Practice, practice, practice
Published: Tue, 09/08/15
At Superspirit a couple of weeks ago I took part in a sweatlodge. I try and do one once a year at the appropriate time and it always has a powerful effect on all levels, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I won’t say any more about it specifically, it is one of those things you either get, or you don’t.
Anyway, while we were watching the fire and waiting for the rocks to heat up I was talking to a couple of friends who are long term Yoga teachers. We may have still had our clothes on at that stage, or maybe not. Either way, we were discussing the importance of practice and how really practice is the line between those who really make something of an activity such as Yoga or Stav or other martial arts and those who never really do. We all know people who have done years of Yoga or Karate or whatever and then they stopped and keep saying they would like to do it again but the teacher moved away or some other excuse. It turns out on closer investigation that they were prepared to spend time and money on regular classes (and all credit to them for turning up and supporting the teacher) but they never developed a regular practice of their own so when the teacher stopped so did their activity.
Yes, there are quite a few people who have done Stav in the same way, no matter how many times I told them that they should learn the Stances and do them at home on a regular basis between classes or courses.
The key is practice and practice is a funny word in that it has at least three meanings.
You practice something in order to learn it, repetition being the basis of the learning process. So in Stav terms you practice the stances in class under the supervision of the teacher in order to learn them.
Then you have a practice in order to continue learning and developing and to make the stances or whatever the activity is, your own.
Then you become a practising Stav practitioner. Practitioner, one who practises, not just learns but makes it part of their life.
The process never stops of course, I still practice under instruction from time to time. With Ivar at the Stavcamp or at events such as Fightcamp. I practice the Stances daily and I have a programme of weapon training each week, that is my practice. On Saturday, last night and tonight and tomorrow I am teaching Stav in various ways because I am a Stav practitioner who teaches as part of his practice. I see it as my purpose to enable others to become practitioners too, but they have to be willing to practice, in all three senses.
Next opportunity apart from regular classes is in Salisbury this coming Saturday http://iceandfire.org.uk/train.html and the next Saturday training in Crewkerne will be on the 3rd of October http://somersetstav.co.uk/sd.html (I have moved it from the 26th of September as previously advertised) Self-defence in the morning and dagger/tein training in the afternoon. http://somersetstav.co.uk/wep.html
I have also started updating website for the CQC seminar I will be teaching next June, date and location so far here http://stavcamp.org/index.html more information to follow very soon.
regards
Graham