Thanks Sean,

I take no offence, however I am amused at how easily ruffled you American? women get when the someone expresses or challenges your opinion.

I am basing my opinion on experiences both gained both in the armed services as well as on the street as it applies to battle tested individuals and the results of those on one battles.

The woman combatants were for the most part very seriously wounded compared to the men, (this is reality not American Hollywood at its finest, not the WWF battle of the sexes nonsense.)

Murders can be committed by anyone, but that wasn't my point nor was it the topic of Rachel's original posting?

Apologies if you feel threatened or offended, but I will hold on to my opinion based on what I have experienced over the years.

I do not make any apologies for stating that I have never met any woman in Systema or any other Martial art that is of the same fighting calibre as an equally trained man.

That is a fact.

That applies to my dear sister who is an extremely well trained combatant well versed in Systema.

She is of the exact same opinion, and as a law enforcement officer she so rightly states that in all out combat the only real gender equaliser is a bladed weapon or firearm and your skill at using it.

Good luck on your training, if your'e attending the Japan Seminar both I and my sister would  love to meet & train with you and Rachel.

best regards!

On 8/9/07, sean davis <sadavis7154@yahoo.com> wrote:

With all due respect,

 

I applaud the zeal that both of you bring to the forum, it is a testament of both, your passion for the System ,and a credit to your self development. However, I must say to you dear Andrew, Rachel was responding to questions that I directly posed to her, so please be easy. It wasnt a challenge to men, or an endeavour to launch a campaign for a battle of the sexes. ;)

Rachel i deeply thank you for they very concise letter you wrote in response to my questions. I will aply apply the jewels you have expounded when and where needed. I wish to continue future further dialouge if thats is order.

 

Friendly greetings and best wishes on the journeys of you both,

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Sean

rkxyz < rklingberg@pace.edu> wrote:

QUOTE:
However a better skilled woman especially in systema can definitely
overcome a poorly skilled man, that's what is so good about Systema.

Here you are saying exactly what I said in my original post. I do not
understand why you simultaneously agree and disagree.

QUOTE:
Whilst I agree that some women make excellent fighters, my experience
in and out of the armed forces has shown me that men are naturally
built like natural weapons(due to natures design)and therefore an
equally trained men is at an advantage in a physical encounter over a
woman.

That assumption could easily get you killed. You must also take into
account whether one combatant is armed and the other is not, their
determination to succeed, whether or not they will sacrifice their
own life to take your own, whether one person is more fatigued,
dehydrated, cold, hot, or injured than the other, and whether both
are alone or have additional support, if one person is familiar with
the terrain and the other is not, how well each of them handle
adrenaline and fear... if you take a look at Vlad's "Ability to
Fight" chart: http://www.new-pony.com/systema/RMA.jpg there's nothing
on there about gender or build, although "physical shape"
and "physical condition" do appear, and I guess you could say those
are loosely tied to gender.

If you have a man and a woman with exactly the same amount of
training, precisely the same level of skill and overall physical well-
being, squaring off face-to-face, neither will be surprised, and
neither is armed, then I completely agree, the man has the natural
advantage of strength. If you can guarantee that every conflict will
be as such, it would be foolhardy to think that a woman has an
advantage. I guess it depends on what sort of conflicts you encounter
and whether they would ever fall outside this face-to-face, equal
skill, no suprises, no weapons, perfectly matched in every way except
for the natural differences of the sexes. For some people, that may
be the only conflicts they need to train for, but my experience with
being assaulted does not fit this description.

I stand by my original post, Andrew: individual psychology is more of
a factor than gender. Of course, anyone is free to disagree, and
quite a few men believe they have a natural advantage. 9.5% of
murders committed in the U.S. between 1976-2005 were committed by
women against men. Natural advantage is no guarantee of survival, and
those male victims of murdering women are testament to that.

Perhaps a more humble person would concede that the inexperienced men
in my class can easily prevail over me, but I can only base my
assumption on what I've learned from training with them. I can't
speculate about what they might do; I have to consider what they have
actually done. Skill acquired through Systema training is more of an
advantage than gender. Thus the smallest guy in my class, who is
considerably shorter, lighter and less strong than the big muscular
guys, has no disadvantage when training with them because he has more
skill due to his many years of training. His natural physiology is
smaller, lighter, and less muscular than many female practitioners
I've know. It is only through training and acquiring skill that his
natural "disadvantage" becomes less significant that his skill.

