Seminar with Konstantin Komarov

To be re-edited when more time is available. Just drills and random memories for now as a placeholder to that point in time.

Drills:

Saturday:

- Pushups/situps/squats while holding the breath. Gradually excites the psyche as holding the breath becomes harder. Learning how to calm the psyche after doing these exercises by breath work.

- Falling exercise. Partner stands straight and tall, and falls backward, not bending their body. Partner catches them at the neck about 2-3 feet before hitting the ground. Learning how to calm the psyche after a very quick excitation.

- Falling exercise. One person is on all fours, the other is standing on them. The standing person stands straight and tall, and falls backward, not bending their body. Two people catch them about 2-3 feet before hitting the ground. Reinforcement of previous falling drill.

- Studying an attacker without becoming emotionally involved. One partner approaches a few times without attacking. Then after a while they do irritating/jarring things: slapping, punching, etc. The other person has to remain aware of the person but not become psychologically involved in the attack. This is to find the state of the psyche where one can respond to the full situation, rather than hiding inside themselves, or becoming a slave to the attacker's movements.

- Falling/getting up with one breath cycle. Exhale while falling, inhale while getting up. Losing one's breath while doing this indicates excessive tension.

- Free movement on the ground with no thought. Thought interrupts the free movement. Some movements may appear beautiful when planned, but the transition to the next movement may be awkward, or some other aspect of movement/breathing may be crippled from planning the movements.

Sunday:

- Throwing a person drill. Four people grab each limb of the fifth person. They swing him and release on the count of three. The thrown person lands and regains a good psychological state through breathing. Repeat with the person being thrown while face-down. Additional challenge is to throw the person against a wall or pillar.

- Intermixing of social and physiological fear. Partner approaches a few times, calmly putting their hand on the person. Then the partner does something irritating and sharp: punching, slapping, etc. Then the partner goes back to calmly putting their hand on the person. There is often more fear in the partner approaching after being hit, even though intellectually the person knows that they will just calmly put their hands on them. We can develop social fears from physiological ones.

- Hitting a person standing on the wall (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFsMa5DuSFs). Experiencing deeper excitation and then overcoming it through breathing.

- Laying on the ground, holding the breath after exhale, then partner push/punches on your stomach when you start to recover from breath holding. After a few minutes or if they sense you've had enough, they let you breath and recover. After recovering, hold your breath on exhale, and they will slap your face/chest when you start to recover from breath holding. They stop after a few minutes or if they sense you've had enough.

- Stick swinging. KK swings the stick back and forth. Our task is to walk towards him and past him without getting hit AND while not changing our pace, being hesitant, thinking too much, or getting excited.

- Walking around randomly with eyes closed. Then walking faster and bumping into people/things. Breath work required to reduce excitation. Then holding hands out and touching those who walk by instead of avoiding them, to experience and overcome various social fears.

Random concepts from KK:

- The proper "state" is similar to a runner experiencing their body in motion w/o the nasty feelings experienced when running. They are just doing the work.

- The psyche has natural flows, like a wave, of highs and lows. A low would be waking up in the morning, transitioning to high when driving to work. There are thresholds for the highs and lows, which can be seen when a person "snaps" and doesn't remember what they did because they were so excited. What we try to do is increase our thresholds to remain aware during high levels of excitement.

- Admitting to being afraid is often socially discouraged, but the truth is that everyone feels certain levels of fear all the time. "I am afraid all the time, but I'm not a coward".

- We all have certain animal/chemical reactions that we can't necessarily work against: adrenaline, final stage of accepting death when attacked (like an antelope). Those exist for evolutionary reasons and often can't be trained away. Our goal is to either work around them or simply accept them as possibilities and move on.

- Advice for shock: slap them on the back a few times to get their attention. KK made the analogy of them being in their house (inside themselves), and someone needing to knock on the door (slap on the back) to get them to get up. Make them look up, and try to get them to follow your finger moving back and forth, to connect them with some external stimulus. Ask them their name to engage them on a social level. Look them in the eyes. If they aren't injured, this may be enough. If they are injured, this may need to be continued to prevent them from going back inside themselves. There was an anecdote about a soldier dying from a broken arm because he went into shock.

Shooting w/ KK:

Konstantin divided us up into two groups: those with significant or professional shooting experience, and the less experienced.

The first drill was to shoot three rounds from a classic one

- Watching him shoot was incredible and unreal. Watching him handle the AK was like seeing a shark being dropped into the water: powerful and natural.

- Difference between guns that are made for shooting from a static position, and those that are made for shooting on the run. He said it was hard to nail down the differences, but a lot of the older WW2-era pistols are made for the on-the-run type shooting.

- Shooting is mostly a result of a clean psychological state, resulting in smooth calm movement and a focus to keep the pistol from deviating even slightly on its aim, even while walking or pivoting.

- Fire at the end of the exhale, extend the step maybe by 6 to 12 inches and fire right before the foot hits the ground. The extending foot must go at the direction of the target, but the movement of the shooter can continue in the original direction after firing. When approaching from the left, if right-handed, the whole body has to face the target.

- Repeated emphasis on knowing where the bullet went. Missing the target is one thing, not knowing where the shot went prevents one from re-adjusting for the next shot, or from receiving valuable feedback during training.

- Two-handed shooting, while providing a more stable platform and allowing for an easier sight picture, makes any re-adjustment in a rapidly changing environment difficult. Running is difficult, both hands are occupied which hinders dynamic movement and getting around obstacles.

- The pistol should be held like a bird that one doesn't want to escape, and the wrist should have enough tension so that it doesn't break from the recoil. The rest of the body should be relaxed so that it can adjust to provide a dynamic platform for each discharge.

