Hi Rob,
Thanks for the ideas about the pulse work! Yes, I think that if my
heartbeat was elevated, it would probably be easier to sense it.
After doing Vlad's inhale/exhale breathing exercises, I was so
relaxed, my pulse was pretty slow and regular. Running a kilo is not
exactly my favorite activity! I have to admit I am quite lazy about
running. And if I'm out of breath and my heart is pounding after
doing our conditioning exercises, then I think that I haven't been
paying attention to my breathing. Although sometimes if we're doing a
lot of takedowns, I do get a bit out of breath. Being knocked down,
and standing up again, over and over again for a few hours does tend
to get me winded. But for Systema practice, I try to avoid getting
getting my heart rate too elevated. Edgar's classes are long,
generally 2 1/2 to 3 hours, and I would not have the stamina to make
it through the whole class if I get too winded.
But outside of class, I think I could try just doing a few jumping
jacks or even just dancing around to fast music for a few minutes to
get the heart-rate elevated, and then try to sense it. But my
ultimate goal is to be sensitive enough to detect it at a normal
heart-rate.
Thanks for the ideas! I hope you are enjoying your new home in
Japan...I know there is a small Systema group there, not sure where
they are in relation to your location, but I think you can find their
information on Vlad's site russianmartialart.com
*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

--- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com, "ibnmazir" <ibnmazir@...> wrote:
>
> 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.
> >
>