Benevolent Fists

We have been playing with cleaning the body and psyche of excess fear and tension using striking. Something I took away from my time in Toronto was the quality of the strikes that were delivered amongst teachers, students and training partners. Whilst at times the strikes were both heavy and deep, they were always delivered in a way that were calming to the nervous system, to help cleanse the person of fear and agitation. It was also an awesome bonding experience, which fostered a great sense of community :)

For those of us that study Systema we have all heard that there are strikes with different qualities. Two such qualities which I am thinking of now are strikes which calm versus strikes which irritate the nervous system. I remember hearing a great explanation from Emmanuel Manolakakis of Fight Club in Toronto; Often people will come to a Systema class, and will often take many hits from many different training partners. When strikes are delivered that have an irritating quality or effect on the person over the period of the class it has a cumulative affect. At first it could be just a slight irritation which is unnoticed by the person who has been hit. However then he cops another strike with an irritating quality a few minutes later, followed by another and another. Over a period of the time often without the person realising it the level of agitation in the psyche increases and increases and then begins to effect how they maintain themselves, how they perceive situations and in turn then affects the work that they produce. 

There are times when it may be appropriate to deliver strikes which agitate or incapacitate a person, however within the realms of training, practitioners need to consider longevity and sustainability. If we are going to be hitting each other everyday regularly, it needs to be done in a way that does not destroy each other, but in a way that makes each other stronger and more relaxed, helping to clean the body of fear. In this way we are able to train and strike on a regular basis and do so in a way where we are able to do this today, tomorrow and hopefully well into our old age (some sooner that others....just joking).

What has helped me work on this for myself and convey this idea to people who I train with is to consider a few things  which will Irritate the nervous system vs Calm the nervous system. Some possible ideas are as follows:

Things which irritate the nervous system 

• Surface impact with sharp but light pressure (likened to getting flicked in the ear)
• Sharp, jerky and erratic movements
• Impact involving bone on bone
• Uncertainty or nervousness in the movement
• An erratic or unpredictable rhythm (which will not allow the person to adapt and become comfortable with the strikes)
• Strikes which cause jolting movements locking the person's body
• Trying to dominate or coerce your partner
• Trying to hit harder
• Thinking of striking as competition
• Striking or working with no awareness or care of the other person

Things which calm the nervous system

• Deep pressure, a deep level of touch (likened to getting a deep comforting massage)
• Smooth, not necessarily slow, but smooth movements
• Impact involving flesh on bone, or flesh on flesh
• Certainty and confidence in the movement
• A constant rhythm (to allow the person to first adapt and become comfortable with the strikes)
• Strikes which unlock tension and teach movements which give a person "somewhere to go"
• Trying to relax or help your partner
• Allowing yourself to learn how to hit well
• Thinking of striking as massage
• Striking or working in such a way that you are aware of the other person, considering there needs at any given moment

In this way a practitioner can learn to hit in a way that is conducive to sustainable training for everyone involved. As funny as it sounds it is a good thing to learn to have Benevolent Fists. 

Or perhaps to be able to "Hit with love", a more familiar saying amongst Systema folk :)

Somebody from across the seas recently told me: You can put the guy down and actually lower the level of fear and anger in this world rather than just shift it. It's a very nice skill.


Thanks Gene.

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

Use what destroys you to restore you

Since I have arrived in Toronto Vladimir has repeatedly instructed us to do the following when running in class:

                                                     "Don't look down,
                                                 run because you breathe,
                                              run because you are relaxed,
                                               speed up and stay relaxed."

There was a lot more to these things than I realised when I first arrived. It has been interesting to play with these ideas, seeing the effects that they have on the body, and how you can keep yourself in a calm and neutral state when undergoing a physically demanding activity.

One of my teacher's here Emmanuel (Manny) Manolakakis has explained it to me in several helpful ways:

A person can run or jog slowly and remain relaxed. There is nothing particularly amazing about this.  A person can become quite tense, and run faster, expending vast quantities of effort and energy. There is also nothing particularly amazing about this. HOWEVER: If a person is able to run faster, or perform a task at a higher intensity, whilst still being able to remain relaxed, minimise their tension and maintain a stable/neutral psyche... Well then we really have something here ;)

Manny being quite the cycling enthusiast used the analogy of the riders in the Tour de France. The race covers more than 3,600 kilometres (2,200 mi) and lasts three weeks. These guys will have to ride for several hours every day, and cannot afford to be frivolous with their energy. In this race these guys will have to constantly push themselves to keep going, and at the same time still be able to rest without stopping (for quite a lot of the race). Pushing non-stop with nothing but tension is probably not going to be a good idea given the duration of the race. The ability to work at an increased intensity whilst maintaining relaxation is essential here.

