Getting started with staff/polearms

[Chris Holloman]

Hey Howdy Hey everyone!

I work in the school system and have been able to keep a steel blunt in my office and train in the gym on my break times. We are doing some safety reviews etc. and my principle has the concern that a parent/student might see my "sword" and freak out, which is a likely hood. He is fine with me training on my breaks but wants me to find something that isn't so obviously "martial". I am thinking with the abundance of brooms and mops etc. that I can carry a "staff" without drawing any undue attention. My question is, where to start...drills, exercises, manuals etc..

Thanks for the help!
Chris

[Jonathan Hill]

not to de-rail your planning of staff but I got one of these to carry my stuff in. Everyone now thinks I'm a golfer which means I have to answer loss odd questions about why a sword is sticking out of my bag.

Now I just need to get better at acting like I golf.

The large cases are 50 inches long, only thing that doesn't fit perfectly is my NSA waster, but you can cut an inch off if needed.

http://www.slidebone.com/store/images/7 ... 5192ee.jpg

[James Brazas]

Chris Holloman,

If you're interested in pole-arms, Paulus Hector Mair is a good master to learn. We're just starting up pole-arms in our group. Mair's polearm section treats the "short staff" as his introductory pole-arm (short staff being approximately the height of the wielder or slightly less). He bases all of his longstaff/pike, spear, halberd, and pollaxe material on his short staff material.

I've found that after learning longsword, staff is quite easy by comparison. It's a very versatile weapon and has good reach, but since you don't need to worry about edge alignment, getting cuaght in the enemy's crossguard, etc., it's easier to use in my opinion.

[Roger Norling]

Or, if you study Meyer's polearms you will improve your longsword and dussacken skills at the same time. It is all connected.

There's a bunch of us working on that material and you are quite welcome to join us. And if you are nearby I am just about to go to Brugge, Belgium and a few weeks later to Rybnik, Poland to teach his Halbenstangen.

It is amazing stuff and it works equally well with a short Jogo do Pau/Jo stick. In fact Jogo do Pau and Meyer has quite a few things in common, I think.[/

[John Farthing]

While the suggestions to study both Mair and Meyer are excellent ones, reading any of the copius material available on the staff is worthwhile, and as Roger pointed out, "It is all connected". While the techniques are rather ubiquitous, there is some variation in the handling of the weapon as decribed by the aforesaid German sources compared to the approach of the later English 'Maisters' (such as Silver, Swetnam, et. al.). Mair and Silver remain great places to start however, due primarily to the availabilty of the material. David Lindholm released a decent introductory primer via his book; 'Fighting with the Quarterstaff' (2006, Chivalry Bookshelf), but this little book has become quite obscure and hard to come by in recent years.

One important point warrants careful consideration here. Although the staff looks unassuming and certainly less threatening, or as you put it, " isn't so obviously 'martial'" as the sword... When you have a blunt steel sword or wooden waster you have a training weapon; when you have a wooden staff you have the actual weapon! The staff is an extremely effective and deadly weapon in it's own right and this needs to be remembered when brandishing one in public, especially when in environments where children are present. Given the extended range the weapon offers the need to remain diligently aware of your surroundings becomes paramount. We have all likely seen how quickly a child can seemingly 'appear out of nowhere' and I can attest first-hand to the bone shattering force of the staff. So in your pursuit of this wonderful weapon, always remember that although it may be made of wood like your waster, when you are working with a staff, you are wielding a very real and very dangerous weapon!

"The sign on the door said 'STAFF ONLY'; and on the one day when I only brought my nunchuks!" -recent quote by my friend, comedian Nhan Du

[John Young]

I'm interested in the staff as well. I figure that's where I'll go after gaining some knowledge of the longsword. Noboby even considers a staff a weapon these days. You could walk around anywhere with one and people would just think you where carrying a "hiking" stick.
John

[Stacy Clifford]

I've said it many times before on here, but I think Swetnam and Silver are the best place to start for learning basic handling and theory of the staff. They build on the conceptual grounds of the staff better than the other manuals in my opinion, but list fewer actual techniques and plays. Meyer, Mair and others list many more techniques, but rely on theoretical explanations made in other weapon sections of their manuals with less devoted explicitly to staff. Learning the English manuals first makes the German ones easier to understand later. The English used a longer staff armed with a spike, however, which does result in some noticeable differences in style from the Germans, so just keep that in mind.

[Anthony R. Camacho]

You could also try a wooden waster (wooden practice sword). Although it still has the same shape of a sword, it causes less public alarm than a metal blunt sword, which could be mistaken as a real sword. The wooden waster has an added benefit because you can practice your cuts at full speed on a large punching bag which the gym you practice in may have. However, be careful of practing your thrusts because you can still pierce a punching bag if the tip of your wooden waster is too sharp. I highly recommend the wooden sword wasters made by New Stirling Arms.

Sincerely,

Anthony R. Camacho