Six or seven beginners joined our class tonight, an unusually high
number. The weekday kung-fu classes were cancelled, and they were all
refugees from that class. Many had only just discovered that there
would be kung-fu class that night, but they were commendably good-
natured about joining Systema.

It was just me and them, putting me in the unusual position of being
the most experienced student. It was fun to work with the beginners.
Most adapted well. Their kung fu is also an internal style so I
imagine there are some similarities. Before class, some of them
expressed some trepidation about rolling, which they apparently don't
do in their class. So Edgar spent a good half-hour teaching us to
roll. I was so happy to be in this class as I had been wanting more
instruction in rolling. I am not very good at it and still get scared
to roll from a standing position. After almost a year of instruction,
I cannot help but feel as if it's holding me back, and as much as I
try not to notice, it is apparent to me that most people catch onto
rolling much faster than I have.

So we started with the easiest rolls, from a kneeling position, which
most everybody had no problem with. Then from all fours, knees off
the ground, which is kind of a bumpy ride for me but I'm getting used
to it and losing my fear. I keep hitting my head, but maybe that will
teach me to tuck it under. Then we tried rolling from a low squat,
duckwalking and tipping into a roll. I was just plain scared to do
this; part of me believes I'll break my neck rolling incorrectly.

Then we tried rolling from a standing position. Edgar explained how
leaning into a roll, you are not any farther away from the floor than
if you were on all fours. You start standing, but it turns into the
same roll you'd do if you were on the floor. He's often mentioned
this, as logical as it sounds, there is still a psychological barrier
for me.

We then practiced our dynamic rolls; our partners swept a leg
forwards and backwards, and we practiced letting ourselves be pushed
into a roll, and also rotating around and rolling in a different
direction with the leg sweep. Surprisingly, I found this easier than
rolling from a static standing position. If my partner simply swept
and actually lifted my leg, I just tilted forward naturally and my
roll was quite soft. For some reason I found this a lot harder to
accomplish without the momentum my partner provided with the sweep.

Our partners also pushed us from the back and the front and we fell
into a roll. Maybe I was just getting used to it, but I find these
dynamic rolls to easier, and I felt that I progressed a great deal in
just that short lesson. It's just a matter of practice, to get over
the fear; there is no physical reason why I cannot learn to roll.

Then we spent a few minutes on falling; a new student asked me why I
always fall with one hand behind my head. Edgar hadn't mentioned it
when he demonstrated falling, and I noticed that he doesn't always
cradle his head, so I was hesitant to tell the new student that's the
way you're supposed to fall. It's come in very handy because we are
often in tight quarters and I end up falling against a wall, a chair,
or some piece of equipment. The hand has protected me from some
unpleasant knocks.

We practiced sweeping our partners into a fall as well. Most of the
kung fu students were quite soft in their fall. A few seemed to find
the repeated falling and getting up again a bit strenuous. Their
general fitness level seemed quite good, everyone got through the
conditioning exercises pretty well for newcomers; I've seen some fit-
looking new guys collapse during our one-armed pushups or forty-
counters. We skipped the later, which had become a regular part of
our warm-up.

The newcomers applied themselves to learning to roll quite admirably,
considering that many of them had expressed some trepidation before
class. Edgar makes it look so easy, his rolls are so soft, it is
really impressive. Rolls are deeper that they may appear. It's been
said, by either Vlad or Mikhail I don't recall which, that rolling
changes your perspective, because you turn yourself upside down.
Rolls are also like a massage for your muscles, if done properly. And
the floor does not lot you get away with anything. The floor will
show you exactly where your tension lies. It's very helpful for
confronting your fear. The newcomers progressed a great deal, in no
small part due to the way they really tried to work through the fear
of falling. Edgar explained how, as children, we are unafraid of the
floor, but as we grow older and have more control over our muscles,
we lose touch with this freedom. To become friends with the floor is
to become closer to the freedom of movement we all once had as
children.

After the rolls, we did our very typical yielding exercise, pushing
our partners from front and back. Then the same thing, only back-and-
forth, exchanging energy, using the same amount of pressure and
velocity. I enjoy this sensitivity exercise a great deal. I usually
avoid demonstrating exercises, even in a classful of newcomers, but
Edgar at times has sought me out to demonstrate this one. I'm sure
I'll be accused of stereotyping, but I've noticed that women and
young people are more sensitive than other students. They seem to
grasp the sensitivity work more easily, perhaps because they are
unaccustomed to using force. It was nice to have another girl join
the class; my mom does not train as frequently as I do and I'm often
the only female. The guys are great, but it's good to have more of a
balance. Ying and Yang, it aids in harmony. There was one young guy,
maybe 17 or so, who was quite naturally relaxed. With that many
beginners, it's typical that at least one will be a natural at
Systema because of this relaxation. Such people don't have to remind
themselves to relax; it is their natural state, and I believe they
have an advantage.

To my surprise, this young man turned out to be one of my most
compatible partners. Sparring with some rare individuals, I feel we
are tuned to the same frequency. That is my most memorable training,
slow sparring in a state of flow. Not everyone wants to work this
way, or is able to. Later on, I sparred with a guy who was much too
rough, but he didn't know it. Usually beginners are more dangerous
that the more experienced students. It can be hard to let go of the
mentality of "someone's attacking me slowly, so obviously I want to
come at them hard and fast." Such tactics appear to be successful to
those who aren't abiding by the rules of the slow sparring game. All
action must be possible at top speed; speeding up isn't possible when
you are already going as fast as you can go, and likewise hitting
harder won't work if you are already hitting full force.

