Systema UK Forum

training phases

BrianH — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:05:23 GMT

I'm just curious about what peoples training phase is or what you are focusing on at the minute? And do you just trust your intuition each day and do what you feel is right or do you set yourself goals?
I remember reading that some people train in a seasonal way,like slow and controlled in autumn/winter,and fast and explosive in spring/summer.

Recently i am focusing on slow work and breath holding on inhale and exhale,which has increased quite alot actually after about a month's intensive focus.
A month seems to really make a difference to making the excercise and principles ingrained if you like,and with the breath holding i have found i am better at controlling my emotions,my thoughts too,adding to that being in control of my energy levels is another plus to the excercise.
I practice this a few times a day,along with other things,pulse joining,tension/relaxation,breathing through the body etc and feel that just these four types of work have a deeper knock on effect that might be overlooked if just practiced here and there.
So,my theme or phase now is putting these four excercises together while doing pressups,the tension/relaxation and breathing through the body work well,and the pulse joining is great for taking you deep into your body,to feel every nuance of movement.As an extra,I also use square breathing throughout the day,and to about 4 seconds each phase,although i have been doing it to 4 pulses from the chest/heart area for each phase for a while now,feels better than merely counting with no feeling.

Brian

Forum: TRAINING

Looking for classes in Sussex or Surrey.

ScottBaker — Thur, 04 Sep 2008 15:58:15 GMT

Hi.

If anybody might be able to help, I am looking for classes in the Sussex or Surrey areas. I live in Brighton and the closest club seems to be Liphook.

Forum: TRAINING PARTNERS

Total vs Consecutive reps

MartynBliss — Thur, 28 Aug 2008 17:08:08 GMT

Guys,
I had a general question. When doing my training is it better to aim at the max reps i can do in one session, or in increasing reps across multiple sets?

ie is doing 51 consecutive reps better than doing 3 sets of 20 for instance?

Thanks,
Martyn

Forum: TRAINING

on line tank game

paulr — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:01:22 GMT

found this on line tank game that is fun to play if your a spare 5mins or so.
just give yourself a user name and off you go.

http://www.maidmarian.com/Tank.htm

let me know what you think

Forum: OFF TOPIC

Timing

Stevew — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:33:55 GMT

http://www.tooshocking.com/view-5231-Cocky-Boxer-Gets-Taken-Care-Of

Wouln't you just love to!?

Forum: OFF TOPIC

Credit Crunch

VinnyC — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:49:54 GMT

http://www.mirror.co.uk/most-popular/2008/08/18/man-s-arm-broken-as-bailiffs-seize-his-home-115875-20702215/

Credit crunch got so bad that police officers watch on as a man is attacked in front of their eyes and turn their back on him! Is it really that bad?

Vin

Forum: OFF TOPIC

Training in Ireland

Cathan — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:50:19 GMT

Anybody training systema in Ireland? Or anyone have any contacts for the east of the
island. Im training solo using Dimitri's and Steve's excellent blogs as guides, aswell as the various forums and videos out there. My fitness level has increased ten-fold but Im lamenting the lack of sparring partners or moreover a skilled instructor that can share their knowledge. Without this it seems as though an average practitionar can only get so far. That said I have been improving especially my flexability and endurance.
so anyone out there in ireland?

Forum: TRAINING

SYSTEMA UK WEBSITE

RobP — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:24:51 GMT

The website is currently undergoing an overhaul and will also be transferred to the Cutting Edge domain www.cuttingedgeshop.com

Please bear with us as everything is switched over. The shop site will still work fine but some other links may not for a bit!

Thanks

Rob

Forum: MODERATOR ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sat 23rd class

RobP — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:19:30 GMT

Just a reminder that there is no class on Saturday 23rd August at Stevenage!

cheers

Rob

Forum: TRAINING

No Tuesday session 19/08/08!

GarethA — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:03:43 GMT

Hi,

Just a quick message for the Letchworth group, we will not be training on Tuesday 19/08/08.

