Systema, Russian Martial Arts

REAL Martial Arts Training for Combat
A look at Systema, Russian Martial Arts

Spirit Warriors Martial Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico
www.martialartssantafe.com 

I attended a workshop with Martin Wheeler this past weekend.  Martin teaches Systema, Russian Martial Arts.  He has an extensive martial arts background and is an excellent instructor.  Except for still being bruised and sore I had a fun and very educational experience.

On my drive home with my friend Ken, who also attended, we started talking about the difference between most martial arts training in technique based styles and what we had just experienced.  To put in a little context here, I have been studying martial arts for over 25 years.  I have run the course from traditional, culturally based arts to more advanced, modern combat sciences.  Ken has studied Shotokan for 7 years.

I came up with the analogy of Systema working on the core operating system, while most martial arts are working on a technique based programming level.  Just like in a computer, the operating system has to be in place, strong and able to handle anything you throw at it.  If the operating system fails, nothing else works.  Technique based styles function at a much simpler level just like computer programs.  You can add one for kicking, punching, grappling etc.  However if there is no grounded and comprehensive operating system that unifies the whole, it is just a bunch of separate disconnected programs.

Systema's core operating system works on basic principles, not individual techniques or a series of moves put together to respond to a certain stimulus.  It is much more comprehensive in it's approach.    Four of these principles, that I understand, are relaxation, movement, structure and proper breathing.  Drills are designed to emphasize some or all of these areas of development.

Relaxation.  I like to think of this more as no unnecessary tension.  People often confuse relaxation with the wet noodle type of relaxation that is also counter productive to good martial arts.  Relaxation means responding to something with exactly the correct amount of tension needed to move the body, avoid an attack and neutralize the threat with the least amount of energy needed.  Unnecessary tension creates openings for attack, slows down movement, requires more energy to do the same amount of work and is completely unnecessary.  A relaxed body moves faster and more fluidly, responds to more subtle cues and avoids injury when it gets hit.  It is similar to the drunk driver who does not get hurt in a crash because he does not tense up, but just moves around with the impact.  Noticing tension in your opponent also creates openings and opportunities for attack.  Reading a persons tension, lack of mobility and targets is what makes a Systema practitioner so precise and deadly.  No action is wasted and it is not based on preset attacks and defenses that will never occur in the real world, it is based on reading what your opponent is actually doing and taking advantage of that opening right now.  As you advance in your practice and are relaxed and fluid in your own body you can also create the tension and targets you want in your opponent by manipulating them and gaining control over them with little effort.  One of the biggest creators of tension is fear.  There are many ways to dissipate fear.  This however is an extensive discussion that can not be properly addressed in this article.  We will do so in a future article that will be devoted entirely to fear and how to use it to your advantage.

Movement is vital and absolutely necessary. Allowing the body to move naturally and without restriction is the best way to avoid being hit and to hit without giving away your intention and using surprise and stealth to your advantage.  If your opponent can't see whats coming he can't respond to it.  The only way to do this is to be relaxed.   When you move there is a level of relaxation that makes it hard for others to perceive what is really happening.  Movements are smooth, non-aggressive and difficult to read.  Your attack has already landed before it is observed, therefore your opponent has no opportunity to respond.  There are no fighting postures or stances.  There is no telegraphing your intentions.  Action is taken with such finesse that your opponent does not even know what happened.  Fluid, natural, unrestricted motion is a trademark of Systema.  Others often make the mistake of thinking Systema is weak and has no power.  That is until they get hit by a Systema practitioner and didn't even see it coming, or get frustrated in not being to hit back because of the illusive, relaxed movement of their Systema opponent.

Structure is another core principal.  Structure does not mean over exaggerated stances or unnecessary  holding of positions.  Structure means proper alignment of the body is relation to what is happening.  Keeping the head up and spine straight are very important.  Moving the body as a whole from the core is vital to create power and avoid being hit with consequence.  Let me explain that last statement.  Being hit is not of concern.  If you are relaxed and in motion with proper breathing being hit is only a mild irritation, if that.  Being hit when you are tense, out of alignment or immobile can be another thing.  That is why it is so important to understand these principals and to perfect them.  Structure keeps the body strong and allows for fluid motion and power generation from various positions.  In Systema you learn to strike from almost anywhere, to catch your opponent by surprise and do the unexpected.  It is not necessary to be in a particular stance, facing your opponent at a particular angel in order to cause damage.  In fact it is preferred to avoid all of these preconceived ideas and to move with instinct and do what is natural for you.