Vlad once said, "don't give the other guy too much credit." IMHO it's
a mistake to assume that you can prevail over anyone, whether it's
based on your skill, gender, or any sort of natural advantage you
feel you have. But neither is it sensible to assume that everyone can
destroy you. There is no way to predict the outcome of any given
conflict. We all know it's not the same as training in a class where
your partners do not intend to take your life. But there's no way to
simulate life-threatening situations without the actual threat of
death. Still, it's pointless to say that it's all useless and we have
learned nothing from Systema merely because we haven't used it to
preserve our lives in a true survival situation. My entire class are
civilians and we do the best we can. Assumptions about any natural
advantage or disadvantage do not serve us well. The Systema mindset
is flexible, not predefined.

Forgive me for being arrogant. That's only my opinion and everyone is
free to disagree.

*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

--- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com, "Andrew Martini"
<7thphoenix@...> wrote:
>
> Hello Rachel,
>
> Nice Post!
>
> Vladimir's "Let every breath" is essential in understanding how to
control
> your body/mind properly for sure.
> I've been training in Systema for about 10 years now, and whilst I
agree
> with a lot of what you're saying, I think you have to be more
realistic also
> in your rating of said self's abilities.
>
> It is vastly different training with fellow students that do not
have an
> intent of harming you and are somewhat cooperative compared to the
> individual intent on hurting you at all costs on the street.
>
> Systema does a great job in preparing you to flow in every which
way so you
> can overcome your would be attacker or at least survive.
>
> However, I would fall far short of making the assumption that every
man you
> train with could not deal to you in a life an death situation if
they had
> to.
>
> The success in survival and an mounting an attack is definitely 90%
> psychological, as mentioned on prior occasions Systema frees the
individual
> of those panic attacks and mental blocks which are responsible in
making so
> many individuals freeze during an attack.
>
> Letting your Body/mind react instinctively.
>
> The development of Systema and the Russian fighting arts is, like
all
> fighting arts, traced to the warriors of Russia and more recently
to the
> commando units .aka Spetsnaz.
>
> The Russians have always understood the importance of the body/mind
> connection on on natural flow, so I wouldn't lump this principle
with the
> new age concept.
>
> It has been around for centuries.
>
> Whilst I agree that some women make excellent fighters, my
experience in and
> out of the armed forces has shown me that men are naturally built
like
> natural weapons(due to natures design)and therefore an equally
trained men
> is at an advantage in a physical encounter over a woman.
>
> However a better skilled woman especially in systema can definitely
overcome
> a poorly skilled man, that's what is so good about Systema.
>
> You stated that a lot of guys try to come in all commando style,
and whilst
> that may be true especially in Canada and the U.S.A I also have
seen many
> women that cannot and do not flow well at all when training in
> Systema.Theytry to force techniques and use whatever physical
> attributes they have ,
> this is especially true of women that have ring experience or have
trained
> in traditional Karate/Muay Thai or wrestling.
>
> Spetznaz troops move very freely flowing in and out of an attack
and often
> disrupting the attacker and overcoming the would be opponent,
regardless of
> their size.
>
> They are adept at dissolving an attack even before the proponent
has fully
> launched into a full flight assault.
>
> Because they have mastered themselves first, they are masters of
their
> mind/body, they totally understand who they are and the environment
around
> them and the laws which govern who they are and the how the
universal
> principles apply to themselves and everything they interact with.
>
> I wholly and heartily recommend every individual training in
Systema to read
> and watch "Let every breath" as a first but extremely essential
step in
> helping you become a master of your body/mind and your own Universe.
>
> It may sound new age but actually it has been around since the
beginning of
> mankind and is a fundamental concept that has been and is enacting
itself
> all around us all the time.
>
> Systema helps you tap into this, thus freeing you from your limits
and you
> will become one with it.
>
> Happy training.
>
> Cheers!
>
> -Andrew
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 8/7/07, rkxyz <rklingberg@...> wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> > In response to your question, I have been training 3X a week for 3
> > years and 10 months. I remember the date so exactly because I pay
my
> > class tuition on the 15th of every month. I live in NYC and train
at
> > Fighthouse with Edgar Tsakouls http://www.fighthouse.com
> > I think individual psychology is more of a factor than gender. I
> > guess women have one advantage in that strength is rarely an
option
