At the core of all martial
arts is a philosophy. Within the Schola Saint George, we
believe that our approach to the chivalric or Western
martial arts is unique, and not only compatible but
complimentary with other students of martial arts and
swordsmanship.
First and foremost, we believe that the study of
lethal martial skills is a superb way to develop a
student's character as well as to build proficiency
in self-defense, both modern and historical.
We expect our students and instructors to respect
and explore alternate approaches to both historical
and modern methods of self-defense, integrating what
works and not wasting time on complaining about what
doesn't.
We strive to build without the School a sense of
respect for the historical treatises left to us from
the Medieval and later periods, calling on students
and instructors to find the tradition that best fits
their interests, skills and temprament and to delve
deeply into these traditions, so that we can bring
them back to life.
We strive to refine the skills taught in our
school should be build on sound fundamentals of
balance, awareness, focus and kinesthetics that will
transmit to any other art.
We believe that martial excellence--what was
medievally known as prowess--brings with it a sense
of responsibility, and that the chivalric ethos
(today morphed into the code of the Officer and
Gentleman), is about how to employ one's strength
with judgment.
We expect our students and instructors to conduct
themselves at all times as gentlemen and exemplars,
regardless of circumstance, employing their
arts--both physical and social--in the defense of
what is right in and out of the school.
For us, philosophy is about how we use our arts,
teaching that these arts are fun and educational, but
that with study and some dedication they convey riches
of physical, ethical and mental development.
Although many Eastern and modern martial arts offer
roughly equivilent things, the Western martial arts
offer an advantage for the person of European descent,
insofar as the arts derive from the same culture and are
built on the same foundational elements that have
created the finest of Western culture, including
individual freedom and democracy. In this these arts may
offer a unique road to personal development (and
enjoyment!) that helps to create the individual sense of
education, consideration and judgment necessary to keep
a democracy healthy. These things are in our day in
realtively short supply, so these arts fill a vacuum in
the modern Western world.
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