A Day at the Range

We had a fantastic day out at the Best of the West range in Liberty Hill, Texas. Gene reserved us a bay, and took us through a series of shooting drills. Let me give some pretext to this post first. Konstantin Komarov is coming to Austin to give a two day Systema seminar, followed by a third day out at the range. As if the first two days weren't enough, the third day is an extraordinary opportunity, even for the most seasoned professionals. Konstantin is a very unique individual in that he has experienced combat psychology both within a highly formalized academic context as well as on a grueling personal level. He has a Ph.D. in combat psychology and has served as a Russian Special Forces Officer in the MVD and GRU. The first two days will involve experiencing and sustaining an optimal internal state. I have no idea what that will entail, and only an abstract sense of what it means, but I am very much looking forward to it. I also have no idea what we will be doing with firearms, but I am sure it will be extremely dynamic and not something to go about flippantly.

As such, Gene has been including pistols as a regular part of class for the last few months. For someone like me, who has little experience with pistols, the time spent with a pistol in hand during class has helped quite a bit. I've been shooting rifles and shotguns since I was a kid, and they feel quite natural to me. Pistols, however, are another story. I shot a pistol for the first time only a couple of years ago, and have only done so infrequently since then.

To me, they are little tiny things that make big noises and can cause a lot of hurt. I am slowly losing my hesitancy with them, due to the exposure as well as training. Pistols are different from rifles in that they have little to no hunting use--bluntly put, they are made for shooting people. The effect that a pistol can have on a person's psyche is different than that of a rifle, at least in my experience. Simply holding a pistol, even unloaded, can cause feelings of fear, aggression, or hesitancy. I am slowly shedding these influences from this particular inanimate object, as I come to understand that my judgement determines the outcome from using such an object. The ability to use judgement in order to effect outcome with regard to pistols is no different than in martial arts practice. I have a responsibility to hone my judgement, decisions, and resulting actions in such a manner that the outcome is beneficial to everyone around me. While that may be a considerably complex thing to consider philosophically, I place a certain amount of trust in the various social, psychological, and physiological constructs available in this universe to do the right thing (or next best thing). To do otherwise would be an affront to humanity. In that regard, I am grateful for Gene, Vladimir, and others for providing training that blends so homogeneously into my own life and circumstances (and heck if it ain't a lot of fun too!).

Anyhow, blathering aside, we started off the day at the range with basic static drills: shooting from a standing position, off-hand, laying on the ground, and crouched. The next level of drills included standing on a person laying on their back and shooting, having someone lightly push from behind while shooting, and shooting close up at the targe.

Every so often, Gene would make us take a break. Some of the drills became more intense, and built upon previous drills, and so we would gradually get a little more over-excited or overly eager. One goal in all of this is to stay calm, stay aware of our surroundings, and most importantly stay aware of ourselves and our internal mechanics (the psyche, breathing, etc.). Over-excitement and eagerness, while not a bad thing in and of themselves, can blind us to reality in situations that require alertness and vigilance. Handling firearms is one of those situations. Handling firearms while moving dynamically and making physical contact with others is, in no uncertain terms, one of those situations. During the breaks we did some pushups, squats, chatted a bit, and got ourselves back to normal before moving on to the next level of drills. Let me be the first to explain that this type of training is F-U-N, so getting back to normal required a little bit of focus. Very slow pushups while letting the rocks dig into my knuckles a little bit, and breathing very intently helped though.

Another level of shooting drills involved dynamic movement. We started at several meters distance from the target, drew our weapon, chambered a round, then advanced towards the target while firing. We then started at the target, and retreated while firing. We also did lateral movement, as well as a combination of lateral and retreating movements. Another sequence was to start from kneeling, then firing while moving to a standing position, then continuing to fire while advancing at the target. The final sequence to this level was to practice moving to cover while firing. These drills were absolutely new to me--I've never moved, ducked, squatted, or rolled with a loaded firearm before (to be candid, the pistol was empty when I rolled, I'm not quite there yet).

The crescendo of drills peaked with a partner drill. I forget the official term for this, but essentially the shooter mirrors their partner's work. Dene and I worked out a sequence in advance that we'd follow. We'd approach the target until Dene shouted "threat!", and then fire at will while still advancing. The first person to run out of ammo would shout "out!", and we would both get to cover and then continue to fire at the targets until out of ammo. This drill put the biggest smile on my face. It built on all of the experiences of the day and then topped it off by throwing another person in the mix.

We finished the day by spreading out across the shooting bay, all in a line, and shooting through two magazines while moving back and forth (and up and down). I even felt comfortable doing a little barrel roll with a chambered round, keeping my pistol pointed downrange of course. I have kept myself honest about hesitations and anxieties over handling a pistol, in the interest of not shooting myself in the foot (literally). Being able to do a little barrel roll with a cocked and locked firearm was especially gratifying, both in the Systema sense of natural ground movement and in the firearms sense of "oh dear this thing is loaded!" I think Gene did a fantastic job of building up these drills in such a way that we grew accustomed to our firearms, all while maintaining complete safety. I am extremely proud of us as a group for the work we did today and the vigilance upheld in maintaining safe conditions.

Three Weeks Grounded

I had stopped training for a while in attempt to bash out some large chunks of my thesis, and ultimately stopped most forms of physical activity (since training comprises 90% of it, the other 10% is walking between chairs, fridges, couches, cars, and beds). The stress of an increased workload and lack of physical activity concluded in a five day long stay at the hospital due to a nasty Crohn's disease flare-up. I have, very abruptly, started training again, being the intelligent individual that I am.

About this time, Gene had decided to start a three week long study of all things involving the ground, being in close proximity to it, and enjoying the company of other fine people doing their worst to each other in the middle of it all. I didn't take any notes during the three weeks, so this recount won't be particularly linear or greatly detailed. The emphasis, or at least my absorption of it, requires little detail: ground work does not require a different mindset than any other work, and in fact will ultimately suffer from a change in mindset. Ground work has always triggered some underlying primal responses in my brain: sensations of claustrophobia when smothered, gasping for air in attempt to escape, overexertion and unnecessary straining, and just a basic underlying panic, especially when facing an aggressive and strong attacker who has any amount of skill on the ground.

The first aspect of ground work Gene led us through, which was touched on throughout the entire three weeks, was solo movement:

• Falling in various ways and directions (collapsing, rolling, etc.)
  
• Getting back up to standing and optimizing the process from a purely structural/energy standpoint.
  
