fantastic post, rachael! sorry i haven@t been around for a while,
but the move to japan really complicated things. i can only check up
my emails at internet cafes now, and that is whenever i get the
chance to get into town. by coincidence i just came back from an
afternoon session with a russian ex soldier who seems to be a
fanatic about knives. he was taught systema during his time in the
military, but i don@t think it@s our systema, it seems to be another
one. and he has amalgamated techniques from asian martial arts in
there too - he uses a technique based system of learning. anyways,
at one point, i went to disarm him and i focused too much on the
knife, just as you described, and found that his fist had readilly
found my face! so it is important to be aware of the whole person
and not just limit you attention to one aspect or area.he also
mentioned that many people tend to tense up at the sight of knives
and this limits the choices of movement that are available to them.
it is important to be comfortable with the presence of knives.
anyways, a big thank you for your post. once again sorry for my long
absence from the group.

with the pulse exercise, perhaps at first, try and do it after
intesnse aerobic exercise, like a kilometre straight running and
fifty burpees or something. then see if you can sense the pulses and
connect them. the work you just did should make the pulses fairly
prominant. eventually decrease the amount of work you do so that the
pulse is not as strong. you should eventually, continuing in this
way, be able to sense a relaxed pulse. just a thought anyways. it
may work or it may not. anyways, take care, rob.


--- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com, "rkxyz" <rkxyz@...> wrote:
>
> Hello,
> Here are some notes from Vlad's recent knife seminars at
Fighthouse
> on June 3-4. As always, a big thank-you to Vlad for coming all the
> way from Canada to teach us, and of course to Peggy and Edgar for
> hosting another fine seminar. I don't know if you realize how
lucky
> we are in the metro NY area. In just over two and a half years,
I've
> attended 12 two-day seminars at Fighthouse, with such illustrious
> teachers as Scott Connor, Jim King, Emmanuel Manolakakis, Mikhail
> Rybako, Vladimir Vasiliev, and Martin Wheeler, many of them more
than
> once. So I just wanted to add a public thank-you to Peggy and
Edgar
> for all the training opportunities they provide for students, I am
> convinced we are among the most fortunate of all students in North
> America, thanks to their hard work and dedication.
> *Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
> Rachel
>
>
> Saturday
>
> It was great to see Vlad again. Feeling shy, I didn't want to
> interrupt his conversation with the other students, so I wasn't
going
> to greet him before the seminar. Then I saw that he was looking
right
> at me with a big friendly smile, as if he couldn't be more glad to
> see me. He's such a warm, kind person, it's hard not to feel
> comfortable around him. My mom and I went over to say Hello, and
she
> told him that working with knives was her favorite Systema topic,
and
> I admitted it wasn't mine but I hoped the seminars would change
that.
> I enjoy Systema training no matter what the topic; working with
> knives is just not one of my favorites. I'm not entirely sure why,
> maybe it has something to do with the way the knife draws the
> consciousness. Some people focus so entirely on the knife when
> disarming me, wrenching the knife out of my hand, which seems
rather
> reckless, and ignoring the rest of the body. On the other hand,
the
> person wielding the knife is usually more aware of the blade than
of
> the rest of his body, which can be helpful for self-defense. Even
so,
> I can't help agreeing with Martin Wheeler, who once told us he'd
run
> away from a schoolgirl with a rusty pen-knife. But I can't count
on
> awareness, avoidance, and discretion as my only means of self-
> defense; some things are beyond our control. Knife attacks are
some
> of the most psychologically challenging self-defense situations
and
> I'm very glad to have learned a bit about it from an expert who is
> also an exceptional teacher.
>
> We started out with the breathing and tensing exercises, which are
> described in the back of Let Every Breath. These are familiar to
most
> Systema students. We lay on the floor and Vlad led us through
inhales
> and exhales while tensing or relaxing different parts of the body,
> starting with the whole body, then just the legs, arms, and chest,
> sometimes fast, or slow, and rotating different parts. For
example,
> we'd inhale and tense the arms and legs, exhale and relax the arms
> and legs and tense the torso. It's hard to isolate the parts, to
> tense the arms without the shoulders, or the legs without the
butt.
