Extra-tough warm-ups tonight as our instructor demonstrated a variety
of gymnastic/athletic feats like balancing on his shoulders with his
legs straight in the air and "walking" across the room using only his
shoulders. About half the guys joined Edgar in these warm-ups, while
the rest of us, and the school's kung fu instructor, just watched in
awe of his total flexibility and strength. We had started with the
usual conditioning/breathing exercises: 14 pushups, situps, leg lifts
and squats, following an increasing/decreasing breathing pattern:
e.g. first pushup we breathed in for a count of one on the downpress,
out for a count of one on the up, second pushup, breathe in for a
count of two on the downpress, etc., then reversed the breathing
after 7 of each and did 7 more exhaling on the downpress. Then we
formed a circle and did one-handed pushups with one arm on the floor,
the other around each other. Then we switched arms. This is hard! To
be perfectly honest, my mother and I sometimes try to evade the
latter exercise, neither of us can do pushups easily, and one-handed
pushups even less so! But Edgar gently insists that we all do it,
although every other exercise in our class is strictly optional. I
think it helps to develop a positive physical interaction with your
classmates, and a sensitivity to their energy patterns, which I try
to maintain all the time, even when we don't do this particular group
exercise.

We practiced laying on our backs sidling across the floor using just
the shoulders, then on our stomachs, and then with just the butt with
our legs balanced in the air, going forwards, backwards, and side to
side. Our yielding exercises started with pushing our partners, and
returning the push at the same speed and force. Then we did this
exercise while hopping on one leg. Who would have guessed that
hopping on one leg would be my hidden talent. The rest of the class
was staggering about a bit, and Edgar told us it was OK to switch
legs, but I had no problem hopping on one leg for the entire
exercise, I and could have happily finished the class on one leg or
the other. Then we grabbed one of our partners' legs, and they held
one of ours, and we pushed each other, hopping on one leg, practicing
avoiding and yielding to pressure.

Our first drills were defense against the knife, first with avoiding
knife strikes by turning the body in the direction of the blade, so
as not to allow a surface for the blade to pierce. Then we practiced
capturing the blade flat against our chests, and turning and bending
sharply to disarm the opponent. Edgar demonstrated how the pectoral
muscles can be used to capture the wrist and fingers in a joint lock
or with a quicker motion, inflict pain that would cause the knife to
drop out of the opponents hand.

I had to modify this drill a little bit. Being a woman, I don't have
hard pecs to use as a brace for joint lock or as a hammer for a quick
and painful thump. I'm actually kind of soft up there, and also I
confess I was a little shy about squishing my partner's hand against
my breasts. So I practiced capturing the arm, rather than the hand,
using an elbow joint lock and sometimes my upper chest and clavicles
as a lever to get my partner to drop the knife. It worked pretty
well. The beauty of Systema is that it's totally customizable.

The dojo had suddenly gotten very crowded because of a large capoeira
seminar that night, the shoji screens were opened and all three
studios were full, so we retreated to the grappling mats in the
corner. We were all delighted with working on mats and the guys
immediately started diving and rolling. Edgar jokingly warned us that
we'd be doing the exact same exercises on the hard floor next time!

I had been looking forward to learning about Systema kicks and Edgar
and Oleg, a senior student, demonstrating some breathtaking footwork
on the mats. Edgar showed us how to defend with only the knees, and
how to roll offensively. We practiced tripping our partners with leg
sweeps and manipulation of the knees. It's amazing how a little
pressure on the crease at the back of the knee, or a sudden push of
the knee to the inside or the outside, will unbalance your partner.
It's like the elbow, by which even the strongest person can be led,
the knee leads the way for the direction in which you can drop your
partner once that they are unbalanced.

We also practiced freeing from holds, including the half-Nelson and
a "bear hug" from behind, as well as leg holds with one person on the
ground grabbing the legs and the other standing. Edgar showed us what
other Systema-ists have called the "Ass of Death," where you
unbalance your partner, then quite literally fling yourself backward
onto their shoulders or basically any part of their body that is
horizontal. It's amazing how much this can hurt. It's one of the few
exercises we learned where "explosiveness" is required, most of the
time we spar slowly, but the "Ass of Death" doesn't work if you just
sit on the person, you have to really fling yourself at them and of
course, know exactly where you're going to land so you can be on your
feet again while they are down and gasping for breath. Edgar told us
you can break someone's spine with your rear end. "It's the heaviest
part. But you know that!" he said, laughing merrily.

Class ended with an exercise we generally do in the beginning, where
you twist your partner's wrist and arm and they have to avoid by
rotating in the same direction. This exercise can really hurt, but
the benefit of the pain is that you know you are doing it wrong.
Tensing up or trying to twist in the opposite direction that your
partner is twisting can be rather painful. But if you stay relaxed
and remember to breath and go in the same direction as they are
twisting, evading is second nature, your body will avoid the pain
naturally. It's not unlike dancing, as Edgar reminds us every time we
train.

*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel