Druid Physical Exercises

[DaRC]

You could also look here:
http://www.terrybrownenglishmartialarts.com/
the key is that during the early medieval period the warrior elite class would have been trained, from a young age, in martial arts. As (we currently believe) that Druids typically came from the warrior elite class some could well have been 'quite handy' when it came to a fight.

There is also :
The English Warrior from earliest times to 1066 - Stephen Pollington
available from - http://www.asbooks.co.uk/. I don't think there would have been much difference between the Fianna style warbands and the Beowulf style warbands at that time.

[Sterenig]

Hello everyone,
I join this thread with a question : it seems to me that druid physical exercice has mainly been understood in this discussion as related to a kind of martial art, or daily chores. Has anyone ever heard about or considered a kind of yoga ? I've come across several "celtic/druid" yoga on the internet, and I'm wondering if you know what it is, how it is practiced, where it comes from, etc. It would seem rather logical to me that druids had some kind of physical practice to focus on, but it could be nothing more complicated than walking in the wood in a mindfull state, for all I know.

Thanks

Sterenig

[Gwion]

Peter Berresford-Ellis, a Celtic expert who also writes fiction as Peter Tremayne, has a series of novels featuring a seventh century dalaigh (advocate of the Brehon Laws) called Sister Fidelma (http://www.sisterfidelma.com/). He mentions a type of meditation practiced by the Celts but, unfortunately, I can’t remember the name he gives it. There is a place on the website (above) where questions can be posted and it might be worth asking there as well. He also describes a self defence system he refers to as troid sciathagid which does get an answer http://www.sisterfidelma.com/FAQS.htm#martial.