I have been meaning to give this a try (for three years!)
Published: Thu, 01/26/17
A few days ago I posted on the subject of clearing up after other people have left a mess. Sometimes it is harder to clear up a mess you have made yourself, at least that is how I am feeling at the moment. It is relatively easy to look at some litter left by someone else and decide whether or not to take responsibility for picking it up and putting it in the bin. It is more difficult to work out how to take responsibility for situations we create ourselves, and go on creating. On Monday night I had a beginner start training. He seems like a nice chap and I hope he sticks it. He is local and he told me that he had been walking past the Stav centre every day, to and fro to work, since we started doing the place up. All that time he was apparently thinking, I would like to give Stav a go. His wife finally pushed him into trying his free taster session in the past couple of weeks. Monday he came and seemed to enjoy himself. Two
months before I hand the premises over to someone else he comes in. On of the reasons I didn’t just close the Stav Centre a long time ago was that I didn’t know how I would cope with people saying, ‘I am sorry you closed down, I kept meaning to come and give it a try.’ I don’t like being rude and, well I think you can imagine how I might want to respond. I will continue doing classes there so the arrangement should work for everyone, we shall see.
There has been some discussion on the Facebook group about access to training, in some cases from people in the USA. The question that comes up quite often is. ‘Is there a club/teacher/training group in my area?’ The answer is usually no, the USA is a big place. Even where there is someone who can teach Stav, yes there are a few, it is very hard to sustain any regular collective training. If training is done informally, just meeting up in the park occasionally for example, then it is very hard to maintain any continuity. If there is a formal set up with a hired space, insurance, publicity and everything else that is needed, then that is big commitment for the teacher/organiser. Even when everything is put in place it is very hard to make the class sustainable financially, emotionally or energetically.
So, who is responsible for the lack of opportunities to learn Stav? I can only speak for myself. Over the past 25 years I have taken responsibility for responding when I had the chance to learn from Ivar in the first place. I took responsibility for integrating Stav into my daily life with the stances and a programme of personal training. I took responsibility for teaching other people what I learned by setting up my own class as soon as was appropriate. I also took responsibility for organising courses at which Ivar could teach, I have done that pretty much at least once every year for the past 20 years or so. When I moved to Oxford I took responsibility for maintaining my own training, setting up classes and teaching as regularly as I could. I did the same when I got to Somerset. I have also studied marketing and have put some of what I have learned to good use. This list which sends and archives this message is an example of
modern marketing techniques.
I also have to take responsibility for various things that I have not done well, or at all, at least not yet. Writing a publishing more books would have been helpful as would more professionally made videos. I could go on at length but I don’t want to wallow in self-pity here or sound like I am trying to justify myself.
I do teach, including in the USA and I am scheduled to be in Minneapolis in May. I am sorry that the USA is such a big place and that it is so far for most of the population to travel. It is a long way for me to travel too (who put the Atlantic in the way?). However, I am looking forward to seeing some of my favourite people when I get to Minneapolis and you are welcome to come and join us. After that it is up to you to take responsibility for training with what I teach you. Your Stav training and practice is something you have to take responsibility for. Stav is training for self-reliance, that is kind of the point. All I can do is be willing and able to teach and set up the opportunities for classes and seminars. I am afraid the rest is down to you.
Programme for next few months here http://www.iceandfire.org/calendar.html
regards
Graham
PS Last Saturday we had the first Techniques, methods and principles course focusing on CQC training. On the 5th February the second course will apply the same concept to weapons. Details at http://www.somersetstav.co.uk/weaponseminars.html