In 2005 I had the great honor and pleasure to have Graham Butcher, a Stav Master from Oxford, U.K., stay with our family and teach me the basics of Stav while he opened the American branch of his Ice and Fire Stav School.  http://www.iceandfire.us/

During that time, I conducted an interview with him which outlines the Stav tradition.

Interview with a Stav Master

(This interview was initially conducted in 2005, and updated in 2010, and was included in Northern Lore ISBN 9781452851433 )

Question: Graham, can you tell us what Stav is?

Graham Butcher: Sure, Stav is a European tradition of mind-body-spirit training; it literally means knowledge of the rune staves. That knowledge incorporates a philosophy of life and an underlying concept of how the universe works. A student should try to cultivate an awareness of how the universe works and aspire to integrate those principles into their way of life; Stav provides tools such as the runes, to help fulfill that aspiration.

Stav is really a path for individual enlightenment, which we call following one’s own Wyrd (roughly – fate, destiny etc.).

It can help you:

• Develop awareness that there is a path(s);
• Inspire you to seek out a path, and
• Provide guidance, a framework, and tools to get on the path, but the tools Stav provides themselves are not THE path
• Stav is more than a program of study, or a discipline, or a thing to follow or join, it's an opportunity to get to the underlying reality of the universe, – it's not like following the atkins diet, or joining amway.

Question: What are the tools & framework Stav provides?

Graham Butcher: Stav literally means “knowledge of the rune staves”, so as you might imagine, Runes are a core tool in Stav. Stav uses the 16 runes of the younger futhork, meanings, and associations and knowledge.

The framework consists of:

• Daily stances with the runes, that allow you to work with your body (somewhat resembles a simple Tai Chi form),
• 5 principles (Trell, Karl, Herse, Jarl, and Konge) which are really 5 key concepts of how to function as a human being, and
• Whatever other practices you choose to use, to live your life.

  Good examples of additional practices are:

  • Martial arts training, which provide a very good structure as it's testing the body, mind and spirit. It also explores the concepts of the lines of the web
  • Working with health and well being, learning to understand how the body functions according to the web, and integrates with the natural energies and patterns of life, such as accessing the natural life energy of the universe.
  • Understanding how society works and the webs and structures, observing this and analyzing social groups.
  • Craft skills are another important aspect and use of natural materials such as leather, metal, cloth. We are learning to see how the web manifests itself in materials, and their use and application and construction of things. If something is made and works well, it’s made in accordance with it's web. This actually carries on into all things, horticulture for example, and so on.

Question:  Can you explain these 5 principles?

Graham Butcher:  The 5 principles are based on the traditional Nordic class system, in mythology said to be introduced through the god Heimdall:

1. Trel - Slave;
2. Karl - Freeman;
3. Herse (pronounced Hashyur) - Warrior;
4. Jarl (pronounced Yarl) - Priest; and
5. Konge (pronounced Kongyur) - King.

The 5 principles are metaphors for behaviors and reactions to life; For example, the Trel is responsible to, and dependent on others. He relies on others to tell him what to do, and neither wishes to, nor is expected to take responsibility or initiative.

• The Karl or freeman is responsible for himself and his property. He confronts things only when they will affect him or his property and makes the best of it.
• The Herse is responsible for the community. He moves in to confront things and takes control of them.
• The Jarl is responsible for spiritual matters and healing and shifts reality so problems no longer affect him.  The jarl deals with a much larger picture than the prior principles.
• The Konge has mastered the other classes and uses whichever is most appropriate. He confronts things head on and uses their own weakness to take control.

This is a highly simplified version of the class system - it would be possible to write an entire book on the subject. Despite them being listed like this, the classes are actually cyclical, not linear: a Trel who realizes he has nothing to lose and turns this to his advantage has become a Konge; a Konge who worries if he's doing the right thing has become a Trel. Thus, to be a Trel is not a condemnation, rather it is a challenge to find one's own full potential.

Everyone has a natural affinity to one of the classes, which is discovered through a guided meditation. Once this is known, the practitioner can learn their own strengths and weaknesses and work with them according to their class. The classes are not a grading system or a measure of worth, but a way of seeing the Reality of one's own character. Within each class is a further division of the five classes - from Trel (ignoring one's class and trying to be what one is not) to Konge (in full control of one's class). It is up to the practitioner to achieve harmony within their class - ie, within their own nature.

Question:  How long have you been practicing Stav, and do you have any other martial arts background?

Graham Butcher: I've been practicing Stav for 19 years and have the usual background in karate, kung-fu, kickboxing etc, when I was younger. I also have military training which I bring to my Stav training, which has a lot do to with socialization, and use of weapons etc.

Question:  How did Stav come about?

Graham Butcher: The true origins are lost in time, but the core of the Stav tradition we have is passed down by the Hafskjold family of Norway who have lived in the same valley in Norway since around the 6'th century. The cores of the traditions such as the runes, basic stances, herb lore (traditionally the women’s domain), boat building, bow making, training dogs, & horses – the skills that a warrior family needed down the ages. It was a traditional way of life.

