Hello,
Here's my training diary #5, Wednesday's Systema class at Fighthouse
(fighthouse.com, instructor Edgar Tsakouls:

Class started with the usual grueling warm-ups. For the record, I
can't do one-handed pushups and forty-counts squats. But in trying to
get to the "controlled fatigue" state, I just give it my best shot.
For the pushups, some women place their weight on their knees, so
that the pushup isn't so difficult. I don't like to do this, having
just recovered from knee injuries that required 4 months of physical
therapy. I get into pushup position but barely lower myself down,
sort of a baby pushup. If my arms feel like they are going to give
way, I just hold myself in the pushup position, which is pretty hard
for me to do. With the leg lifts, where you are supposed to lie on
your back and slowly bring your legs over your head so your toes are
touching the floor behind you, I generally can't get my legs any
further than straight up, perpendicular to the floor. Same with
squats, my butt isn't almost touching the floor, as in a true squat,
I am more in a sitting-in-a-chair position. I modify the exercises in
this way to follow the breathing patterns, in through the nose, out
through the mouth, and avoid any gasping intake of breath, but use
the short "puff breaths" if I am running out of oxygen. I'd rather
cheat on the physical aspects of the warm-ups and follow the
breathing than, say, use a giant exhaled breath to force my legs over
my head, which I can certainly do, but the idea for the warm-ups is
controlled movements and breathing. My mom's in much better physical
condition, she's been working with free weights, but she tends to cop
out on the pushups. That's perfectly fine, we're not in a high-school
PE class, and anyone can opt out of any exercise or drill, but I
think it's better to try, corny as that sounds, I think it shows a
more dedicated student, to do just one modified warmup exercise and
breath with the instructor, than to sort of collapse laughing and cop-
out of an impossible exercise like a one-armed pushup or forty-count
squat.
The practice part of class always begins with a yielding exercise.
Today our feet were planted while our partners shoved at us, and we
practiced yielding with just the parts of the body that were being
shoved. The idea is to teach your body how to move all its limbs and
muscles separately, very challenging. Then we proceeded to "sweeping
aside" arm strikes, sort of like a swimming motion with the arm to
redirect the force of the blow away from our body. Partnered with our
instructor, I did pretty well on this drill, and the instructor
encouraged me with much positive reinforcement: "Yes….yes…beautiful!"
as he struck at me. However, we added a quick sort of pressure-point
strike to startle, followed by an attack on one of the "six levels"
to "fold" our partners down to the ground. So, although Systema has
no techniques, per se, we were working on a three-part exercise, and
when partnered with another, very talkative classmate, I just lost
it. The exercise was first, sweep aside the blow, next, inflict
sudden pain on a tender area: twist the skin overlaying the ribcage,
or dig into a certain point near the collarbone that I never did
find, or the back of the neck, again, couldn't get that point, or the
lower back, which I had an easier time with, or the armpit, which I
found pretty easily. These points correspond to areas where many
people are ticklish, so that part wasn't so hard. The only thing is
my partner kept talking. Granted I need all the instruction I can
get, and he is an experienced Systema-ist, but it's impossible for me
to process detailed verbal instructions about the exercise and at the
same time, employ the movements in an instinctual way. I was making
good progress but once partnered with the talkative classmate, I had
to step backwards in the exercise until I was just trying the "sweep
aside the blow" part of it with absolutely no success. The instructor
noticed my difficulty and took over; the talkative partner took a
break and I fared much better after that.
I sought out my mom to practice the "folding" part of the exercise,
because I know she will yield to help me learn. She did help me
figure out how to do this exercise in one smooth movement: sweep
aside the arm, inflict momentary, startling pain, see where the body
is off-balance, then use that oh-so-evasive "wave-like" movement of
Systema to almost rock the opponent down to the ground. It's very
hard to describe this "wave-like" movement, so effortless does it
appear to be when a Systema-ists employs it to down someone. My mom
and I practiced on each other, and it's worth noting that newbies
like us can practice together just as effectively, sometimes more so,
as a newbie and an experienced partner. Note that I have had some
good sparring with my talkative classmate, but for some reason last
Wed. we just didn't click.
I also got a little exposure to "pain compliance," in the form of one
of my partners bending back my wrist until I groaned in pain, also
our instructor twisted the skin near my ribcage rather sharply and
that, too, was pretty agonizing. Pain compliance is a big part of
Systema, getting used to a state of discomfort. It's good to know the
limitations of your body, and expand them. For example, with my
partner who bent my wrist, he was pretty amazed at how far he could
bend my wrist back without causing me to even wince, and by doing the
exercise a bit more sharply until I fell to the ground, I know now
that my wrists are much more flexible than I had supposed, perhaps
all the typing I do, LOL (I am a professional webmaster). But as far
as grabbing the skin over my ribcage, where there's no muscle of fat
to provide a softening layer, I think that anyone would have to yield
to that kind of pain, no matter how flexible or stoic they are.

Class, as usual, extended a good hour beyond the time it's supposed
to end, then there were just four of us left. Because of this small
group, Edgar took some time to teach my mom and I some groundwork,
rolling, falling, yielding. That was the most fun as we rolled around
the dojo pushing each other like kids romping around the room. Also,
rolling on the floor is relaxing and good for the spine. One exercise
I like to do is curl up in a ball, holding my legs against my body
either by wrapping my arms over my shins or underneath my kneecaps
and against the back of my thighs, and rolling backwards and forwards
over the floor, keeping my spine curved. It's a Pilates-type exercise
that massages each verterbrae and is so relaxing and invigorating, I
try to do this exercise before each class.

I hope you've enjoyed my training diary, I will be keeping it up,
describing my twice-a-week lessons and perhaps some of the practice
I've been doing out of class with my mom and one of my classmates
with whom I've become friendly.

*Vsego nailuchshego* (All the best),
Rachel