It is my wife's birthday and I haven't been able to arrange for someone else to take the training session (can't take it myself as I do not yet know of an adequate defence against angry wife)!!

Cheers,

Gareth

Forum: TRAINING

On-line Interview: With Paul Genge

stevewildash — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:51:25 GMT

On-line Interview: With Paul Genge

Instructor with Systema UK and Russian Martial Arts Northwest

Steve W: - Hi Paul and thanks for taking some time to complete this on-line interview.

Paul could you please introduce yourself..

Paul G: - I am a 35 year old father of three living near Manchester. For the last 12 years I have been a front line Police Officer in the Thames Valley and Greater Manchester Forces. Currently I have a very small private training group and also teach a few seminars including the UK summer camp.

Steve W: - Paul we have only met once so far, it was at last years Mikhail Ryabko seminar arranged by Rob Poyton, we only spoke briefly, but one thing that was clear to me is that you are quite passionate about the Martial Arts and have the right positive attitude to training. When did you decide that martial arts were for you and what age did you feel it was time to get involved?

Paul G: - I started training when I was 11 years old.

Steve W: -   Paul when you started to look at what Martial Arts were being practised in your area, what one stood out amongst all the others and what one did you first settle on..

Paul G: - I never really looked around much. Having started secondary school I had a little problem with Bullies. My Father and Uncle were both Judo men and so that was my first serious martial art I practiced. I then found out that a school teacher was a Aikido dan grade and a group of us convinced him to start a daily class at lunch times.

Steve W: - You seemed to have followed the usual trial and error of sampling different arts and what I can gather you settled for Bujinkan and followed its teachings for some time.. What was it about Bujinkan that grabbed your imagination and what was it about this style that interested you? Was it the style of fighting or the teachings of Hatsumi Sensei that impressed?

Paul G: - Finding the Bujinkan was pure luck. I was training Aikido and weights in my local sports centre when I saw a sign for the class. With the image of Ninja movies to go by I went to have a laugh at their expense. What got my attention was that for the first time I found an art that intergrated striking, locking, throwing and weapons without them being a set of separate disciplines.

Steve W: - I understand you spent some time studying in Japan under Hatsumi, What made you decide to take off to Japan? And was it all that you thought it would be?

Paul G: - My training had already caused me to travel all over the country to train with the top instructors available. I trained with Hatsumi first in the UK and it seemed the logical next step to train it at the Hombu. Luckily I went with a bunch of guys who made regular trips to Japan and they showed me the ropes. Training with them and Hatsumi in the UK set my expectations for the trip and I was not dissipointed.

Steve W: -   You successfully passed the rank of 5th Dan in Hatsumis system, how did you feel once you attained this high rank? Did you think you had made it, or was there something still missing, was there something telling you there was more to learn but elsewhere?

Paul G: -   Bujinkan grades were a joke. At 1st dan I was offered 4th over a beer by Hatsumi. This was because everyone at the table was at least 5th dan and he did not want me to feel left out.

At 5th dan there was still plenty for me to master at this stage and I thought the Bujinkan was a place to do it. It took meeting Vladimir to change this.

Steve W: - At what point did you discover the System? Where and when did this happen?

Paul G: - Trevor Robinson was the first UK practitioner of Systema. We had a mutual friend and through him I got to look at some of Vladimirs early videos. He then organised a UK seminar and I attended that.

During this Vladimir demonstrated working with out a set attack against two opponents armed with knives. While he did this he turned to someone in the audience and answered his questions without stopping the demonstration. This was the point where I decided to visit Canada instead of Japan again.

Steve W : -   Were Vladimir Vasiliev and Mikhail Ryabko the only real hardcore instructors teaching the System at this time or where there other people teaching variants of the same thing?

