They (the Indo European warriors) cannot ignore order, since their function is to guard it agains the thousand and one demonic or hostile endeavors that oppose it. But in order to assure this office they must first possess and entertain qualities of their own which bear a strong resemblence to the blemishes of their adversaries.... Drunk or exhalted, they must put themselves into a state of nervous tension, of muscular and mental preparedness, multiplying and amlifying their powers. And so they are transfigured, made strangers in the society they protect. Above all, dedicated to Force, they are triumphant victims of the internal logic of Force, which proves only by surpassing boundaries, even its own boundaries and those of its raison de etre.

From the Fianniocht:
"Finn himself , he was a king and a seer and a poet; a Druid and a knowledgeable man; and everything he said was sweet sounding to his people. And a better fighting man than Finn never struck his hand into a king's hand and whatever any one said of him, he was three times better. Of his justice it used to be said, that if his enemy and his son had come before him to be judged it is a fair judgement he would have given between them. And as to his generosity,it used to be said he never denied any man as long as he had a mouth to eath with and legs to bring away what he gave him; and he left no woman without her bride price and no man without his pay. and he never promised at night what he would not fulfill on the morrow. He never forsook his right hand friend.

This is the Law:
There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield and skill is more important than either.
The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.

I like the following quote. It sums up the belief of those people who follow the ancient fennidh way in today's world.

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher an animal, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance an account, build a wall and set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate with others or act alone.
Solve equations, analyze a problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a meal, fight efficiently, and die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

By Rigfennidh Tadhg

In the absence of heroes, our young men will stumble towards their birthright unguided. They will guess at what they should be instead of being lead in the paths that have been traveled before them. Unguided, they will make mistakes and believing they are claiming that which has been denied them, they will greedily consume more than their fair portion.

We are failing our sons. We teach them that their boyish play is violent and forbid it, instead of shaping it into the image of the protector father. We fail to give our sons opportunities to explore their inheritance as men and they become men unprepared, untrained and uniniated.

The unguided violence of young men will continue until older men take the responsibility to father their sons and foster those without fathers. Heroes must come forward to inspire. Boys, who are not molded, will shape themselves as men. These shapes will be that of imagination and not example.

Our natures will not be denied. That, which makes man a protector, can make him a destroyer if not guided. Repressing that which is a boy's nature is unhealthy, damaging and harmful not only to the boy but to his society as well. It is our responsibility as fathers to shape the nature of our sons into men who will make our ancetors and us proud! We do this with instruction, example and initiation.

It is time to reclaim our heritage of heroes, to be heroes and to inspire future generations of heroes.

The true warrior understands that physical courage is not the absence of fear, but merely the belief that many things are worth more than fear.

The true test of courage is to fight the fight you cannot win.

Loyalty and Honor
The true warrior knows the meaning of loyalty.
The true warrior knows the meaning of honor.
The true warrior knows where loyalty ends and honor begins.

Who is Eoghain Cumhaill? It is soon told.
I am a person dedicated to recreating a Celtic Fighting Style in the traditions of the Ancient Fianna and the Red Branch Warriors. I do this out of a love of the old ways of my ancestors and to practice the Indo European warrior ethic in my daily life.
As an Introduction into the things that I do, I would like to emphasize the following: There is precious little known about the exact nature of Ancient Indo European Fighting Skills.
Thus, it is necessary to point out that none of us can ever know precisely what the Ancients did or did not know about warfare or fighting. What we do know is this: The Ancient Indo-Europeans who later became collectively lumped together under the category of "Celts" were well skilled in whatever form of warfare that they utilized. They conquered an area spanning the known world of their time from Mongolia in the East to Ireland in the West, from Siberia in the North to Sumeria in the South.
While it is true that they were never a single, cohesive nation of peoples, and while they may not have held all that they conquered, they achieved militarily what it would take other cultures a thousand years to achieve.
For my purposes, I use a collection of fighting skills from all over the world, to create an interpretive variety of movements falling under the category of "literary reconstruction". I utilize movements based upon hard and soft martial styles, pankration wrestling, glima wrestling, fencing, stick fighting and archery and sling techniques.
I spend an inordinate amount of time beating the hell out of willing friends and accomplices to find out if these techniques work. Also, I try to expose these techniques to the litmus test of non-combatant criticism. Do the techniques shown recreate the images which are revealed through reading literary works describing Celtic Warfare, whether it is Gallic, Gaelic, Welsh, Breton, Kernaz or any other?
I have committed to living a lifestyle based upon the Celtic Warrior Ethos. I live as the warriors of old lived, with Truth, Honor and Strength as my code, making oaths and defending those that are in need. I try to be as the ancient Feni warrior, a guardian of society, ever vigilant to stand up for those in need. And to live a life that sets an example to youth and people who interact with me. This is the path of the Fianna Warrior; this is the path of Eoghain Cumhaill.

