I will do that. How long have you trained, where are you located and was you treated differently being a woman in the system? Or did/ does it come easier to you than it does with men, We have a tendency to use strength where grace is needed. Sorry if im asking to many questions

Hi,
Have you tried the training partners section of Vlad's site:
http://www.russianmartialart.com/main.php?page=partners
If there's nobody listed nearby, try posting a question to the forum,
they might know of another student in the Frankfurt area. That's
probably your best chance of finding someone in your area.
Good luck and best wishes,
Rachel

--- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com, sean davis <sadavis7154@...>
wrote:
>
> hi im living in germany, Frankfurt area which is west germany, all
schools for systema are in east a great distance from where i reside. I
was hoping someone may know of someone who may be a certified trainer
are at least trained in the art. living in the area (hessen)Anyone got
any clues?
> thanks
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on
Yahoo! TV.
>

Hi,
Have you tried the training partners section of Vlad's site:
http://www.russianmartialart.com/main.php?page=partners
If there's nobody listed nearby, try posting a question to the forum,
they might know of another student in the Frankfurt area. That's
probably your best chance of finding someone in your area.
Good luck and best wishes,
Rachel

--- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com, sean davis <sadavis7154@...>
wrote:
>
> hi im living in germany, Frankfurt area which is west germany, all
schools for systema are in east a great distance from where i reside. I
was hoping someone may know of someone who may be a certified trainer
are at least trained in the art. living in the area  (hessen)Anyone got
any clues?
>   thanks
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on
Yahoo! TV.
>

Hi im johnny come lately, i was first introduced to systema, via
youtube. fell in love with it, however im residing in germany (west )
and all the schools are in the east, might anyone know of anyone in
the frankfurt area who studies or who may be a certified instructor.?

thanks a lot.

Although I don't log my classes as diligently as I did when I first
started, I still keep occassional notes about our training at
Fighthouse. Here's a page from my training journal, from a class a
few weeks ago in which we did some line exercises, calf massage,
practice with strikes and defense from a chair.

Edgar had the whole class lay face-up in a line, then one-by-one, the
person at the end got into pushup position and walked on the fists
over the entire line. This can be a bit painful for the line, if the
person walking is tense. I did not want to do it because of 'tennis
elbow' – not from playing tennis, it's just tendonitis. The doctor
says I have aggravated it by doing pushups, which I know is hard to
believe, pushups are supposed to be good for you, right?
Unfortunately they've had rather the opposite effect; even on my
knees, my body weight is supported only by my arms and so I've
decided to hold off on them for awhile – instead I do these exercises
with a stretchy band that have been very helpful in strengthening the
tendons.

Anyway I don't like to go on and on about my health problems, so I
opted to leave the line rather than go into another long-winded
explanation, till one of my classmates summoned me back and suggested
I just walk over everyone, which was a good deal easier, I am sure.
The line turned over to their stomachs and this was rather more
pleasant than front-side up, like a massage.

Next we "passed" each other down the line, the person being passed on
their fists, and the people laying down grabbing hold of each ankle
and passing. This requires a lot of teamwork – you have to make sure
the person you are passing the ankle is ready to receive. We also
rolled down the line.

Then we got into groups of four; two people faced each other
kneeling, arms around each other, and the other two stepped on their
calves. This is great for lower back pain; almost everyone
accumulates tension in the calves. Edgar advised us to use the blade
of the foot and apply pressure. It's quite astonishing how painful
this can be. Reading about it, hardly sounds too bad, the calf is a
very dense muscle, so what could be so painful? But you have to
experience it to know what I mean. "Horrible, isn't it?" I said to
the guys on the ground, as they groaned and clutched each other. I
reminded them to breath and assured them they'd feel much more
relaxed afterward. But as I stepped on them, I found myself sort of
brushing their backs, almost unconsciously, trying to reassure them
that I mean to help and not to hurt. Then it was my turn and it was,
just as I predicted, quite painful. I just tried to breathe through
it, but a few times I flinched and pulled my calf away. It's good to
keep a close eye on the person as you step – ease up a little if the
pressure is too much, and move to a different area of the calf.

One guy was experiencing his very first Systema class; I told him
that was probably one of the more painful things we've done and that
it wasn't quite so agonizing all the time. Afterwards, one of the
guys told me that was the most physically painful experience of his
life, worse than having his jaw broken. I was surprised but pain
that's fresh in the memory always seems worse. I remember as a teen,
my stepfather digging a particularly nasty splinter dug out of the
palm of my hand, which took more than a half-hour of prodding with a
sharp needle. I insisted it was worse than fracturing my ankle, but
it probably wasn't, just seemed so at the time. (By the way, I have
since found a sharp Exacto blade to be more effective at removing
splinters than a needle.)

After that we paired up and practiced pushing strikes into each
other, back and forth. Exchanging energy – that's the hard part.
Edgar encouraged us to direct our pushes into the spine to affect the
posture. The newcomers got a sense of striking with precision and
good energy, not just hitting for the sake of hitting. Then we hit
each one at a time, practiced absorbing both by relaxing (using the
wave) and by tensing the part that was struck and staying straighter.
But we remained in the same place for both kinds of absorption,
except for a slight shifting of the feet. My partner, a petite woman,
hit hard, but without precision. I tried to encourage her to find the
best spots rather than striking aimlessly. Later, one of my
classmates suggested to me that a lack of desired response –
flinching, pain, or fear - makes her hit harder and harder but it was
an absorption exercise for the one partner as well as a striking
exercise for the other, so good absorption doesn't necessarily equate
to a bad strike.

Edgar had us form two lines, and the person at the end moved a few
feet away, the rest of the line walked directly towards him, one by
one, "zombie-like," and his task was to redirect the approaching
person with the fists. To do so, you have to step to one side, catch
the person between steps, and then push. Timing is very important,
Edgar demonstrated how much easier it is to redirect someone when you
catch them between steps. Almost everyone in my line stopped before
they reached the person, rather than walking "through" them. Of
course this makes it more difficult – easier to influence a person in
transition, and there's no way to catch someone between steps when
they aren't moving. It did make it a good deal harder for the
beginners to redirect. I'm not criticizing my classmates, just
pointing out a fact. Some were new, others were not, but very few
were able to walk directly into the person, although we were only
pushing and redirecting, so it wasn't painful, but I guess it's hard
to overcome the tendency to avoid even mild discomfort.

We also practiced some leg-work, one person approaching the other,
just walking directly into them, and the other kicked and then
followed up with punches. We had to practice not telegraphing, it was
almost like a stopping kick, just lifting the leg, but Edgar advised
us to use the cross-leg and target the partner's leg diagonally,
aiming for the inner thigh, which is quite sensitive. I still have
bruises. It was only a few days later that I understood this exercise
more completely; the "stopping" kick doesn't just stop them, but
disrupts their posture – the leg is stopped, while the upper body
continues forward.

Next Edgar dragged over some folding chairs. "What's Edgar doing?"
one of classmates asked curiously. "We're going to break some
chairs!" I said. "Really?" he asked, quite surprised. I assured him
that I was kidding, although four-legged casualties are not unheard
of when we practice fighting in the chairs. I recall one party at
Fighthouse after one of Vlad's seminars where he had the misfortune
to be sitting in one of our more roughly-used chairs, and the chair
spontaneously gave out and Vlad went tumbling to the ground, to
everyone's amusement.

I'm quite fond of fighting in the chairs – maybe because when sitting
down, it's easier to fend off attacks. It is also fun to attack
someone in the chair – kind of like the horsing around that your
parents warned you not to do indoors. Edgar assaulted me in the
chair, he was smiling as I defended myself, I guess he knows that I
enjoy fighting in confined spaces. He suggested to us that we use our
hips, rotate to avoid the incoming attack, and draw the person in so
that we could counter easily. For example, if someone is punching you
in the chair, you can avoid the punch, allow their arm to extend into
your space, and use your foot to push against one of their legs,
stretching them out until them collapse. If they are kicking you, you
can swivel your hips, avoid the kick and slip your leg or arm under
it to pull the kicking leg forward a bit, using their own energy,
which Edgar describes as "stealing the step." I also had fun
attacking Edgar in the chair, it's good practice for falling and
rolling, as you have to be careful not to bang against the chair - or
the knees and elbows of the person sitting in it!

Practice came to an end with only one chair destroyed, perhaps the
folding chairs aren't durable enough for this sort of thing, but it
certainly was fun!

*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

Hi,

Thanks for the note and for doing that search for me. Actually I have
"Let Every Breath".

I was hoping the Guidebook had more elaborated teachings on the core
principles
(relaxation, breath, posture, movement). For example, VV mentions on
one of the DVD's
that four parts (he points at the shoulder and hip joints) are
important and hard to relax.
Given this, I have four points to check (among others) as I try to
stay in the principles.

I'll keep looking.

Thanks,

Liam

Hi Liam,
Wish I could help you but I treasure my own copy and can't be parted
from it :) It is too bad the book is out of print - it's an excellent
resource for those interested in Systema. I've checked Amazon,
abebooks, and eBay and I don't see any copies, but you might keep an
eye on those sites and possibley one will be available. I
believe "Let Every Breath" has replaced the Guidebook (you can
purchase it at www.russianmartialart.com). "Let Every Breath" is
probably a better resource for training information, as it deals with
that topic exclusively, whereas the Guidebook has some information
about Spetsnaz training.