Paul G: -   Information at that time was scarce. Vladimir was the only source for information in the west and Michael was really unknown except for a few clips on a video that Vladimir released. This also included some footage of the Kadochnikov Military System and some folk styles. An interesting thing to note is that Vladimirs material made reference to Kadochnikov and other styles quite freely, but this changed once Michael was introduced through the Master of Fighting video. In my opinion Michaels influence is only one part of the training that has made Vladimir as skilled as he is.

Steve W: - What was it about Systema that caught your eye, was it the absence of rules and formality, the calm relaxed manner in which it is taught in class? Did Systema give you more freedom to experiment with ideas that werent always encouraged in Japanese arts, as I found.

Paul G: - The lack of stances, preset attacks or techniques were all very impressive, but the main thing that initially grabbed my attention was Vladimirs control of free play. Most martial arts I had seen until this point either worked with very fixed competition rules that limited the attacks or taught through a very contrived series of techniques.

Steve W: - Once this new art had been discovered, did you feel you had to travel to the source again, like in Bujinkan to pursue the correct methods and understand the principles of Systema more fully?

Paul G: - No matter what you choose to study there are two things that effect how efficiently you do it.   The first is your natural talent for the subject and the other is the teachers ability. For that reason I have always travelled to the best teachers I could find. That has meant a number of trips to Canada, Germany, Russia and recently Serbia, but everyone was worth the time and money invested in it.

Steve W : - Can you tell me what is it about the four pillars of Systema that makes the approach to learning so different to other Martial Arts, Can you explain why they are so important to the understanding of what Systema is all about.

Paul G: - I have never heard Michael or Vladimir refer to Four Pillars. It is a phrase that has been coined by some of the instructors in the USA to express what they consider the main four principles within Systema. These consist of breathing, relaxation, movement and form, but there are many others including switching vectors, cutting the movement, support, the wedge, leverage and biomechanical efficiency through movement.

Where what we do is so different from other arts is that we have principles as our tool box and not techniques. This gives us the ability to apply them to any situation where techniques often fail due to changes in the environment or attack used against us.

Steve W : - I know you have visited the main areas where Systema is taught, including Moscow, Toronto and more recently Serbia with Alex Kostic.. Do teaching styles changes from place to place? You mentioned in a post on the Systema uk forum on your return from Serbia, that Alexs approach had been influenced by other systems and that his methods and approach seems to be a more realistic one. Why do you think his methods and approach differs from other senior instructors? Is it because of the environment he finds himself in, is Serbia so much different to the UK in that he has to teach in a different way?

Paul G: -   A practitioner or teachers approach will vary depending on how he was taught and what his experiences are. As a result of this all the instructors I have trained with have had their own feel, but they have a common glue.

When I first visited Vladimir in Canada Alex Kostic was one of the regular students. Back then he said he planned on living in Russia for a while to train with a number of masters of different systems. This he did and it has given him an interesting approach to what he does that sits somewhere between Vasilievs approach and the one of the Kadochnikov Military System. I went to Serbia to seek out some knowledge of the Kadochikov style of work and how to fit it with the way I already trained. This was exactly what I got and sometime I will revisit Alex to see how his approach to knife and pistol defence vary from what I already do.

Steve W: - Paul can you tell us what type of drills appeal to you and do you have any favourites? Is there any one thing thats at the top of that list, or do you always try and work a balanced set of drills that involve both mental and physical effort?

Paul G: -   Regular evaluation of what we do is crucial to development. Through this I tend to pick the next area I want to move onto and I then invest some time in it for a number of weeks. When the subject becomes stale and the learning slows I move on to something new.

At the moment I tend to concentrate on biomechanical efficiency, fist/leg fighting and strike absorption and redirection. A favourite drill right now is to be hit or kicked and absorb the force by initially moving with its vector then changing it. We then continue this movement into our own punch or kick and the game continues.

When we first started this we used pushes, but we have increased the pace and depth of strikes considerably since then.

Steve W: - Coming from a Martial Arts background that was very technique orientated, how did you adapt to the very non-technique based art of Systema? I know for me personally, it was one of the most difficult concepts to grasp, the idea of natural movement etc?