• Some very specific ways of moving around on the ground and intentionally practicing them.
  
• Combining these specific ways of moving around on the ground into an intentional flow of movement.
  
• Moving intuitively and freely, shedding the intentional mechanical specifics that were previously drilled, but observing their influence on the free movement.
  

For one of the classes, we removed half of the mats from the floor so we could do some rolling on the linoleum below. The hard floor is like an overly honest friend, pointing out faults until no one wants to be their friend anymore. I feel fairly comfortable doing anything on the hard floor. Over time, however, my little mistakes started to accumulate into little bruises, and I found myself getting finicky with what I would choose to do on the ground. I must say, though, that after that class, walking about felt different. The ankle, knee, and hip joints felt more fluid. Walking turned into gliding. The hard floor is one force in the world that requires a certain level of compliance, and rarely makes allowances otherwise. I am constantly amazed to see how the body can adjust to such an unforgiving environment, and in cases such as this, come out healthier and stronger. As such, these solo drills at the beginning of class were definitely the appropriate preparation for the work to follow.

Often, after the solo drills, we would wrestle a bit with a single partner. The emphasis during the wrestling was to be as cooperatively dynamic with movement as possible, and, depending on the partner, challenging their movement a little bit. This drill is interesting to participate in and even observe, as ground work can provoke some primal aspects of the psyche or awaken old grappling habits from wrestling of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The work can degrade between two partners as, over time, the primal part of the psyche bubbles up or the regression into old habits takes place. I found myself fluctuating somewhere between the two extremes of fluid/dynamic and primal/overexerting, often influenced by the partner I was working with at the time.

By being involved closely with someone, whether in training, in violent conflict, or in everyday life, we discover how contagious our various states of being are (aggressive, happy, calm, excited, etc). In martial arts training, the notion of aggression constantly is constantly lurking due to the nature of the work (the stress of possible physical and even psychological harm and having to avoid it). As such, the contagiousness of aggression from one person to another seems to come easier than it would in other situations. There seem to be a number of elements involved in overcoming these involuntary primal tendencies that arise during training and their contagiousness:

• First and foremost is the breathing. The breath is a handy staircase down into the basement of our involuntary mechanisms (pain, heart rate, muscle tension, nervous system emotional responses, digestion, etc.) Practicing the breathing while working on the ground is an absolute must. The beauty of training is that getting stomped in the head isn't such a big deal. Take the plunge and accept a glorious stomp to the head on occasion, practicing the breathing instead of panicking and flopping out of the way while holding the breath. I find that the mechanical aspects of Systema, in and of themselves, are largely worthless without breathing, as the training becomes more intense and the breathing becomes more necessary.
  
• Second, in my opinion, or at least my specific case, is just awareness of what's going on inside my head. All too often I find myself carried away in the "thrill of the moment" and end up throwing all the beautiful things Systema has to offer out the window. There are moments where I can catch myself, however, and turn my mind and body's eye back to the Four Pillars (breath, form, movement, relaxation).
• Being sensitive to my training partner also helps. I don't mean in a lets-have-hot-cocoa kind of way, but rather simply looking at them as human. Empathy and compassion, fortunately in this context, do not exclude the opportunity to challenge one's training partner to grow. Growth is often painful and uncomfortable, and, I fully believe that in order to facilitate growth for our training partners, an enormous amount of compassion and empathy must be present in the process. How else could we see their boundaries, struggles, fears, responses, and be able to push them just a little bit beyond their present state? All too often, just as I get carried away in the "thrill of the moment", I find myself just giving my training partners empty work that presents no challenge, or gives them no opportunity for learning, and all because I am simply not paying attention to them.

There were many other drills that I will list here, not in particularly great detail or any particular order (if you want more drills, come train with us or someone else!), before I wrap this post up:

• Three people squat up and down, leaning on each other back to back, and number off: 1, 2, and 3. Gene calls out the number of a person, and the other two people turn around and begin to wrestle with the person whose number was called.
• The first person is on top in a mount position, or some rough equivalent (remember this is Systema, not BJJ), and takes a strike and the second person on the ground. The second person deflects the strike, does some sort of reverse in fluid succession (there should be no pause between the deflection and reversal--ideally it would be one movement), and then strikes at the person now on the ground, and so on. The emphasis in this drill is the focus breaking the structure in such a way that the reversal comes naturally. A second goal for both people is to alternate between these two roles as continuously as possible--continuous movement should be occurring for the duration of the drill.
  
• The first person applies a lock, choke, or some uncomfortable action to the second person on the ground. The person on the ground breaks the structure of the person on top, hopefully using the movement achieved by breaking the structure to reverse. A lock, choke, or some uncomfortable action is applied to the person now on the ground, from which they break the structure, reverse, and so on.
• The classic reverse-the-tackle-to-the-waist-or-legs drill was fun. An rolling-over-the-top type reverse does not have to happen. Often, and especially if the partner is very big, cumbersome, tense, or whatever they may be, the reverse can be done so that they fall to the side, and their momentum is used to follow up with the reverse (try propping them up with a knee or something as you both fall). This drill is good to practice escapes following the reverse. Again, continuity is key. There is no sequence of fall, pause, reverse, pause, escape, pause, disable attacker, pause. These actions are all blended in harmonious synchronicity with the breath, indistinguishable as separate events.
• Especially challenging, in some cases (I got a shoulder through the drywall), was creating a very small and confined space in the corner using people holding up pieces of the mat. Two people attempt to keep a third person shoved in the corner while they pummel him or her. The person who's getting pummeled should simply try to escape. I enjoyed watching the varied responses to being backed into a corner. Some became very panicked, in some cases because the two people pummeling happened to be very aggressive. Others stayed calm but moved quickly. Others moved slowly and inched their way out. My partners took it easy on me and moved slow (maybe because I started out moving slow, or maybe not--it's difficult to tell who effects who sometimes--they might have just felt sorry for me), so I was able to take my time, breathe, and actually got them tangled enough to knock them over before I got out.
• The stomping drills are always excellent for facilitating movement on the ground, especially if there are two or more people doing the stomping. Emphasis for this drill is just to keep moving and breathing, not worrying if a foot or two happens to collide with your face.

