Stav Martial Arts

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”.

Stáv is a Nordic style of martial arts based upon runic postures, using the 16 runes of the Younger Futhark Each of the runes can be found within the Stáv symbol above.

FE , UR , THOR , AS , REI , KREFT , HAGL , NOD , IS , AR , SOL , TYR , BJORK , MANN , LAUG , YR

Stáv (pronounced st-arv) is a traditional European system which is designed to improve the mind body and spirit. It has been maintained and developed for over 44 generations by the Norwegian Hafskjold family.

“Although based on an ancient philosophy, Stáv is a dynamic and evolving system that can be adapted to meet the requirements of the individual in today’s world. The principles have now been made available to a wider audience in order to preserve and enhance the system for future generations“.

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 but may in time progress to use battle-axes, swords, wands or even to the bare-handed stage.

Stáv is a Mind, Body Spirit system, comparable to Tai Chi and Yoga, but originating through the traditions and mythology of Northern Europe, rather than the Orient. It developed through the Norwegian family, Hafskjold, and is often referred to as Hafskjold Stáv.

The system helps people improve and develop themselves by dealing with them holistically. That is Stáv works on the whole person: their physical body, their mind (both logical and intuitive) and their spirituality. Only by working with all three can people develop into complete, fully rounded individuals. 

Stáv is a 1500 year old (living) runic tradition that has been preserved in Norway by the Hafskjold family. Stáv contains many aspects, including healings arts. Stáv Healing contains the use of postures, breath techniques, herbalism, joint manipulation, massage, counseling (via the runes) and many other aspects.

The stances have many benefits, many of which are only revealed once the stances have been performed regularly over a period of time. Two direct and almost immediate benefits can be obtained from the stances.

• 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.

Regular practice of the stances brings other benefits including improved body posture, firmer stomach muscles and increased flexibility. Indeed those suffering from injury, stiffness in the joints and other restrictions to their movement can gain increased mobility and suppleness from performing the stances on a regular basis. The stances can also be a form of moving meditation which is useful for relaxation and in relieving stress and tension.

Links:

• The Stav Portal at the Martial Arts Database: http://www.mardb.com/stav/

10,000 B.C. Film 2008 Wallpapers

10,000 BC is a 2008 American film set in the prehistoric era directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Camilla Belle and Steven Strait. The film is slated for a March 7, 2008 release.

Mammoth hunter D’Leh (Steven Strait), a member of a hunter-gatherer tribe living in 10,000 B.C., travels through unknown lands on a quest to rescue his people from extinction. Leading an army, D’Leh uncovers a lost civilization while in pursuit of a warlord who kidnapped his love, Evolet (Camilla Belle). D’Leh and his army come face-to-face with saber-toothed cats, woolly mammoths, Phorusrhacids, and ground sloths in the journey to save his people.

In a remote mountain tribe, the young hunter, D’Leh, has found his heart’s passion – the beautiful Evolet. When a band of mysterious warlords raid his village and kidnap Evolet, D’Leh is forced to lead a small group of hunters to pursue the warlords to the end of the world to save her.

Driven by destiny, the unlikely band of warriors must battle saber-tooth tigers and prehistoric predators and, at their heroic journey’s end, they uncover a Lost Civilization. Their ultimate fate lies in an empire beyond imagination, where great pyramids reach into the skies. Here they will take their stand against a powerful god who has brutally enslaved their people.

Trailer:

[wp_youtube]kq_ksjibB3I[/wp_youtube]

Production: Director Roland Emmerich and composer Harald Kloser originally penned a script for 10,000 BC. When the project received the greenlight from Columbia Pictures, screenwriter John Orloff began work on a new draft of the original script. Columbia Pictures, under Sony Pictures Entertainment, dropped the project due to a busy release calendar, and Warner Bros. picked up the project in Sony’s vacancy. The script went through a second revision with Matthew Sand and a final revision with Robert Rodat.

