Experiencing and Explaining Systema

Let me start by making it clear what this post is NOT about:

• I am not saying that there is never a time and place to analyse and try to articulate your experience using your words and intellect.
• I am also not saying that technical and scientific information should totally be dispensed with.
• I am also not saying that explanations to students on how to do things are the devil. I am quite a fan of methodical and explanatory training (if they're the right type of explanations).

With the above in mind, let's proceed.

It has occurred to me that any description in words of Systema, at least the type of Systema which I study, is wrong. Not so much wrong but an imperfect representation (i.e. verbal or intellectual) of a phenomena which must be experienced to be truly understood. Much in the same way that a sign that you see on the road that points to a particular town is not the actual town itself, explanantions and

analogies about Systema... are not themselves Systema. Just as a sign is just a guide to get you to the town it points to, explanations and analogies in Systema are just a guide to get you to the point where you can learn Systema my experiencing it. They are important stepping stones and foot holds, but they are only there to take you somewhere. To be able to learn and work by just being.

Another example that I like to use is that of Chicken. I'll be hard pressed to find somebody who doesn't like chicken (although I am certain these sick weirdos are out there), however I don't really know anyone who thinks that they can verbally describe what chicken tastes like.

Try it, really. How do you describe what chicken tastes like?

Continuing on this train of thought, a word that one person may use to describe the phenomena of what chicken tastes like, although making sense to them, may mean something completely different to another person. For example the word that comes to my mind when I think of chicken is "meaty"... And I don't even think that's a real word. What is that supposed to mean to someone else? Some people may know what that means, however it is also likely that misunderstandings and arguments will ensue;

"No beef is meaty, chicken is more dry"

"What? Dry's not a taste, it's a texture, chicken is more spicy"

"Maybe if you go to KFC and get hot and spicy, what if it's cold

chicken on a salad?"

Sounds pretty stupid right? Yeah it is stupid. Will any of these above arguments bring anyone closer to understanding what chicken tastes like? Probably not. The funny thing is that although none of the above statements are really right, they're also not really wrong. It may be a better idea rather than arguing about the description or representation of the thing they are trying to describe to just experience it. Or perhaps even; "Hey try eating this, it's chicken"

Learning Systema is a very similar experience. An interesting experience I have had is training with people who could not speak English. There obviously were some disadvantages, however there were also many advantages as well. We couldn't get confused about each other definitions of things that were better experienced, all we could do to communicate was to do the work, and pass the information onto each other by feeling, experiencing and simply being with each other in that time and place.

Once again I am not saying there isn't a time and place to analyse and try to articulate your experience using your words and intellect. I am also not saying that technical and scientific information should

totally be dispensed with, or that explanations to students on how to do things are the devil. However at least for me I have found it is best to have an experience to analyse before I try to analyse it. Otherwise what I am then analysing and trying to break down and make sense of isn't the thing itself, just the idea of it in my head. And as close as I may be able get to the experience using all cognitive faculties at my disposal: It ain't the actual thing.

Systema is one of the most effective fighting and survival Systems in the world today. However it is also one of the greatest tools that are out there to study the phenomena of being human. This is something much more amazing and complex than simply describing what chicken tastes like. All the words, explanations and analogies that are out there could not truly do this phenomena justice. When learning Systema, one of the major attributes and qualities to acquire is the ability to learn simply by Being, Feeling and Experiencing. And then being able to take this attribute even further by being able to draw your skills, abilities and knowledge from here. Once again I'm not saying dispense with technical and scientific information or even methodical and explanatory training and teaching. However remember that to be able to learn and work by simply being is incredibly important aspect of Systema.

A good Systema teacher doesn't simply try to teach you what they know. A Good Systema teacher will try to teach you how to become capable of learning how to learn what they know on your own.

Also:

Even this entire post I have written, as a description or explanation... Is Wrong ;)

Seriously, try to describe what chicken tastes like.

Justin Ho

Principal Instructor

Systema Sydney Russian Martial Art

www.systemasydney.com

New Systema Sydney Website

I am proud to announce that the new website that myself and the good people at systema Club Nagaika in Montreal, have been bulding is now up and running. Thanks a million to Marie-Lynn Richards (http://marie-lynn.org/) a wonderful lady who is very good at what she does.

Click below to visit the website Systema Sydney.

http://systemasydney.com/

After 6 months of training in Toronto with Vladimir Vasiliev and his Senior Instructors I am incredibly happy to be coming back to my home town of .Sydney to be sharing what I have learned. It was a long time away and I am very pleased at the prospect of coming back to commence teaching Systema in Sydney. I am currently enjoying a wonderful week in Fiji but will touch down back in Sydney on 10 September 2011.

Stay tuned for more information regarding commencement of classes, and when I can find the words a description of my time in Canada training with some of the best teachers, training partners and friends anyone could wish for.

