Wow, I've landed on top of many of my partners in
class. They are fairly large, strong men but it can't
be that much fun for them as I am not petite. However,
unlike men, I have more soft places than sharp ones
and I don't think anyone has been hurt by me landing
on them.
During sparring, if someone tries to choke me or get
me in a bear hug, I sometimes fall backwards
intentionally just to free myself. We both go down,
but at least I am expecting it and can usually be the
first one up again.
With someone on your back is quite different, though,
because that person's feet are entirely off the
ground. I guess practice as much as you can, if you
can find a crazy friend to climb on top of you and
take a few dives.
I've broken both ankles and sprained them countless
times, corrective insoles fixed the problem (I use
these http://www.posturedyn.com/pain.html pardon me
for shamelessly plugging them, but they really did
change my life).
As previously mentioned, maybe Sharon and Walt have
something to add about falling with someone on your
back, probably soldiers trained in rescue ops know a
lot more about this than I do.
*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

--- thomas_near_seattle
<thomas_near_seattle@...> wrote:

> Responding to interesting posts by Sharon and Walt .
> .. first, thanks
> for sharing your experience as professional
> soldiers. I don't have a
> military background, but appreciate the difficulties
> a soldier would
> face in a combat situation moving around, especially
> burdened with
> protective vest, backpack and gear.
>
> I have a somewhat related query: handling falling
> with either someone
> on your back or being on someone's back. Situations
> where you might
> face this include rescue carries or fights with
> bearhugs. I've just
> been practicing with a willing partner, but it feels
> clumsy enough
> that we're still on mats, eventually hoping to move
> out to grass and
> pavement for a little reality. Rolling out seems to
> be viable where
> I'm the one on the back, but if I'm the one carrying
> or in a bearhug,
> there's less control. We're also limited in
> training by the limits
> of our skill and control in falling, and not wanting
> to land on top
> of the partner risking a cracked rib or two.
>
> In my view, although Systema training practices are
> all so useful in
> so many ways, falling and rolling are particularly
> useful for modern
> urban environments if one is prone to slip and falls
> (weak ankles and
> a serious attraction between my center of mass and
> gravity keeps me
> livin on the edge;- ] ).
>
> --- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com, Walt Robillard
> <kroh01@y...>
> wrote:
> > In Systema, how does the falling and rolling that
> you do apply to
> modern times? I have only seen little of the system
> ( and frankly i
> am intrigued), but do you do some of your training
> in modern combat
> gear including 'vests' and web gear?
> >
> > I am a long time student of Japanese martial arts
> and I know that
> when I was green (US Army), i always had an
> interesting time trying
> to do breakfalling while wearing my LBE (Load
> Bearing Equipment).
> Now don't get me wrong, i am not talking about the
> whole combat roll
> thingy you see in the big budget action ho-downs..I
> am talking about
> dodging bullets and suddenly tripping on a tree root
> or over some one
> else who falls directly in front of you.
> >
> > Just wondering...
> > Thanx for the minute...
> > WalT
> >
> > systema_group@yahoogroups.com wrote:
> >
> > There are 2 messages in this issue.
> >
> > Topics in this digest:
> >
> > 1. falling and rolling in different styles.
> > From: "Sharon Friedman"
> > 2. armour and chain mail
> > From: Rachel Klingberg
> >
> >
> >
>
______________________________________________________________________
> __
> >
>
______________________________________________________________________
> __
> >
> > Message: 1
> > Date: Wed, 08 Sep 2004 09:04:25 -0000
> > From: "Sharon Friedman"
> > Subject: falling and rolling in different styles.
> >
> > Hi to everyone,
> >
> > I am a long time Korindo Aikido student and new to
> Systema. I am
> also
> > an infantry soldier and after training with a
> Systema student I
> think
> > I have a small observation. In Japan the warrior
> class who
> > specialized in the sword and spear rather than the
> bow wore heavy
> > rigid armor while their Russian counterparts wore
> light chain mail
> > Armour and used low stirrups to mount their
> charges. From that
> > cultural and technological difference evolved two
> styles that while
> > in Korindo the heavy armored warrior would have a
> hard time to rise
> > from the ground or even bend to the sides or squat
> in his heavy
> rigid
> > Armour and I have been there myself in bullet
> proof vests that
> weight
> > twenty seven KG (60 pounds). The Russian warrior
> who had more
> freedom
> > of movement and less weight on his back could drop
> to the ground
> and
> > rise again without having use the energy of the
> fall to get up
> again.
> > he could also bend to the sides from the waist
> without having to
> > consider the weight of his helmet and breast
> plate. Another change
> is
> > that the Russians could use the movements and
> sensitivities of the
> > torso to manipulate their environment which was
> void by the hard
> > Japanese Armour.
> >
> > Many thanks for the lesson, Sharon Friedman.
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
______________________________________________________________________
> __
> >
>
______________________________________________________________________
> __
> >
> > Message: 2
> > Date: Wed, 8 Sep 2004 06:54:53 -0700 (PDT)
> > From: Rachel Klingberg
> > Subject: armour and chain mail
> >
> > Hi Sharon,
> > I have heard that the chain mail worn by Russian
> > knights led to the fluid movements of Systema,
> because
> > chain mail can only be cut by a sword if it's
> taut.
> > Like a piece of fabric, if you try to cut it with
> a
> > scissor, you have to first hold it taut. The
> > always-in-motion, fluid movements of Systema would
> > make it hard to cut through chain mail with a
> blade.
> > Knights of the British realm also wore full plate
> > armour, and it generally thought that their
> mobility
> > was severely restricted, but there are stories of
> > knights who could leap onto their horses fully
> > armoured, or run at full speed thus clad. I
> believe
> > King Edward the III was well-known for his
> mobility in
> > armor.
> > I wish there was more documentation of the
> medieval
> > history of Systema, but except for some stories of
> > exceptional battles, it seems to have been passed
> down
> > as an oral tradition, kept close within families
> or
> > monasteries. There is not much written material on
> > Systema; I only know of Vladimir Vasiliev's
> Russian
> > System Guidebook, at least in English, perhaps
> more
> > has been written about it in Russian.
> > *Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
> > Rachel
> >
> >
> >
> > --- Sharon Friedman wrote:
> >
> > > Hi to everyone,
> > >
> > > I am a long time Korindo Aikido student and new
> to
>
=== message truncated ===


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