Stav

Stav

Stav is a martial art and philosophical system which uses runes and Norse Mythology in its teaching. Stav was brought to the public by Ivar Hafskjold, who claims it is based on oral tradition preserved in his family for 44 generations, originating in circa 500 CE, though he has presented little evidence to back up this assertion. The name "Stav" / "Stáv" can be considered as a pun or play-on-words, meaning both 'stave' e.g. as in a 'rune-stave', a runic character or rune, and also 'staff' e.g. as a physical weapon employed in the martial art. According to Ivar Hafskjold, the term "Stav" was his family's informal name for their martial and runic practices, and comes from the expression "sette stav" (to set staves), which was how the training was described when he grew up. In the 1990s, Ivar Hafskjold took on four personal apprentice students; Shaun Brassfield-Thorpe, Kolbjorn Martens, David Watkinson and Graham Butcher. All contemporary Stav teachers and instructors belong to a teaching lineage directly from either Ivar Hafskjold and/or one of his four personal students, each of whom are recognised by the Stav International organisation as "Stav Masters".

Stav on some level resembles a Nordic form of Tai Chi, with the student beginning with ritualized stances resembling the sixteen runes of the Younger Futhark. Once mastery of the rune stances has been achieved, the student progresses to staff exercises. Stav is intended to be a flexible set of principles instead of techniques, focusing on finding the lines of attack and defense in any combat situation and exploiting them to the student's benefit. Stav practitioners begin by using staffs or cudgels.

External links

* [http://www.stavinternational.org Stav International] Features several articles written by mostly British practitioners of Stav, as well as information on how to contact Ivar Hafskjold.
* [http://www.stav-usa.com Ice & Fire USA] Articles and information on Stav courses held in the US.
* [http://www.stavrunor.se Stavrunor] An introduction to Stav in Swedish.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • stav — stȁv m <N mn stàvovi> DEFINICIJA 1. položaj tijela [stojeći stav; sjedeći stav; ležeći stav] 2. odnos prema komu ili prema čemu [pozitivan/negativan stav; singularni stav; univerzalni stav; partikularni stav] 3. načelo kojeg se netko drži;… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • stăv — stăv, s.n. (reg.; în expr.) a nu avea stăv = a nu avea astâmpăr. Trimis de blaurb, 15.01.2007. Sursa: DAR …   Dicționar Român

  • stav — • stav, stöd, påk, spö, läkt, ribba, spröjs, slana, stång, stake • slana, spjäla, slå, stång, stör, stav …   Svensk synonymlexikon

  • Stav — Stav, Fort auf der Scilly Insel St. Marys …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • stav — stav·ing; …   English syllables

  • stav — sb., en, e, ene; et stakit med hvide stave; betjentene måtte trække stavene …   Dansk ordbog

  • StäV — Als Ständige Vertretung (StäV) bezeichnet man Institutionen, die die Funktionen einer Botschaft erfüllen, wenn die Einrichtung einer „echten“ Botschaft nicht möglich ist. Dies ist dann der Fall, wenn die Ständige Vertretung sich in einem Land… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Stäv — Als Ständige Vertretung (StäV) bezeichnet man Institutionen, die die Funktionen einer Botschaft erfüllen, wenn die Einrichtung einer „echten“ Botschaft nicht möglich ist. Dies ist dann der Fall, wenn die Ständige Vertretung sich in einem Land… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • STAV — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom.   Sigles d’une seule lettre   Sigles de deux lettres   Sigles de trois lettres > Sigles de quatre lettres …   Wikipédia en Français

  • stäv — I s ( en, ar) BÅT fören på båt, kölens förlängning i för el. akter, stick i stäv mot ngt tvärs emot II s ( et, stäv) SPRÅK ordstäv …   Clue 9 Svensk Ordbok

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”