Emmerich opened casting sessions in late October 2005. In February 2006, Camilla Belle and Steven Strait were announced to star in the film, with Strait as the mammoth hunter and Belle as his love. Emmerich felt that casting well known actors would distract from the realistic feel of the prehistoric setting. “If like, Jake Gyllenhaal turned up in a movie like this, everybody would be, ‘What’s that?’”, he explained. Unknown casting also helped keep the film’s budget down.

Production began in spring 2006 in South Africa and Namibia. Location filming also took place in southern New Zealand and Thailand. Before shooting began, the production had spent eighteen months on research and development for the computer generated imagery. Two companies recreated prehistoric animals. To cut time (it was taking sixteen hours to render a single frame) 50% of the CGI models’ fur was removed, as “it turned out half the fur looked the same” to the director.

Release: Originally slated for July 27, 2007, the release date for 10,000 BC was pushed back to December 14, 2007. The film’s release was postponed a second time to March 7, 2008.

Cast:

• Steven Strait as D’Leh, a mammoth hunter.
• Camilla Belle as Evolet, D’Leh’s love.
• Cliff Curtis as Tic’Tic, a bearded mentor.

Links:

• 10,000 B.C. Film 2008 Wallpapers: http://www.snoron.com/movies-wallpapers/10-000-b-c/

Stop Loss 2008 Film Wallpapers

Stop-Loss is Kimberly Peirce’s follow up to her award-winning film Boys Don’t Cry. The script was written by Peirce and Mark Richard. This is the first ever war film produced by MTV Films.

Decorated Iraq war hero Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) makes a celebrated return to his small Texas hometown following his tour of duty. He tries to resume the life he left behind with the help and support of his family and his best friend, Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum), who served with him in Iraq.

Decorated Iraq war hero Sgt. Brandon King makes a celebrated return to his small Texas hometown following his tour of duty. Brandon tries to resume the life he left behind with the help and support of his family and his best friend, Steve Shriver, who served with him in Iraq.

Alongside their war-time buddies, Brandon and Steve try to make peace with civilian life. Then, against Brandon’s will, the Army orders him back to duty in Iraq. This upends Brandon’s entire world. The conflict into which he is thrown tests everything he believes in: the bond of family, the loyalty of friendship, the limits of love, and the value of honor.

Along with their other war buddies, Brandon and Steve try to make peace with civilian life. Then, against Brandon’s will, the Army orders him back to duty in Iraq using the “stop-loss” procedure, which upends his world. The conflict tests everything he believes in: the bond of family, the loyalty of friendship, the limits of love and the value of honor. Characters appear to be wearing Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUIs) of the 21st Infantry Regiment.

Cast:

• Ryan Phillippe … Sgt. Brandon Leonard King
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt … Tommy Burgess
• Rob Brown … Isaac “Eyeball” Butler
• Channing Tatum … Steve Shriver
• Victor Rasuk … Rico Ridriguez
•  Terry Quay … Al “Preacher” Colson
• Matthew Scott Wilcox … Harvey
• Timothy Olyphant … Lt. Col. Boot Miller
• Linda Emond … Ida King
• Ciarán Hinds … Roy King
• Mamie Gummer … Jeanie
• Abbie Cornish … Michelle

Links:

• Stop Loss 2008 Film Wallpapers: http://www.snoron.com/movies-wallpapers/stop-loss/

21 Film 2008 Wallpapers

21 is a 2008 drama film from Columbia Pictures. It stars Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, and Laurence Fishburne. The film is based on the best-selling book by Ben Mezrich, Bringing Down the House. The film is scheduled for release on March 28, 2008.

Columbia Pictures’ high stakes action adventure 21 is inspired by the true story of the very brightest young minds in the country – and how they took Vegas for millions.

Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is a shy, brilliant M.I.T. student who – needing to pay school tuition – finds the answers in the cards. He is recruited to join a group of the school’s most gifted students that heads to Vegas every weekend armed with fake identities and the know-how to turn the odds at blackjack in their favor. With unorthodox math professor and stats genius Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) leading the way, they’ve cracked the code.

