WHY SYSTEMA?
by Martin WheelerOver the recent years I have read with interest on the internet back and forth as to the validity of training in Systema by observers who have only viewed experts in the art on YouTube or video. Usually a comparison is made to the most visual of fighting arts, mixed martial arts. The same types of questions are posted over and over again, “Why do they train slowly? Why does this look way too easy? Why did that guy fall over and seem unable to get back up?”

And I read with equal interest the various ways in which the art is defended by practitioners of Systema. Not that they are not valid questions, they definitely are, it is just I rarely hear these same questions from anyone in seminars, classes, or in sparring sessions, no matter what their background or what speed they work at.

Just for the sake of balance, I began in the martial arts at a tender age and have studied in many full contact environments from boxing systems to grappling systems, to clever weapons based and ‘street-fighting’ arts, and have enjoyed sparring, fighting and training for the last thirty years with anyone who’s paths I have crossed from beginners to world-class full contact fighters. I was a bouncer for ten years and I am currently contracted to share my views on close-quarter-combatives with professionals from elite security services around the world, as-well-as MMA fighters, Systema practitioners, traditional martial artists and civilians.

So why, if I have studied all these other full contact systems with relative success, would I choose Systema?

For me that is easy to answer. It’s because I have tried it. I am just one of many who brought whatever I had in my little bag of tricks to test Vladimir Vasiliev, or heaven forbid, Mikhail Ryabko, when I first met them. And I have yet to see anyone who did not come out the other end of the experience the same as I did, that is to say, confused, in pain but with a profound insight into the fact that something fundamental had changed.
To put it mildly, there is a lot more going on with Systema than meets the eye. And if there were not, if you could really just see what was happening by watching it on YouTube, then it would not be very good Systema.

Mixed martial arts are dramatic, fast and superbly visual. The best method for two pugilistic grapplers to go at it since the gladiators of old Rome. You can see what is happening and the results are self evident. It hosts some of the best conditioned and most versatile athletes.

I love to watch it, I love to train in it and always enjoy working with anyone from that world. And in my opinion, anyone who trains in MMA who is even half decent, a man or woman, is to be taken very seriously.

So I hear you ask: Well, if Systema is so good why isn’t it in the UFC? And I think that is an excellent question.

But I might ask: Well, if the UFC was any good why don’t they throw a knife in the cage?

As unrealistic as that is, maybe you get my point? The dynamic of a fight would change immediately if a knife were indeed tossed into the cage. You would see two highly trained fighters having to immediately adapt to a completely new set of rules or die almost instantaneously.
I think anyone would agree that eating jabs from a skilled fighter, possibly the least lethal of MMA striking attacks, sucks, but by comparison is quite pleasant compared to a single knife wound.

When I first trained with Vladimir he stopped me in the middle of a sparring session and said in his own inimitable way, ‘Martin, I know men that you would take to pieces in the ring’. Of course, stupidly beaming with pride I thought he was complimenting me, until he turned away to attend another student and added flatly… ‘But they would kill you.’

And there’s the rub. Almost every visible strategy, philosophy and motion that is great in an MMA sport environment is useful in the street and even on the battlefield. But only useful. Whereas everything in Systema is purposely designed for both of the later environments, is not visual, and has been proven as effective in those arenas as MMA has in the cage. Systema’s structure is intentionally designed to appear structureless, and the speed of the action although registering as slow to the eye is actually a highly developed relational timing, deceptive due to the Systema practitioner remaining calm.

Recently I was invited to introduce the concept of Systema to an overseas Special Operations Unit. While there, I was shown a video of various instructors that had been invited to train their operators and show what they had to offer. Among them was a top MMA coach from Pride. I asked what they thought of his training. ‘Excellent’ the Colonel said ‘but for us, virtually useless.’

This is in no way disparaging to the Pride coach, he was obviously excellent. But the fact remains, what is good in one arena is not necessarily good for another. Systema is not designed primarily for a sport environment or a sport mentality anymore than MMA is primarily designed for a battlefield environment or a combat mentality.