But it was his first class and it takes some getting used to it.
Because some people are naturally adept, does not mean that others,
who have to work harder, cannot excel just as much.

We worked on a very basic exercise, partner punching or kicking
anywhere, and doing a takedown pretty much however you wanted to. The
newcomers had some initial difficulty with this concept of "avoid,
then do what comes naturally." I sensed that they were looking for
some technique. Edgar showed several different ways to take down
someone who was punching. Then we all tried it. I think many of the
new students were surprised by how easy it is to unbalance someone.
It's movement, not force, than is so effective.

After a few minutes of improvised sparring, cultivating our natural
movements, Edgar demonstrated work on the six levels. We skipped the
first level, the wrists, but came back to it later during the elbow
exercises. We started with the head, which I particularly dislike. I
don't like people messing with my head for some reason. Maybe because
one time this girl was way too rough with this exercise, shoving down
quite hard on my head, which hurt my neck. It's hard to understand
that there is no competition in Systema, except of the friendly, good-
natured kind. Instead of trying to beat each other up, we are trying
to help each other learn. A training partner might make your work
hard to take them down, but pain shouldn't be inflected except for
tempering. In reality, I could prevail against many of my training
partners, I could actually break someone's arm or smash their head
against the hardwood floor, but my training partners aren't really
threatening my life. There has to be some difference between training
and fighting for survival, otherwise, when those dire times arrive,
you will have nothing in your reserve, having accustomed yourself to
using it in everyday circumstances.

But most people who are new take anywhere from a few hours to a few
months to get the hang of it, and most of the pain inflicted by
newcomers is quite accidental.

After manipulating the head forwards, backwards, and to the side, we
moved to the shoulders, part of the same level. We pulled on shoulder
forward, or pushed it back, and manipulated the other in the opposite
direction. We pulled both shoulders forwards and backwards
simultaneously. And we held our partner's arm above the elbow and
rotated in a large, sweeping circle, up and back, very effective for
such a small movement.

Next was the elbow, Edgar showed us the now-familiar ways of leading
the body with the elbow. With the hand on the crook of the attacking
elbow, dropping the body weight down in a wave-like motion. Also
stretching the attacking arm and dropping the shoulder onto the back
of the elbow. There are many painful ways to lock up an elbow. Most
people will drop easily to avoid doing harm to that vulnerable area.
Edgar often tells us that the elbows lead the body.

We also worked on the wrist, Edgar demonstrated a little bit of close
work; some of the students had been asking about it, having seen Jim
King demonstrate some sophisticated applications. One person
pretended to draw a knife from the front pocket, the other hit the
elbow, which actually locked the wrist against the person's thigh.
Edgar also demonstrated how you could hit the elbow and make the
person hit their own groin. We also practiced grabbing both hands in
the somewhat fanciful scenario of an attacker drawing a knife from
both pockets.

Next was the waist, I find this one of the easiest of the levels.
Simply placing both hands on the waist from behind and stepping
backwards is enough to start the movement. A poke into the waist area
works well, too. These were all starting points, usually, we had to
add a hand or leg to effect the takedown after working on specific
level.

I found my partner to be very stable in the hip area. He explained he
was from a mountainous area of Russia and was born under the sign of
Capricorn, as the reason for his stability. I can see how people from
windy mountainous regions might be more stable than those from mild
climates, but I don't know if your horoscope has anything to do with
it.

He had no trouble attacking my hips by simply grabbing my waist, but
I found pokes and shoves to be more effective to de-stabilize him.

We finished with knees and ankles in the same exercises. One person
on the ground, the other standing, and the one on the ground used
either hands or legs to manipulate the knee in two directions, also
capturing and locking the ankle. I found this easier to do with my
feet than with my hands. With the knees, you really need the two
directions. Of course you can also hit the kneecap straight on, but
it's a delicate area. I very much dislike when someone, for example,
steps on my foot and hits the front of my kneecap with their leg,
it's quite painful, but mainly I just want to protect the whole knee
area as it's difficult to rehabilitate. "Treat your joints like
porcelain," as Martin Wheeler told us.

Throughout the class Edgar discussed some philosophy of Systema, of
not "meeting fire with fire," he gave the example of just apologizing
if someone was angered by your action. Even if they are right and you
are wrong, better to pacify with words than fists. It seems a simple
thing, yet it is noble, to let go of your pride, to respect another
person even if they haven't earned that respect, to be a man of
peace, it's a simple way to live, but far from easy. He also talked
about becoming friends with the floor, of letting go of fear and
tension, which causes damage. He explained how to be a good training
partner, of how you can learn to avoid, and to fall, by letting your
partner take you down rather than competing with them.

I hope some of the newcomers return. It was fun having them in class
and the one young man was so naturally adept, I very much hope he'll
return. I sensed that the students are closely bonded with Edgar; who
taught their kung-fu class. Many had been training with him for
years. It was funny to see them all bowing to him and addressing him
as Dai Si-Hing (elder brother) when he has always been just Edgar to
us. He explained that we shake hands in Systema and that they should
call him Comrade. But it will be hard for them to drop old habits.
But I think they will make the transition to Systema easily if they
do return.

It was an excellent class, really memorable training, and I found it
so helpful to do fundamentals, particularly the rolling, and the
improvisational sparring. The fundamentals are not boring at all; the
depth to which you apply them is limitless; and after a certain
point, you realize there are no fundamentals or advanced techniques,
it's all just movement, and survivale.

*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel