Fight like a Viking program is developing a grading system for its fighters to guide their training and development.
The below info graphic summaries the system
(see below for more detail).

As the system develops we will add more detail to the competencies for each level. The below give you an idea of what we focus on in the first three levels.
Biginner
Sword Fighter
- Skills
- Stance
- feet
- body
- knees
- Grip
- hammer and hand shake
- Wards
- middle
- head
- high
- rear
- fools
- Movement
- shuffle
- shuffle left and right
- step
- passing step
- chaing your direction
- lunge
- leap
- Striking
- effective striking
- leading with the edge
- 9 basic strikes
- Blocking
- 9 basic blocks
- Defence
- voinding leg, weapon, body
- Attacks
- deflection of thrust and counter thrust
- basic feiint
- Stance
Axe Fighter
- Skills
- Stance
- shield
- when to reverse you lead leg
- Grip
- long, middle and choke axe grips
- punch grip on shield
- Wards
- axe and shield wards
- high
- head
- hidden
- rear
- side
- axe and shield wards
- Movement
- passing steps with a shield
- extend lunge
- extended leaps
- reversing direction and gaining distance
- falling
- rising
- Striking
- shield strikes
- axe strikes
- axe thrusts
- striking with passing steps
- Defence
- using your shield
- blocking with an axe
- knocking your opponent's weapon offline
- Attacks
- feints
- extending your reach
- patterning
- Group
- skirmish fighting
- Special
- thrown axe
- knife as back up weapon
- axe and knife fighting
- using your shield to defend against two handed axes
- Stance
Advanced
Spear Fighter
- Skills
- Stance
- spear and shield
- two handed spear
- Wards
- spear wards
- Striking
- spear thrusts
- spear hews
- striking with the haft
- Defence
- blocking and defections with a spear
- soear and shield
- two handed
- blocking and defections with a spear
- Group
- shield wall
- line formation
- swaping out
- defense against missle attack
- throwing you spear from the line
- shield wall
- Special
- fihgting in middle grip
- thrown spear
- holding a knife while using a spear two handed
- Stance