One could train for twenty years in Jujitsu, for example, and be an amazing grappler. But if you were to introduce just one more opponent into the fight you would not be doing Jujitsu anymore. It is simply not designed for fighting two opponents efficiently at the same time, even on the ground. It is primarily structured to fight one opponent at a time.

I am not saying the Jujitsu fighter would not prevail, I am merely suggesting that if he had to fight two or more possibly armed opponents at the same time on a daily basis then his training might soon start to look, at least from the outside, like Systema. And then armed with that knowledge, the way he worked against a single opponent again would also dramatically change. After ten years or so it would look as alien to another Jujitsu practitioner observing it from the outside as Systema does now after centuries of refinement.

Systema, as a martial art, in the form it exists now is primarily designed for real life application, it works for unpredictable situations (such as multiple opponents, various weapons, uneven terrains, poor lighting, confined space, etc.) for professionals in the military, law enforcement and security, for someone who’s got to fight while injured or wounded or has to protect a woman or child, for someone who is older or in a poor physical condition. Training and fighting in Systema is designed to avoid injuries, and even heal your old ones. And that requires a very different bag of tricks, look and feel to a sport fighting art.

Although, as Vladimir once remarked with that casual profound quietness ‘Systema just happens to be a martial art’. And to have any understanding of that gem, one cannot merely observe it from the outside…

About the author.
Martin Wheeler is a Senior U.S. Systema Instructor certified under Vladimir Vasiliev. Martin is teaching regular Systema classes at Los Angeles School of Russian Martial Art. He has trained in the martial arts for over thirty years ranging from Boxing, Grappling, Weapons fighting, Kenpo Karate and for 10 years in Systema. He is contracted to teach SWAT teams and Special Operations Units and is also produced Hollywood screen writer.

Flow, the Psychology of Optimal Experience, 
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. 

“We have all experienced times when, instead of being buffeted by anonymous forces, we do feel in control of our actions, masters of our own fate. On the rare occasions that it happens, we feel a sense of exhilaration, a deep sense of enjoyment that is long cherished and that becomes a landmark in memory for what life should be like….. moments like these are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times…the best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”

An engaging book, packed with information and new ways of thinking about life. Csikszentmihalyi has spent his professional life researching happiness, and his conclusions have led him to believe (with considerable evidence) that most people are happiest at these times when they are stretching themselves to achieve something.

The conditions for the ideal flow activities are that they provide a sense of discovery, a creative feeling of transporting the person into a new reality. They push the person into higher levels of performance, and lead to previously undreamed-of states of consciousness. They transform the self by making it more complex. In turn that means that the activity needs to continue to grow and become more complex so that it continues to provide the growth and challenge to make it meaningful. 
The book goes on to describe all the different ways in which people have achieved flow throughout the centuries, and how much of music, art, literature and religion can be viewed through a lens which suggests that they are all ways in which the human race tries to formalise ways in which flow can be achieved more easily.

Hey Guys,

We have a gotten a date setup for a gun seminar:

Location: Louisville, Kentucky

Exact Location: Hogan’s Fountain in Cherokee Park - Louisville, KY

Date: March 21, 2009

Time: 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM

We will be going over breathing and movement with a hand gun.  Especially focusing on how holding a weapon creates (psychological) tension in your body affecting your movement, fine motor skills, and judgement.  We will also focus on changing “brain states” to understand and perceive threatening/safe  situations more quickly…

Everyone will come away from the seminar with a better understanding of the principles of Systema in the context of using a hand gun.

Space will be limited so register early…

**Real weapons are not permitted.  There will be “training” guns available as well as the use of paintball or air soft pistols

To register for the seminar click here…

Thanks

Bill

P.S. - If you are interested in being a student at Systema Louisville.  Please send an e-mail to info@systemalouisville.com

“ Overcoming Knee Pain with Systema ” by Bill Parravano

It was almost 9 years ago that I was at Judo and had partnered with Martin Wheeler to practice a hip throw. I had done this throw thousands of times over the course of my career in Judo and was reasonably successful at it. One of the times I was coming into this hip throw and Martin tapped my hip a little. All of a sudden I found myself on the ground not understanding at all what just had happened.

Being full of myself, I looked at him and said, “Try that again!”

