Stav

Stav is a martial art and philosophical system which uses runes and Norse Mythology in its teaching. It comes from the expression sette stav (to set staves), which was how the training was described.

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 usually begin by using staffs or cudgels as training weapons.

It contains many aspects, including healings arts. Stav Healing contains the use of postures, breath techniques, herbalism, joint manipulation, massage, counseling (via the runes) and many other aspects, which can be equated to other better-known systems.

One major aspect is the stances, these are at the core of Stav; they are the embodiment of the runes on which they are based. The stances bring many benefits including low impact exercises, promoting healthy natural breathing, improved posture and relaxation.

In addition to the physical benefits they also promote the flow of megin (life force). In this aspect Stav is a lot like Tai Chi.

“Regular practice of the stances brings other benefits including improved body posture, firmer stomach muscles and increased flexibility.. The stances can also be a form of moving meditation which is useful for relaxation and in relieving stress and tension.” - Phillip Brough.

Two direct and almost immediate benefits can be obtained are:

• The first is that they exercise the body gently and without pressure. They are very low impact exercises which can be performed no matter what your age or ability. The stances can be modified to compensate for injury and disability in order to gain the maximum benefit from them.
• The second is that they promote complete breathing using the whole of the lungs. This has shown to be beneficial to asthma and other respiratory ailment sufferers.