Our last few classes have been fascinating, and very challenging! We
worked on various grabs, chokes, and holds. Systema, though not
aggressive, is quick, brutal, and efficient; even in slow motion,
some movement is so subtle, it can be hard to see what is happening.
Although I had specifically wanted to learn more about this
particular topic, I don't find this work as enjoyable and relaxing as
slow sparring. We placed each other in uncomfortable positions, and
you either find the solution, or else endure the discomfort. Planning
your action is not only detrimental, but can be quite painful, as
well.
Watching Edgar's demonstrations, it seems that freeing from holds can
mean sudden movements, "breaking the tension," of a static situation,
as I have heard it described, with sharp blows or other surprising
movements. As Edgar explained, it's a little more "physical" than
other kinds of work. As I found out today when I asked if you can
also hit with a locked elbow. Indeed you can, and very effectively,
too, as he demonstrated with a painful jab to the ribcage with a mere
tap of the fist of his locked arm. I can only imagine if that tap
were a little harder. I think that I would have hit the floor in less
than a second, and it gave me a lot of respect for the work at hand,
and its value to the professionals.
Although some of the work eluded me completely, other ways to free
myself seemed almost too easy. My mom had both hands around my neck
and was pulling me down, and I was able to free myself by taking a
step and simultaneously pushing against her hip (with correct timing,
of course). It seemed too easy to really work, but it's simple
physics, as Edgar explained. There is nothing magical about it
whatsoever and anyone can learn to use these principles. But you must
believe that there is always an escape, if you think that escape is
not possible, you will be less inclined to look for it and more
likely to remain trapped. I thought my mom must be going easy on me
because we were both tired, so I tried putting both arms around her
neck and pulling down as hard as possible. I tried several times to
do this, but she threw me off quite easily, simply by taking a step
and pushing my body away.
We also practiced several other variations in movement that allowed
us to escape with minimum effort. We practiced both avoidance, with
correct timing, and escape, with more sudden movements. Several
different wrist and elbow locks, grabs around the neck, under the
arms, also a few chokes, and various holds, and ways to escape, such
as rolling to escape from a grab around both legs (an attack from the
ground), and swiveling with the opposite leg in order to free a grab
to one leg. With the latter, it's easy to break the attacking arm.
With holds to both legs, Edgar demonstrated how to roll free and
change direction to attack--offensive rolling. He also showed up how
to rock back on one heel, then forward, to break the hold by creating
a little space. You only need a little space to free yourself, as we
learned. I found it helped to view freeing myself one step at a time,
by first creating a little space,instead of thinking, how can I break
out of this uncomfortable position?
We also practiced pushing each other's heads in a downward direction,
such as pushing straight back, or to one side. The head must follow
the body, right? Edgar showed us an easy way to escape from a push to
the side of the head, by letting the head be pushed, and then, simply
by sinking a bit and rotating the body underneath the head to match
the angle so the posture is restored and the spine is straight. I'm
sorry I cannot explain it better, but it was such a lovely escape, so
simple, seamless, and almost invisible, allowing a few more valuable
seconds in which to work.
That last exercise in particular helped me better understand
the "flying center of gravity." When I first read the description in
the Guidebook, I had trouble grasping this concept. I remember
thinking, OK, the body rotates in circular or eliptical fashion, but
it also moves up and down, and also sways like a pendulum? Huh?
Training is the only way to understand such concepts which can seem
daunting on paper, but really are not so difficult in practice.
I think this kind of work is excellent preparation for defense
against criminal attacks, especially for women or for those who might
be likely targets for kidnapping. (Obviously anyone can benefit from
such training, but those two scenarios spring to mind.) It clearly
demonstrates that superior strength does not mean the attacker will
have the advantage. Also, it's helpful pain-compliance exercise, as
you learn not to tense or resist against the pressure, but to take
the path of least resistance, to relax and yield, and of course,
escape from static positions, so it's also a confidence-building
exercise. The arm may be locked, but the body is free, and the escape
can be as simple as taking a step.
Some of the chokes and grabs we practiced are situations which I once
would have thought inescapable, but when Edgar demonstrated the
various ways to freedom, I was suprised at how simple it can be. I
noticed that focussing too much on the trapped limb seemed to
counteract my escapes, and remaining relaxed helps with the
discomfort, and also, to avoid injury. Although not really painful
when my classmates placed me in wrist locks or twisted one arm behind
my back, it was definitely uncomfortable, and the longer I hesitated
to find the solution, the greater the discomfort. Certainly an
incentive to avoid the pitfalls of planning and thinking instead of
just moving.
When my mom grabbed me, I found that simply by yielding, and not
tensing up, I was halfway to freeing myself, and a taking a step,
three-quarters of the way, and escape was just a matter of a few
pushes. But, as Edgar told us, timing is everything, and there were a
great many exercises I didn't find so easy and effortless. He
explained to us that it's best to avoid such situations altogether by
escaping. But he emphasized that you don't want to make your escape
too obvious to the attacker. Movement should be smooth and fluid, and
timing correct, and this way, the attacker will be fooled into
thinking his grab has been successful. Such fluid movements fool the
attacker's eye, as well as his body, because you "slip away while
maintaining contact," as the Guidebook describes it. So the
attacker's sense of vision and the sense of touch are fooled into
believing the attack has been succesful and the mind also believes.
Such fluid, "seamless" movements can also be calming. "Pacing and
leading," a well-known NLP technique, illustrates how physical
actions can be used to influence the unconscious behaviour of others.
It sounds rather dastardly, but it's actually quite commonplace and I
feel it's just human nature, not some mind-control trick. There are
many positive ways in which we respond to movement and touch. Posture
and body language offer clues to our personality and intent. I use
often use body language with animals, with horses, for example, my
body language says that I'm the "alpha," but with horses who have
been abused, I assume a non-threatening neutral posture because there
is no need to establish a hierachy when the animal is already
terrified of you. Much has been made of the "horse whisperers," but
such a skill is not a unique talent that only certain gifted people
possess, it's just being sensitive to the language of animals,
instead of trying to teach the animals how to comprehend human
language. Sensitivity is an important part of maintaining harmony
with the world; I find it's better to change myself to suit my
environment that to expect that I can alter my surroundings to suit
my own personality. "Like water," is an oft-used analogy of martial
arts; water can break stone, yet it can also slip through the
smallest crack.
I consider movement, body language, posture, even handwriting to
related aspects of the same kind of non-verbal communication. And I
think non-verbal communication is a means for protection as a
species. Whatever dangers are affecting one animal, chances are the
entire herd will be affected. It's no longer necessary for humans to
act with "one mind" but the mechanism is still there, for example,
panic spreads easily among a crowd.
But even if you do not believe movement can affect another person's
emotional state, a relaxed and smiling demeanor may defuse the
situation by conveying such a sense of confidence and control that
the attacker begins to doubt his own capability to carry out the
attack. That is how Vlad explained it on the H2H tape, and you can
see this smiling confidence in the security clips of his brother
Valentin disarming the knife-wielding thief (these were posted to
Vlad's forum, http://www.russianmartialart.com/forum). I do not think
it is an exaggeration to say that a conflict might be de-escalated by
calm movements and a light, non-threatening contact, but it's best to
reach your own conclusions based on your explorations into this
fascinating subject.
I have drifted considerably from my original topic, our work with
holds, grabs, and chokes. Writing about Systema has made it
especially apparent to me that you can't seperate it into this or
that element, it's all the same, it's not doing one thing in
particular, to me, it's more like a state of mind. Whether it's
taking a breath, or defeating a life-threatening attack, or
even "buttering toast," as Mikhail Ryabko describes it.
Edgar presented some useful principals for working with holds, grabs,
and chokes, which I have included below. They aren't unique to
working with holds, grabs, and chokes, in fact, he has often
mentioned them in other contexts, but I think he presented them to us
as especially useful for our topic at hand, because especially with
chokes, there is very little time in which to find the way to escape.