Breath, the first thing we do in this life is breathe in, the last is breathe out.  Breath is life.  We all breathe.  There is however proper breathing and just breathing.  There are entire books written on proper breathing techniques for combat.  Systema has it's own version as well.  Breathing helps to create all of the previous principals.  It can also destroy them.  One of the first and most important things a practitioner learns in Systema is how to breathe.  There are literally hundreds of exercises focused on breath work and how to use your breath to create relaxation, strength and endurance.  How to use breath to reduce fear, expel tension and heal the body.  I believe breathing is the most important of all the principals we have talked about here.  That is why I saved it for last.  I want you to remember how important it is and to learn more about it.  Breathing is taught to soldiers, law enforcement officers, martial artists, it helps to contain stress and keep adrenaline responses under control.  It helps to heal the body and allow it to continue when injured.  Proper breathing is vital to relaxation and movement.  I think one of the best places to start is with the book written by Vladimir Vasiliev entitled "Let Every Breath".  It is comprehensive in it's description and shows you hundreds of exercised to do to perfect your own breathing.  You can also find lots of videos on Youtube with breath teachings as well.

I hope this very limited information about Systema has created a curiosity in you.  I have been studying Systema for about three years and the teachings have changed the way I do almost everything in my life.  Systema is not just an effective martial art, or combat system.  It's principles are true in all aspects of life.

Spirit Warriors Martial Arts
Raven Hicks
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Taking Personal Responsibility

More from Spirit Warriors Martial Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico

 www.martialartssantafe.com

Taking Personal Responsibility 

Taking personal responsibility for your own safety is the greatest gift you can give yourself and your loved ones. 

We all want a safe and secure world for ourselves and our children and it is up to us to create that world by taking the steps necessary to make it so.  Accepting responsibility is the first step.  Sticking your head in the sand and pretending that the world is safe and there is no crime or having the mindset that “It will never happen to me” are just delusions that allow us not to deal with reality.  The reality is violent crime has increased 500% in the past 50 years.  There are many ideas as to why this is occurring and many factors that can be blamed.  I feel however that the biggest reason is complacency.  People have become so selfish, so self consumed in their drive for personal satisfaction that they have failed to take responsibility for what goes on in their communities.  They blame economics, politics, social class, lack of police presence, religion and just about anything else they can think of.  This is much easier than taking personal responsibility and making a difference themselves. 

The police can not be everywhere, the politicians are too busy with their own power lust and our neighbors have their head stuck in the sand.  So it is up to you. 

What can you do? 

The first step is to become aware of what is happening in your community.  What types of crimes are being committed?  Who is committing them?  When are they occurring?  This creates awareness, the first step in self defense.  The second step is learning how to assess situations and how to avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time, as they say.  When you are aware of what is happening and know how to assess situations you can make choices that will decrease your chances of becoming a victim of a violent crime substantially. 

Avoidance is always the best option when dealing with a potentially violent situation.  I had an experience a couple of years ago with a lunatic on the highway.  He started following me and yelling at me as we were driving.  I guess I offended his sense of honor or something.  He followed me for about 15 miles until we got to my turnoff.  When I moved to the right lane to take my exit he followed me so I got back on the highway.  I went a few more miles and then made a U turn at which time he yelled some racial slur and derogatory comment about my heritage out his window and kept going.  I could have stopped and pulled over got all offended about his comments about my parents and perhaps kicked his butt.  I have, after all, been a police officer and have a black belt.  The problem is he didn’t know any of that and he probably didn’t care.  He may have been armed or just been lucky and kicked my butt.  I guess we will never know.  What I do know is that I went home, happy and safe, and spent the rest of the evening with my family. 

  

If all attempts at avoiding a situation fail it may be necessary to take action.  The actions I am talking about here are defending yourself and others.  They are actions that should only be taken under the most threatening circumstances and when there are no other options.  Self defense is your right.  It is also your responsibility.  It is your responsibility to learn safe and effective skills that can be used when your health and safety are threatened.  It is your responsibility to know your legal rights and what you can do without getting into trouble.  Using force against another person has to be done within the confines of the law.  If you use too much force you may have prevented physical injury but now face civil and criminal liability.  It is not an easy subject.  You must learn more than just the physical skills, you must learn how to protect yourself in all areas. 

At Spirit Warriors Martial Arts we offer a comprehensive program of self defense that covers all areas of personal protection, physical, mental, emotional, legal and financial.  Our programs teach you everything you need to know to protect yourself, your loved ones and your property in an increasing violent and uncertain world. 

Spirit Warriors Martial Arts

Santa Fe, New Mexico

What really works?