> Incidentally, I saw a survival documentary (The Science's
Channel's
> Survivorman) where this tensing and relaxing was described as a
> defense against hypothermia. If your spine feels cold, your body
> temperature might be dangerously low and tensing and releasing the
> muscles could save your life.
>
> Vlad then asked us to feel our pulse in the temples, then the
throat,
> and then the heartbeat itself. I couldn't feel my heartbeat,
although
> I could feel it in my throat and temples. He then asked us to
connect
> the pulses, but I was still distracted by not feeling my pulse
below
> the neck. Actually I've never had much success with this
particular
> exercise, maybe because of muscular restriction (`trigger points')
> which can limit sensitivty to biorthymns.
>
> After the breathing, we did a few pushups, for which Vlad asked us
to
> move our arms around into different positions, straight in front,
out
> to the side, slide the legs back, and then 5 without breath, also
a
> few sit-ups. The no-breath is easier when you have no warning;
Vlad
> would tell us to inhale or exhale and then ask us to do them. We
also
> did 10 pushups on our partner's prone bodies, back and front,
which
> is a nice massage in some places, in others, quite uncomfortable.
> Then some pushups using knives in one or both hands, balancing the
> hilt or the point on the floor and leaning into it to go up and
down,
> or with both hands around the knife, alternating the hand that's
on
> top. I found the latter to be the easiest. We did a few squats and
> some very difficult partnered one-legged squats where you hold
each
> other's opposite leg straight and go down to the floor, sit down,
and
> rise again without letting go of each other's legs. This was a
tough
> one, I looked around and saw that very few people could do it.
Also
> solo one-legged squats where your partner holds your hand as you
go
> up and down. Vlad explained if they're having trouble balancing,
you
> can help steady them, but if it's too easy for them, to move the
hand
> around and throw them off balance.
>
> Then he showed how wiggle underneath someone on the laying on
their
> back on the floor by poking them with the tip of the knife to make
> them rise up again. He asked us to do this, on our stomachs, and
on
> our backs, and he showed how if the person sank down again while
you
> were still crawling under, continue to poke them to make space for
> yourself. It's a lot easier than doing it without the knife as we
did
> at the Delaware seminar!
>
> We also did a group drill with five or six people, tossing the
knives
> around. At first we started with just one knife, throwing it
randomly
> at another person, then two, then three, until there were as many
> knives as people. Vlad had asked us to catch the knives only by
the
> handles, making this more difficult than doing the same drill with
> short sticks, as we did at Scott C.'s stick seminars. Pretty soon,
> all you could hear was the sound of clattering knives hitting the
> floor. Most people can catch knives throw at them from the front,
> it's the ones from the side that are tricky. Since we've been
> practicing some of these exercises in Edgar's subsequent classes,
> I've gotten a little better at catching them (alas, not so much at
> throwing them). One thing that helps is to stand back a bit so you
> can use your peripheral vision to see in all directions. If you
were
> to draw a circle connecting the people throwing the knives, it
should
> be rounded, if you're standing too far in from the others,
breaking
> the curve, it's difficult to see the knives. Another thing that
helps
> is to just let the knife come to you. Of course, you have to move
to
> catch it. But if you focus on catching it like an outfielder
catching
> a fly ball, you'll miss all the other ones flying in your
direction.
> And finally, there's a paradoxical piece of advice that Edgar once
> gave me, long ago, when he was throwing a tennis ball at me from
> behind, dropping it over my head or pitching it from underneath,
and
> I kept missing. He told me to just relax and not think about
catching
> the ball. I couldn't believe how well this worked. As soon as I
> stopped focusing so intently on catching it, it became a lot
easier.
