Thursday

Thursday's focus was leg work, one of my favorite Systema topics.
Back in October of 2004, Jim came to Fighthouse to do a 2-day seminar
on "Fundamental Principles of the Russian System and the Dynamic Use
of the Legs for Offense and Defense." One thing I remember from Jim's
2004 leg work seminar is how many leg exercises we did to exhaust and
therefore relax the legs. It's actually the hips that must be relaxed
to kick three-dimensionally, just as the shoulders must be relaxed to
strike effectively. Stiff hips will make it very hard to get the full
range of possibilities of Systema leg work.

As he told us in 2004, Jim again reminded us that Systema kicking is
just like walking... "If the kick misses, you just keep walking, it's
not something you have to re-set." Other martial styles have powerful
kicks, but if the kick misses, the leg returns to its original
position and must be "re-set," to restore balance before doing
something else. Systema kicks are completely adaptable and three
dimensional. They do not follow straight lines nor consistent
circumferences. By stepping, rotating, and "changing levels" (up and
down), a single step can result several blows to vulnerable areas,
often from surprising directions. The Systema practitioner does not
need to practice the same kick over and over again to learn it by
rote. Instead, there are different opportunities with every step...I
also recall Jim telling us in October that "we fight the way we
walk." This is quite different from most other MAs. Here's a
description from an introductory karate tutorial describing the
phases of the kick: coil, kick, recoil, recover, which illustrates
the contrast:

Quote:
The recoil stage is often the most neglected stage of the kick. It is
important to fully recoil the kick. Consider that perhaps the kick
was off target or an attempt was made to grab the kicking leg. From a
proper recoil position, a second kick could be delivered (though this
would have significantly less power than a kick moving forward). The
recoil position is the same as the position described for the end of
the coil position. Recoil of all kicks should quick. Leaving the kick
out after it has reached its maximum extension can be
dangerous...Lastly exists the recover stage. This is the part where
you return the kicking leg to the floor, preferably into a strong
stance. This should be done as quickly as possible...It is important
to remember that whenever a kick is performed, there is a severe
reduction in stability and balance. When one's entire body weight is
supported by one leg the reduction in balance must be equal to at
least 50 percent. When balancing on one leg while performing another
technique (such as a kick for example), the loss of balance will
likely be even greater than that. Therefore, it would make sense to
return the kicking leg to the floor as quickly as possible. One
possible view is that the longer it takes to perform the entire kick,
the bigger the risk you are taking that you will lose your balance.

That's quite a different approach to Systema. I've learned than being
able to recover and adapt from any situation is more important than
not "missing" or even "getting hit." Training by rote is a way to
learn to "miss" less, until the movement becomes almost second
nature. Almost, but not quite, because it's still a kind of
memorization, and humans are more fallible than computers when it
comes to pattern recognition. It's unrealistic to presume that you
will never be taken by surprise, that you are untouchable, and that
your memorized response will always be fast enough to counter. Even
if it works 99 times out of 100, there might be a high price for that
one time it doesn't work. I think Systema training is unique in
exploring situations that many people would consider to be
already "lost," as Rob Poyton describes in two of his essays:

Quote:
...In Systema we sometimes start from a position of "muck up". Things
have gone wrong - the knife is touching you, the guy has got a lock
on, you are sitting down - then see what you can do to work out of
it...Now and then try working from an "inescapable" position. Put
yourself on the floor, in a chair, or turn the lights off - see what
happens. You may well feel less in control and less of a "martial
artist" at first but you will sure as hell be better equipped to deal
with the reality of fighting outside of the dojo.

To bring this back to the topic of working with the legs, "missing"
is not such a loss as described in the karate tutorial, since you are
still moving. If you're running to catch an elevator and the doors
are just closing but you're not quite there, of course you would not
stop and think, "oh, that last step didn't bring me close enough,
whatever should I do now?" You'd just take another step, and that's
what Jim encouraged us to do.

We also learned about defending from kicks on Thursday, so the topics
were fairly broad. The students were more laid-back than Wednesday's
crowd and not as competitive. They were seriously interested in
learning the topic at hand rather than proving themselves. Jim
started us in groups of four: 3 people kicking at one in the center,
who was to avoid or yield. But Jim warned us not to run all over the
room trying to outrun the kickers. The idea was to learn how to
handle these kicks, not to run away from them. Personally, I'd prefer
to run away from 3 attackers if at all possible, but of course I
can't depend on always having that option. So it's good to learn how
to deal with those situations where you cannot run away. With 3 or
more people kicking, chances are that some of the kicks will make
contact and we practiced learning how to minimize the effects.