Maybe you will find this interesting - these are Systema principles:

Physical

- Continuity
- From Support
- Coupling of Forces
- Circles and Spirals
- Work based on situation
- Any body part-strikes
- No compulsory tactics
- Non-completeness of movements
- Breathing
- Changing Position
- Apply strong to weak
- wave
- Impulsiveness
- working around or cutting the force
- points of pain
- from any position any strike
- economy of movements
- pendulum
- independence of movements
- folding movments

Psychological

- do not be agressive
- use everything for victory
- live in harmony
- it is not a weapon that works, but the person
- think, think, think
- there are no rules of how to work
- fear & anger have their place and are necessary
- fear should not disappear completely
- to slip away without breaking contact is the goal of combat
- no matter what you demonstrate do not be afraid to seem funny or
awkward
- everything has to be done with awareness and relaxation
- perform the work with the least possible effort.

*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel


--- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com, "liam.comerford"
<liam.comerford@...> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I'm new to Systema so I'm looking for all the information I can
get. I noticed that the "Russian
> System Guidebook" by Vladimir Vasiliev is out of print. Does anyone
on the list have a copy
> they'd like to sell?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Liam
>

Hi,

I'm new to Systema so I'm looking for all the information I can get. I noticed
that the "Russian
System Guidebook" by Vladimir Vasiliev is out of print. Does anyone on the list
have a copy
they'd like to sell?

Thanks,

Liam

Thanks for the compliments about my post, guys. That's great news
about the video, Charles, thanks for letting us know. Solo trainers
won't be the only ones to pick up this video - Martin is a top-notch
instructor and we will all benefit from this release.
*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel


--- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com, Charles Long <longc@...> wrote:
>
> Great post, Rachel. I'm one of those who has to train alone. I did
get to
> go to a seminar back in March. I spoke with Martin Wheeler while
there and
> he said he was making a video on solo training which would be sold
through
> Vladimir's site. He indicated that it would be ready in several
months so
> it could be coming out soon. that is good news for all us soloists.
>
> Charles
>

Great post, Rachel. I'm one of those who has to train alone. I did get to
go to a seminar back in March. I spoke with Martin Wheeler while there and
he said he was making a video on solo training which would be sold through
Vladimir's site. He indicated that it would be ready in several months so
it could be coming out soon. that is good news for all us soloists.

Charles

Hello,
A new member wrote to ask me:

Hello,
A new member wrote to ask me:

...for those with limited access to instructors and experienced
training partners what is the most recommended way of training. I
appreciate that you don't need someone to breathe, roll move
etc but for strikes, kicks etc and feedback whats the best way.

Of course, I have suggested Vlad's essay "Training Without a Partner"
http://www.russianmartialart.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=101 Another
great resource is Israeli instructor Sharon Friedman's blog:
http://systemablog.blog.com where you will find many drills and
suggestions for solo training. I thought I'd share a few ideas in
this message - and I hope that some of you will offer additional
advice. Let me preface this, for all new members, by saying that I
have been a Systema student for 3.5 years and am by no means an
expert, so please do not consider this as anything more than
suggestions from a fellow student.

Limited access to instructors is a challenge - one I've never had to
face, fortunately, as a student at Fighthouse, we are quite lucky to
have three certified teachers in three locations and more Systema
classes than I have time to take. But I have read a few suggestions
on Vlad's forum from students who are far from Systema schools. Many
use Vlad's forum liberally - it is the best place to ask questions
and get virtual guidance from the instructors, who are always glad to
help. Students without instructors also try to make the most of the
closest seminars they can find - even if only a few times a year.
Systema people are amazingly helpful and hospitable to fellow
students from out-of-town - it's not uncommon for people to open
their homes to complete strangers simply because of the Systema
connection. So if you are thinking of traveling to a seminar but are
a bit daunted by traveling far, I encourage you to post on Vlad's
forum and the local students will certainly reply with advice about
traveling, directions, places to stay, local eateries, and of course
traveling on a budget is always a topic of discussion. While at the
seminar, it's also good idea to ask the instructor for advice and
suggestions about continuing your training at home, without
instruction or partners. I read a write-up of a recent New Zealand
Systema seminar where the instructor spoke about training from DVDs
and information from the Internet. The instructors are very
supportive of students learning on their own.

But - this is a huge "but" - some people are geographically distant
from even the occassional seminar. So, we all know that breathing and
rolling can be practiced solo, just as the new member described. But
I'm going to write a few lines about it anyway. Falling and rolling
softly is such an important life skill - it's not falling and rolling
specifically, but the transition from standing to the ground to in-
between and back up again - it's difficult to be equally comfortable
at all levels. I think there are few students who can't use more
practice with this - regardless of whether they have regular access
to instructors. I highly recommend Roy Poyton's essay on falling and
rolling: http://www.systemauk.com/art6.htm and for a beginner's
perspective, a few years ago I wrote on this topic: http://www.new-
pony.com/systema/fallingandrolling.html

To make falling and rolling practice more dynamic even without a
partner, you can use various accessories and obstacles. I remember
one class where we were doing lots of rolls and Edgar scattered all
kinds of chairs, wooden blocks, and training equipment all over the
floor as a challenge to us. Rolling is not just a gynastic exercise -
it's also about adapting to circumstance. It's challenging for me, so
I often practice just the roll itself, trying to get my rolls more
controlled. Slow rolling is very good for this - rolling vertebrae-by-
vertebrae, forward and backwards. But rolling and falling solo can
also be more dynamic. You can mark a line on the ground (I use my
bandanna) and see how closely you can roll over that. Or throw a
practice knife or any item and roll to put yourself close enough to
pick it up. Roll from a seated position in a chair, or roll over the
chair. When practicing outside, I like to use the trees and bushes in
the local park as "training partners," falling and rolling around
them, or keeping my eye on one as a "target" while I fall and roll in
various directions, or "tripping" myself over the roots and trying to
land softly....there are so many different ways to practice falling
and rolling solo, I think it can be learned quite well even without a
training partner. But of course, if you can get a friend to push,
pull, or trip you, that's even better. Your friend doesn't have to be
a martial artist, just willing to shove you around a bit!

So I've rambled on about rolling because it is quite easy to practice
by yourself, but the question wasn't about rolling - it was about how
to practice strikes and kicks without an experienced partner. I would
venture that while a partner is indispensible to this kind of
practice, an experienced partner isn't necessarily so. I often train
with inexperienced partners and I suspect many students with regular
access to instruction also train with beginners. But of course it's
easier with an instructor for guidance. Lacking that, I'd suggest
DVDs - even though Systema is highly individual, sometimes it helps
to just mimic the movement you see on the DVDs, as a starting point.
Keep in mind that strikes and kicks are still Systema movement - so
incorporate them into your movement drills rather than treating them
as a separate topic. Avoidance and yielding drills can be the
foundation for striking and kicking drills. Striking in particular
can be physically and psychologically damaging if done with ego or
ill intent. There are considerable advantages to learning strikes
from an instructor - not that I am saying no-one ought to try without
one, just that it is a somewhat advanced skill. You can't *want* to
strike or kick your partner, it's too narrow a goal and will distract
you from other dangers, - which sounds rather vague and New Age-y, I
know - but your goal is survival and a strike just happens to be one
way to accomplish that when the opportunity presents itself.

You can start by pushing your partner with your fist, seeing where
you pushes break his posture. Generally pushing into the spine will
cause a person to bend, whereas pushing straight is more likely to
make him turn. Move all around your partner, pushing different areas
with your fist, including the head, legs, and arms. Experiment with
different placement and what feels comfortable - remember to keep a
straight line from your wrist to the top of your hand, and your
fingers neatly aligned so that your fingers and knuckles don't stick
out. You can also strike lightly, moving around your partner and
hitting the muscular areas. Don't hit the joints - there is nothing
to be gained by physically hurting your partner. Get comfortable with
the placement of your fist on your partner's body. Of course, switch
roles. And ask for feedback - it's important to avoid provoking fear
and distrust. It seems a little strange, after all, who isn't afraid
to get hit? But practice is never one-sided; as you are learning
about delivering strikes, your partner is also learning how to avoid,
absorb, or deflect strikes, and how to handle fear. Feedback is so
important because if you generate too much fear, it's actually
counterproductive - it's like if you're afraid of water, and someone
throws you into a pool and says "sink or swim!" - it can easily make
you more rather than less afraid of water and we do not want to
increase fear of contact through Systema practice.

Once you are both comfortable with the placement and precision of
your strikes, you can begin to work on avoidance, either from a
stationary position or by rotating and stepping around. It's easier
to work from the contact, since your direction of escape will be
obvious, so work slowly when avoiding contact. I think we've all
experienced the unpleasant effect of turning right into an incoming
punch in a mistaken effort to avoid it. Conversely, there's nothing
fun about clocking your partner twice as hard as you intended because
he turned into your fist. If this happens, slow down a little until
you are sure of your avoidance. One person can strike the other, who
avoids, or you can exchange strikes and practice using the wave to
generate your strike as you avoid your partner's. If you feel
comfortable with that, have one person walk right into the other, who
rotates to avoid and delivers a strike as the other walks past him.
Be careful not to retract your strikes - you want to strike "through"
your partner as part of your avoidance, not bounce your fists off
him. The hardest part about that drill is that you must walk right
into your partner as if you were just going to plough right through
him. You can't stop a few inches away - you must accept that you will
be hit and that's why it's so important to make sure that practice
with strikes is not increasing fear. If your partner is visibly
disturbed by your strike - if there is fear in his eyes as he
approaches you - no-one will benefit from it. Fear of pain is one
thing - we all have that, it's perfectly natural for the body to want
to avoid damaging itself, and that's why we practice tempering fear.
But training partners shouldn't fear each other and if they do, it's
almost impossible to progress. It does happen, so don't be alarmed -
just step back a bit, slow down, maybe work on another exercise for a
few minutes until a positive environment has been restored.