> Catching the knives is no different, it's strange how the more you
> want to catch them, the harder it is, whereas if you just let
> yourself catch them without thinking, it's a lot easier. However,
I
> only got the hang of these things in Edgar's subsequent classes; I
> recall that during Vlad's seminar, I was dropping the knives all
over
> the place.
>
> We spent a lot of time on Saturday learning how to use the knife
and
> especially the tip of it to control our partners. Vlad told us
that
> to use the knife effectively, the wrists have to be strong, but
> relaxed. A little bit later, he asked people to put their knives
in a
> pile in front of him on the floor and had us all come in closer.
> There were maybe a dozen different knives, mostly practice ones.
> Someone was called up to translate, which I think allowed Vlad to
be
> more precise in his explanations (many thanks to the bearded
fellow
> who translated for us.) "The knife determines how you will fight,
not
> the other way around," he said, picking up a short curved
> blade. "This couldn't be used for stabbing, it's for slashing,"
and
> said the same for a small blade. The most durable knives, he said,
> are the ones made entirely of one piece of metal. He picked up one
> with a hilt and said the pommel is useful so you don't cut
yourself,
> but if the metal of the blade didn't extend all the way to the end
of
> the handle, it would not be as strong. He talked about "mercy
blades"
> used in ancient warfare, long stilettos used to put gravely
wounded
> knights out of misery, and highly damaging four-sided bayonet
blades
> used for stabbing. He described a large military blade as
functional
> with a measuring ruler and serrated edge for sawing. He also
talked a
> bit about withdrawing the blade and how difficult it can be, for
that
> reason, it's not necessary to thrust so deeply to wound the
attacker.
> For non-lethal defense with a knife, he suggesting opening a small
> cut on the face, rather than slashing the throat. This will cause
a
> lot of blood flow and probably adverse psychological effect on the
> attacker. Vlad also explained how if you were cut, it was
important
> to hold the wound so as not to bleed further. Aside from not
bleeding
> out, it will also help control your own fear as well as preventing
> the attacker from seeing you bleed. He said you if you were cut on
> your hand, you could hold the knife handle against the cut in such
a
> way as to minimize bleeding, and also prevent the knife from
> slipping.
>
> While Vlad was telling us about the various knives on the floor,
he
> slipped in an interesting anecdote about soldiers who were
grievously
> wounded. He said that some of them had crawled for miles to get to
> safety, sometimes holding in their own entrails. But when they
> arrived and were under medical care, thinking they were safe, they
> gave up the psychological struggle and died. There was a kind of
> black humour in this story, but I found it rather sad. I think it
> illustrates an important point about the struggle for survival,
> particular as it was right after Vlad told us about how to
mimimize
> bleeding from knife wounds. As Paul Genge wrote on the MartialTalk
> forum, a knife-wielding attacker can still kill you with his last
> breath, and the challenge of survival might be far more than
> incapacitating the attacker, just as the wounded soldiers'
struggle
> was beyond crawling to safety.
>
> Vlad also recounted a story about a man who was stabbed in the
back
> of the shoulder with a knife, but kept on fighting, then later,
when
> he was told he had a knife sticking out of his back, he passed
out.
> Thinking about how he told us that it's not necessary to thrust so
> deeply, I can't help wondering about whoever stuck that knife in
the
> guy's shoulder. Not only did he lose his knife, but the guy kept
> fighting. It's hard to thrust deeply without also exposing
yourself
> to danger from hyperextending your arm or getting very close to
the
> opponent's blade. If you miss the vital target and thrust too
deeply
> into cartilage or bone, it could cause you to lose the knife, or
> tarry too long trying to get it out again, giving the attacker a
> chance to retaliate. There was a recent rash of subway stabbings
here
> in NYC, 4 victims in 24 hours. One of them said that he didn't
notice
> he had been stabbed until he looked down and saw blood. There are
> also anecdotes about people who have been stabbed continuing to
> fight, like Jim Bowie's legendary "Sandbar Fight", which is
probably
> somewhat exaggerated by popular imagination. But it is documented
> that Bowie was shot through one lung and stabbed repeatedly with
> sword-canes, yet still managed to kill his assailant from a prone
> position with his famous knife. Vlad demonstrated that cuts and
> slashes can damage an attacker as well as a thrust. Loss of blood,
> even from a minor wound such as a cut on the face, can cause
> psychological distress which will weaken the resolve of some
> opponents.
