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Ice and Fire Stav
What is Stav?
The Origins of Stav
There is a story that around the year 800 AD rune masters from the three kingdoms of Scandinavia came together on an island in the mouth of the Gota river, near where present day Gothenburg is today. An agreement was made to use the sixteen runes which are today known as the Younger, or Danish, Futhork. This Futhork has been widely used for runic inscriptions, especially during the medieval period, and has been passed down to the present day.
As well as being a writing system the runes acquired the meanings and associations which we know of today. Deeper understanding of the runes comes through the Old Norse Rune Rhymes. Further knowledge of the runes is found in the Norse Mythology, which has largely come down to us through the Eddas.
However, there is another source of 'Knowledge of the Runes' which comes down to us through a family tradition passed down through the centuries by the Norwegian Hafskjold family. The Hafskjold tradition uses the runes as a broad based education system covering many different aspects of life, ways of thinking, health and well-being, food production and crafts, spirituality, and fighting methods. The following concepts and practises serve to develop an understanding of Stav, and enable you to bring the benefits of Stav into your everyday life.
The Stances
The fundamental practice of Stav is the daily runic stances which develops correct posture, cultivates deep and natural breathing, gently stretches tendons and sinews, tones the muscles, and relaxes and focusses the mind. Each stance is an expression of one of the runes and may be practised silently, or with one of three different methods of chanting which enhances breath power, raises Megin energy, and promotes concentration. The stances also provide a basis for martial training, with, or without traditional weapons.
The Web of Orlog
The Web of Orlog is represented by a matrix of nine lines. An understanding of the web enables us to see the connections which hold the universe together. The lines of the web are also used in martial training and in building and construction.
The Five Principles of Stav
There are five roles in life which must be fulfilled for society to function. These five are found in a poem known as the Rigsthula or the 'Lay of Rig'. In Stav we explore these principles through martial arts training. Once you understand what the principles are you will see them playing out in everyday life. When things go wrong in society it is usually due to a misunderstanding of these principles and a failure to apply them.
How to Learn Stav
Traditionally the only way was to be a member of the Hafskjold family. However, in the past few decades Stav has been taught outside of Norway as a philosophy of life and mind, body, and spirit practice which is relevant to the modern world.
Stav literally means ‘Knowledge of the rune staves’. So the first step is to learn the symbols, names, meanings, and associations of the runes. The second stage is to learn the stances and perform them daily. A Stav practioner is one who does the stances on a regular, preferably daily basis.
Martial training is a very powerful way of testing the stances and finding practical applications for each stance. The web teaches lines and distancing. The Five Principles of Stav provide five strategies for dealing with any conflict situation. As well as cultivating a deep understanding of Stav the martial training develops physical fitness and provides genuine self-defence skills.
Stav also has a great deal to offer in terms of practical spirituality, mythology and story telling, health and well-being and developing general self-reliance.
Stav teachers are few and far between. However, Roland Zerpe has written Stav: Runes – Martial art &ndash Philosophy, which can be found on Amazon.
Ice and Fire Stav provides further literature and video material. There is also an online study programme accessible through the Ice and Fire Stav membership
Classes, Courses, Literature, Videos, and Distance Learning for Stav.
Programme of Training Opportunities
Weekly Stav Martial Arts Classes
– Beverley, Mondays, 8 to 9 pm. Classes will resume on the 7th of September. Full details here.
Stavcamp 2026, on the 3rd to 6th of September in North Lincolnshire.
The theme will be Back to Basics and you can find the full details Here
Our Next Day Course is in Salisbury on Saturday the 17th of October 2026.
The theme will be training with and using the cudgel or walking stick. Full details here
Ice and Fire Stav Membership
Join Ice and Fire Stav and receive all distance learning programmes as part of your membership, also a discount on the Rune Retreat and other benefits.
To Join Ice and Fire Stav please see here for full details
Booklets
Booklets on a variety of aspects of Stav are available either as Books and as Ebooks
Video
I no longer supply Stav video material on DVD for technical and logistical reasons. However, you can purchase password protected access to several hours of video here. Please note that members of Ice and Fire Stav have access to this material from the members only site.