From Spirit Warriors Martial Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I have studied martial arts for over 25 years.  I have been involved in traditional styles such as Goju Ryu Karate, Hakoryu Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi Chuan.  I have also played a little with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and other sport oriented styles.  My true interests lie in reality based martial arts such as Krav Maga, Russian Systema as well as the Philippino and Malaysian stick and knife fighting systems. 

As you can imagine there are many different approaches and ideas as to what works best and how it works.  I have watched people do one step and three step techniques.  I have observed students learning rote memory attacks and defenses against completely impractical movements.  I have walked up and down the floor throwing punches and kicks into the air at imaginary opponents.  I have sparred with so much protective gear covering my body it did not matter what my partner or I did to each other, it didn’t work.  Thus the question, “What really works?”

I do not pretend to have the answer to this question.  That is why I am a student.  Tonight in class I was working with one of my students.  He has several years of martial arts experience and is up to what people would call a Black Belt.  He moves well, knows his stuff and trains hard.  We started off slow working with a wooden knife trying techniques and skills we have done before.  As we progressed the speed accelerated, the intensity increased and we both started getting cut, a lot!  If it was a real knife we both would have ended up dead. 

We worked on trapping, grabbing, redirecting, striking, you name it we did it.  When I have done this in the past with a cooperative partner it worked well and looked great.  I was the skilled warrior ready to take on any knife wielding attacker.  But wait, he wasn’t cooperative.  He didn’t stand still with his arm extended and wait for me.  When I moved he moved, when I attacked he defended.  Sometimes he attacked my attack.  OK something is not working here.  I am doing everything I have been taught from some of the best and my student is cutting me.  He is doing what I taught him and he is being cut and stabbed.  What are we doing wrong?  What are we doing right? 

I decided that I need to look at things a little different.  As I said earlier I have studied traditional, sport and reality based martial arts.  I have done all the things martial artist do when we train.  Most of it is a complete waste of time therefore we are very particular about what we do and how we do it at our school.  Even with this very realistic, practical approach we need to change. 

How are you training?  What is the primary focus of your school?  How does you teacher present the material to you?  Will it work on the street as well as it works in the dojo?  Will it work on a moving, aggressive, uncooperative attacker as well as it works on you compliant training partner?  We spend hours training and learning, make sure you are not wasting your time.  Take a good look at what you are doing and how you are doing it and ask yourself. “Does this really work?” 

Let me know what you come up with.  I would love to hear your stories, suggestions and comments.

Classes at Spirit Warriors are offered weekly in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Come check out a class.

Raven Hicks

Spirit Warriors Martial Arts
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Martial Arts Santa Fe: What Martial Arts are to Me

Martial Arts Santa Fe: What Martial Arts are to Me: What Martial Arts are to Me. Martial Arts are not about competition, they are about cooperation and learning about oneself.   They ...

My Life as a Martial Artist

My Life as a Martial Artist and a Warrior

I always find it interesting how people talk about lineage when it comes to martial arts.  Who was your teacher?  Who was your teacher’s teacher?  I have read many articles and books with people listing off multiple generations of teachers and have absolutely no idea who they are talking about.  I think it is kind of cool but really does it matter? 

Great martial artists come from many places.  Some have pedigrees and some do not.  To me it is more important who the artist is himself, not who he studied with and even less so who someone studied with generations ago.   That however is my personal opinion. 

Having said all of that I am going to name some great people and teachers I have had the pleasure of meeting and training with over the years. 

You may recognize some of the names and you may not, it doesn’t really matter but it is fun to think about.

I started my martial arts studies with Murray Parsons in Calgary, Alberta.  He was a student of Pat Gallagher from Winnipeg , Manitoba who had studied in China with numerous teachers who I do not recall.  The system was Tiger Claw Kung Fu.  It is a modern system incorporating Wing Chun, Hung Gar, Tai Chi and Ba Gua.  To me it was one of the best martial arts I have ever been exposed to.  I still go back to this training, 30 years later.   After several years of study I received my Black Sash in 1985. 

I took a break due to the rigors of College life and joining the Canadian Army where I went through officer training and was awarded the rank of 1^st Lieutenant in the Medical Corp.  After serving my time in the military I became a Police Officer with the Metropolitan Toronto Police Service.

During my training I met several martial artists and police instructors who were involved in Jiu Jitsu, the Japanese kind, not Brazilian.  When I finished the Police College and was assigned to my first Division I started practicing Jiu Jitsu with my fellow officers.  This was a wonderful experience and I learned a great deal.  I had the pleasure of meeting and studying with some amazing teachers from all over the world. 