> > in a class full of men, and there are very few women in Systema
and
> > in martial arts in general. So women have to learn the skills, we
> > have no choice if we want to excel. Sure, it can be a bit lonely
> > sometimes, being the only woman at a seminar of 50 men. At the
2005
> > training camp, there were about 95 men and only 5 women. But
that's
> > more of a social reason than a practical one. Most guys are nice,
a
> > few feel humiliated that a woman with a lot of training is a
better
> > fighter than a man with almost none. In general, Systema guys are
> > decent, gentlemanly types who respect women who can fight rather
than
> > feel threatened by them.
> >
> > I wouldn't say Systema is easier for me because I am a woman. It's
> > easier for me because I was able to learn to relax more quickly
than
> > some other students. This is the single hardest thing to learn.
You
> > can pick up the other foundations of Systema, the breathing,
constant
> > movement, and correct posture. But you simply cannot force
yourself
> > to relax. Systema is 90% psychological. If it wasn't, I would not
> > have come this far. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I'm one of
> > Edgar's top students, I rarely miss class. The last time I missed
a
> > Systema class November of 2006. So because I am diligent, I have
> > learned more than students who train sporadically or only once a
> > week. But I am neither strong, nor fast, agile, certainly not
> > aggressive, I have no desire to "beat" anyone, in fact, I'm
actually
> > a shy person. Systema is so effective that even though most of the
> > guys are bigger, stronger, more competitive, and have a lot more
> > invested in "winning," very few are any match for me. This is not
a
> > testament to my superior skills. It's just that diligent Systema
> > training will have that effect on anyone! And I have a great
> > teacher :)
> >
> > The most important thing, in my opinion, is to relax mentally and
> > physically and to use proper breathing as described in Let Every
> > Breath. Don't try to "do" something to your training parter. Let
the
> > movements of the attack guide your defense. Sooner or later it
will
> > all blend together. By defending, you also learn effective
attacks.
> > It's a very small difference between attack and defense, very
often,
> > it's simply a matter of who starts the engagement. Anything you
use
> > to defend can also be used to attack and vice-versa.
> >
> > Lots of guys want to go all commando, they get lured into Systema
by
> > its connection to the special forces and the military. Systema is
> > extremely brutal and effective, yet it is not possible without
what
> > some would consider the more New-Age-y side: breathing and
> > relaxation. My advice is to not overlook these key components of
> > Systema simply because they don't appear dramatic or exciting.
Don't
> > be shy about coordinating breathing to movement. I have seem many
> > students who do not progress because they are unwilling to explore
> > the so-called "softer" side of Systema: relaxation and breathing.
> > These are the very things that may save your life if you are held
in
> > a tight joint lock or sustain a mortal wound and feel your
strength
> > ebbing away. I always remember that Vlad told me Systema is 90%
> > psychological and that means that whatever movements and
techniques
> > you practice, ultimately it's your own psyche that will aid your
> > survival.
> >
> > Hope this helps. Good luck with your training and *vsego
> > nailuchshego* (best wishes),
> > Rachel
> >
> > --- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com <systema_group%
40yahoogroups.com>,
> > sean davis <sadavis7154@>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > thanks a million Rachel,
> > > I will do that. How long have you trained, where are you located
> > and was you treated differently being a woman in the system? Or
did/
> > does it come easier to you than it does with men, We have a
tendency
> > to use strength where grace is needed. Sorry if im asking to many
> > questions
> > >
> > > Sean
> > >
> > > rkxyz <rklingberg@> wrote:
> > > Hi,
> > > Have you tried the training partners section of Vlad's site:
> > > http://www.russianmartialart.com/main.php?page=partners
> > > If there's nobody listed nearby, try posting a question to the
> > forum,
> > > they might know of another student in the Frankfurt area. That's
> > > probably your best chance of finding someone in your area.
> > > Good luck and best wishes,
> > > Rachel
> > >
> > > --- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com <systema_group%
40yahoogroups.com>,
> > sean davis <sadavis7154@>
> > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > hi im living in germany, Frankfurt area which is west germany,
> > all
> > > schools for systema are in east a great distance from where i
> > reside. I
> > > was hoping someone may know of someone who may be a certified
> > trainer
> > > are at least trained in the art. living in the area (hessen)
Anyone
> > got
> > > any clues?
> > > > thanks
> > > >
> > > >
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> > >
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> > >
> >
> >
> >
>

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