These three weeks were fantastic and I feel like I, and a lot of others, greatly benefited. Ground work has always been a challenge for me, as it can spark so many deep-seated and ineffective reactions. In a lot of ways, ground work for me is like taking strikes, especially ground work with very talented, fast, and strong people. I feel compelled to avoid it, even though it's ultimately beneficial for me as a person, let alone a martial artist. Many thanks to Gene for giving us this much time for all the work on the ground!!

Seminar with Vladimir Vasilev

I removed the placeholder for this event, but it's been so long that I've forgotten all about it! I had an absolutely wonderful time and am quite amazed that our little study group has, with Gene's well-timed commitment, developed into a school, and that we're having Vladimir Vasiliev come down here to give a seminar! Here's an itemized list of things I remember:

• Intense pushups! Hearing "spread your arms, down, up, spread them wider, down, up, wider, down, up, wider" was torturous.
• Watching Vladimir do a push up by simply using his breath (i.e. using his breath to affect his structure, rather than using his muscles) was amazing and incredible to witness.
• I enjoyed seeing so many of the people from the previous Dallas seminar.
• I was able to snag Edgars Tsakouls (from Fighthouse in NYC) as a training partner for some of the drills. He is remarkably keen and very quickly assessed where I was at in my training (without saying a word), and pushed me just a little bit further in the small amount of time he was my partner. I find that this quality of instructor is very rare.
• Vlad made some comment about how I've gotten better, and, bursting with so much pride, I fumbled out some nonsense about how cool it'd be like to experience myself back then, and then come back to the now. He just shook his head, said, "just enjoy it", and walked away. Insert foot A into mouth B! :)
  
• Vladimir's demos, as always, are like walking around the Louvre. One particularly memorable demo was where he struck someone in the abdomen, and they began to twist around a little bit, trying to dissapate the pain. Vlad starts to smile, then looks at us and says, "watch this". Vladimir starts to make a twisting movement with his hand at the person he struck, not actually touching the person. The person continues to twist in a particular movement. Vladimir keeps making this twisting movement with his hand, and the person keeps twisting. This goes on for nearly a minute, and by then we are all laughing--the person is starting to look a little bit confused as to why he keeps twisting in the same way. Vladimir's grasp and corresponding application of the pschological and physiological intertwine is ever-elegant and profound.
• Another person, who trains here in Austin, upon being struck by Vlad, would just start laughing histerically (which in turn caused us to start laughing at him, or with him, who knows). Vlad kept hitting him, and he kept laughing.

Fantastic seminar and really an absolute treat to have in our own backyard. Thanks to Gene and Fabian for setting it all up!

Knife Seminar with Vladimir Vasiliev

Interesting points from the knife seminar:

1. The type of knife will generally indicate the type of work the person holding it intends to do. Curved knifes are more likely used for slashing and cutting motions. Straight daggers are more likely used for stabbing motions. Claw shaped knives can be used for raking motions. Some are even made to make messy cuts or to exclusively for stabbing motions (spike bayonets)
   
2. Knives can be made to serve a wide array of functions in addition to stabbing and slashing.
3. Every part of the knife can be used to effectively control an attacker (blade, tip, flat of the blade, butt, hilt)
4. The fear of the knife itself can be used to control an attacker. Vladimir demonstrated a sweeping movement towards a person's abdomen, causing them to bend over to protect it, while he smoothly turned the knife upward into their downward moving neck.
   

Interesting training drills from the knife seminar:

1. Your knife is put in your waistband, sheath, pocket, etc. Your partner places their hands on your shoulders and closes their eyes. You attempt to draw your knife and touch or lightly stab your partner without them picking up on your intent and/or tension. If they do feel your intent and/or tension, they should push you away. The benefit of this drill is being able to draw and handle the knife in such away that it doesn't attract attention.
2. Use the tip of your knife to take your partner to the ground, then bring your partner back up to standing in the same manner. Also have your partner try to stand up on their own while you try to keep them on the ground.

The biggest observation I made about how Vladimir does his work is that he is very discreet, even while you are watching him. In some circumstances, I barely registered his blade making contact with my body (in the part of my brain that says "uhoh better move!"). His movement is very non-aggressive and unassuming. Some of the other drills we tried emphasized this point of making the work with the knife very casual--which can be difficult to do given the psychology of holding a knife. Very cool seminar and as always, very cool to see Vlad work.

Here's a video capturing some of the work we did (Gene even gets a little film time at the end):

Seminar with Yuri Talalaev

So it's been yet another great stretch of time between posting. Life has been busier, and I do believe it will stay that way for a good spell. As such, my postings here will probably only be for events or realizations of what I consider to be of moderate to extreme significance. There will most likely be another coming in December due to a trip up to Vlad's school, and yet another for Vladimir's seminar here in Austin in January.

Yuri came down for a third time. The second time he came I was in the middle of getting married. I am still practicing on explaining the circumstances in such a way where I don't exude any mild regrets about not attending the seminar (especially in front of the missus). The first time he came down, I claimed that I would write more about it. As you can see, I have not. So I will hurry up and start writing about this third time before something distracting happens.

Weeks before Yuri arrived, Gene told me that the topic for the seminar would be "breathing" and that Yuri said it would be "painful". This of course generated a lot of anticipation and mild dread of the upcoming seminar. When Yuri arrived, he explained that the work we would be doing would not be flashy or dramatic. And with that we spent the first few hours exploring tension/relaxation, push ups, squats, leg lifts, and other solo drills.