These include:

Soke Michael Lamonica – Hakko Ryu Jiu Jitsu - USA

Professor Richard Morris – England

Alain Sailly –  Goshindo Jiu Jitsu –France

Other teachers from Germany, Greece and Italy were also included in this distinguished group. 

I also started studying Japanese Karate when I moved to Toronto.  I met Ron Yamanaka who was the Head Instructor for Yodansha Kubojitsu Karate Do Federation.  I studied Shotokan and Goju Ryu Karate with him receiving my Black Belt in 1989. 

I moved shortly after that and lived near Lake Ontario right downtown Toronto in a neighborhood that was populated with a lot of Filipinos.  At a nearby gym a man named Rudy Cosico was teaching Escrima and Arnis.  I attended a class one Sunday afternoon and was amazed to watch him and his students.  This was something new and impressive so I joined up and studied with Rudy for about two years.  He was from Manila and had been taught by his father, who was taught by his grandfather .  

Living in a big city has it’s benefits.  I attended martial arts seminars on a regular basis and had the honor of training with some martial arts greats such as Joe Lewis and Bill “Superfoot” Wallace.  Talk about funny.  These guys put on a seminar with Joe teaching hand skills and Bill teaching kicking.  You could tell they really enjoyed each other as they teased and tormented each other throughout the day bringing laughter and relief to our grueling training.  It was fun and very educational.

 Another seminar that really affected me was something new to North America,  Systema, Russian Martial Arts.  The teacher had recently moved to Toronto and was establishing a martial arts school.  No one really knew what he was teaching at the time but it sounded interesting.  I attended the workshop at the Police College and was blown away.  We did knife defense and other skills that were very different from the classical Asian martial arts.  I really liked it, it was practical, combat oriented and easy to learn.  This instructor, who was relatively unknown at the time, is Vladimir Vasiliev.   Vladimir is very well known now and Systema is known around the world.   

During all this I was also working as a Police Officer and training in Defensive Tactics.  I went back to the Police College to complete my instructor training and became certified as a Police Defensive Tactics Instructor.  I also became a Firearms Range officer, Aerosol Weapons Instructor and completed programs in Conflict Management, Crisis Resolution and other related programs. 

I attended a four week SWAT training course that was an eye opener as well.  Right around this time I was given a choice.  Join the SWAT Team, called the Emergency Task Force, or go to the Provincial Police College as an Instructor.  I choose the College, was promoted to Acting Sergeant, and went off to teach recruits how to survive on the street.  When I completed my time at the college I went back to working the streets and brought my policing career to an end at 42 Division in the east end of Toronto.

I moved to California, lived on a mountain and focused on internal martial arts.  I practiced Tai Chi daily and really decompressed and connected with nature.  I continued with my circle walking from Ba Gua and studied with Scott Mc Laughlin, who was a student of Gin Soon Chu, a master of Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan, from Boston.  I read books by Yang Jwing Ming and practiced several different Chi Kung sets.  My body relaxed, my mind opened and I went into a place deep within.

After 18 months on the mountain I returned to Toronto.  I opened my first martial arts school based on wisdom that I received while living in California.  The school is called Spirit Warriors Martial Arts.  The system is called Black Tiger Kung Fu.  It is an Internal/External System focused on practical combatives and personal development.  We emphasize real life combat scenarios and practical skills that are effective in our modern world.  We use Ba Gua, Tai Chi and Chi Kung to strengthen our body and develop internal power.  We study anatomy, biomechanics and physics to understand angels, leverage and how to utilize our own body and our opponent’s body to gain advantage and win in a violent confrontation.

In April 2000 I moved again, this time to Santa Fe, New Mexico .  After settling in I opened another school just north of the city.  I continued with my own studies and teaching classes twice a week.  I wanted to try something different so I looked at schools around town.  I started attending classes in Kenpo with Tony Potter, and really enjoyed the people and learning something different.  This created an opportunity to meet and train with another well-known martial artist, Jeff Speakman.  If you don’t know who Jeff is, watch the movie Lethal Weapon, its great. 

At the Kenpo school there was a man teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  I realized that with all my martial arts experience my main weakness was ground fighting.  I started studying with Kevin Bankens and worked through my fear of being pinned on the ground and not knowing what to do. 

I continue to challenge myself and expand my knowledge.   My school is now located in Santa Fe.  We have classes for adults twice a week. I continue to study as I will always be a student.  Martial Arts for me are a way of life.  I have had many wonderful experiences and met amazing people.  I hope to continue to do so for many years to come. 

To all of my teachers and students, THANK YOU, you are in my heart and I will always remember.