No one knows the exact origin of the use of runes, but they have been shown through archeological sources to have a history of over 2000 years. In pagan Scandinavia the 16-stave futhark replaced the earlier 24-rune system at some point between the 6th and 9th centuries, this process beginning perhaps around the year 500.

According to the legends of the Hafskjold family, Stav as we know it dates from circa the year 500 and has been practiced by the family since this time. Oral history naturally cannot be tested in the same way as an archaeological or textual record, but there is no evidence to suggest the family's legends are inaccurate.

As far as weapons go, the staff was the basic tool as it was used as a walking staff, ski poll, short spear etc. The Hafskjolds developed this for fighting and passed this down through the family.
Ivar's grandfather demonstrated to him, five concepts with the staff that related to the five principles in Stav.

By the time that Ivar was really interested in learning, his uncles and grandfather were too old to give him the intense training he wanted, so he looked elsewhere to help flesh out his training. He realized in his early thirties that he wanted to learn how to do the traditional martial arts properly, and he wanted to ensure the continuity of his family traditions and find ways of improving them via other sources. So he went to Japan in order to learn traditional Japanese martial arts. He had seen the book on the Jo before he went, and thought this would be a good starting point.

After this Ivar found his way to Jo-do, and did some Iaido, but was really looking for Jo-Jitsu (jutsu). While in his jodo grading, Ivar met a gentlemen that taught Jo-jitsu and ken-jitsu; after which, this became his focus and eventually achieved 4'th dan in both of these arts – which is very impressive for a westerner. After 14 years of training and teaching, Ivar decide to come back to Europe and settled in England.

He made himself available to teach; there was an article in fighting arts international where Ivar was profiled and covered his Japanese experience and his family tradition. I was teaching elsewhere at the time and after reading this article, I tracked down Ivar and asked to train with him.
The bottom line is that this system has not come down unchanged for 1500 years, which some people seem confused about, and which causes unnecessary controversy. The core concepts of the web, stances, runes etc. are what were passed down.

Some things have been lost, Ivar has added new material, and has revived others – like some of the weapons that were used in old times. He has done this by synthesizing his Japanese martial arts experience and the components of Stav that were passed down to him. The result of which is a holistic system, rooted history that has been able to benefit from other systems and has evolved over time organically -  as all living things do, and should.

Question:  How has Stav evolved, what has changed?

Graham Butcher: David Watkinson and I became Ivar's first students in England. David then went on to create a highly developed unarmed system, based on Stav. I started integrating Stav into martial arts classes I was already teaching and gradually began developing a training system in parallel with Ivar, then after a couple of years started advertising more widely. During this time, an International network was being built.

We started using the staff principally and also the Japanese weapons (jo & boken) and techniques to explore them for the first couple of years after Ivar came back from Japan. Soon, I started looking at using more traditional European weapons, making the system more tailored to our region, and bringing back some of the Historic tools such as longer staves, battle-axe etc., all of which became the basis for my own training.

Ivar then developed some drills using the longer staff and battle-axe which I used for my own training, and that of my students. Later, Ivar started working with the long sword, and started cutting and adapting to the 5 principles, and seeing the lines.

After about 4 years of working with Ivar, I moved down to Oxford, and started teaching independently and building up a student base. There we continued to develop the training, and tailored some exercises to create a foundational staff training curriculum, which is more relevant to modern students with a sedentary lifestyle –  we needed to get them moving and develop them at a low level, then they could progress to more advanced and demanding techniques.

In recent years I've been ensuring that there is a teachable system, so that the system is consistent if you work with one of my authorized teachers, and I’ve also been exploring the health and social implications.

Question:  What does a typical Stav Training Session entail?

Graham Butcher: Classes will usually begin and end with a group practice of the rune stances. Then we follow the stances with the basic staff exercises which relate to one of the runes stances and incorporate breathing, strength, coordination and skill, balance and body awareness.

Most session would then also include some practice of the 5 two person drill practiced with that staff through which the student can learn to work with the 5 principles of Stav.
From then on, the classes may cover a wide range of martial skills such as working with the battle-axe, spear, 2-handed long sword, sax (1 handed single edge knife / short sword), and cudgel. Which makes 6 traditional weapons (including the staff). There are three more, less commonly used weapons, which are: the longbow, throwing-hammer, and tein (very short stick, similar to a kubotan).

There are basically three things we do with the weapons:

1. Cutting or striking drills
2. Drills to explore the 5 principles
3. Working with 9 guard positions

We also explore self-defense via the tein & unarmed technique.

Question:  How can someone learn more about Stav, or visit a class?

Graham Butcher:  We have schools in the UK, Canada and the USA, so please visit us at www.iceandfire.org.uk for more details.

Interview conducted, transcribed and published by Eoghan Odinsson - Editor of Northern Lore