The Push Up

The push up was strongly emphasized throughout the five hours of the seminar--more specifically the act of getting into the push up position. The act of getting into that position, as Yuri explained it, is simple, and made of one movement. The simplicity of this act is in the automatic alignment of the body occurring through proper form. Proper form is another simple concept which could also be explained as natural form. The body is aligned as it should be, requiring minimal effort to maintain and allowing for the fullest potential for movement. When standing, for example, the spine is straight, the hips are slightly tucked so as to be placed beneath the spine, knees are slightly bent, and the shoulders are relaxed and aligned with the spine. From this position, standing is effortless, taking a step is effortless, falling is effortless, and so on. There is a deceptive complexity to the concept. Awareness, however, will creep in over time by doing the work required, and the concept will present itself naturally. With proper alignment, many tasks are made easier, if not effortless: push ups, squats, striking, shooting, sitting, and any other physical task. Proper form makes use of the whole body--not just the muscles--for whatever activity is taking place.

The simplicity of getting into the position for a push up, using proper form, is that the arms swing down in the right direction with gravity, and the wrists, elbows, and shoulders also align themselves via mere gravitational pull. The push ups are done using fists (instead of palms, or fingers for the sick and twisted) for a variety of reasons, and as such, a great deal about the fist is learned by merely getting into this position. The fist should not be clenched, but instead merely kept in place so that the fingers to not suffer any damage. There are several explanations on how this should be done, but the effect is that no unnecessary effort is spent in maintaining a fist. At first glance, this may appear to result in a loose wrist, at danger of being broken or sprained. However, if the wrist is aligned with the fist, the body will naturally provide the correct amount of tension to keep the wrist from bending during a push up. The best advice, as Yuri gave, is just to play with it. Open the fist while in the push up position, wiggle the fingers around, let one wrist bend under the pressure so that the back of the hand is flat on the floor (try to maintain the fist though), let both wrists bend if they are strong enough.

Lastly, getting into the push up position should be one movement, as opposed to a distinct sequence of squatting down, putting the arms out, placing the arms down, putting the feet out, and then lamenting at the participation in such a sadistic practice. The squatting, placing the arms, placing the feet, and lamentation should all be one blended movement. Finally, as evidence of properly putting one's self into the push up position, the body structure should feel natural and the knuckles should feel comfortable on the ground regardless of the type of surface (mat, hard wood, concrete, asphalt, etc.) Yuri also said to try to smooth the brain out and not the muscles. The neurons fire and the muscles respond. If the muscles aren't doing what they should be doing, then the neurons aren't firing just right (unless there is some illness or injury of course). So smooth out the brain.

Being Comfortable

Being comfortable was an overarching topic that applied to the push up as well as all of the other work we did. Being comfortable is contagious--if a person feels comfortable with themselves, those who are around them will feel more comfortable. This applies to any setting where two or more humans are interacting, physical or non-physical (which begs the question: when is anything purely physical?) Striking should be done in this way for the benefit of both the person being struck and the person doing the striking. There is a great deal of context here. When a training partner is being struck, the person striking them should take great care to help them with their training at whatever level that may be. When an attacker who is seeking to cause harm is being struck, the person striking them should take great care to help them stop whatever it is that is causing harm.

Yuri talked a little bit about Mikhail's strikes. He said the most affecting ones don't even hurt, they just switch off your lights, and you're staring at the floor all of a sudden. The intent behind a strike can be whatever is appropriate at any given time: to destroy someone, stop them, cause pain, remove pain, encourage, strengthen, evoke emotions, etc. At higher levels if work, this becomes more apparent--that everyone hold certain things in their body via their psyche, and strikes can have a very real and obvious effect on them. There isn't anything magical about hitting someone and them becoming angry just like there isn't anything magical about hitting someone and them feeling like a stronger and more confident person (or happier, etc.) A few times throughout the seminar, when Yuri was watching me strike, he mentioned to, "stop trying to hurt them". Yuri could see the intent behind my strike that I was unaware of. For myself personally, my strikes can contain an amount of unintended aggression. There may be a lot of reasons for it (fear, misunderstanding of what striking is about, etc.), but the proof can often be seen in how the person being struck reacts. If I suddenly start observing that everyone I'm striking is becoming angry, is it because these people are just crazy or because I'm striking in a particular fashion? That example is relatively clean cut. Being introspective and sensitive to ones' partners while doing the work is probably the best way to go, in addition to having good instructors who can see the full picture from a removed perspective. "Poznai Sebia", or, "Know Thyself", is a phrase often heard in the same breath with "Systema".

Overall

Overall, I felt like the seminar was profoundly simple. I think I felt this way because Yuri repeated often, "this is very simple". Striking is simple. I've heard Vladimir say, "just hit him, it is so simple", accompanied by an "oof" sound and some quick burst breathing by the receiver of Vladimir's strike. It really is simple. I can't describe the simplicity because the words will here complicate it. I don't mean to sound mysterious. I've just trained, and not extensively by any means, and kept on practicing the fundamentals, and I am starting to see in some small way that a strike is just a strike. You just do it and that's it. Everything else is an unnecessary complication. If the necessary work and sweat is done and the instructor is good, greater conscientiousness is followed by greater abilities. Honestly these last few sentences about simplicity don't even connect with me that much, I know the semantics but the depth eludes me. I think too much and am naturally evasive when it comes to matters of personal depth. Below the surface there is a lot to face that is not comfortable. There is hard work to be done there, and I am ever so slow about getting up off of my couch. So far the water's fine though, I think I have my toenails halfway in!

"For now we see through a glass, darkly." - 1 Corinthians 13:12

Seminar with Vladimir Vasiliev

A few months ago, we had a seminar with Vladimir Vasiliev in Dallas, TX. I haven't written much in a while due to a full time job, getting married, and attempting to finish school. But here's the link to the pictures that were taken:

http://picasaweb.google.com/gaussiran/DallasSystemaSeminar2008

Seminar with Yuri Talalaev

This past Saturday we had a six hour seminar with Yuri Talalaev. I will write some more in this entry soon.

Training at the New Dojo

Ok, so I haven't been very consistent in posting lately. I am lacking motivation to write about my martial arts experiences these days (quiet internalization seems sufficient for now). For the sake of the blog, however, I will post some videos and maybe pull some words out of my ass to describe them.



I particularly enjoyed watching Gene do some work in this slow mass attack drill. Once again, we tend to go slow because #1 we aren't that good, #2 we want to give our work room for reflection, and #3 as cool as fast and aggressive can look, genuinely appreciating work on video is difficult when the speed is too high.