I came into the throw again and once again I found myself on the ground not knowing what had just happened.

I asked him, “What did you do?”

The response came, “just relax your tension.”

I got up and said, “That was pretty cool. I want to learn how to do that!”

That was my introduction to Systema and my life has not been the same since

In and around the time of that fateful practice I had sustained a severe injury to my left knee and had torn the (ACL) ligament as well as a couple of pieces of cartilage. I was in “recovery” mode after surgery trying to strengthen my legs so I would not feel so stiff, sore and prone to more injuries as a result of the left knee.

However, the more Judo I did the more I seemed to “hurt” myself.

I am not talking about big injuries either. I am talking about the pulled muscle in the back or the neck that leaves you unable to really practice for a week or so. Nagging injuries that keeps you from practicing because you know it will just get worse and then who knows what situation you will be faced with.

The only examples I had were the “older” Judo black belts who couldn’t kneel, or had back surgery, or who could no longer do the throws they did when they were younger.

This did not seem like such an “appealing proposition.”

So I began to train Systema and Judo at the same time.

Systema scared the hell out of me. People were punching and kicking each other in all sorts of scenarios (on the ground, standing up, one on one, in a group). Up to that point I had never been involved in a “punching art.” Judo was all about throws, chokes, arm locks, and hold-downs.

However, there was this feeling I had after practice, no matter how scary practice was, where I felt good. Really good. Like I had begun to deal with the fear in my body that held me in such a tense tight place causing all of the pain I was feeling from my knee injury and all the other injuries that had been there for a very long time.

I found that Systema has a number of leg exercises such as the “slow squat” that are designed to both stretch and strengthen the tendons and the ligaments within the knee joint itself. These exercises are done with “circular breathing” (In through the nose and out through the mouth) for a long enough period of time that actually fatigues the muscles in the legs without straining the joint. When the muscles are fatigued and “out of the way”, I was then able to work just with the tendons and the ligaments in the knee, which was directly contributing to my knee pain.

The more I practiced Systema, the less Judo I did, the better I felt, the more fluidly I moved, and my knee pain went away!

The bonus to all of this is all of the great people I have met along the way.

Great people with solid character and values. Great people who are willing to look at their fears and really work on them (of course while they are punching yours out! ?) Great people that recognize their own ego and self-pity and use humor to let go of these “crutches.” Great people who show up day after day to practice knowing that Systema is a way to improve themselves letting go of what does not serve them in their lives.

I am so thankful to have found Systema. It has improved my life on many levels physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I can’t imagine my life now without it. I only hope that I am able to carry that feeling of Systema forward and share it with others so I may improve their lives like it has mine.

About the author:
Bill Parravano is ceritified by Vladimir Vasiliev as a Russian Martial Art Instructor at Systema Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. He is also an Instructor of a style of body work called Ortho-Bionomy and has just completed an e-Book on knee pain incorporating many of the principles of Systema, “Stop Your Knee Pain Now!”

“Systema. I found my home.”
by Gene Smithson
“Vladimir Vasiliev will be coming to Austin, Texas to teach a seminar. Austin Systema and Lifekido are hosting the master of Systema on January 24 th and 25th, 2009···”
If I had read that sentence 5 years ago I would not have had any idea what it meant or even who they were talking about.
Turns out it is about my teacher, and my friend Vlad. Turns out it is my friend Fabian’s school and my school bringing Vlad here.
Here’s how easy it is to have your whole life change.
Russian Martial Art? What is that? I have been training in martial arts for over 30 years and I never heard of Russian Martial Art. There is something there, relax, breathe··· does this stuff work? Experimenting with my classes, trying it out in BJJ and Reality Combatives, it works! There is something here, something revolutionary, different, beautiful. Vladimir Vasiliev. Who is he? Here are some videos··· Whoah! Either this is fake or he is the most incredible artist I have ever seen.
Me and Matt going to Toronto, in the winter, in the snow, at the Emerald Isle motel. At my first class with Vladimir Vasiliev and it definitely is not fake. I could not stop to wonder, how did he do that? Questions flooding my brain and sweating them out and feeling a deep relieved sigh that I had found my home, MY place to live and explore. Systema.
I remember very vividly the first really deep hit I received from Vlad. I was standing there eyes wide open, unable to see at all··· I felt betrayed, tricked, afraid, vulnerable, true, new, clean and free. I wanted to be hit again and again until it was all gone, all of the crap that I had layered on myself on my soul, that was keeping me separate from God and truth. And then I could see again and there was Vlad smiling and saying, that is probably enough for today.
Since then there have been seminars with Brad, Yuri, Summer Immersion Camp, Spring Training and Toronto again. Since then I am a better father and friend. Oh yeah, I am better at martial arts, too. I own a school now thanks to my friend and training partner Fabian. I wake up each day eager to share what I can of Systema, because I know how it can help you become whole, no matter what your past is… it can heal. So there is this thing called Systema, and there is a guy named Vladimir and they are coming to Austin. And the gratitude I feel and the amazement I feel is beyond what I can say.