One of the hardest parts of learning to strike is relaxation - you
can deliver a hard strike with a rigid arm and tightly-clenched fist,
but it does not penetrate nearly as deep as a relaxed arm, it is not
as adaptive, it is much more visible, and it also takes far too long
to "load" such a strike. In a dynamic situation, you will need to
strike from any position, and there may not be enough time to clench
your fist, pull back your arm, and find the target. For example, if
you're practicing grabs and escapes, your partner grabs you around
the neck, and you slip underneath his arm to emerge behind him
(without doubling over, of course) - you can also strike him as you
are slipping underneath his arm. You're going in that direction
anyway, adding a fist to the end of your arm isn't going to change
your movement. But if you try to draw your arm back, clench your
fist, and aim for your target, you'll be spending far too much time
and mental energy on the task - and might forget altogether that you
intended to slip out of the grab and emerge behind him.

I have written so much in response to the question, yet I am not sure
if it's helpful to people training without experienced partners,
because I've only relayed what I have been taught about strikes from
classes, seminars, and DVDs. I guess what I am trying to say is that
the training methodology might be a little more challenging without
access to instructors and experienced students, but it's the same
training, it's just that you will have to rely more on DVDs for
instruction and Vlad's forum for feedback to learn Systema. I met a
guy in Delaware who was a solo trainer, supplemented with the
occassional seminar, and he was one of the best students there. If
you can get a small group going, that's even better, but even if you
just have one friend, you can still learn Systema. And even if you
have no-one, simply practicing falling and rolling will give you a
good foundation. It is harder without an instructor, no-one would
dispute that, but it's human nature to find a way around such
obstacles.

Maybe someone else will add to this rather long message, meanwhile,
good luck and *vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

Man, only if we knew who's doin' the spam. So we can
give them the special treatment right to the solar
plex! (hehehe) Why is it with people trying to make
money. In the old days of martial arts people are
chosen and I think Rachel, by reviewing them then
you'll see their real intent to be in our group. peace
out to all
Pete
--- rkxyz <rklingberg@pace.edu> wrote:

> Hello,
> Due to the increase in spam lately, I've decided
> that membership will
> now be by approval only. Membership is still open to
> everyone, but new
> members won't be able to join instantly. Each will
> have to be reviewed
> by me first before they can post to the group. I
> hope this will keep
> the spam in check. I never intended to act as
> moderator for this group,
> and for the first few years, it was fine, but at
> this point, lots of
> spam has been slipping in so I have to take a more
> active role in
> preventing these people from joining the Systema
> Group.
> My apologies to anyone who has gotten this spam in
> their mailbox. I
> hope we'll see much less of it in the future.
> *Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
> Rachel
>
>

__________________________________________________________
8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time
with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut.
http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news

Man, only if we knew who's doin' the spam. So we can
give them the special treatment right to the solar
plex! (hehehe) Why is it with people trying to make
money. In the old days of martial arts people are
chosen  and I think Rachel, by reviewing them then
you'll see their real intent to be in our group. peace
out to all
Pete
--- rkxyz <rklingberg@...> wrote:

> Hello,
> Due to the increase in spam lately, I've decided
> that membership will
> now be by approval only. Membership is still open to
> everyone, but new
> members won't be able to join instantly. Each will
> have to be reviewed
> by me first before they can post to the group. I
> hope this will keep
> the spam in check. I never intended to act as
> moderator for this group,
> and for the first few years, it was fine, but at
> this point, lots of
> spam has been slipping in so I have to take a more
> active role in
> preventing these people from joining the Systema
> Group.
> My apologies to anyone who has gotten this spam in
> their mailbox. I
> hope we'll see much less of it in the future.
> *Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
> Rachel
>
>




________________________________________________________________________________\
____
8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time
with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut.
http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news

Hello,
Due to the increase in spam lately, I've decided that membership will
now be by approval only. Membership is still open to everyone, but new
members won't be able to join instantly. Each will have to be reviewed
by me first before they can post to the group. I hope this will keep
the spam in check. I never intended to act as moderator for this group,
and for the first few years, it was fine, but at this point, lots of
spam has been slipping in so I have to take a more active role in
preventing these people from joining the Systema Group.
My apologies to anyone who has gotten this spam in their mailbox. I
hope we'll see much less of it in the future.
*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

Dear members,

Sorry about the spam that has slipped in lately. I try to keep an eye
on the group but can't check it every day and people will slip in and
try to spam us. I have banned the members who post inappropriate
content and will continue to do so.

Currently I'm working on my notes from Alex Kostic's recent two-day
seminar at Fighthouse, so stay tuned for more from my training
journals!

*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

Well, I think we'd all agree with that, Jimmy. Since there is open,
unmoderated membership in this group, spammers occassionally slip in.
I apologize for that, but I don't have time to qualify each and every
would-be member. So far we have had very few problems so we should
just overlook the occassional off-topic post and I'll delete them as
appropriate.
*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel


--- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com, "Jimmy" <jrobertson2652000@...>
wrote:
>
> Dear Group,
>
> Systema is not used to take on the world .Vladimir teachs avoid the
> conflict.As he mentions in his book your a master when you know when
> you can preserve life and know that its there when you need it.These
> bozos running around thinking that we need to go around eliminating
> people is just not right Systema is used for the good and we should
> treat it as a gift from Vladimir to us and not abuse the art.
>
> Thank you
>
> Jimmy Robertson
>

Dear Group,

Systema is not used to take on the world .Vladimir teachs avoid the
conflict.As he mentions in his book your a master when you know when
you can preserve life and know that its there when you need it.These
bozos running around thinking that we need to go around eliminating
people is just not right Systema is used for the good and we should
treat it as a gift from Vladimir to us and not abuse the art.

Thank you

Jimmy Robertson

From the archives - this seminar with Vladimir Vasiliev took place on
Saturday, March 11th, 2006, at the American Karate Studio in Delaware.

The night before this seminar, I was up very late, there was a crisis
at the animal shelter where I volunteer. So I had a stressful
evening, very little sleep, and was a little late meeting my
classmates, we were all driving to Delaware together in a car rented
by my classmate and his wife. I was still kind of sad about the
previous night. On the Jersey Turnpike, I said bitterly to my
classmate sharing the backseat, "I wish  I didn't care about anyone
but myself, then I wouldn't be hurt by the suffering of others." This
thought had occurred to me before, that compassion is a burden. But
he said to me, "Yes, but then you couldn't share in the happiness of
others, either," which made me realize that compassion is not a
burden, it's a gift. So that kind of set the tone for a rather
philosophical day of training for me, and also my first "away"
seminar as I have not been traveling much since I first started
Systema.

After a nap in the backseat and many cups of Starbucks coffee, I felt
a bit brighter when we got to Delaware, and was glad to see some
familiar faces from summer camp. Vlad greeted me when I walked in,
complimented me on my writing which always makes me feel good, but
particularly coming from Vlad. I told him how much I enjoyed the
recent seminar with Emmanuel and how all of his instructors are such
great teachers.

The American Karate Studio  is a very large facility, and quite
impressive, with two big training rooms, an observation lounge, and a
supply store. Pat Caputo told me it used to be a movie theater. Since
we had a few minutes before the seminar began, the students were
walking on each other's backs. My right shoulder and upper arm were
very tight and painful, I think from the stress of the previous
evening. I had my classmate step on my back, and it was horribly
painful, a sharp, needling pain that was way beyond the discomfort of
a vigorous Russian massage. I knew that something was stuck, for it
to hurt so bad that I couldn't even talk. But the heavy weight of
being stepped on gradually eased my muscles back into the proper
position. When I sat up, I felt a million times better. As the
training progressed, I felt more and more relaxed and pain-free,
despite my lack of sleep and my rather upset stomach and general
malaise I had felt when we left NYC.

Vlad started us off with the standard conditioning exercises, the sit-
ups, pushups, leg lifts, and squats. I was in the room closer to the
rear entrance and it was a bit hard to hear Vlad; later on I moved to
the larger room to be closer to him. I think we did the warm-ups with
inhale/exhale for one movement; inhale/exhale on the downward press
of the pushup, inhale/exhale as you go upward. I don't know if
there's a name for this slight variation (is it "split" breathing?);
usually in class we do one inhale for down, one exhale for up.

Vlad kept asking us what we wanted to do, holds or knife work, elbows
or strikes, etc, and it was hard to decide. Of course, we wanted to
do everything. I think the general consensus was strikes. It wound up
being sort of an "intro to Systema" seminar covering some
foundational topics. Vlad explained everything beautifully, with a
natural progression. Just the right amount of knowledge, not too
much, not too little. I think Vlad's teaching has gotten better and
better, from watching his early videotapes, to training with him
nowadays. Of course his English has also improved so that does help
to communicate some of the ideas.

After that, we started with what Vlad described as a "warrior" drill,
which I have come to interpret as accepting a lot of hits which may
be psychologically uncomfortable. This was a slapping drill; you
simply slap your partner energetically as he moves around to absorb
the slaps. I tried this with a fairly substantial guy whom I felt
comfortable slapping pretty hard; and then we switched partners and I
was paired with a petite woman who I did not feel as comfortable
slapping as hard. I guess that I am a bit of a sexist despite my own
views on the equality of men and women, because it is harder for me
to hit a petite woman than a big sturdy guy.

Vlad talked a lot about timing. He said that when you attack your
partner, you expect him to "do" something in return, and sometimes
it's good to change the timing, wait another half-second to break out
of this pattern of expected response. I saw him do this a lot at the
seminar; he'd hesitate for just a split second, long enough for the
other guy to think that he wasn't go to do anything after all, then
he'd respond with a hit or a takedown that was unexpected. He also
told us not to rush to "do" something to our partners. "Be patient,
get comfortable," he said several times throughout the day.