Here's a bit of wrasslin to go with that.

More Slow Sparring

Systema Camping Trip

We got around to having a camping trip at Krause Springs this past weekend. Myself, the two Marks, Ricky, Gene, his wife Annla, and his two twin boys Jack and Elias showed up for the fun. When Mark and I showed up, Ricky, the other Mark, and Gene were already training. They were just doing some basic structure breaking work using a limited number of strikes. We did some variations and expansions of this drill for a bit. Training out in nature (well, mostly nature, the campsite was visible from the office, and there were bathrooms, and nice park benches) is just nice. Sometimes I forget how sterile indoor training areas really are and how they can sometimes cramp our style. Being outdoors seems to loosen inhibitions with respect to striking, throwing, and just movement in general. Two guys actually came by and asked us what we were doing. One of them seemed interested in wrestling with us (he said he was into submission grappling), so somehow me and Mark egged Gene on into wrestling with him. The guy was pretty big and muscly, but way too desperate and sloppy in his movement. Gene had him in an armbar after about ten seconds of letting the guy flop around a bit. He seemed relieved to hear that Gene had been doing BJJ since possibly before he was born.

After training we hung out for a bit then decided to do some Parkour (freerunning) around the woods. I wish I would have brought my camera along for this, but I think I would have had a little bit less fun. We started out around the springs down in the ravine. There were a lot of rocks and tree roots to jump around on as we avoided stepping in the water. We did a mildly serious study on running around in areas with sketchy terrain--integrating relaxed breathing and form, being able to observe objects in the distance while walking (i.e. using peripheral vision to help navigate the terrain), and what tends to happen when running speed is increased (more mistakes!). For our purposes, we never really got above a really fast walk, but things still got a little hairy with wet rocks and tree roots and shoes from misjudging certain obstacles. I found the most challenging feats to be commited jumps onto wet rocks or roots with steep angles.

As we made our way further into the woods beyond the springs, we came upon a thirty to fourty-foot cliff that seemed like it might be fun for climbing. There was a tree growing a foot or so away from the face of the cliff, so we all either just climbed up the tree or used the tree to ascend the face to a height of twenty feet or so. The cliff face was quite vertical, and the rocks were a bit loose in parts, so none of us ventured too far away from the support of the tree. We found another area that was a bit nicer for simple climbing, so all of us except Mark (he took a harder route a ways off, being the experienced climber he is) went up this way and hung out at the top for a few minutes. Climbing up this way was not particularly dangerous, there were a few questionable places, but nothing risky if we remained calm. I didn't find myself getting panicky or hesitant on the way up. Coming down was more interesting. I stayed calm and maintained my breathing, but I had to consciously apply myself in this respect. I noticed that as I became more relaxed, my natural climbing ability kicked in a little more efficiently. I scooted my body closer to the face. Footholds that were not entirely horizontal and had some loose rocks and dirt on them were approached carefully, but not with the kind of tension that will cause a quick and nasty slip.

After this we went back up to the campsite to get ready for a swim in the springs. The water was refreshingly cold. After a bit of swimming, we went back up to the campsite. Mark and Annla started getting the food ready while the rest of us ended up dueling with Jack and Elias using Mark's set of shinai and bokken. Having a kid swing a sword at you with all his might is interesting. In some ways it's more intimidating because the kid, if young enough, still believes that since we're three or four times his size, that we're invincible. So he swings with all his might and from the most unorthodox of angles. In addition to that we had to be careful not to hit their fingers (or keep them from hitting their fingers). At one point in time, when I was dueling one of the twins, Gene pulls him aside and whispers to him to start trying to hit my body rather than my sword. Protecting myself actually became pretty difficult after that! I'm glad they only had the shinai to attack us, otherwise I might have some nice bruises. Working with swords is always great fun.

That night, after resting and eating some ridiculously fantastic food prepared and supplied by Gene, Annla, and Mark, we did some more freerunning/Parkour to get to the swimming area. I noticed that because most of my blood was around my torso, being involved in the digestive processes, that I stayed quite warm in the water as long as I didn't have my chest in. Swimming around or standing in water above my chest became quite cold very quickly. I don't have the opportunity to get myself out in nature that often, so swimming at night in cold dark water was very and soothing peaceful in its own way.

After swimming, we pretty much just hung around the fire until we all eventually went to bed. I figured there wouldn't be any rain, so I just parked my sleeping bag near the fire and fell asleep pretty quickly. I awoke to some racket in the middle of the night, but went right back to sleep. Later that morning we realized that the racket was some racoons getting into our food that we left out. They had actually been sneaking around while we were hanging out by the fire that evening and had stolen a container of cookies while we weren't but ten feet away.

So, basically, we had a blast!















Annla shows up while Gene relaxes and Mark shows off his curves.















Gene and Mark swordfighting a pair of identically deadly opponents.















Martial artist of the emerging generation.















Gene sword fighting with his boys.















Hanging out a bit after training.

Maya Deren

As their flesh once labored to bring forth flesh,
   so the minds of the elders labor,
   with like passion
      to bring forth a mind.
By rites of initiation
   they would accomplish
   the metamorphosis of matter into man,
   the evolution of a mind for meaning in the animal
      which is the issue of their flesh.
By this
   they would insure that the race endure
      as a race of men.
The rites of this second birth
   into the metaphysical cosmos,
   everywhere mime the conditions of
      the first physical birth.
The novice is
   purified of the past
   relieved of possessions,
   made innocent,
      placed nascent in the womb solitude. . .
The matter,
   which is man himself,
   and the myth of a race
      are joined.
His solitary meditation
   is a gestation
   and, in the end,
   a man emerges by ordeal,
      to be newly named, newly rejoiced in.