About the author:
Gene Smithson has trained in martial arts, both sporting and combatives for over 30 years. He is certified by Vladimir Vasiliev to teach Systema and is the owner operator of Austin Systema and Tai Chi.

“Journey to Systema”
by Morten Danielsen
My name is Morten Danielsen and I am a Systema Instructor under Mikhail Ryabko and Vladimir Vasiliev. I am also the one presenting the training of Systema at our club in Esbjerg, Denmark. But this is not about me – this is about our Journey.

As you might know, we are hosting the Scandinavian Systema Summit this year, held November 15th and16th and featuring our two great Systema masters and founders Mikhail Ryabko and Vladimir Vasiliev. A great venue for our new club.

Our club was traditionally a karate club. Small compared to many – and after the journey together with Vladimir, Mikhail, Valentin, Konstantin, Sergei and others we have dedicated ourselves to Systema.

Systema Denmark started in Germany. Some of our club members went to a seminar in Münster with Mikhail and they got convinced that there was something they had to investigate further. So after purchasing many of the great DVDs (and my own personal favorite is Systema Hand to Hand, if you want to know) we started including some of the exercises in our karate training.

That was not enough for me. Being somewhat older and heavier than the most in our club, I sensed that Systema matched me in a way unprecedented to anything I have experienced in martial arts before. And after participating in another seminar in Münster, this time with Vladimir, and having the good fortune to spend some time talking about life and Systema, I got so inspired that I for one no longer train the traditional karate!

Members of our club also found the aspects and principles of Systema so interesting that they backed my participation at the Summit of Masters held in Toronto in 2006. The Summit of Masters was a great meeting of friends and a great display of Systema. We experienced many of the subjects covered in the DVDs first hand, and I must say that the combination of the DVDs with participating at live seminars works wonders!

I also took part in the Spring Training in Toronto and seminars in Serbia, Sweden all in all it is my impression of being totally inspired for training and life.

And we know how things happen, the inspiring message of Systema had spread to others in Denmark and we now have four groups doing regular training sessions, and the numbers keep growing.

A very interesting question is··· What is it about Systema that so inspires?

To me this is clear, it is the head instructors and the way they present the principles. It is how the principles have resonance within us. They meet our needs for being human and developing.

It is interesting to me that seminar participants are almost always grown and experienced people. Perhaps many of the principles and exercises are best experienced when you have some luggage to clear up! Perhaps this is when the resonance is the greatest!

One of the training subjects that is so very different than anything else I have encountered is Breathing. It is very well described in the Breathing book and DVDs but I envy those doing the seminars and training in Toronto with Vladimir. I did feel how Systema works miracles. Sensing the breath, experiencing the fear of lack of breath, experiencing the power of breathing, the amazing effect on the body and mind. It is training to be more alive and present. Understanding yourself, body and mind, sensing tension and relaxation. Being okay with this sensing and taking this awareness into our daily life and transforming it! Being more Relaxed. Breathing. Moving. Facing and Handling Fear. Doing this together with Vladimir was and is life changing.