We did a grab and escape exercise, still getting warmed up. Some
people new to Systema misinterpret these kinds of drills, which I
consider to be more like a yielding exercise than sparring. Of
course, it can be done that way, too, but I think the idea was just
to get us moving well and it's better to do slowly. My partner
approached me slowly, then sort of speeded up to ensure he'd get the
grab. A sort of mental trick that would be useful in other
circumstances, but not necessarily for a warm-up. I could see how
this would be useful because I was fooled into thinking he was going
slowly so I'd escape slowly, then he'd suddenly grab me quickly. Of
course, I should be able to match his speed no matter how much it
varies so it wasn't necessarily "wrong" as not entirely in the spirit
of the exercise. Because if your partner's task is just to escape,
and not respond, and yours is to grab, then you shouldn't put too
much stock in the fact that you can get a hold of your partner. It
does not mean your partner can't escape from a simple grab, only that
it's easy to grab someone when you know they aren't going to respond
in kind, neither hit nor kick nor touch you in any way – well, of
course the grabbing person has a bit of an advantage but it's just a
movement drill so not really necessary to prove anything with this
one.

So, when I failed to escape and my partner got the grab (which
happens sometimes even when my partner is moving at a slow consistent
speed, as I don't always evade properly) I wasn't sure if I should
try to escape from the grab or hold, or just start the exercise
again. I was confident that I could escape or at least make a very
good effort to do so, however, I felt that I didn't have "permission"
to take things any further than evasion, for example, later in the
seminar, one of the senior students from Fighthouse showed me how
with grabs, using the wave-like movement to affect your partner's
balance and take him down and off of you, works better than fighting.
But I wanted to keep things in the spirit of the exercise, if it was
grab and escape, and I failed to escape, then I should start over,
not free myself. But I think this led to a sort of unproductive
feeling between both of us that I was failing over and over again to
complete this basic Systema drill. But we soon switched partners,
Vlad switches us frequently. I found most of the karate students
(about half the participants), very good to work with, they were for
the most part, very open-minded and accepting of Vlad's teachings.

I was working with one guy and he was having trouble getting out of
my grab around his neck. I advised him to move one leg back to sort
of ease himself out of the grab with a step backwards. Edgar compares
this movement to a cat backing out of a paper bag, if you've ever
seen such a sight, it's quite comical. Or if you pick up a cat that
doesn't want to be held, they kind of "scooch" their bodies
backwards. I could see my partner was dubious about this, he was
trying to duck his head out of my grab, but because his legs were
immobile, it wasn't working. But I encouraged him to just try and
when he did, he saw right away that it was an effective means of
escape. I felt pretty good about that, not just showing him a Systema
move, but because he was unfamiliar with Systema, I could tell he was
a little bit surprised that I was telling him out to escape, rather
than competing with him or taking any satisfaction in his inability
to get out of my hold.

We did some work on the floor, one partner laying down, and the other
crawling over him, but without using the hands, Vlad showed this by
grasping his pants with his hands. We did this on our backs and
stomachs. And then UNDER your partner who wasn't supposed to help in
any way. This is of course a lot harder than going over, but we could
use our hands for this one. I asked Vlad if I should lift up my
partner's torso using my hands, he said, of course, how else are you
going to do it? You have to find a little space, like the gap where
the curve of the lower back is slightly off the floor, and worm you
way into it.

Of course I'm leaving out a bunch of stuff as this seminar happened
almost a year before I got the chance to sit down and write about it!
But about halfway through the day, we took a forty-minute break for
lunch. I had brought my lunch as I wasn't sure about the food
situation in Delaware. It was a hot and humid day, more like June
than March. I went outside to the back parking lot, where, behind the
pavement, there was a little slope of grass bordering some low
shrubs. I sat down and had a little snack and some water. This grassy
bank was at the perfect slope to just stretch out and lay there, and
I was thinking about taking a little nap, when my classmate joined
me. Somehow we ended up talking about goals for training, and the
reasons any of us might cite for our training. I said that I train
because I love to, and that I feel Systema is a part of living, like
eating or drinking, but that wasn't a good example, because I meant
that it's not something I'll forget, like I've forgotten how to speak
Spanish or write in iambic pentameter. I cannot be separated from
Systema while I'm of sound mind. My classmate said, Yes, but you
won't die if you stop doing Systema as you would with eating food. I
was inclined to disagree; maybe someday I will find myself in a
situation where my practice of Systema will save my life. But I
didn't say this, because of course I hope to live my whole life
peacefully, without needing Systema to ensure my survival. So I said,
Well, maybe it's more like taking vitamins like calcium. I won't die
if I stop taking calcium, but I'll have a better quality of life with
the calcium supplement than without it.

Frank Fileti joined us; he's our Fighthouse Long Island Systema
teacher. We chatted a bit, and I looked into the small training room
and said, "Oh, look, there's another little yard on the other side."
The two of them laughed at me. "Yes, and there's a guy who looks just
like him," said Frankie, pointing at my classmate. It was of course
the mirrored wall of the room that I was looking at.

We resumed our training, refreshed after the lunch break. Vlad told
us that we "inhale the fear through the mouth, so breath in through
nose," which makes a lot of sense, because when you are fearful and
surprised, as Vlad imitated, you might take a sharp breath, which
tenses the throat. We practiced some simple takedowns, like grabbing
the person around the neck, then "meeting" them as they escaped to
sort of drape the arm heavily across the upper body. After two or
three unsuccessful tries, I gave my karate student partner some tips;
mainly it's a matter of taking a step as you lay the arm across the
person, that's the only way to affect their balance. I also found it
helpful to place the arm across the throat instead of across the
upper chest, although it should be possible to achieve the takedown
with arm draped across the chest, but if your timing is a bit off,
it's easier to maneuver someone with pressure on the throat.

We did some static exercises: one partner stood still, the other
practiced finding the tension and manipulating the person downward.
We also had one person strike a "fighting" pose, and the other
practice the taking down from this rigid position. I didn't really
know what a "fighting" pose is, Systema doesn't actually have such a
stance, so I just modeled my position on the fights in movies.

We did a striking exercise in groups. One person is in the middle,
several people circling around striking him, and then another ring of
people surrounding and striking the middle ring. Of course, the
farther on the outside you are, the faster you have to move around to
land your strikes. Vlad didn't think I was hitting too
convincingly, "hit him or I'll hit you," he said, and that was enough
to get me to put more effort into it.

We also did takedowns from striking – one partner attacks, the other
uses well-placed strikes to take him down. I had a really great
partner for this one, a Systema guy from Virginia. I thought he was
quite skilled but to my surprise, he told me that he learned Systema
mostly from DVDs and the occasional seminar and training session. I
have trained with people who have been coming to class for years who
don't have half the skill of this mostly self-taught guy. I guess
it's all about what you put into it. We were working quite well
together. I also made a point of working with a few other people, a
guy I met in summer camp, and a former student of Rob Green's who
always attends the NYC seminars. Unfortunately he had some sort of
wrist injury and though he warned me to be careful, I somehow ended
up crunching his injured wrist and causing him to cry out in agony. I
felt quite terrible about it but training with an injury can be a
little perilous.

Vlad demonstrated how to absorb punches, he picked a guy at random
and punched him in the stomach. At each punch, the guy exhaled with a
loud "Tsa!" Vlad told him to exhale silently, that the Tsas weren't
necessary and might make it harder. But I guess that was the way he
was trained to take punches because he didn't stop. Or maybe he
didn't understand what Vlad was saying, I don't know. When it was
time for us to hit each other, I purposely grabbed Frank
Fileti. "Some guys don't like to hit women, but I know you don't have
that problem!" I said jokingly. He punched me a bunch of times in the
stomach and said I was taking it well. At times I had to stop and
recover a little before accepting the next punch. It didn't feel too
painful, however, the next morning, I had this gigantic purple bruise
about the size of a grapefruit across my stomach. I wondered how I
could take such a punch and not be too perturbed by it, because
anyone looking at my bruise would have guessed that the strikes that
caused it hurt like the dickens.

I think the strike absorption was towards the end of the seminar.
Afterwards, I did a bunch of pushups and sit-ups and some guys
thoughtfully started kicking me. After accepting strikes is the only
time I voluntarily do pushups, as I always remember Mikhail
explaining to us about moving the blood throughout the body in case
of any blockages caused by the striking.

At one point, Vlad said jokingly that we talk about love, but when
someone attacks you, you don't have much love for him! After the
training, Vlad took questions from the audience. Someone asked if
training in another style would hinder training in Systema. Vlad said
that Systema is just movement and could be the foundation for many
other martial arts....I guess that studying Systema has helped the
student. He said that technique could be learned in many other
martial arts and that a bunch of different MAs could teach you how to
do throws and takedowns. But the relaxation makes Systema different.
I think I asked a question but for the life of me, I can't remember
what it was. I wish I could remember because I think Vlad's answer
was very helpful, but it's been lost to time.

It was hard for Vlad to leave us; people were crowding around him,
wanting to talk more and more about Systema. Vlad struck one of my
classmates in the stomach and I noticed that each time he hit him, he
flinched slightly before the strike landed. I asked Frankie if that
was incorrect and he said it wasn't a good way to take a strike.
Finally Vlad said he had to catch his plane and we must let him go. I
heard some guys saying on their way out, "How many times did we hit
the floor today?" I didn't have the same experience, most of the more
vigorous applications were after lunch, before lunch we did a lot of
evasion, touching, placement and working on improving precision. But
if you're unused to Systema, hitting the floor over and over again
can be pretty exhausting. I felt great, much revived from when I
first arrived in the morning, sleepy and stiff from the car and my
tense shoulder. I didn't even want to stop training, but it had been
a long day and so we all made our way out of the American Karate
Studio . I stopped to thank Pat Caputo and the staff for putting on
such a great event.

