students towards it Stav is actually the same as any every other martial art. However each art is a very particular path up the mountain and each path begins somewhere unique. What makes that place specific will be the heritage of the art, the influences on it, the character of the teacher and his personal experiences, the culture and historical circumstances at the time the art is being practised and taught. An art learned through stage fighting is going to be different to one learned in military training and actually used in war for example.
So the outwardly unique features of Stav, and I will keep this brief, are: Its origins in Norway so it is at root a European heritage. Our teacher Ivar Hafskjold learned the tradition in Norway but perfected his martial arts in Japan so Stav as we teach it now is a hybrid of European philosophy and tradition combined with Japanese Bugei training methods. Stav uses the concept of the web of orlog as a guide to, well lots of things including, movement, direction, timing, contact and avoiding contact. Everyone uses the lines of the web, just as they are affected by gravity, the question is whether or not they realise it consciously. In Stav we use the runes as a guide to working with the web and as a training system for body positions, exercises, controlling a partner/opponent, protecting yourself and a great deal else. Stav training uses the five principles which are strategies for dealing with conflict situations. Two person
training drills are not so much about practising fighting as resolving conflict situations (even if it does mean simulating having to kill someone). In Stav we do not have competitions.
This may sound good but it does make teaching Stav quit a challenge which I will elaborate on tomorrow.
Training opportunities in Stav are currently quite limited unless you are within reach of Crewkerne. However there is the opportunity to train at Salisbury on the morning of the 14th of February, 10am until 1pm and I will be teaching cudgel both as a basis for personal training and for practical self-defence. Please do not forget the Summer Camp in July, a chance to train with Ivar and discover the roots of Stav from the only person who still actually knows first hand. http://www.stavcamp.org
regards
Graham
PS I have completed the first Aett of the Rune web pages. See the next two here http://www.iceandfire.org/runes/5.html and http://www.iceandfire.org/runes/6.html