            - Maya Deren (1952)

Training Footage

Striking work





Ricky slow sparring




Me slow sparring

Various Types of Restricted Work

The last few times we've been meeting have involved restricting the way we do work in various ways. The only two we've explored at all so far have been using blindfolds and then typing up limbs in a few different manners. In a sense, a lot of the training we do involves restrictions for the purposes of studying a concept in a very clear and concise manner. This type of restriction allows for a strong focus on the concept being explored. For example, if we're doing work with headlocks, no other type of locks will be involved, or strikes. As we establish some comfort with the specific type of work, other elements will of course be thrown in, until we're back to just doing freeform type stuff. A lot of Systema drills work this way--gradually shifting in and out of focus to allow specific concepts to be tied into being able to use them in non-restricted situations.

The type of restricted work we've been doing, however, is for the purposes of exploring freedom outside of what's being restricted. For instance, when the vision is restricted, we can observe the differences in performance. There are elements of vision that are important that get taken away with the blindfold, and there are elements of vision that are unimportant (i.e. distracting) that get taken away with the blindfold. The blindfold helps differentiate between these two types of elements to truly see the purpose of vision in fighting. This concept is fairly timless: take away something so one can truly appreciate it. We also tied up legs and arms (also tied two people together using various limbs) in order to create some physical restriction. In tying someone's legs together, the question is raised, "what do I really use my legs for?". Grappling with my legs tied really made me notice and appreciate how much I use my legs for momentum. Grappling with my leg tied to someone else's really made me notice and appreciate the freedom I have in moving on my own.

There are of course other benefits to restriction other than simply the appreciation gained by removal. Being tied to somebody else really pushes the concept of sensitivity and respect for what another person is doing. When not tied together, a lot of their movement is non-threatening (i.e. they're not striking or attempting a lock). But tie yourself to that person, and all of their movement affects you. This whole process requires relearning movement with respect to another human body. Relearning is good, it teaches the brain to refactor things and gain deeper insight into other situations. Freedom is gained by having certain presumptions destroyed. I think the same goes for a lot of the restricted scenarios we attempt.

Group Picture

A picture of the group after training. I will post a bit about what we did that day shortly.

Blindfold Work

I bought a new camera with some Christmas money and was able to get a little bit footage from last Saturday's training session. We decided to test out the blindfold a little bit more. I've decided to start a theme of sensory and psychological deprivation for the next few training sessions. This time we deprived vision. Next time I think I may exhaust our energy before training. Since none of us our certified instructors, we tend to approach training from an explorative approach. This most likely means we will stay within the bounds of what we can conceive, which will be fairly limited, but should allow for some improvement to the general foundations (movement, breathing, relaxation, form).

I didn't get any footage of us without the blindfold for a bit of contrast, but we definitely noticed that we work from a more relaxed standpoint with the blindfold on. Gene, who was filming for us, observed that we seemed unwilling to accept the presence of our aggressor. In other words, as the aggressor would come in for a grab, we would fight more than what the threat would call for. Apparently a lot of this fighting instinct came from being able to see the aggressor as he approached, as our work with the blindfold seemed to have more acceptance of the aggressor.

I also got a certified instructor to take a look at the footage. He noted that we were still being a bit too technique-oriented--not enough genuine movement. He also said he would have liked to see us escaping a bit before the attacker applied the hold or grab. In talking with him, I noticed that my last bit of work at the end becomes very greedy as I realize I have the elbow locked in a mildly clever way. I even unnecessarily throw my leg over him to keep him there rather than doing the work and moving on. Now, if we were practicing restraining our aggressor, this might have been ok. However, the other two times I am "attacked" I do the work and move on. A cop told me about the rule of assuming escalation. If there's one guy attacking, be ready for two more to attack. If a guy attacks with his fist, be ready for a knife or a gun. By locking and restraining my partner I am locking and restraining myself to some extent, making me an easy target for any other aggressors or concealed weapons.

No System for Striking

Vladimir, in a rare moment, talked to Jake quite a bit about striking instead of just hitting him a lot. I was able to listen in, so I will try my best to paraphrase/reinterpret what he said. The two phrases that really got me are "There is no system for striking" and "our bodies do not belong to us". The first makes very clear sense with respect to striking, and the second is a bit more ethereal.

Not having a system for striking seems obvious. Strikes are an energetic concept that require a genuine approach instead of pre-fabricated techniques. The exercises in Systema approach striking in various manners, but what is important is simply optimal energy transference (and in taking strikes, optimal energy dispersion). A lot of concepts get thrown around with respect to Systema strikes such as "heavy hands", "full hands", "being at a comfortable distance", or just "being relaxed".

These concepts are well and fine, but they dance around the very bottom issue of energy transference. Watching the subtleties of Vladimir's structure when striking compared to someone unexperienced is amazing. There is no shock reverberation traveling back into his body--oftentimes he will just use an arm to strike (no movement in the shoulders, hips, etc.), and if you can't see his arm, you would never know he was hitting somebody (well, obviously the guy flailing to the ground as a result of the strike gives it away). At the highest level, striking is a uniform and appropriate mixture of gentleness and power, sensitivity and force, and relaxation and tension. He mentioned that when one learns how to strike well, they don't need to be strong to affect somebody with a strike. This is purely on a physical impact level. Add in the dimension of psychology to striking, and there are no foreseeable boundaries to effectiveness.

What he said about our bodies not belonging to us ties these concepts together. Our bodies are made up of material just like anything else in the universe. We cannot control them to the extent that we would like--we constantly pester Mother Nature for her secrets. The rocks just sit, the sun just shines, the ocean just moves--why can't we just hit someone?

Vladimir said that striking is just natural, but we try to possess it, make it our own, create systems for it, etc. I can feel the unnecessary tension in my own strikes, I restrict the energy by trying to force a stronger impact onto my partner. My muscle fibers contract and expand in all the wrong ways as I deliver the strike--myself thinking that I am in control of my body and all its inner functions. Yet fortunately my heart beats without my consent, and my digestive system does its duties without asking for my permission. Striking can work in the same manner--there does not need to be a thought process or technique involved, just hit. Structure, alignment, breathing--yes, stay aware of these things. What I find funny about myself is that I needed to intellectually learn the obvious about striking: keep the structure so bones don't get broken, don't strike hard surfaces with hard surfaces (e.g. knuckles and forehead), and all those things that say that I am too out of touch with my body and its nature to simply just strike someone.