Talk to you soon :)

......Oh what the hell:

Justin Ho

Principal Instructor

Systema Sydney Russian Martial Art

www.systemasydney.com

A Very Interesting Facebook Exchange

The following is an online conversation that took place on my Facebook wall between myself and Systema Instructor Stephane Beaudin of Club Nagaika (http://nagaika.org) in Montreal.



Justin Ho
To be able to recognise your area's of weakness without judging them and turning your awareness into a burden. This is a skill in itself. It is also a prerequisite to improving without restricting yourself.

 

Stephane Beaudin

It is also a key to make your practice of any skill quality practice. Many talk of the 10 000 hour rule, where it takes 10 000 hours to master a skill, what is often not understood is that these hours must be quality practice, and that demands the the activity be difficult enough that you will make mistakes, but not so difficult that you cannot understand how the mistakes are happening. The awareness you describe allows us to ride this subtle line on the way to mastery.

Justin Ho

It's funny. Emmanuel was talking to me only yesterday about the 10 000 hour rule. He has also mentioned the importance of establishing good base training, where you are comfortable and able to maintain your level of activity for longer periods, which is a much more sustainable option then just running your self ragged for less hours.

Stephane Beaudin
Combat capacity is all about being able to contrast bursts of super intense physical work with very complex cognitive and fine motor skills. How fast you will be able to switch from one to the other, how strong you can make the contrast between the two is the key. In self defense, think of running with Parcour jumps, using your phone to call for help, fighting multiple armed attackers, then pulling off shoelaces and belts to tie them up. In the military, think of sprint and dive with 40 pounds of kit repeatedly, then shoot a head sized target at 200 meters, then carry large containers of ammunition over obstacles, then set up a theodolite (a delicate precision device used in surveying that is also used to set up machineguns and mortars for indirect fire) perfectly.

Justin Ho

‎...At this risk of sounding daft, simple things like run because you breathe, restore yourself while running, and speed up then slow down with breathing suddenly start to seem VERY VERY IMPORTANT

  

 

Stephane Beaudin

Of course, that is what will allow speed of transition and strength of contrast between the gross and fine motor activities! It's what can make a Systema practitioner almost superhuman, it's one thing to shoot a head sized target, it's quite another to do it after running an obstacle course, it's one thing to quietly survey a landscape for signs of the enemy, but much different after a 20 mile forced march and on your 50th hour with no sleep. It's that ability to do the intense stuff in the same state as the subtle stuff that makes what we do so powerful for combat, everyone else is targeting the fighting and the conditioning as though combative success did not also depend on the fine cognitive and motor skill tasks, and how fast and precisely you can do them between the bursts.

Justin Ho

Dude, you mind if I share this on my Blog? 

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Stephane Beaudin is a certified Systema instructor. He has served in the Canadian military, worked in the security field and has been actively training and teaching Systema in Montreal, Canada since 2004. Stephane’s school “Club Nagaika” has recently moved to a new expanded gym space, customized specifically for Systema practice!

For more information go to: http://nagaika.org

Justin Ho

Principal Instructor

Systema Sydney Russian Martial Art

www.systemasydney.com

Survive Vs Prevail

During my time here in Canada I had the privilege to meet and receive instruction from Sonny Puzikas. Sonny is a Systema Instructor and former member of Russian Spetsnaz. A very skilled practitioner and amazing teacher he was kind enough to explain a very interesting thing to me.

When learning Systema, we are often told that we are not training to win, but to survive. Often people tend to construe this in a manner which results in them adopting a more defensive mindset in training. For example, excessively waiting for the persons' attack before countering with your own. This particularly becomes a problem when people do this in two or more separate movements rather than one minimal, efficient and continuous movement where escape and attack occur as one. Keep in mind 'we die in the gaps'.

Now here's the interesting thing. The word 'Survive' as it exists in the English language has no direct counterpart in the Russian language. In other words, there is no word for 'Survive' in the Russian language. When Russian Instructors teach Systema in their native tongue, a different word is used. As I am completely inept in matters of the Russian language, I cannot recall, or pronounce this word. However, when directly translated into the English language the expression you will get is to: 'Stay Alive.' A more appropriate word that captures the meaning of the sentiment in English is to 'Prevail'.

In the study of Systema we don't train to win. We also don't simply train just to Survive. You can survive a knife attack and end up complete disfigured, psychologically traumatised, and with your mobility impaired due to damage to the nerves in your spine. Your life will never be the same again. Only surviving is not enough. In Systema train to 'Prevail' meaning to do whatever is required to ensure that you stay alive in every sense of the word. Train in such a way to ensure that before, during and after a confrontation you have the best chances of remaining psychologically, physically, and emotionally intact. Keep your life, including your quality of life, and ensure you are able to return to your loved ones intact. Be willing to do whatever this takes. No more and no less.

Justin Ho

Principal Instructor

Systema Sydney Russian Martial Art

www.systemasydney.com