>
> Even though the above discussion was a bit later in the seminar, I
> think it makes sense at the beginning of these notes. But
returning
> to the proper chronology, Vlad demonstrating putting someone down
by
> poking them with the knife tip, then making him stand up again
also
> using the point of the knife, and asked us to practice the same.
For
> this, the person being poked was stationary. Vlad walked around
the
> room offering pointers. He was very engaged with the students and
I
> think he spent time teaching everyone individually. He poked me
down
> to the floor and then up again with the point of the knife and I
> moved quickly to avoid the pokes. He said, good! But I wasn't sure
> what he was complimenting me about, as I thought that the exercise
> was mainly for my partner, but when we did it again in Edgar's
class
> afterward, he explained it's also sensitivity work for the partner
> being poked up and down. At the seminar, I didn't quite understand
> this, nor did my partner, and we were waiting for pressure from
the
> practice blade to force us to fall rather than yielding to light
> contact which would be more appropriate for a knife. Of course a
real
> blade would make anyone look alive if poked! We also did the same
> thing but with the one person moving away and trying to escape the
> knife, and the other following and using either the point to poke,
> the handle to apply pressure to the areas exposed, or using the
knife
> as a lever to lock the neck or the arm, to collapse them. The
knife
> handle works very well against the fingernails and collarbone.
>
> Next we did an exercise where your partner grabs your knife hand
with
> one or both hands and you rotate your wrist to use the handle to
> apply pressure to the undersid of their wrist to break the hold.
For
> this, Vlad told us the wrist has to be relaxed, it cannot be done
if
> the wrist is tense. We spent a brief time on grab and escape
drills,
> first, empty-handed, then using the knife to counter the grabs. We
> also practiced a dexterity exercise. One person makes triangular
> opening with both hands by placing the thumb and forefingers
> together, hands flat and palms facing outward. The other person
has
> to thrust the knife through it, moving away, and back again, from
> different directions. Then the other person moves the opening
around
> at different levels and side-to-side, then finally, walks around
and
> moves the opening, at which point it does become tricky to thrust
the
> knife into the opening, timing is critical.
>
> We did a group drill where one person used the knife to defend
> against two. Vlad demonstrated this slowly: the two were only to
> approach the one with hands outstretched at head level, as if to
> grab. They were not to rush in and tackle the one in the center;
we
> all had to respect the knife even though most of us were working
with
> dull practice blades (Earlier, Vlad told us that live blades are
> rarely used in martial arts training for legal and moral reasons,
all
> it takes is one idiot to inflict serious and possibly lethal
injury
> to a student). The person in the center had to use the knife to
> defend against their approach, using the tip to cut, the edge to
> slash, putting them into each other, etc. I corralled a Systema
> teacher for this one, as I felt it would be good to get some extra
> advise, so we had a group of four. But I don't think one extra
person
> makes much of a difference. The teacher in our group went first to
> give us some ideas. I went next, I wasn't sure exactly how to
> proceed, but the teacher said I was doing well. Suddenly Vlad was
at
> my side saying, good! I got nervous at his sudden, unexpected
> presence and froze up. Vlad gave us a brief demonstration. I saw
that
> he was much more proactive with the knife, where I had been sort
of
> waving aside the attacking people; he was using it decisively,
making
> small cuts and slashes, in a more offensive way. After that, I
forgot
> my nervousness at being observed. it was easier to continue.
Vlad's
> demonstrations are more helpful than any words, just watching him
> makes the principles so much more clear.