But I will keep trying until I can get out of the way of myself and just let my body do the work.

Respect the Distance

I've had the pleasure of being at Vladimir's school up in Toronto for the past few days. As always: there has been a flood of information to take in and plenty to think about with respect to future training.

One topic that I had the chance to talk with Vlad about was striking distance. I might have posted on this a little bit before--but working with Vladimir directly really drives the concept into it's full solidity. This distance is a "comfortable" distance for doing work, in this case striking. Vladimir said that people aren't typically used to this middle ground--they will either fight with at least some amount of fear or with a lot of aggression. Some will fight in sparring mode: staying a safe distance then moving in quickly for a kick or a jab. Others will fight aggressively, closing the distance, taking the fight to the ground, or overpowering the other person with strikes. In order to be effective with either of these two extremes and everything in between, the distance must be respected.

The specific drill we worked on today was a progression from some arm-only strikes. We ended with one person trying to grab and the other keeping the comfortable distance while doing a few quick and hopefully effective strikes. This distance is kept no matter whether the opponent is backing off or pursuing. In other words, keep this middle distance until the work is done. This distance is best seen by walking around your partner while they stand still and placing your fist on them. A good understanding of structural alignment and also of impact transferrance in strikes helps with this. By placing your fist on your partner with proper structure (straight spine, relaxed shoulders, not reaching for the strike, but not too close either), one can get a good idea of what will be an effective distance for striking. I know there are a lot of concepts involved in this concept of "middle distance", but the best way to describe it is just to find the most comfortable position.

Vladimir referred to this as "the warrior's distance". A warrior will fight at this distance because it allows the most freedom from too much fear or aggression. Two warriors, fighting against eachother, will still fight at this distance, and one will eventually prevail for whatever reason.

Sticks And Sticks Will Break My Bones

I brought the staff in today so we could have some fun with a capital F. Ricky didn't show up until later so Fabian and I started off with some staff striking warmups. Taking strikes with the staff is worlds apart from taking strikes with the fist. Staffs hurt the bones, bring sharper pain to the muscles, have a different effect on the nervous system. There is also a little more trust required of one's partner--that a shot to the chest won't bounce up and hit the chin or the neck, for example. We didn't hit too intensely though--at the very hardest only striking a little bit harder than what would allow the person being struck to keep their composure.

This striking drill gradually became a movement drill. We both started moving around while one person would get struck. The point of this drill was not so much evasion as it was moving the body in such a way that the strike would be the least damaging. This is another parameter to explore with respect to getting struck by anything--damage control.

That Guy Hits on Everyone

Today we began with some breathing/body warmups. We started out with one step per inhale/exhale (step/inhale, step/exhale) as we walked around the room. Making our way up to five or six steps per inhale/exhale, we went into a light jog. We peaked at ten steps per inhale/exhale and climbed back down to four steps. We talked briefly about the effects experienced during the warmup. Involuntary upper costal breathing (breathing only into the upper parts of the lung in a desperate attempt for more oxygen) seemed to happen to all of us a little bit in the higher stages. We all also begin to feel slight discomfort due to oxygen deprivation when jogging at six to seven steps per inhale/exhale.

Learning to relax in this drill is so much more than just a muscular, skeletal, or psychological concept. As is often repeated in Systema, breathing is not just the mechanical action of the lungs inhaling and exhaling. The inhale and exhale literally extend into the entire body. A proper breath involves physiological efficiency well past the scope of lung operation. The body must be relaxed in an internal level. Training on this level requires a little bit more sensitivity, but is hardly outside anyone's capabilities. Simple exercises such as feeling the pulse in certain parts of the body or performing a single pushup can open doors into the internal mechanics of the body.

After our warmup, we started into some striking work. There were four of us today, so we paired off and began with a basic fist and body alignment drill. One partner stands still while the other walks around that partner, placing their fists on different parts the person's body. This drill is great for feeling one's own structure and form with respect to the person they are striking. The endless contours of the body require that each part of the body be struck genuinely. After the fist placement drill, we started to do some fist pushing. This validates the concept of structure even further. One should try to push with the fist in such a way that they don't move backwards or forwards. In other words, the person being pushed should move, not the person doing the pushing. This is a dynamic balance issue that sounds a little boring from the outside, but a lot of fun to play with once you get into the structural issues.

We eventually got into some real striking. Jase showed up for the first time so I paired off with him so I could jabber a bit about these concepts while striking him and letting him strike me. I explained to Jase how our dominant side usually carries the most tension. I explained this after he noticed himself that his left side was much more tense in receiving strikes than the other. I also explained that certain types of trauma can affect how the body handles strikes. I have had some digestive issues for the past year or so that began with a few occurences of incredibly sharp pain (possibly pancreatitis) that would last for twenty-four hours (bad combinations of prior stress and combining the wrong foods with alcohol). So strikes in certain areas of my body are not received very well. I constantly made reference to breathing so he would get the idea behind being able to take a strike. I also showed him the full spectrum of muscular tension when receiving a strike. Being completely tense sends shock all throughout the body and may possibly result in muscular tissue damage, while being completely loose allows the strike to penetrate the interal organs resulting in a very sickening feeling and potentially some internal injury. So in just a few minutes he had some of the tools to start playing around with receiving strikes. He seemed to like these concepts and ran with them quite well as I continued to hit him.

We did another drill which Fabian accidently began by hitting me as I was hitting Jase. The concept of transferring the momentum/energy of a strike received into giving someone else a strike is similar to the game "hot potato". So at first we lined up and the person in the back of the line started out by striking the person in front of them. That person strikes the person infront of them, and so on. Every so often we would rotate. After doing this for a while, we modified it so that everyone in the line faced the person in the back of the line. So the person in the back of the line would strike the person in front of them, and that person would have to turn around to be able to strike the person in front of them, and so on so that by the time the end of the line was reached, we would all be facing the person in the front on the line. Then the person in the front of the line would strike the person in front (technically behind) them and start all over again. After this we did some strike avoidance drills until the kids showed up for their class.