Follow...do not resist. When someone pulls your arm or tries to choke
you, do not pull back or resist, but yield in the same direction,
while keeping your posture, or restoring it if your partner has
broken it. Also do not be tense or rigid, as it will be easier for
someone to break your bones if you are rigid.

Create support. It's hard for me to explain this concept as I am only
just learning about it. If someone's got your neck locked and is
trying to push your head forward, you can place your hands in front
of your head to halt their push. Or similarly, if they are trying to
bend your wrist towards your body, you can place the other hand flat
against your palm to limit the extent that they can lock you. I think
it's not unlike slipping your hand against your neck while someone is
trying to choke you. This may not free you, but it will give you a
few more seconds of oxygen so that you have time free yourself.

Make the other person "weightless." Start by moving them a little
bit, by taking a step, rotating the neck or shoulder, or moving the
part of the body upon which their balance is resting. Don't plan for
anything further to happen, or try to maneuver them into a favorable
position, just move see if you can move them "two inches" and other
opportunities will crop up. Most people will want to restore their
balance once it has been broken, and this means less mental energy to
devote to completing the attack. And this is why the high-level
practitioners like Martin Wheeler are so amazing to watch, because
they are far less likely to focus all their consciousness on
restoring balance, since they can work from literally any position.

Please do not forget that I am new to the System! This is my training
log, my personal experience with Systema class, and I don't think it
should be viewed as a recommendation or suggestion for other students
to follow. It is just a documentation of the experience, but words on
a page, no matter how numerous or carefully-crafted, can never
capture the experience, as my teacher always tell us when we ask too
many questions, "Just try!" And I think that is very sound advice.