                                  

Study how to use what destroys you, to restore you instead. In this way learn to keep your energy, and to use it wisely. Study to the very best of your ability to make what is your extreme begin to feel like your normal. Don't just become good at suffering.

The work

Begin with walking and breathing. Pick a comfortable count of steps per breath. Be mindful of your physical, emotional, and psychological state. Remember what "Normal" feels like. Your goal will be to maintain this state. Once you are comfortable, begin to jog lightly, whilst still keeping yourself as free of tension as possible. Don't look down. The human head is approximately the weight of a bowling ball, and deviating from a neutral position for extended periods will create and accumulate excess and unnecessary tension which will burden you in this (or any) endeavour. (i.e. your form will be broken, your breathing will become laboured, the tension from your neck and shoulders will spread to the rest of your body restricting your movement, and ability to dissipate any further development of tension, and also there will be implications for your psyche etc...)

Only speed up if you are able to do so whilst remaining relaxed. Breathe to remain relaxed and use the movement of your jog/run to feel and clear out any unnecessary tension in your body. I find speeding up is easier when I think of projecting my head and spine forwards as one unit with my shoulders, arms, hips and legs remaining relaxed and attached to this unit. When I do this it feels as if I relax into my run, almost falling into my run. Then it is just a matter of adapting my breathing in order to minimise the tension. I find also trying to cultivate a feeling of lightness with the breath also helpful.

You can also do this work performing the core exercises (push ups, squats, sit ups and leg raisers). Do these exercises at comfortable pace and as relaxed as possible, then speed up whilst maintaining this relaxation.

It is simple work, but very deep when you perform it correctly.

Just Be Yourself

I have been in Toronto now for just under a month now, and an obvious but important thing has just occurred to me.... I'm not Mikhail. I'm not Vlad. I'm not any of my training partners. I'm me, Justin. As such things that the previous parties are going to be capable of doing aren't necessarily going to work for me all the time. Seems simple, but easy to forget sometimes.


In the first day of the seminar (Escape from Holds Seminar - Short Staff and Knife Seminar) systema Headquarters today, I was working with one of my training partners. I was amazed at his ability to draw me in when I would attempt to grab his arms and keep total control of my motion as I was taken down. This particular partner also had an uncanny ability to tie me up with my own arms in order to take me to the ground. However when I attempted to replicate this, by "copy catting" him, my work kind of crumbled and was not very effective. I found myself getting anxious and frustrated. Fourtunately my partner was quite a good natured fellow who did his best to help me out. What I found was when I stopped trying to replicate his movements, and simply appreciated them as things that he was capable of, then continued to work in my own way, things flowed and and worked much better for me. I would walk around one side then to another in order to find the take down, and work with the limbs as I saw fit. It wasn't perfect (it never is), but it was mine, my movement, me as a person in that situation. And me adapting as the situation demanded.


A few days ago another training partner also pointed out to me that when we work, it's not going to be like Vlad or Mikhail where we will be able to find something 100% of the time. Sometimes we will just have to move and preserve ourselves, and wait until the right moment presents itself. But that is ok because that is where we are at at this point in time of our training and our lives.


Remember; Never try to imitate someone else. Your experience and physical expression of Systema is your own and no one else's. Study the principles and study yourself. Use the drills to learn how your body will move, and don't rely on preconceptions. Don't become disheartened when you are unable to do things your teachers or partners can. Just do what YOU can do. Just be present in that moment and that situation.




                                    The options will present themselves if you just be you. 

                                                  "Friday night!I'm getting drunk!!!!!!!!!"

Systema Insight Gained: Monday

Remember when you feel pressure, move from the point of contact, in a way that is relaxed but not floppy. it could be just a push, but it could also just as easily be a knife up against you. You never know so make sure you move. But remember don't just fall over at the slightest touch. A person must know how to touch in the right place, at the right time, with the right sensitivity to influence another person. Falling over for no reason does nothing to help cultivate this sensitivity, But breeds a false sense of security, leads to misunderstanding of our training methods, and can result in a lot of pointless debating online. Find the balance between moving with a force, and being honest in your attacks (i.e. don't fall over if you don't have to). It's a fine line and like all things can be a double edged sword.

                      Training with Rocko and Jason this morning . Thanks for the help guys!!!!!