Well, I am jelous. My trainer does not know any of that. I've been
going there for a month and it is insane what he is doing. .

I am done with systema due to a fact that instructor is not safe to
be around him.

Good luck Rachel.

Mike

--- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com, "rkxyz" <rkxyz@y...> wrote:
> Hm, I don't know what a downspiral press on a head is, but it
sounds
> painful. Our training isn't rough, just tough. The hardest part for
> me is all those conditioning exercises, especially the push-ups and
> sit-ups. When we just do them in the beginning of class, it's not
too
> bad, but lately we've been stopping our sparring every few minutes
to
> do a bunch more pushups, 40-count squats, etc. The actual drills
> aren't too rough, though, at least not for me, my mom, and the two
> other women in the class. There is no shortage of volunteers when
our
> instructor wants to demo a drill, even though they get knocked
about
> quite a bit. I think the guys enjoy it. But if Edgar demos on one
of
> the women, or the few guys who just started, he's quite a bit
gentler
> because we are relatively new to Systema. Actually Edgar and our
> senior student are my favorite training partners because they are
so
> gentle; I think the more experienced the Systema-ist, the less
likely
> they are to be rough. But there is one drill where Edgar is not at
> all gentle, though I wouldn't go so far as to say he's rough.
That's
> the pain-compliance, limb-twisting drill where two people grab your
> wrists and twist as hard as they can while you try to escape.
Somehow
> I always wind up partnered with Edgar for this drill, and he shows
no
> mercy. It's quite painful; Edgar told me "a little pain is
healthy."
> I think this kind of stoicism is part of the Russian concept of
> physical fitness. But other than a little soreness around the
wrists,
> or some mild soreness from the conditioning exercises, I'm never in
> pain the next day. If I start class a little bit sore or stiff, I
> always feel better after class. The only exception is one time I
was
> trying to do a backwards roll and my neck was sore for a few days.
I
> can't seem to get the hang of rolling backwards. But Edgar does not
> insist that anyone do any drill or exercise if they don't feel
> comfortable doing it. Sometimes, no-one in the whole class can do
the
> exercises he demonstrates (like 'walking' on the shoulders with
legs
> straight up in the air). However, I have some videotapes of
training
> at the Toronto School and it looks to me as if Edgar is a bit more
> gentle than Mr. Vasiliev and his instructors. Of course the guys on
> those tapes are volunteering as well, but I for one, would not line
> up to have Mr. Vasiliev hit me with a huge stick, punch my internal
> organs, or twist all my limbs like a pretzel. All of those are
> thought to be beneficial and even healing to the victims, er,
> volunteers.
> I hope your trainer does not insist on these rough drills; after
all,
> you are civilians and paying for instruction which presumably is
> going to make you feel healthier, stronger, and more confident
rather
> than causing pain. Might be a good idea to avoid training two days
in
> a row. Systema training should enhance rather than limit your other
> physical activities. I would not hesitate to tell your instructor
not
> to hurt you; a good teacher should not insist on that sort of
> training.
> Good luck and *vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
> Rachel
>
>
> --- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com, "mikezcnc" <eemikez@c...>
wrote:
> > Very interesting stuff, Rachel except for the fact that one writes
> > CusteMa as in Russian lower 'u' means our 'i' (for lower case
> > letters), for upper case leteter it is mirrored letter 'N'...
> >
> > PS I wrote capital M as lower case m would mean our 't'...
> > But like you said it all means 'System'.
> >
> > Gosh I am hurting now. The trainer did a downspiral press on a
head
> > on me and it was already after previous hurts that way... Do your
> > trainers act like if you were a 16 old recruit with expandable
life
> > span of maximum 1 year and then they get the next one? I cannot
go
> > to the training for the second day... how rough is your training?
> >
> > Mike
> >
> >
> > --- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com, "rkxyz" <rkxyz@y...> wrote:
> > > I think the CNCTEMA with "n" reversed is Cyrillic for "System"
> > > (Systema is sometimes referred to as "The System). It looks a
> > little
> > > different than other Cyrillic I've seen, which has much less
> > > resemblance to the English alphabet. The bat thing is a Russian
> > > Special Forces (Spetsnaz) insignia. I think it is also used to
> > > indicate military intelligence units. I don't know why they
chose
> > the
> > > bat as their logo. Some people are afraid of bats, but without
> much
> > > reason, as well as the Spetz, but with reason--they have a
> fearsome
> > > reputation. I've seen the one that looks nearly identical to
> > > Batman's logo as well as another logo with bats silhouettes
> flying
> > > over a moon. Kind of Halloweenish with superhero overtones, but
I
> > > think the bats might have something to do with the covertness
and
> > > secrecy which characterizes spec-ops. You can see all the logos
> > here:
> > > http://www.spetsnaz.com.br/insignia.htm but they don't explain
> much
> > > about the bat and what it symbolizes. Some Systema tee-shirts
> have
> > > the Spets logo on the sleeve but mostly it is used only by
> Systema-
> > > ists who were or are actual Spetsnaz.
> > > The other logo that is on the front of Systema tee shirts is
the
> > > figure of a medieval knight with some Cyrillic words that I
> believe
> > > mean "Russian Martial Art" The knight alludes to Systema's
> ancient
> > > Slavic heritage as the fighting system of Cossacks and other
> > medieval
> > > Russian warriors. Because Russian knights did not have plate
> mail,
> > > they became adept at fluid movements that allowed their chain
> mail
> > to
> > > protect them. Apparently chain mail can be cut by a sword if
it's
> > > stretched tightly enough, whereas if it's in a state of
constant
> > > fluid motion, it's harder to slice through it. If you've ever
> tried
> > > to cut ordinary fabric, you might understand this principle, as
> > > fabric is much easier to cut when stretched tightly. My
> instructor
> > > always tells us that if we relax our muscles, a punch or knife
> > thrust
> > > will be less damaging than if our muscles are tensed up.
> > > Anyway, I've gone off on a tangent. I wish I knew more about
who
> > > designed the knight logo or does it have a history that goes
back
> > > farther than the creation of the standard Systema tee-shirt you
> see
> > > in every school. Also I am curious about the symbolism of the
> bats.
> > > There is a Russian ethnic group called the Bats, I wonder if
> > there's
> > > any connection? (http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/bats.shtml) Of
> > > course the word for "bat" is quite different in Russian.
> > > *Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
> > > Rachel