By counting cards and employing an intricate system of signals, the team can beat the casinos big time. Seduced by the money, the Vegas lifestyle, and by his smart and sexy teammate, Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth), Ben begins to push the limits.

Though counting cards isn’t illegal, the stakes are high, and the challenge becomes not only keeping the numbers straight, but staying one step ahead of the casinos’ menacing enforcer: Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne). The trailer suggests that Rosa is not unknown to Cole Williams.

Casting of Caucasian/Asian: Although most of the central characters in Bringing Down the House were Asian-Americans in real life, studio executives have cast mostly white actors to portray them in the film. Ben Mezrich, author of Bringing Down the House, has noted a “stereotypical” casting process on the part of Hollywood.

Asian Week called the casting a “whitewash,” pointing out that if it was African Americans replaced by Caucasians, there would be more vocal protest. Best Week Ever mocked the casting by stating “I have no trouble watching Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth instead of some zany Asian people Asianing up the screen with their unwatchable, completely unrelatable Asianness.”

Trivia: The scenes in the MIT bar were actually filmed across the Charles River at the Boston University Pub. MIT would not allow filming on campus. Filming also took place at the Christian Science Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

This is the third film in which Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth have starred together. The first was Beyond the Sea, which Spacey directed, and the second was Superman Returns. The pair will again star together in the Superman Returns sequel Superman: The Man of Steel. This is also the second film that Kate Bosworth and Robert Luketic have made together, the first being Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!.

Cast:

• Jim Sturgess as Ben Campbell, the protagonist, an MIT student incredibly good with numbers, who becomes a member of the blackjack team.
• Kevin Spacey as Mickey Rosa, the founder of the blackjack team.
• Kate Bosworth as Jill Taylor
• Laurence Fishburne as Cole Williams, a casino security agent who becomes determined to take down the team.
• Aaron Yoo as Choi, an Asian-American MIT student who becomes a member of the blackjack team.
• Liza Lapira as Kianna
• Jacob Pitts as Fisher
• Josh Gad as Miles Connoly
• Roger Dillingham, Jr. as Head Bouncer

Links:

• 21 Film 2008 Wallpapers: http://www.snoron.com/movies-wallpapers/21-film/

CJ7 Film 2008 Wallpapers

CJ7 is a 2008 Hong Kong science fiction/comedy film written, produced and directed by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the film. It was released on January 31, 2008 in Hong Kong.

In August 2007 the film was given the title CJ7, a play on China’s successful Shenzhou manned space missions – Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6.

It was previously been known by a series of working titles – Alien, Yangtze River VII, Long River 7 and most notably, A Hope. It was filmed in Ningbo, in the Zhejiang province.

As with the title CJ7, the earlier working titles, A Hope,Yangtze River VII and Long River 7, referred to the Chinese manned space program. The mission of Shenzhou 6 was completed in 2006 and the real Shenzhou 7 is set to launch in September 2008.

The film will have a budget of $20 million US, and will be heavy on CG effects. Chow plays a widower who lives in a partly demolished house with his son (who is actually played by a girl, Xu Jiao). As Chow’s character can’t afford to buy a toy for the child, he finds a makeshift toy in the garbage and brings it back to his son. The toy is actually an alien and the aliens are desperate to get it back.

Some rumours state that it is a “pet” rather than a “toy”. The reason Chow’s character can’t afford to buy the child a toy is because he spends all this income on sending his son to a private school. Furthermore, he owes his boss (a contractor played by Lam Chi Chung) for money loaned to him after the death of his wife.

Cast:

• Stephen Chow – Ti
• Kitty Zhang – Ms. Yuen
• Lam Chi Chung – The Boss
• Xu Jiao – Dicky
• Danny Chan Kwok Kuen – teacher
• Tin Kai Man

Links:

• CJ7 Film 2008 Wallpapers: http://www.snoron.com/movies-wallpapers/cj7/