Way of the Warrior

 Cultivate your Vajra Mind & Buddha Body

Warriorship is not fighting or learning to fight. Warriorship is not martial arts training or sport-fight training. Warriorship is not philosophizing about the true nature of reality and one’s Essence-Nature while imagining oneself to be a “warrior.” Warriorship is an ethos, a way of life that cultivates one’s Spirit moment-to-moment. Its daily training creates an environment of impeccability, humility, loyalty and the mind of service that ultimately leads the practitioner to Buddhahood.

Authentic Warrior Training cultivates the Spirit by working with all three doorways to Buddhahood – the body, its energy system, and the mind. Warrior training seeks to create unification of these three human capacities within an unbroken field of Awareness.

CURRICULUM

1) Physical training sessions in 3 classic martial arts:

• STAV – The Ancient Norse system training weaponry, breath, mind & spirit. Learn how to attack and defend with long staff, walking stick, and knife. Weapons training teaches proper awareness, distance and timing.
• Hakka Gong Fu – A system developed by the “Lady Wu Mei” (Lady Plumflower) who was the 3rd highest ranking warrior in all of China during her time. Learn how to defend and attack using close-range striking and trapping, and how to produce power strikes without the need for large movements using momentum.
• Combat Catch Wrestling – A western system of combat grappling that teaches you how to control the closest range of combat. Training in Combat Catch teaches sensitivity, creativity, and creates a greater range of awareness. Combat Catch Wrestling teaches us to “learn how to learn” (as my coach used to say).

2) Energy Training sessions:

• Wu Mei Qi Gong – Breathing & Energy Channel exercises performed standing and integrated into your martial techniques.
• Rune Stance-Breathing – The Scandinavian Breath & Movement Meditation that combines slow movements, deep breathing and chanting for gaining focused control of one’s energy and mind.

3) Mind Training sessions:

• Concentration Exercises – These classic mental concentration exercises relax the mind into a natural concentration of one-pointed absorption.
• Tranquil Abiding – Entering thoughtless meditation states to cultivate equanimity and peace.
• Non-Conceptual Meditation – Practicing the art of “Non-Meditation Meditation,” which yields the free state of pure spontaneous action so critical to mastery of warriorship and a life of integrated realization.

4) The Principles of Warriorship:

A concise set of powerful principles that lend guidance in each and every moment of your life.

• Impeccability
• Loyalty (warrior love)
• Guardianship (service and compassion)
• Humility
• Commitment (resolve)
• Tracklessness (acting without leaving a karmic imprint)

WHO CAN ATTEND?

This retreat is not only for those who have an obvious nādī (fate) in Warriorship (such as the military, police, fire fighters, and martial artists), but also for any person wishing to explore the unification of Body, Energy and Mind through a classical path focusing on the body as the central vehicle of realization. This training is open to women and men of any age as long as your
body is not severely injured or debilitated preventing engagement with the training.

DAILY CLASS SCHEDULE

9:30 – 11:30  Teachings & Practice
11:30 – 13:30  Lunch
13:30 – 16:30 Teachings & Practice
18:30 – Warriorship Discussions around the fire pit (optional)
*Bring your own beverage- Beer, Ale, Mead, Sake or the beverage of your choice.

**You're going to do a whole bunch of training with a STAV stick. You can get a cheap pine dowel to work with at the local hardware store, or you can invest in a good medium-hard wood staff that has decent flexibility so it doesn't snap when it meets zero deceleration.

I like:
Ash (light yet strong ish, good starter wood especially for women of slight build.
American Oak,
Japanese white and red oak, Purple Heart from Brasil (one of my favorites),
Iron Box from Australia,
Holly (fantastic density and durability, I love mine),
Yew Pine (strong and flexible, great for bow n arrow and staff...I also love mine)
Just to give you a starting point.

If you are buying one you wish to keep long term then bring it here oversized and I'll cut it to just the right size for you.

The Staff should be from the ground to the top of your armpit, so have one made for you that is slightly above shoulder height and we'll trim it.
Its diameter should be 6/8th's of an inch for smaller hands, 7/8th's for average hands and a full inch or...1 and 1/8th of an inch for BIG hands.

You may have to find a "wood turner" to make you one from a hard wood blank. He will use a lathe which is a woodworking machine. Reducing a block to a staff by using a lathe is actually a bit tricky and dangerous. So it may cost you 40-100 USD (in USA) depending on how well you know the Turner.

And you'll want to put your order in with your local woodworker NOW! As they can take 2 or 3 weeks to locate a good piece of wood and make your staff.

I would also recommend you get a walking stick that suits you well and is made for combat. Most normal walking sticks are fragile. The walking stick height should be near your hip height so that when you are using it to walk your arm does not quite "lock out" or become straight when the stick is held next to you. This will ensure your walking stick is not too short...for walking or fighting.

Do not laquer or varnish your staff. Do not put anything on it, no natural oils like linseed or artificial ones either. It ruins it and you have to sand it off. Also, not tapered or rounded ends! Must be cut square for multiple reasons.

IF ANYONE CANNOT GET A GOOD QUALITY FLEXIBLE HARDWOOD STICK...

Then I can buy cheap pine wood sticks for you for under $15 and we can cut them to size in 5 minutes.

BUT!....

I will need to know if you need one at least one whole week BEFORE the training begins.

NO LAST MINUTE RUNS TO THE HARDWARE STORE.

🙏

ACCOMMODATIONS & LOCAL TRANSPORTATION

You will need to organize your own accommodation, transportation and meals during the retreat. Please check out the resources below to help plan your stay. 

Planning Your Stay in Maine

DATES & LOCATION

Oct 22 - 26, 2025 

Northport, Maine, USA

The exact address will be sent to you after completing your registration.

COURSE FEE

$525 USD*

*At checkout, use the full name, e-mail, and mailing address of the person registering for the retreat. (Payment details do not have to match.)