Historically, the Fianna appear to have been bands of mercenaries composed of young men who had not received an inheritance within their clan or tribe and therefore, could not participate in society, and men who had for one reason or another had been removed from society. During the late spring and summer months they would live in the wild and remote woods of central Ireland, living by the chase and the grace of nobles and war lords who employed them often in their military campaigns throughout the year. After the New Year festival of Samhain, they would be quartered among their patron noble's tuath and would serve as a type of police force, keeping the peace during the time they were quartered by protecting the interest of the Lord.

Because of their wild and licentious nature, the fians were often associated with otherworld magic and knowledge. Tales abound of enchanted hunts that end in the hall of a faery chief, or in the bed of a goddess with whom they had found favor. Fionn MacCumhaill, a leader of the most famous of these fian bands from Leinster, marries Sadb, said to be the daughter of the god Dagda who bears his famous son, Ossian, whose name means little fawn.

So powerful were the images and reputations of these fian bands that a whole mythic cycle has been devoted to their stories. The central characters of these stories is of course Fionn Mac Cumhaill, his poet son, Ossian, Swift Caolte, noble Oscar and the Rigfennidhfianna's famous hounds, Bran and Sceolan who according to tradition can still be heard baying while chasing game near the ancient home of Dun Allen.

It appears that the Fianna were foot soldiers, preferring to fight on foot or horseback rather than by chariot. This would correspond to the belief that they were young men who had not yet received an inheritance and therefore would own little real property. The principle weapon appears to have been the spear, with a small sword for close combat situations. A shield may or may not have been used. If it was used, it would be strapped to the back, waiting the time when the Fennidh would abandon the spear and unsheathe the sword for close combat.

True warriors view themselves as protectors of those they serve and society in general. They have a powerful belief system and a willingness to sacrifice for those weaker than themselves even if that sacrifice includes the death of themselves or another. All true warriors believe in the basic concepts of right and wrong, of fair and unfair, and in the concepts of loyaty and honor.

Excerpt from The Warrior Ethic: Courage of the Third Kind
by Phil Messina

Ok. I have bit my tongue long enough. Anyone that claims to be an expert at swordsmanship and plays with foam boaffers and padded shields doesn't have a clue about real life. Without an accurate replica in weight, size and shape you cannot understand the techniques and skills of iron age, middle age or even modern swordsmanship! People give it up! Going out to a park and beating on each other with nerf swords is lots of fun and possibly even good for exercise but is totally not worth the while if you are seriously interested in learning how to fight with edged weapons. If you are serious about learning, throw away those stupid toys and get yourself a historically accurate blade. A good training blade can be made that approximates the weight size and shape of any blade you desire to learn about. The Historical Armed Combat Association ( I can't remember what they call themselves now) use to have plans posted at their site for just such a blade. I also recommend if you are serious to get Medevial Swordsmanship by by John Clements ISBN1-58160-004-6. If you are looking for information on the internet, stay away from anyone that posts pictures of being dressed up in pretty blue paint and carrying a foam sword the size of a man. These people do not have a clue!