Since my classmate and his wife were driving into Pennsylvania for a
weekend getaway, I caught a ride with Frankie and another of my
classmates, since they said they'd drop me off in Brighton Beach and
I could take the subway home.  While we were driving, Frankie said
that I had made a big improvement recently, moving better than he'd
ever seen me. He said I was plauteauing for a while, and I said, I
know, I had felt like I was getting worse. It was interesting because
I think I had asked him about it during the plateau, and he said, no,
you're doing fine, and it was only after I emerged from the plateau
in the car ride that he revealed that I had been stalled. I guess it
culminated right around the time of Scott Connor's visit, even though
summer camp did a lot for me, for some reason, that's when I felt the
tail end of the plauteau...kind of a mental barrier. Barrier is
really the best word for it, feel like I was imprisoning myself
somehow, all this freedom just a step away but I couldn't take that
step. Jim King told me that I'd always have to struggle with this; I
think in some ways it's the most apparent psychological problem that
I have to deal with. It's evident by my restrained emotions,
occasionally I show anger but I won't allow myself to be comforted
when I'm upset, I prefer to be alone, and likewise, when my friends
are upset, I can be shockingly cold-hearted. I know that the things
you are supposed to say are along the lines of "poor you," or "there,
there" but I always wind up saying things like "just buck up and take
it like a man," or "we're in for some hard times, you're going to
have to be strong," and only making them more upset. Afterwards, I
curse myself for being so cold. People tell me I'm kind-hearted, but
I can be cold sometimes. Sometimes I have this uneasy feeling that I
appear to be a good person, by my actions, yet inside, I'm really
callous and full of vengeance.

So I had been feeling sort of glum about my training, even though I
was doing a lot better, but I kind of had this "what was wrong with
me" feeling, dwelling in the past, and Frankie said that it was
called The Master's Curve and that anyone who practices any sort of
skill on a regular basis experiences this....a plateau, then a brief
period of getting a little worse, then a sudden increase in skill. I
always thought I'd learn Systema and keep getting better and better,
but in truth, it's not so consistent. There is no algorithm or
formula by which one can calculate the rate of improvement of a
Systema student. I've seen students become highly proficient in just
a few months, others train for years and can't seem to progress.

But after Scott left Fighthouse, I sort of emerged from this plateau.
I think Scott's seminars had a great deal to do with it. I realized
that I was choosing to fail, which I do sometimes because it allows
me to control the outcome. If I give it my best shot, I will succeed
most of the time, but sometimes not, whereas if I sabotage myself, I
know the outcome; I'm in control of my fate. Or at least, I think so,
but in fact, none of us really are. I don't mean this theologically,
everyone has a different point of view about that. I only mean that
there is a certain unpredictability to life; we are surprised by good
fortune and bad, and the bad incidents make us curse fate and wonder
how the universe could be so cruel, even leading some people to
believe that life is a series of meaningless random incidents, and
yet, good surprises are among life's greatest pleasures.

Many thanks to Vlad and to the American Karate Studio for hosting
such an excellent seminar. It was truly a pleasure working with the
Kenpo students and I hope that I'll have the chance to do so again.

*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

I agree, Pete, it's obviously just spam and I don't put too much
stock in it. In fact I will delete that post as it's contributing
nothing to our group.
Thanks for your input and give my best regards to Martin, he is a
great guy and I hope he returns to Fighthouse soon for another
seminar.
Rachel

--- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com, Richie Rich <doobieus_99@...>
wrote:
>
> Hi Rachel,
> my name is Pete and I'm one of Joe Oneal and Martin
> Wheelers student. They are amazing Peeps. I think this
> link you sent has some issues. this thing he calls
> real combat can land you in  jail back to back. When I
> read one of these guys that claims they can
> "eliminate" enemy 1-5 its just a bad taste to martial
> arts community including ours, because I didn't do
> Systema to "eliminate" people I came to this mother
> earth to protect and heal people. Its amazing when
> "peeps" like these search for something that's quick
> and easy, destroy this earth and people that inhabits
> this place and for what higher purpose you ask? Beats
> me, I believe there lost and scared. This dude sound
> like he's still in prison, outside the "Walls" its
> different, people are not going to simply attack
> because they don't like your looks. This is a classic
> marketing scheme for peeps who has alot of pride to
> protect, we have purpose as a systema community guide
> individual like these to peaceful path regardless who
> they may be; they're lost and scared. Also thank you
> Rachel for your notes on the other website, I'm still
> not done reading it. Now let do some "work"
> Pete
> --- rkxyz <rklingberg@...> wrote:
>
> > FYI, this group is for discussion of Systema,
> > Russian Martial Art.
> > Let's keep the posts on topic. There are plenty of
> > Yahoo groups to
> > discuss other martial arts styles so please post
> > only about Systema
> > and related topics.
> > Thank you,
> > Rachel, Group Moderator
> >
> >  --- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com,
> > "huwtgnucvlsh"
> > <huwtgnucvlsh@> wrote:
> > >
> > > It's pathetic how many clueless, poorly trained
> > people are walking
> > > around the streets thinking they could take out
> > anybody that
> > > threatened them. They firmly believe the stuff
> > they were taught in
> > > martial arts schools and seminars will work in any
> > situation. But
> > > what if you were confronted by a 323lb skinhead,
> > fresh out of jail,
> > > ripped on crystal-meth that wants your wallet?
> > > I have two Blackbelt's in two different styles of
> > martial arts.
> > Sure
> > > it worked in tournaments and points sparring but
> > when I got sent to
> > > jail after beating the crap out of a punk that
> > jumped me, things
> > all
> > > changed. All of a sudden I was faced with being
> > attacked by inmates
> > > on almost a daily basis because of my young age,
> > and everything I
> > > learned in martial arts I had to throw out the
> > window to survive!
> > > I was locked up at the ripe of age of 20 years
> > old, and was doing
> > > time with guys up for murder, rape, you name it
> > they were in for
> > it.
> > > It wasn't until one day I was being threatened by
> > 3 inmates with an
> > > edged weapon, when a small 5'7", 160lb, ordinary
> > inmate I didn't
> > even
> > > know, kicked the living shit out of all three
> > thugs and saved my
> > ass
> > > in under a minute. Literally.
> > > It wasn't up until then that I had finally found
> > someone who could
> > > show me a REAL fighting system worth using. My
> > Taekwondo and Judo
> > > blackbelt's didn't do anything to stop the
> > violence against me. I
> > > asked the guy his name and we soon became friends.
> > We ended up
> > > becoming cellmates and he taught me a BRUTAL and
> > EXTREMELY VIOLENT
> > > fighting system designed to take a big guy down in
> > under 30 seconds.
> > > http://selfdefensef.blogspot.com/#
> > >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
______________________________________________________________________
______________
> Bored stiff? Loosen up...
> Download and play hundreds of games for free on Yahoo! Games.
> http://games.yahoo.com/games/front
>

Hi Rachel,
my name is Pete and I'm one of Joe Oneal and Martin
Wheelers student. They are amazing Peeps. I think this
link you sent has some issues. this thing he calls
real combat can land you in  jail back to back. When I
read one of these guys that claims they can
"eliminate" enemy 1-5 its just a bad taste to martial
arts community including ours, because I didn't do
Systema to "eliminate" people I came to this mother
earth to protect and heal people. Its amazing when
"peeps" like these search for something that's quick
and easy, destroy this earth and people that inhabits
this place and for what higher purpose you ask? Beats
me, I believe there lost and scared. This dude sound
like he's still in prison, outside the "Walls" its
different, people are not going to simply attack
because they don't like your looks. This is a classic
marketing scheme for peeps who has alot of pride to
protect, we have purpose as a systema community guide
individual like these to peaceful path regardless who
they may be; they're lost and scared. Also thank you
Rachel for your notes on the other website, I'm still
not done reading it. Now let do some "work"
Pete
--- rkxyz <rklingberg@...> wrote:

> FYI, this group is for discussion of Systema,
> Russian Martial Art.
> Let's keep the posts on topic. There are plenty of
> Yahoo groups to
> discuss other martial arts styles so please post
> only about Systema
> and related topics.
> Thank you,
> Rachel, Group Moderator
>
>  --- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com,
> "huwtgnucvlsh"
> <huwtgnucvlsh@...> wrote:
> >
> > It's pathetic how many clueless, poorly trained
> people are walking
> > around the streets thinking they could take out
> anybody that
> > threatened them. They firmly believe the stuff
> they were taught in
> > martial arts schools and seminars will work in any
> situation. But
> > what if you were confronted by a 323lb skinhead,
> fresh out of jail,
> > ripped on crystal-meth that wants your wallet?
> > I have two Blackbelt's in two different styles of
> martial arts.
> Sure
> > it worked in tournaments and points sparring but
> when I got sent to
> > jail after beating the crap out of a punk that
> jumped me, things
> all
> > changed. All of a sudden I was faced with being
> attacked by inmates
> > on almost a daily basis because of my young age,
> and everything I
> > learned in martial arts I had to throw out the
> window to survive!
> > I was locked up at the ripe of age of 20 years
> old, and was doing
> > time with guys up for murder, rape, you name it
> they were in for
> it.
> > It wasn't until one day I was being threatened by
> 3 inmates with an
> > edged weapon, when a small 5'7", 160lb, ordinary
> inmate I didn't
> even
> > know, kicked the living shit out of all three
> thugs and saved my
> ass
> > in under a minute. Literally.
> > It wasn't up until then that I had finally found
> someone who could
> > show me a REAL fighting system worth using. My
> Taekwondo and Judo
> > blackbelt's didn't do anything to stop the
> violence against me. I
> > asked the guy his name and we soon became friends.
> We ended up
> > becoming cellmates and he taught me a BRUTAL and
> EXTREMELY VIOLENT
> > fighting system designed to take a big guy down in
> under 30 seconds.
> > http://selfdefensef.blogspot.com/#
> >
>
>
>