Paul G: -   Whilst in Canada I read a book called Illusions by Richard Bach. One line from it stood out and became my motto for the trip. This was YOU HAVE TO GIVE UP WHAT YOU ARE FOR WHAT YOU CAN BECOME. By actively trying to not do what I had done before, I was able to quickly shed the unnatural movements that hold most martial arts together. The funny thing was that within a short space of time the quality techniques and movements surfaced of their own accord without any conscious effort on my part.

Steve W: - When we talk about Solo training, is this something that you consider a vital part of everyones training regime? How essential is it? Do you have your own preferred methods of solo training; I know you dabble with the kettle bell, do you find supplementary weights useful or like me find them difficult to get enthused over.

Paul G: - Fitness training has been part of my life for a long time and continues to be important. For some time I limited myself to Systema exercise only, but recently I have added punch bag and kettle bell work, a little weight training from time to time along with swimming and running. To link it to my Systema I use the breathing method that Vladimir teaches, but I would like to make it clear that the best thing to do if you want to improve your Systema is the exercises taught by Vladimir.

I just like variety and this routine suits me at the moment.

Steve W: - Have you now turned your back on other Martial Arts or do you still like to experiment with other styles and systems?

Paul G: - I dont have time to train in other styles due to work and family commitments, but keep my eyes open for new ideas and training methods. Thats what has taken me to look at the Kadochnikov side of the equation through Alex and may lead to further research in that direction in the future.

If I did have the time I would probably look for systems where I could steal and modify skills that dovetail with what I already have.

Steve W: - Paul what is your view of Martial Artists training with knifes given the events seen in the news recently, could it possibly show Systema and other arts that adopt this type of training in a bad light? Is it necessary?

Paul G: - I am not keen on people fantasising about combat and most weapons systems I have seen do exactly that. The students wave their weapons whilst imagining cutting, stabbing and hitting imaginary opponents. This is as unhealthy as some of the ultra violent computer games out there where people fantasise about shooting and running over innocent people in the name of fun. Rob P and I both know martial artists who have issues caused by the way they train and for this reason prefer our approach.

The reality of armed combat is very frightening and for certain professions it is necessary to train for it. In Systema there has been an emphasis placed on defending ourselves against an armed attacker and not using a weapon offensively. This is due to the needs of civilians being very different to that of soldiers.

For this reason I believe that most people do not need to learn to use a knife as a weapon, but instructors do. After all if a soldier came through the door whilst on leave and asked for instruction, what you have to give him might mean the difference between life and death.

Steve W: - Paul can you give me a definition of someone who has good movement.. what does this mean? and can this vary from person to person, as we cant all possibly move in the same way.

Paul G: - Good movement is efficient movement. Yes it can vary from person to person, but it has to be efficient.

Steve W: - My observations of peoples understanding of Systema varies considerably from person to person and how best to train. What is your view on over compliancy in training, as sometimes this frustrates me no end. Its one thing to work with your partner, but there comes a point where being too compliant becomes counterproductive and no one learns anything.. Where do you stand on this?

Paul G: - There are three ranges in combat. You can forget of the usual ideas of kicking, punching and wrestling and look at something more fundamental than that. If we were to look at the subject of dealing with grabs the first range is when a hold or lock is already applied. This is with full strength and resistance. If we train this range our bodies become familiar with it. If we do not they become frightened and tense.

The next range is working inside the movement. That is as the lock or hold is going on. This range has less resistance because if done right there is already movement to work with. The last range is to work at the very commencement of the attack. This kind of thing is usually where the no contact stuff comes from.

In Ryabko Systema we tend to see demonstrations of the last two ranges and very little of the first one. This is probably because it looks smoother to perform, but the first one is crucial to anyone training Systema for combat.

In my training there is resistance. It is not present in every drill or exercise, but it has to be experienced. One problem with resistance is that it often comes from the ego of the person resisting and not the goals of the drill. This can lead to lessons not being learnt due to the objective being usurped by the egos own agenda.