Jim also warned us to look alive or he'd come around and kick us
himself. I guess my group wasn't kicking me hard enough, or perhaps I
was moving lazily, because Jim made good on his promise. I found that
constant movement was the only way to handle the four of them kicking
at once. Stopping even for a second was less effective than moving
all the time. But I also found that people who kick lightly don't
really make it an easier for the person in the center. It's hard to
know how to avoid a kick that doesn't really make contact. It seemed
much easier to yield and avoid Jim's kicks even though they were much
harder than my fellow students, because he kicked "through" me rather
than keeping me at a distance. It's important to commit to attacks,
though, even when it means that you are going to be knocked down or
otherwise made uncomfortable. But it's not fair to your partner to
attack at arms' length; both people will learn much more when the
attacks are committed. As Paul Genge explains in one of his essays:

Quote:
Attacks have to be committed. When people really try to hit you at
full speed they will follow through with the movement to a degree
even if you avoid the attack. The better the timing shown during the
escape the more follow through there will be. I know there are people
out there that train to hit no further than their reach allows. I was
one of them. Despite this I have nearly lost my balance when fighting
a person who ducked out of the way at the last moment.

We did this kicking and yielding exercise in groups of four at
different speeds: slow, fast, and "as fast as you can go." For the
latter, the people surrounding me were kicking fast so I had to move
more quickly myself—no chance to be lazy. Them, to get the feel of
kicks, we got into pairs and just explored different ways to kick.
One person kicked in various ways, exploring different kinds of
movement and takedowns, while the other avoided just enough to yield
without running away. The other person was somewhat compliant, but
this gave us a chance to learn how much pressure to use and which
areas of the leg are easiest to collapse. On the back of the calf, it
doesn't take much pressure to collapse the other person. Then we did
this same exercise but the other person was allowed to move away and
escape from the kicks. Strangely enough, this didn't make it any
harder, at least not for me. In fact, I find it's often easier to
work against my partner when he is moving rather than standing still.
As my partner tried to avoid me, I adapted my kicks so that he became
sort of tangled up and collapsed. Jim happened to look at me at this
moment and he said "That's good work!" I was really pleased with the
way he complimented me, not just a "you've improved" type of
compliment, which is also nice to hear, but this time, I got the
sense that he really was impressed with the way I was using my legs.
It's always encouraging when they look over at you when you are doing
something well (and conveniently look away when you are stumbling
around clumsily)!

Next we did a classic Systema yielding exercise, where one person
leads the other around by cupping his head and stepping back and
forth. This is an important sensitivity drill for both people. The
leading person should use as light contact as possible, and move the
other person by stepping, not by pulling the arms. The following
person should yield as soon as they feel the direction; it's also
important not to predict the movement, but let the other person move
you. For this reason, many people find it easier to do this with the
eyes closed. Jim had us do this as different levels, mid-level (45
degrees), half-squat, and "as low as you can go." This exercise seems
very basic, yet it's an important principle of Systema. Edgar
recently explained to our class how Systema has a very different
approach to contact. We do not tense up at the touch of even someone
who is attacking. That takes some getting used to, as I recall from
when I first started training. The very concept of a "fight" seems to
be based in the idea that it's bad for the other person to touch you,
and that you want to avoid it at all costs, and if that's not
possible, then you are going to become tense and stiff. But in
Systema, it's not always bad for the other person to touch you,
sometimes, it can even be an advantage. There is also an important
psychological principle of not tensing up at contact. Tension is
contagious; it tends to exacerbate the conflict, to telegraph to the
opponent that you are going to do something. Relaxation is also
contagious, and can have the effect of placating the opponent, to
calm him down, or to trick him into thinking that you are nothing to
be concerned about, but actually, this calmness and relaxation is the
exact opposite, the mark of a true professional, far more dangerous
that a hotheaded type who lets his emotions steer his actions.