________________________________________________________________________________\
____
Bored stiff? Loosen up...
Download and play hundreds of games for free on Yahoo! Games.
http://games.yahoo.com/games/front

----- Original Message -----

From: rkxyz

To: systema_group@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 3:24 PM

Subject: [systema_group] Re: Hardcore Fighting Secrets: let's keep this on topic

FYI, this group is for discussion of Systema, Russian Martial Art.
Let's keep the posts on topic. There are plenty of Yahoo groups to
discuss other martial arts styles so please post only about Systema
and related topics.
Thank you,
Rachel, Group Moderator

--- In

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FYI, this group is for discussion of Systema, Russian Martial Art.
Let's keep the posts on topic. There are plenty of Yahoo groups to
discuss other martial arts styles so please post only about Systema
and related topics.
Thank you,
Rachel, Group Moderator

  --- In systema_group@yahoogroups.com, "huwtgnucvlsh"
<huwtgnucvlsh@...> wrote:
>
> It's pathetic how many clueless, poorly trained people are walking
> around the streets thinking they could take out anybody that
> threatened them. They firmly believe the stuff they were taught in
> martial arts schools and seminars will work in any situation. But
> what if you were confronted by a 323lb skinhead, fresh out of jail,
> ripped on crystal-meth that wants your wallet?
> I have two Blackbelt's in two different styles of martial arts.
Sure
> it worked in tournaments and points sparring but when I got sent to
> jail after beating the crap out of a punk that jumped me, things
all
> changed. All of a sudden I was faced with being attacked by inmates
> on almost a daily basis because of my young age, and everything I
> learned in martial arts I had to throw out the window to survive!
> I was locked up at the ripe of age of 20 years old, and was doing
> time with guys up for murder, rape, you name it they were in for
it.
> It wasn't until one day I was being threatened by 3 inmates with an
> edged weapon, when a small 5'7", 160lb, ordinary inmate I didn't
even
> know, kicked the living shit out of all three thugs and saved my
ass
> in under a minute. Literally.
> It wasn't up until then that I had finally found someone who could
> show me a REAL fighting system worth using. My Taekwondo and Judo
> blackbelt's didn't do anything to stop the violence against me. I
> asked the guy his name and we soon became friends. We ended up
> becoming cellmates and he taught me a BRUTAL and EXTREMELY VIOLENT
> fighting system designed to take a big guy down in under 30 seconds.
> http://selfdefensef.blogspot.com/#
>

It was a privilege and an honor to demonstrate Systema at
Fighthouse's Chinese New Year Celebration on Sunday, February 18. All
the different styles that train at Fighthouse had an opportunity to
perform - over two hours of exciting martial arts exhibitions. Edgar
had asked me and two of my classmates to demonstrate Systema for the
crowd. We wanted to show how Systema was different from other martial
arts so we chose defense from more unusual situations; in a chair,
against the wall, on the ground, and two-on-one attacks at all levels.

I had been nervous beforehand; in fact I was running to the ladies'
room to pee every twenty minutes. I kept telling myself that on a
busy night, there might be fifty or more people training at
Fighthouse, and five or ten observers and a few staff. On Chinese New
Year's, there was probably about 200 people in the audience, so it
was just like a very, very busy night. But I knew I'd be fine once I
got up there. I've never minded public speaking; I do not feel shy
about performing, it's just the anticipation that is a little nerve-
wracking.

Edgar reminded me to hit the guys and not spare them; I hadn't been
striking them much when we had practiced. Val reminded us all to
smile; I certainly remembered to do that, I couldn't help but smile
during our demo. It was such a pleasure to share Systema with a large
audience, my smile wasn't the slightest bit staged, I was having a
blast. I did remember to hit, also, in fact, I clocked Val in the
face a bit harder than I had intended. I think the strikes made it a
bit more exciting for the audience; it's a bit more visible, though
not necessarily more painful, than a joint lock.

We had worked out a ten minute routine at two practice sessions in
the previous weeks. Fortunately the one of my classmates, Val, is a
natural-born performer. (He is active on Vlad's forum or else I would
not use his name in my notes.) He acted as "MC" and provided some
commentary on Systema so the audience would have a better
understanding of the movements. He first explained that in Systema
practice, we make real contact, and it is not for lack of control,
it's part of the training. Then he turned and landed a solid kick on
my classmate, who punched him in response. It looked pretty dramatic,
the kick was hard enough to knock him back a few feet. My classmate
also explained why we don't use mats for training and how the hard
floor can be an ally.

Our first scenario was me in the chair and the two guys coming at me
from all directions. We had practiced this in the previous two
Saturdays, but I had been a little worried that the guys would either
attack me two easy, in an effort to make sure I looked good, or else
go too hard and I wouldn't be able to shake them off successfully.
Actually, I think they were just right, very honest in their attacks,
and I was honestly beating them handily. They were coming one after
another, from all directions, and I was holding my own, the audience
was clapping. I knew that our demo was a little more exciting than
most of the solo katas that came beforehand. Audiences like to see
action and I was sending the guys flying in all directions. Then Val
stood up and we segued into the next sequence, a bodyguarding demo. I
think it was at this point that, by way of introduction, Val
explained something about unpredictable situations, like defending a
loved one, and I guess to demonstrate unpredictability, he turned and
clocked me, not too hard, but I was surprised, as I was just standing
peacefully listening to his commentary. Actually it was an excellent
movement on his part. Because I was a little clipped by his punch,
but moved away from it to deflect as best I could, and it showed that
we also train to take some blows, and not just to dish them out.

I sat down again and Val stood next to me and acted as a bodyguard.
First he showed how you could simply avert an unpleasant situation
before it began. My other classmate approached me in the chair, and
Val simply walked next to him and steered him away before he got too
close. Then we demonstrated real attacks against me in the chair,
with him sitting to my left and repelling our other classmate as he
attacked me. I helped out when I could, landing a punch or sweeping a
leg here and there.

Then our classmate moved up against the wall, and Val told the
audience that you could end up backed into a corner during a fight.
We attacked him and he put us into the wall or took us down, beating
up on Val in particular quite vigorously. They had agreed beforehand
to demonstrate a little short work so I knew their interaction was
going to be more intense. Then my classmate lay down against the
wall, and we got the training knives and started the attack him on
the ground. I was pretty impressed with the way he disarmed us; the
knives were hitting the ground with a clatter, really just flying out
of our hands.

Next I lay on the ground, as Val briefly mentioned that being pinned
on the ground was a concern for women's self-defense. The guys tried
to pin and mount me. Then we switched to attacking Val, both of us at
once, and he was quite deft and repelling one of us with the other,
tangling us up, changing levels fluidly. At that point, no-one was
really sure if ten minutes were up; I think it was a little less, but
we concluded our demonstration and took our bows to lots of applause.
It really made me feel good, to have all those people clapping for
me. Afterwards several people approached me and told me how much they
liked my demonstration, and of course my Systema classmates were
there to congratulate me over wine and beers at our celebration
afterwards.

My two classmates performed magnificently. It was a wonderful Chinese
New Year's celebration, Peggy and Edgar were, as usual, most gracious
hosts, and it was altogether a memorable day at Fighthouse.

*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

notes from Kevin's November 2006 seminar at Fighthouse

It's been awhile since these seminars. I recorded some notes but
didn't have time to write anything up because I was busy with my
final project. I never really got a solution I was happy with, by the
way. It was far too much code for such a simple assignment. But I did
get an A, anyway. It's funny, I thought I was not as smart as the
other students. As I wrote in my earlier post, I have this issue with
self-confidence. And because I had to revise all my weekly
assignments so many times, and was often vexed by these puzzles that
the professor gave us, I just assumed it was easier for everyone
else. But on the last day, it turned out that I was the only student
to complete all 13 assignments. This is probably more of a reflection
of my stubborness and persistence than sheer intellect. But it was
still startling enough to completely change my self-perception.

So that's all in the past and it's a new semester, new challenges,
but I haven't forgotten Kevin's seminars. This will be a bit rougher
than usual because so much time has passed, but I wanted to share
this with you anyway. I remember that Kevin emphasized three
principles throughout the whole weekend:

1) If you can't move fluidly by yourself, adding a partner won't
help. This is an important concept because I think this impatience
sometimes causes students to ignore the drills and fight with each
other. But there's no getting around the fact that you must learn to
move fluidly on your own before you can expect to succeed at sparring
with a partner. You should be relaxed and fluid enough to have a
reasonable measure of control over your direction. Imagine if
training took place on a subway platform. Do you have enough control
to avoid being knocked onto the tracks?
2) Breathe – no further explanation needed. We all know this is
important, but too often forget.
3) Cheat, don't compete. I'm a big proponent of this advice. That is
why some of my classmates say I fight dirty and have all kinds of
nasty tricks. It is true that I don't mind yanking hair or bending a
pinky finger to get myself out of a sticky situation. But of course I
only resort to those means when I can't escape any other way, like if
my partner is a lot stronger and using all his strength against me.
Straightforward competition is fine for sport, in life, playing by
the rules does not necessarily mean you'll survive. Competing with
your classmates is pointless. Let's say you are the best one, you
have "beaten" all your classmates. That only assures you that you'll
be safe if any of your classmates attack you. What about the other
six billion people in the world? Can you compete with all of them?
Better not to assess your skills through competition.