Steve W : - Should there be a place for more hard core training, for those that require the next level of intensity, or do you believe whats on offer today is enough for everyday applications. Do you think there is a market for something a bit special so to speak?

Paul G: - Yes I believe that the tougher the training the better the student becomes. It is for that reason I train so hard with the small group I have. When I trained in Germany I experienced the most demanding form of training I have ever had. We ran in the mountains, performed at least 600 press ups per day, got beaten with sticks and shovels. On one drill we had to stand on the bottom of a lake in 3 metres of water with someone else on our shoulders for long periods of time. All this taught me more about my own abilities than all the seminars in a pleasant sports centre put together.

Providing intensive training has been the motivation behind Rob P and I organising the annual camps in Wigan. Though they are a great social event I can safely say they are the toughest Systema training you will get in the UK. By the end of every camp I have been amazed by the improvements every student has made. Because of this, the atmosphere and team bond it generates, we have regulars who would not miss that camp for any reason. It is a truly a highlight of my calendar.

Steve W : - As a serving Police Officer, can you tell us briefly, if you are able, what type of work you are involved with and has your Systema training helped with any difficult situations? How do your colleagues view what it is you do out of working hours, as far as the Martial Arts and Systema are concerned, has this ever been a problem with your professional situation..

Paul G: - My latest post is part of a team that deals with high risk entries, violent armed opponents and public order situations. Though I cannot go into specifics of the situations I have faced, Systema and many of the other martial arts I have studied have got me out of a number of dangerous situations. What I have found fascinating is that since starting Systema my skills have become far more easily accessible. I no longer have to think or give thought to what I will do and I simply react from instinct. As we all know in a real fight there is little or no time for thought and this ability to react without it is essential.

Steve W: - Paul, can you tell us a bit about the classes you run and what you look for in new students.. What is your teaching philosophy and how do new students take to the teachings and concepts of Systema.

Paul G: - I no longer teach an open class. There are a number of reasons for this and as far as I am concerned it is the best decision I have made. The guys I train meet twice a week. Training is tough and I try to teach in themes depending on what I want to work on. For quite some time these sessions would commence with at least hours exercise before we moved onto anything else. This is not the case at the moment as I feel they now know how to get fit and the students can invest there own time into it while we move onto other things.

Fitness training now comes from protracted periods of work. This can be anything from rolling, punching and kicking each other, to takedowns and throws. Each student is different and due to the numbers I get to train one to one with each of them during the sessions. Also this way each student can end up working on something completely different than the others, without it becoming difficult for me to keep a track on what is going on.

Lessons are fast paced and the contact level has considerably gone up with the increase in skill level. It is through this kind of honest work that we are pushing our boundaries and constantly finding new areas to explore.

As for new students I dont take on many and try to limit them to one at a time so that we do not have too many beginners to look after at one time. All I really am looking for in a beginner is someone with good intentions and who is prepared to make a commitment to training. The rest is down to me.

Steve W: - As one of the main instructors within the UK can you comment on the standard of Systema and its direction for the future?

Paul G: - The standard varies considerably. I certainly would not recommend every person who claims to be teaching Systema as a source of quality martial arts, but there some very talented Systema teachers in the UK if you know where to look. This is no different from any other style, but it is made worse by there being a very slack process for instructor certification.

One thing that is not helping the growth or quality of Systema training in the UK at the moment is that no one seems to work together. It used to be that if one of the Russian instructors were in the UK nearly every Systema teacher would turn out with as many students as they could muster. We also used to have seminars with teachers from around the country teaching sections of the days class. These events were well attended and developed a healthy feeling of community that has been lost. Maybe in the future we can try to address this, but it will need more than just Rob and I to do it.

Steve W : - Thanks Paul for your time in this interview and for your contributions to the SYSTEMA UK Forum, which always stimulates me and others to contribute.. I hope that we will train together sometime in the near future..

All the best.