>
> Returning to pairs, we did a fairly straightforward drill where
your
> partner comes at you with the knife, you take him down and make
sure
> to control the knife or disarm, but using one arm only. This
sounds
> harder than it is. Actually, I find that using one arm doesn't
make
> much difference. Sometimes it can even be easier, because when
using
> one arm, there are less choices, less to think about, you just
have
> work with what you have. For some reason, I find that the
> restrictions free my mind, maybe because I have a kind of
reserved,
> restrained personality, and if there are too many choices, I find
> myself unable to move decisively. I think that's why working in
> confined spaces, especially against the wall or in a chair, is
some
> of my favorite Systema practice.
>
> We also did the same drill but both partners had knives. One
person
> attacks the other, who has to use the knife to defend, by using
the
> knife to rotate or lock the attacking arm, or just taking them
down,
> but making sure to control or disarm their knives and positioning
> your own knife at a vulnerable point. Our focus on Saturday was
very
> much on using the knives, and especially being aware of both the
> attacker's blade as well as our own. The knife leaves no room for
> sloppiness. Vlad said it's important to know where the knife is,
not
> where your hand is. He demonstrated aiming his hand at someone's
neck
> while the point of the knife missed entirely, or slashing in a
wide
> arc and cutting himself accidentally, as examples of how this lack
of
> awareness can be costly.
>
> Vlad also showed us a bit about withdrawing and drawing the knife.
> For withdrawing, he had someone hold the knife between their
palms,
> hands pressed firmly together, with the handle facing outward.
Vlad
> showed us how pulling the knife straight out was very difficult,
as
> mentioned earlier when he explained that it can be difficult to
> withdraw the knife from a body. He demonstrated twisting the
knife,
> then withdrawing, and also rocking the knife either upwards or
> downwards, then withdrawing with a rapid whiplike motion. I found
> that with the rocking the knife up or down, you have to withdraw
it
> quickly, dropping your body weight as you pull it. Simply tugging
> won't do the trick, you first have to twist or rock it up or down,
> and then withdraw it as if cracking a whip. Even though it's only
> between one person's two palms, it's actually a lot harder to
> withdraw it that one might have guessed. Vlad also had us leading
the
> person holding the knife between the palms, walking around holding
> the handle of the knife, leading them up and down, etc., and they
had
> to follow and stay close. He also showed up how you can draw the
> knife from the waist or pocket by extending the leg back, moving
leg
> first, to make it come out more easily. He had us practice this
and
> when he came to me, he said I should make sure to move the leg
first
> before drawing the knife. Not only does it allow the knife to be
> drawn more quickly and easily, it's also a distraction, because
the
> movement of the leg camoflauges the knife itself. To practice the
> draws, our partners approached us and we had to draw the knife as
> Vlad had shown us and touch them with it, front or back. Sounds
> simple, but timing is everything, and sometimes, my partner had
> already walked too far past me by the time I drew my knife.
>
> For our final exercise, Vlad asked us all to walk around, and each
> time he clapped, we were to draw our knives. At first we didn't
quite
> understand, everyone just drew their knives and sort of wondered
what
> to do. Then he told us that when he clapped, we were to either
fall
> or roll, draw the knife, and be in a position of readiness with
it.
> I've always enjoyed these "clapping" drills where you have to fall
or
> roll or lay flat each time the instructor claps. It's very much
like
> a game, but at the same time, it's completely practical, you don't
> have a chance to plan what you are going to do, so it's great for
> practicing spontaneous movements.
>
> Vlad asked us if we had any questions, but I don't think anyone
did
> on Saturday evening. He explained everything quite well, sometimes
> through a translator, and he also went around the room instructing
us
> individually. A great experience for all of us, I am sure. A few
> hours later, Edgar and Peggy set up a marvelous Russian banquet
and
> we all enjoyed many delicious authentic foods, wine, and beer, and
> good conversation with friends. Although I will post again about
> Sunday, I just want to include a quick thank-you to Edgar and
Peggy
> for being such terrific hosts, and for arranging another fine
seminar
> at Fighthouse, and of course, many thanks to Vlad for coming all
the
> way from Canada to teach us, and to everyone who came to
participate.
>