Saturday

So, in keeping with principle #1, we started with an hour-and-a-half
of movement exercises on the ground. Kevin told us this modest
investment of ninety minutes would be helpful for the remaining four
hours. He demonstrated four types of full squats:

-just a regular low squat with back straight, as in Systema class
- a Cossack squat, knee bent, weight on one foot or the other, moving
fluidly in a circular motion as if shooting 360 degrees
- hunter's squat: also on one knee, with the other folded on the
floor and foot turned slightly inward – comfortable for sitting on
cold ground a long time,
- and then the half-pigeon, kind of like a yoga position with one
knee bent leaning forward slightly and the other leg stretched out
behind – it's easy to roll or to stand up from this position

Kevin fluidly moved from one position to the other, periodically
going all the way to the ground, or standing up, or rotating around
in the Cossack squat. He encouraged us to do the same. If you can
move fluidly from each of these squats to the others, you can
probably move very well on the ground. Unfortunately I found the
regular squat pretty uncomfortable; this is one of the most painful
positions for me. If I try to stand up from this position, all the
joints in my knees and ankles will start mistracking and I'll be
temporarily crippled. I don't know if there's any way I will improve;
my massage therapist does not think I should squat so low because it
causes subluxation. So I generally do half squats and maybe someday
I'll be able to go a bit lower. The other three positions weren't as
painful, and the hunter's squat and half pigeon were actually pretty
comfortable. But I don't think I was transitioning too fluidly
between them.

Kevin mentioned something about "unlocking the 5 & 6th vertebrae"
that I didn't quite catch. I think it involved lifting the legs up
and over the head, as if doing a leg lift, and then doing something
else to unlock the vertebrae. I wish I had caught what he said
because I am pretty sure that my 5th and 6th vertebrae are "locked"
as I think he mentioned that it makes backwards rolls more difficult,
and I have always had a hard time with those (I have to fling my legs
over my head, rather than moving them in a controlled manner).

We practiced "threading" to turn from laying on the stomach, to the
back, and stomach again. This is where you initiate the sideways turn
by "threading" one leg underneath the other – start on your back by
making a kind of a "4" shape with the bent leg sliding under the
straight leg, then rotate your hips to turn over. We also did some
breakdance-style moves, the "helicopter" where you kind of wave your
legs around, I can't even explain this one. But it was the foundation
for the next one which I found pretty straightforward: rolling from
stomach to back and stomach again, but without touching your arms or
legs to the floor. You accomplish this by rotating your hips, and it
just naturally turns your body, so that you don't even need to rest
more than your upper thighs on the floor to turn yourself.

Kevin showed us these "drilling"exercises where you "screw" your arm
into the ground. This is a good exercise for stiff muscles. You just
kind of rotate your arm on the floor, pressing slightly on the wrist,
or the elbow, and rotating your shoulder so that it stretches your
muscles. It's hard to explain, but I think these kinds of exercises
warm up the joints by releasing sinuvial fluid for better
lubrication.

We learned how important breathing is with the next exercise. One
partner lay on the floor on his back, the other leaned heavily on one
part of his torso. The partner on the floor had to inhale "through"
the part being leaned on, and then the leaning person would release
that part and press on another point, and the person on the floor had
to exhale through the released point and inhale through the other
point being pressed on. So basically, your partner influenced your
breathing with this exercise. But it's not so easy as it sounds. I
found when my partner leaned heavily on my upper chest, it was
actually pretty difficult to breathe "through" it. (By "leaning
heavily," I mean, put quite a lot of weight on your partner, so that
he might feel his breathing a little restricted until he adapts to
it.) So we practiced breathing through different parts of the chest
and stomach even when under pressure. This is a pretty crucial skill
for groundwork, if you've ever been trapped underneath a much heavier
training partner, I'm sure you'd agree!

We did a little joint-locking work, first in partners, one person
twisting the other's arm, then in groups of three, with two people
twisting both of one person's arms. We also did a little practice
with escaping from wrist and finger locks. I remember Kevin telling
us that if you are locking the fingers and you bring the pinky across
the other fingers, rather than keeping it parallel to the other
fingers, it hurts a lot more. However, I don't have any further notes
about the latter. But I can fill in the gap with some work we did
last week in Edgar's classes with finger locks. Edgar showed us that
when your fingers are being locked, you can help with your other
hand, your leg, or even your head, by using these parts to brace your
fingers are they are being bent backwards or forwards. You just use
the flat plane of a part of your body that isn't locked to stop the
bending before it gets too painful. Of course you do have to follow
up and escape from the lock, too. Edgar also showed how to tense the
lower part of the arm and the hand, then release the tension, to
manipulate the person locking you. And a bunch of other tactics to
prevent wrist and finger locks, which I won't go into further detail
since I want to return to Kevin's teachings.

We did a drill to improve shoulder mobility. One person faces two
people, arms spread, around one of each of their shoulders. Then you
dip your head in a deep circle, touching the back of the head to
their torsos, and come up on the other side and straighten head.
Kevin had the girls triple up for this since it really does involve
rubbing your head all over your partners' chests. Later we did this
in Edgar's class and I didn't have the benefit of female partners. I
have to admit, I was pretty embarrassed when my classmate was rubbing
his head all over my breasts. I know that he didn't intend to
embarrass me and generally I'm pretty easygoing about close contact,
but I'm not anxious to repeat this particular exercise with the guys!
Kevin told us you can also use a wall to do this. Face the wall,
spread arms flat and parallel to floor, palms to the wall. Dip your
head down as far as you can go towards one side, and slide in a
circular motion to come up on the other side. The back of your head
should touch the wall.

We spent a good amount of time on chokes. Kevin is not the first
instructor to tell us that air chokes are too dangerous for everyday
practice. I wish that students would heed this a little more. A blood
choke might require a little more precision but it's pretty safe even
if you are choked out. An air choke if applied with too much force
has a greater chance of fatality. Yet whenever we practice chokes,
inevitably one of my partners will begin to strangle me, and I don't
feel comfortable with repeated oxygen deprivation, sometimes it
leaves me so light-headed that my vision blurs and I have trouble
standing. I think this is something I should practice rarely at this
point, but it seems most students prefer applying it rather than the
blood choke.

But we practiced this as a technical skill, which means one person
was passively allowing the other to choke, then tapping out. So there
was a safety net. One thing about tapping out: if your partner taps
out while you're choking him, just release him, even if you think he
could stand a bit more. Don't make the call as to how much he can
stand. Maybe he can stand a bit more but on the other hand, maybe
he's about to black out. It is hard for another person to judge that.
Don't put your partner through agony because it will make him
tougher. There aren't too many Systema exercises that call for
tapping out but when it is part of the drill, heed the tap out and
don't push it.

Kevin also demonstrated how to bring someone back if you choke them
out. As far as I recall, this involved propping the person up into a
sitting position. But I don't remember too much else about this part
of the seminar.

Kevin often illustrated his instruction by recounting his experience
of the injuries he had seen in others or sustained himself. Some of
his descriptions were kind of grisly, but he wasn't trying to impress
us with his battle stories. He was just telling us how the techniques
we applied could lead to serious damage, even accidentally. I
remember in particular his description of demonstrating a strike to
the upper thigh, towards the outside of the leg. Apparently there is
a vulnerable point at this area. He was demonstrating on a student
who appeared not to feel anything when Kevin struck him, so he kept
asking Kevin to hit him harder. But the next day, his leg was
completely swollen, apparently he didn't ice it as Kevin advised him,
and he ended up in the hospital, I think they had to drain his leg. I
hope I've remembered that story correctly; it was only one of many
that Kevin recounted to illustrate the damage that can be inflicted
even in just practice sessions. It's worth remembering that you don't
have to put your partner in agony to cause a lot of damage; some
injuries don't hurt much at the time but could lead to serious
complications afterward

Unfortunately that's all I have from Saturday; big chunks are missing
but that's what happens when you write about training months after
you've completed it. I have a little more from Sunday, though, so
please, read on!

Sunday

We warmed up with some small joint rotation of the arms, "drilling"
the limbs, loosening the sinuvial fluid, rolling shoulders, wrists,
and elbows, as we did on Saturday against the floor, but standing
freely. Kevin mentioned the "cat's whisker's analogy" – each of a
cat's whiskers correspond to an area of its body and that's how they
know whether they will fit into a tight space just by poking their
heads into the space. He talked about "prioception" and knowing your
own body, demonstrating how many movements of Systema can be
initiated by touching your own limbs. For example, the wave-like
movement can be initiated by touching your midsection as if you are
drawing a sword from your belt. Kevin also told an interesting
anecdote about Vlad teaching shooting to some students whose aim was
off. He had the students touch the target with the gun and this
improved their accuracy. He even had the guys move a huge cannon,
touch the target with it, and move it back, which improved their aim.
Kevin showed how, when escaping from a lock, if touch yourself as you
move, grasp your other hand that isn't locked, and so forth, you can
generate movements to escape. He told us that George Foreman was well-
known for touching the face of his opponent before landing the
strike.

We did some rolling drills – rolling very, very slowly. I have a hard
time with this, I asked Kevin why I always collapse just after
reaching about 90 degrees and I can't control the rest of the roll. I
think this may be related to the "unlocking the 5th and 6th
vertebrae" that he talked about on Saturday. Or it could be that I
just don't have very strong abdominals even though I can do lots of
Systema-style sit-ups, but I think those are not really an ab
exercise, strange though it may sound, I don't really feel my abs
engaged during sit-ups as they are during the leg lifts.