Compared to the karate I have grown up with, there are other things that differ and make resonance in an adult like myself:

• Openness – Systema demands you to develop your own system of movements in order to deal with where you are at the moment. In most martial arts you were to learn patterns, techniques. And it is said that from there openness transcends!
• Creativity – you have to find a way to deal with the situation yourself. Some direction might be presented but ultimately you find a way that works for you. In karate I was told and shown what to do. Now I do not do it that way. I have no time to chisel and hone my body to be able to perform as a “Japanese warrior”. And with Systema I do not need to. I can creatively find my own way and still survive.
• Playing – there is not the sense of teacher/pupil – you have fun and find new ways by playing, you learn by doing and interacting freely. In many ways you are equals. Teachers and pupils are alike.
• Spontaneity – there are no prearranged situations, actions and responses. An attack is not staged as something fixed, it is free play most of the time, exploring actions, movements etc. as they come. The difference here is that I almost never fought using what I learned in karate. It always ended in a dogfight and that for sure was not how we trained. The realism of full speed was not always present. Things have to work in real situations otherwise it is academic interest only and not fighting.
• Honesty – you know the moves that you learn really work, you see the results clearly and your body knows it is working. You hit and you are being hit, kicked, and pushed. It is never “it works because I say so·· ·” – no secrets but real effect.
• Awareness and smoothness – you train your awareness to become more and more smooth. Personally I hope to get a chance for a 24 hours striking session from Vladimir one day. Scott described this in a forum post how training can consist of many short sessions or one of multiple contacts maybe million times with fists, chains, chairs, sticks from someone you trust!!! In the karate developing sensitivity was a very small part. It was more desensitizing to become as hard as possible, and therefore very stiff and rigid.
• Fear – meeting your fear, handling your fear, accepting it, developing from it. Being human, not superhuman. Yet gaining enough courage and strength to conquer the fear.
• Togetherness – you can train on your own but mostly you train with others on various stages in their Systema skill, you help others, you are being helped, you trust others and you are being trusted. It is an accomplishment to take a fist full of power, knowing it will come, without moving, hitting back or screaming for help but smiling and breathing, relaxing and thanking your partner in mutual respect. Smiling, grinning, enjoying – together.
• In everyway, it is you who develops, you do not have to conform to a “perfect picture”, perfect techniques. Striving for perfection is striving to be a good person.
• And I could go on···These are some of the reasons I like Systema more than other systems. And it is not a question of what is better it is all a matter of liking it and making the right choice. I chose Systema and it works for me. Funny enough, as most of us I do not know if I will one day need the fighting skills again but we surely need being calm, smooth, breathing, moving···I look forward to seeing you in Denmark at the Scandinavian Systema Summit. There is room for a few more participants.About the author:
  Morten Danielsen is a certified Systema instructor. He has over 30 years of martial arts experience and is a supervisor and coach in Developmental Behavioral Modeling and Sensory Systems in Denmark (Systema Denmark).

Hey Guys,

I just wanted to let you know about a couple of seminars that I just finished getting setup that are happening in October and November…

The first is October 19, 2008 in Dayton, Ohio from 11:30am to 2:30pm
contact: Matt McCormick for more info at (937) 672-0382 or john.mccormick@wright.edu

also check out: Systema Dayton

The second is November 1, 2008 in Indianapolis, Indiana from 3pm to 7pm
contact: Paul Adamson for more info at (317) 733-8101 or adamson_paul@hotmail.com

also check out: Adamson Karate

And by the way we will have some footage of the most recent Systema seminar hosted by Legion Fit in Lexington, Kentucky.

Talk to everyone soon,

Bill

I noticed something very cool about life.  The more fun I’m having doing something… the more time becomes meaningless, the experiences and information around me go straight into my long-term memory, and I feel that all things are possible.

The fun I’ve had with Systema in particular has kicked off a quest of inner discovery.  There are many valid reasons that I train; however, having fun was the one reason that I thought should be brought to the forefront.

I know that if I didn’t have fun with Systema, all the other reasons that I train wouldn’t be as valid.  Think about it, self defense is a great perk to training; however, without the fun… how hard would I push myself?  How, “good” would I get?  How much would I journey down the self-discovery road?

The old saying, ”If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well!”  is a good saying.  I’d only add that you should have fun while doing what your doing.

Best Regards,

James