We spent time also learning different ways to avoid common kicks. We
did an exercise where one person kicks, and the other steps in grabs—
to the neck, shoulder, arm, pretty much anywhere. Once again I found
timing to be critical. With proper timing, you can step in and affect
your partner's balance quite easily and almost invisibly as he kicks.
But if you're too soon or too late, it becomes a physical struggle.
One thing that seems almost counter-intuitive is to avoid watching
the kicking leg. It seems almost illogical, but you can see the
movement sooner when you look at your partner's entire body. Other
parts of the body, the shoulders, hips, even the head, will probably
move before the leg kicks, so looking at just the leg is like tunnel
vision. We also tried mixing up the sequences: one person kicks, the
other counters with a kick and a strike, but the kick must come
first. This was helpful in learning how to connect the upper and
lower part of the body so that everything moves fluidly; just
movement, rather than a particular technique.

Jim showed us several nifty ways to work against a roundhouse, from
inside the kick, staying close to the body (safer than staying at the
outside where there is more velocity and the impact of the foot) and
moving away from leg as it swings around. Jim also demonstrated going
under a high roundhouse, sliding the arm down into the crook of the
kicking leg just as it lands, and I think he then just pulled back to
lock the knee just as the foot landed (the notes are a bit fuzzy on
that but I remember being impressed.) He also showed us different
ways to strike the kicking leg to stop the kick, for that, timing is
very important. With proper timing, the kicking person moves his leg
right into your fist, and all the energy with which he intended to
kick is instead returned to him with a strike. Jim also showed how to
pull the kicking leg around in the same direction it's going and work
against the opposite shoulder to unbalance your partner...kind of
circular movement.

Jim also demonstrated working against straight kicks in similar
ways...sliding down the kicking leg with the arm so that as soon as
the foot lands, the knee is straight and locked. We tried this
ourselves, with caution, of course, since it can really damage the
knees. Jim also showed us how to "pass" the straight kick to one side
and take out the base leg. It's not so much grabbing or trying to
pull on the kicking leg, as that can be rather dangerous at high
speeds, but more like slipping an arm between your body and the
kicking leg, and allowing the kicking to slide off the arm, then
taking out the base leg from behind your partner. Once again timing
is of the essence, if the kicking foot has landed and the person is
already put weight on it, it's hard to affect the base leg.

Rather than trying all these things one-by-one, Jim gave us a bunch
of ideas for our "toolbox," as he described it, and let us try them
all out as we pleased. This was not only a time-saver, it gave us a
chance to individualize the movements. We spent the last few minutes
of class working sort of freely, kicking, punching, grabbing,
practicing all the various ways to kick and counter that we had
learned. I think the free work is probably easier for most people,
even though "sparring" is sometimes considered more "advanced" in the
lingo of other MAs, but I actually find many of the Systema drills to
be more challenging than working freely. My mom surprised me, nailing
me with quite a few good strikes, and using her legs much more
effectively than when we were doing the drills. I think that working
freely, there is less internal pressure to do something "correctly"
and less of a perception of "success/failure." But at the same time,
I also think that learning new skills and working with constraints is
equally important, and I won't be drawn into sparring when the
instructor has us working on a particular drill, even though it's
easier and very often, more fun, than trying something new, or
working with just one arm, or practicing any number of things which
are more difficult than doing whatever is easiest. It's a lot like
playing music; it's fun to play songs that you know well, it sounds
good, and the audience will be impressed. But to learn a new song, or
to write your own, it rarely sounds very good at first. An audience
does not enjoy listening to someone practice a new song or tinker
around with lyrics and chords, but that's no justification for
playing the same songs over and over again.

We finished by striking each other to "get the ego out," and Jim
emphasized to strike in a positive way and not to increase the
negativity. The guys hit each other in the chest. My mom and I didn't
strike each other, because we cannot take such hard strikes to the
breasts without intense pain. This was discussed extensively on
another thread, but taking hits there is just not the same for women
as for men, just as taking hits to the groin is different for both
sexes. But as Emmanuel explained to me during his visit, women don't
carry pride in the chest in the same way that men do, so when
striking to "get the ego out," it's probably more effective to hit to
another part of a woman.

As he did on all five days, Jim remained at Fighthouse afterwards for
as long as people had questions to ask. His commitment to teaching is
obvious, and he literally would not leave until no more questions
were asked. We were fortunate to have this opportunity to ask
questions on top of the class time. Although I left right away on
Thursday, I did stick around for a pretty long time on Friday night,
to ask Jim some questions which I will describe in the next post.

(to be continued)