Kevin gave me some advice about rolling. He explained that you have
to move from one shoulder to another – somehow I never thought of
this with slow rolls before, only with rolls to change direction.
That slows the rolls down quite a bit but I still have an issue with
control, especially on the backwards rolls.

Kevin had us rolling from side to side starting in a "star" position
with body elevated and palms and feet touching the floor. Then you
just let one arm collapse and turn inward to roll from one side to
another. Kevin thought I was doing this well, he asked if I had done
this exercise before, I said Not that I recall, but later I remember
that I used to do this a lot to get over my fear of rolling from a
standing position, by starting on all fours which seems less scary
than standing.

I found that when I roll on my left shoulder, it's fairly smooth, but
on my right shoulder, it wobbles. That's because my right arm is so
much stronger, and so when I'm supporting my entire body weight on my
left arm in the moment before I drop into the roll, it's a bit
shaky. "That means you're human" Kevin said kindly.

Kevin talked about "stirring the joints," rotating the limb until you
eventually find some area of tension to work against. This can be a
brutal technique, especially when manipulating the head. But it has a
gentler application, for example, if you are taking someone down and
they are going forward, sometimes it's hard to get the person to drop
those last few feet to the floor. I think that many people are more
unwilling to land face first than on their ass, because there's a lot
more padding on the behind. So when you encounter this resistance,
you can kind of wiggle their arm around with slight directional
changes until you discover a point where a little pressure will drop
them. But you have to be sensitive to do this, if you use brute force
and the person resisting is a lot stronger, you'll just be
deadlocked.

We next did a very enjoyable exercise where one partner is on the
ground, the other just stands still or approaches the other very
slowly, and then the person on the ground practicing takedowns by
rolling into his partner, or using the legs, or grabbing an arm,
using the movement of the body on the ground to affect the other's
posture.

We spent a good long while on different kinds of leg and foot locks –
torquing the ankle, the proper grip for ankle locks, also heel locks,
and how to put pressure on the foot by rolling the shoulder back,
leaning back with the body weight. This was kind of technical; I had
a little trouble getting the locks. Kevin told us that, because the
foot is so far from the brain, by the time you feel the pain, your
foot is already broken. So he advised us to be gentle with the ankle
locks.

We also practiced escaping from these locks by "drilling" the leg
forward before the grip is too secure, or by slightly rising into a
squat so the foot is on the floor instead of being cranked. Once the
twisting begins, you have to move your body to follow your foot, it's
the only way to stop the break.

I also recall some sort of vigorous arm or shoulder locks with both
people on the ground, and the one being locked was supposed to tap
out, though I can't remember the exact details, but I do remember
that my partner wasn't really locking me well enough. He kept waiting
for me to tap out but I was perfectly comfortable. I think both of us
were getting a little frustrated; it was just like a nice stretch for
me, and he was wondering why it didn't hurt. Finally he said, "I
would have been screaming in agony by now!" And my classmate heard
this and told him, "She's got the most flexible joints." And once he
knew that, he was comfortable locking me a lot further than seemed
safe to him. I guess it's hard to know how your locks will affect
someone else. I don't think I have flexible joints, it's not like I'm
double-jointed or whatever the appropriate term is. But I do have
hypermobile joints which means some positions which might be locks on
another person are just enjoyable stretches for me. That's why I
prone to mistracking joints but on the other hand, it gives me a lot
of flexibility in the hips and shoulders which is helpful for ground
work.

If you want to test your shoulder flexibility, Edgar showed us this
exercise. Lay flat on your stomach with arms stretched out to your
sides. Have two people pin your hands to the floor, and if you are
feeling optimistic, have two more people holding your legs. Then see
if you can roll onto your shoulders. It's very difficult to do this
because you can't rotate your arm! But I found to my surprise that I
was one of the few students in our class who could roll onto my
shoulders in this position. I would not be surprised if the others
also had hypermobile joints as flexibility is the main symptom of
this inherited condition.

We did some more chokes as on Saturday, the "half-ox collar," with
one person draping arm arm over the other's neck in a choke from the
rear, as well as a side choke. Kevin showed how to straighten your
body by moving your hips underneath your head and standing up. He
told us to look upwards, it almost naturally straightens you, and
also to press your tongue on the roof of the mouth. To facilitate
straightening the posture while being choked, he had us work in
groups of threes, one person chokes the other, then a third person
comes along and hits in the center of the back, which naturally
pushes the choked person into the right posture. But you can't push
from your head, the movement has to start from the back and hips.

I think it was towards the end of the day that Kevin explained a
little about striking, how to take the strike out, and drill the
strike deep into your partner. I kind of hung back during this
segment, even more so than usual, because a lot of men don't like to
hit women. I mean, they will hit me well enough if we're sparring, or
even during the exercise where one person stands in the circle and
the others all strike. But for some reason, they want to hit me when
I'm just standing there to practice absorption. So I wound up
partnered with Kevin's assistant instructor, Jordan, who asked if I
preferred if him or Edgar hit me. I hadn't thought about it – Edgar
hits me when we're training together, but I've never stood there and
accepted strikes from him, he doesn't usually do this with us. I
think in retrospect, it's better to practice with someone you don't
know as well, if you have that opportunity. So Jordan hit me a bunch
of times, sometimes on the ground, other times standing, and he said
I took them pretty well. And I also practiced my strikes on him. But
unfortunately, I don't have any more notes about the striking segment
of Sunday.

We practiced some defense "from the guard" – one partner approaching
the other on the ground and trying to maneuver on top of him, while
the one on the ground had to move offensively and prevent being
mounted. At least I think that's what we were doing. I can't recall
if the person standing was trying to get between the legs or trying
for the mount, but I do remember that the one on the ground had to
prevent the approach. I enjoyed this exercise a great deal; I always
like to work on the ground.

At one point I remember thinking, "this isn't such a grueling
workout," I was thinking that I'd be exhausted after the all-day
seminar. Sometimes seminars are very athletic, I remember doing 100
pushups at one of Martin Wheeler's where he was trying to get us into
a state of controlled fatigue. It turns out I was sore by Sunday
evening, but not unpleasantly sore – not the kind where you can't
move at all – when you wake up in the morning so stiff you can hardly
walk (OK, I've overexerted myself at some past seminars, I confess).
Actually it's kind of pleasant soreness in my hamstrings and biceps
which is good, it shows that I worked muscles that I am unaccustomed
to using in different ways.

Afterwards, Kevin stuck around to answer questions and offer healing
advance and massage to people with specific problems. I wanted to
stay and observe, but quite honestly, I was feeling uncomfortable in
the environment. Kevin's visit coincided with a real down point in my
training. It happens sometimes and I just can't seem to snap out of
it. Then one day, it's suddenly gone and I'm back to normal. It was
many weeks after Kevin left when I suddenly snapped back to normal.
It was during the university's winter break so I had the whole week
off and was taking advantage of it to do some extra training at
Fighthouse. That's the weird thing about being in a plateau
or `valley' as I think of them (plateau = leveling out, valley =
bottoming). Although training is a little depressing in that it
doesn't make me happy, at the same time, I don't want to stop doing
it and will in fact train even more if my schedule permits. So I was
in the daytime class at Fighthouse and we were doing exercises in a
circle, one person in the center, the rest of the class surrounding
and kicking or punching the one in the center, who had to respond in
kind. I kept telling the guys to go slower, that it would be the same
exercise even at a lesser speed, but a few guys just didn't want to
slow down. And suddenly I realized that I wanted to hit them, felt
they deserved it for ignoring my repeated requests. Because they were
shoving, kicking, and hitting me hard and fast, I wound up flying in
all directions and returning the same force to them. And I felt a
certain satisfaction in nailing those few guys who wouldn't go slowly
even though I asked them to. I know this is not appropriate, in many
ways, it's the very opposite of Systema. But you have to keep in mind
how prone I am to become too passive, even to the point of letting
everyone else prevail over me so they don't feel bad if they have
less skill. And for a too-passive person, a little aggression can be
helpful. When I saw that I was holding my own even though the rest of
the class was punching and kicking me, I felt a lot more positive
about my training. And I just suddenly snapped out of it, but
unfortunately not in time for Kevin's visit.

So, Kevin, if you are reading this, I'm sorry I was not at my best
during your seminar, but I hope we'll have the chance to train
together again! Many thanks for your great seminars, and as always,
thanks to Edgar and Peggy for hosting us, and to all participants.

*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

Hi all,
Sorry I was MIA for so long - last semester was crazy, I hardly had a
moment to myself. This semester should be a lot easier.
I just removed a spam posting, sorry about that, it slipped in. I am
still working on my notes from Kevin Secours groundfightin seminars at
Fighthouse.
Sharon, just wanted to let you know that because I am at work right
now, I can't listen to the sound part of your clip - I will have to
watch it at home or maybe if everyone else leaves early today. But I
watned to point out a typo in the name "Systema" for the clip title -
if anyone is doing a search of Google videos looking for Systema clips,
yours might not come up because of the typo.
Clip looks pretty good but I do want to hear the sound so I will wait
until I can listen as well as watch and then give you some feedback.
Hope all is well with you and with everyone else who is part of this
ground. Again, sorry it's been so slow, not much has been posted here,
but it's just a question of time - most of my spare time is spent
training, but I am hoping to find more time for writing this year.
*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

I have started a systema school in Israel a while ago. Here is a short
clip from after class I posted on the forum as well. I am interested
in any opinion or suggestion you may have as far as show of material
or even lighting.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4611943141893512703&hl=en

Cheers, Sharon. Systema israel.