Steve W

Paul G: - Thanks for asking me to contribute to your blog. It is unique because despite training Systema you manage to view things from an outside perspective. This ability can be a very healthy thing. If we become convinced of our own superiority we have a very big fall ahead. Thanks for helping us keep things in perspective.

Forum: ARTICLES

Mindset

RobP — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:24:24 GMT

Had a quick chat with Steve W at the end of last week's class about mindset. We were talking about different types of mindset and how they can be trained.

I've found martial arts use a fairly similar approach, with some of the more internal systems going more into "reptile brain" or "predator" work. RBSD styles seem to lean more towards the total agression and forward drive models.

Perhaps in both cases they are working in the parameters of a very specific setting or scenario. My view is that you need to be abel to operate with different types of mindset according to the needs of the situation. To accomplish this it's worth practicing with different mindsets. However there can be a couple of problems with this

First is the location. Training in the same comfy studio week in week out makes it difficult to adjust mindset. In fact the training session itself can breed it's own kind of mindset - you see people before a class come in, get changed, have a drink, do a bit of stretching, say hi to everyone else. It almost becomes like a little ritual to get us into our mindset for training.

Second is the type of work being done - the mindset should relate to the particular aims of the drill or exercise. For example a drill designed to improve understanding of balance might not be best approached by an all-out mindset. Likewise full on sparring might call for a more positive attitude!

Third is the people. Working with the same crowd is a doulbe edged sword. On the one hand everyone gets to know what the others can take, there's no ego involved and people can really push each other to the limit. On the other hand you can get comfortable with each other too, so it becomes hard to apply real fear or pressure.

You can get that with new people - they are an unknown quantity. On the downside you don't know what they can take - or how they will take it! Can you trust someone not to snap your arm off in a lock, how much control do they have?

Fourth - safety. The eternal instructor problem, how to replicate "reality" yet maintain a reasonable level of safety. Bearing in mind too the needs / backgrounds of the people training. Working with live blades tends to increase awareness and improves movement considerably - is it suitable for a regular class?

Time is also a factor in class, a couple of hours is a warm up, some drills and some freestyle work normally

This is where the training camp comes into its own. These take you out of the normal environment and dump you into woods, fields, mud, rain, dark, heat, gravel, cars....

You can train with other people who are experienced but who you don't neccesarily know very well.

In addition the camps are an immersive experience. Days and nights spent training means you get pushed beyond the normal limit and start to discover new things about yourself.

Longer training sessions or upping intensity can be good to, but to my mind the biggest changes come about through being in a new environment. For me I found the most insight has come through being at Club Vlad for a week, or training in Moscow and also on Vladimir's Summer Camp (the work the water was particularly challenging for me)

Bear in mind that intensity comes in many forms and is also subjective - one person's "intense" is another stroll in the park. It also isn't limited to putting the gear on and bashing each other around the room

All other views welcome!

cheers

Rob

Forum: TRAINING

Connections

RobP — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:42:03 GMT

The main theme we'll be exploring on the Autumn Camp is Connections

Body connections and bio-mechanics (constructive and destructive)

Connecting to the environment (on all levels)

Connecting to ourselves (intuition, emotional states, self awareness)

From an emergency survival point of view the sense of connection is vital.

On an everyday level I think a lot of problems today come from being dis-connected. "Popular" culture seems to push us further and further into isolation, cynicism and vicarious experience. So the camp will be a chance to re-connect, recharge and re-assess.

cheers

Rob

Forum: TRAINING

Functional Fitness Vol 2

RobP — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:32:48 GMT

Preview of the new FF DVD - Pad Work!

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=5l17LyzELBE

cheers

Rob

Forum: VIDEO

good clip of biomechanical rolling

Paul — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:08:46 GMT

This is an interesting clip that shows the progression from biomechanical movements on the floor to defence from kicks on the floor. The work appears to be from a kadochnikov school.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vubqHcVrzvk&feature=related

Enjoy,

Paul Genge

Forum: VIDEO