Site Library Library of Germania

Fianaigecht: Following the Forest Path

Fianaigecht: Following the Forest Path
By Odin Knudsson

The path of the modern Fennidh is a way of living in the modern age in harmony with the beliefs and customs of our ancient ancestors. In today’s modern world, it is often not feasible or realistic for a person to give up the world and live freely in the woodlands of their native country. This does not mean that the way of the Fennidh is dead. The spirit of the path lives on in the descendants of those ancient warriors.

The path of the Fennidh is thus:

I. Training

A. Acknowledge the calling to the Fianachas and develop the proper mindset.

Begin to live your life like a fennidh. Exhibit in your daily life the attributes exemplified in the Fianna Cycle of Irish Literature.

How does one take the steps through the gate that lead him or her to follow the path of the modern fennidh? Not hard. It begins with the decision to follow the path. Self realization is the key to the gate that opens to the path and mindset is the path you must follow. You must begin first and foremost by acknowledging that you are a Fennidh. Whether by blood ancestry or a desire to embrace the culture, you must think of yourself as a warrior. A popular quote in this day and age is, "You are what you think" and until you think of yourself as a Fennidh, you will never be of the Fennidh.

What sets the individual on the path? It is hard to describe but perhaps it can be explained as something deep inside that begins to stir like an ember within the heart that begins to glow with the heat of a thousand generations past. Soon that ember is transformed into a fierce desire to learn of the old ways. The Fennidh comes to feel that he was made for a greater calling than the everyday ebb and flow of our modern society. He or she acknowledges the ancestral legacy and embraces it. It becomes an in separable part of him or her. You see yourself as a warrior. You study the old ways and skills not just to learn a new way of fighting, but to hone your Fennidh spirit. You seek perfection in your life.

You also take what you have from the modern world and incorporate it into your study and training. You begin to merge the two worlds together.

Once you have acknowledged that you are of the Fennidh, you must develop the attributes of the ancient Fennidh Warrior:
Glaine ár gcroí (Pureness of heart)
Neart ár ngéag (Strength of limb)
Beart de réir ár mbriathar (Deeds to match words)


B. Fennidh pursue internal objectives rather than external.

The way of the warrior is to seek perfection of yourself as a fennidh. Do not look for outside recognition of your skills and abilities. Honestly know yourself and how you should progress towards the personal goal of “Samildanach” or master of all things. Seek true perfection of your skills.

The path of the Fennidh is not one of vanity. You must put away your desires to be seen and accepted by all as a warrior and turn yourself inward. Develop in yourself those attributes that the myths and legends of the Fianna teach us were part of the Fianna Ethos. A desire for a truthful life of honor should be your primary goal.

Am fear a thug buaidh air fhein, thug e buaidh air namhaid: He who conquers himself, conquers an enemy.


C. Analyze the threats to you and assess your personal weaknesses.

Warriors understand that the path is filled with conflict. There is no such thing as the “Peaceful warrior” and those who tell you this are delusional and not warriors but seek to pretend to be such. A warrior’s calling is to serve and protect that which you hold dear and sometimes that requires the use of violence. You must therefore analyze those things that threaten you and prepare yourself against them. You must also honestly appraise your abilities and set goals to improve. A Fennidh who is not honest with himself is destined for defeat at the hands of his enemies.

D. Evaluate your physical and emotional assets
Are you prepared to make the required sacrifice? Do you have what it takes to be a warrior? After you have analyzed the threats against you, are you prepared to do what it takes to eliminate those threats? If not, implement what you need into your training program. If not, then your journey on the path ends here. Not everyone can be a warrior. The Clan has need of poets and perhaps that is where you belong.

E. Choose your strategic foundations and select a doctrine suited to you.
Nature has made us all different. What works for a tall person, may not serve a short person. Study those skills of self defense that are out there and decide on the types of fighting skills that you can most benefit from. If you are currently a student of an oriental martial art form, dedicate yourself to perfection in that art. Study other forms and incorporate them into your training program as well, taking that which will improve your overall condition and meets the requirements of your doctrine.

F. We build our skills around our personal “doctrinal cores”

The greatest "Samildanach" or master of all things would have taught that "no method, whatever its apparent merit, has any real value unless it helped develop a man's character which would make him master of his weapon and thus truly powerful in its use."

G. We make training a daily regimen

“By what I did yesterday, I win today, this is the virtue of practice” The Way of the Spear.

Under the stressful conditions of combat, fine motor skills that encompass our basic fighting skills will deteriorate. Practice helps the mind establish techniques as routine and makes their completion under stressful conditions easier. It’s been compared to “programming” a computer. The mind can be compared to a computer. We “program” it to respond in a certain way under stressful conditions by learning proper techniques and procedures. Practice of those techniques fine tune the program so that when the brain is required to use that program, it works flawlessly.

H. As Fennidh we employ deasghnath or “rite of passage” or “purification” in our training.

The deasghnath is a way for us reconfirm our mindset that we are warriors and to honor special times in our lives while reviewing our progress. This should be an event of special occasion or significance. This should be an annual event. It should hold deep meaning and importance to you and allow you to focus on the past years training and set goals for the next year. There are many things which should be done during the deasghnath. They are: Review training of the previous time period. Exam our belief system and fine tune those beliefs. Set goals for the coming year and to evaluate our place in the path.


I. We accept the fianachtach or “Warrior mentality” approach in our training

We Train against serious attack. Our skill sets are based upon proven combat techniques. We practice them perfectly in order that we will respond perfectly if that skill set is called upon to be used.
We make free sparring an important part of our training. Practice against a life, free thinking individual is important. If our oponent responds the same way every time like a training dummy, we will practice skills for that response and nothing else. When the time comes to respond to a free thinking individual, we will be unable to respond in a manner other than what we have programmed and we will not take into account the unpredictability of a regular opponent.
We are students of anatomy, applying our knowledge to our training. Knowledge of the human body is essential. We must know how the body responds to certain forceful acts upon it. We must become students of healing as well so that when such wounds are inflicted on us, we can treat them and live.
We practice with the utmost seriousness. This is not a game. We are not a recreation role play club. We intend to use these skills in the betterment of our clan and society.



Sources:

Living the Martial Way by Major Forrest E Morgan, USAF
Barricade Books Incorporated Copyright 1992
ISBN 0-942637-61-5

The Path of the Warrior by Larry Jetmore
Partners Pub Group Inc
ISBN 9781932777208

The Code of Nine Ancient Danish Code of Honor, Circa 825 A.D.

The Prime Tales
The Fennidh Way

Fianaigecht: Following the Forest Path