Category Archives: aikido

A slow and surprising realisation…

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I recently shared my thoughts about the healing power of Martial Arts on Facebook, and it seemed to resonate with a lot of people. I know that some of you are not on social media, so I thought that I would share this with you here too:

‘I took up Martial Arts because I wanted to be a great fighter. I soon realised that the world was full of them. Lots better suited than I. Over half a lifetime this has led me to Systema, and a slow and surprising realisation. That the greater power of martial arts is that they can also heal. Physically, emotionally and spiritually. I’d read about this but never really experienced it in the way I have in Systema.

Now my biggest pleasure in Martial Arts, the thing that gives me a great sense of purpose, is the people that come to me saying that Systema has healed them. Its given them confidence where they had none, it’s allowed them to move better than they have in decades, helped them through personal and psychological problems, it’s recovered them from injury and illness, and given them a community to be part of.

I still love the fighting, but the world probably doesn’t need more good fighters. I now get more from understanding how Systema has healed people and the world could surely do with a lot more of this.’

I hope, as always, that this email finds you well and wish you the very best for your training and health.

P.S. I will be opening the booking for the September seminar soon, (22-23 Sept). The topic will be Strikes and Massage. Two sides of the same coin.

My very best wishes for your training and health as always,

Matt.

Are you really a Martial Artist?

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I know some readers will not be Martial Artists. If you are not, please indulge me, and you may still find it an interesting question that can be applied to many fields outside martial arts.

People who study a martial art often overlook the term. It is good to remember that we are not Martial Thugs, or Martial Clones.

Of course in the beginning it is wise to follow a teacher and a trusted path, as any artist would. You need to learn some basics and tried and trusted methods.

But in most cases we looking to go past learning a few quick, effective moves to protect ourselves. We are learning an art.

If you are doing an art, you are hopefully aspiring to be an artist. An artist should strive to begin to make what they are taught his or her own. They have to develop thier own style.

There is deep joy in being expressive and creative in the application of a skill that you have spent countless hours honing. I think that there is something divine in those moments of true creativity. When you do or perform something that seemed to come through rather than from you.

We are all different. We have different skills, strengths, weaknesses, injuries, needs and experiences. Your art should be an expression of these.

This shouldn’t mean that you have to disassociate yourself from your teacher and go your own way. A self-assured, humble teacher should be delighted to see you expressing yourself through your art. This of course goes with the caveat of respect for your teacher and your source.

To be creative, you have to assimilate the skills. This takes time and effort.

You then have to relax. If you are tense you will block the creativity. This is true for anything. It is a whole principle of life.

Relaxation is elusive. We all strive for it, and even the striving can bring tension. However, there are tools that you can use.

Your breathing, movement and posture are the main ones.

Of course we can’t all be Bruce Lee, or Michelangelo, or Mozart, or Springsteen. But we can be ourselves.

Roger Bannister, who sadly passed recently, put in very well, “The aim is to move with the greatest possible freedom toward the realization of the best within us,” he wrote in 1955. “This is the quest of a lifetime, and sport plays only a small part in it.”

So are you an aspiring artist in your field? If not I am sure that just that switch in focus to to strive for the relaxation to allow yourself to come through will lead to good things in whatever endeavour you apply it to.

My very best wishes for your training and health,

Matt.

Click the links below for Matt’s Systema:

Systema Fundamentals Camp 2018

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It is with great pleasure that I can let you know that the booking for this years Systema Camp in Wiltshire is now open.

Click the link to download the full Brochure and information pack:

Systema Fundamentals Camp Brochure

The theme of the camp will be a deep exploration of Systema Fundamentals.

Over the five days we will take the time to work deeply with key concepts of Systema including:

  • Breath-work: for health, psychological state and self-defence.
  • Health: Understanding how to use the principles of Systema (breathing, movement, relaxation and posture) to improve overall health and feeling of wellbeing.
  • Movement: Learn and enhance your basic understanding of distance, timing and precision. Grappling & striking, on the ground, standing, multiple attackers & crowds with & without weapons, in open & close environments, by day & night.
  • Strikes: Working to find the relaxed heaviness that allows for free, fluid and deep strike work from any body part.
  • Tactics: How to use positioning, terrain and obstacles.
  • Awareness: The outdoors is the best place to open your senses and your awareness. You will learn tactics and techniques to improve your general and tactical level of awareness.

Living Systema. At the camp we are together 24-7. It is an ideal time to begin to understand and refine how we build the feeling of Systema into everyday life. For 5 days you will live, train and immerse yourself in a holistic approach to Systema and life.

Accommodation: Accommodation is camping. You can bring your own tent, or basha (tarp).

Cooking. All cooking is done over a camp fire. Hearty, wholesome and healthy. Vegetarian options are available.

Dates: This years camp will increase to 5 days. Wednesday 04th July to Sunday 08th July.

Cost: The cost is £399. This is inclusive of all food, accommodation and training. See below for payment options.

Payment Options:

  • Paypal: Click here (£414 includes paypal fee)
  • Go Cardless: Click here (£399)

Places will be limited.

Click the link to download the full Brochure and information pack:

Systema Fundamentals Camp Brochure

I look forward to welcoming you to another week of great training. Please feel free to reply if you have any questions.

My very best wishes for your health and training,

Matt.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” –    Henry David Thoreau

Systema is Rich and Individual

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Systema is Rich and Individual

I have met Matt Hill on three occasions now and have been impressed with his teaching skill and understanding of Systema.

My background for understanding movement is as a physiotherapist for 30 years. I have worked with everyday injuries and with athletes amateur and professional up to Olympic standard across many disciplines. It is against this background of experience that I have found Matt’s presentation of the art inspiring.

His approach to health work and conditioning for life is so refreshing. To improve the mind and body and strengthen against the demands of modern living gives freedom and good quality of life.

Athletes and people can be so outwardly focused, how fast they can run? How much they can lift? How long they can work for? Matt turns our attention inwards to developing the quality of the self, the internal running and operation of what we are. I am convinced that this focus will ultimately help achieve greater performance.

Systema is rich and individual. Matt’s real mastery and skill is in his eloquence and personalised explanations of the art. He has an insight and understanding of his students.

This talent is the factor which enables you to make the principles of systema workable for you personally and so achieve results.

Ian Felix.

Ian has been a practising Physiotherapist and Acupuncturist for over 30 years and is long term student of the Martial Arts. He currently runs the Mariko clinic in the West Midlands.

My very best wishes for your training and health,

 

 

Matt.

You can read more about Systema and the approach to it in the books below:

Systema Breathing Workshop

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A 2 Day In-Depth Look at Systema Breathing.

January is a time to get off on the right foot. Whether you do Systema or not, your breathing is a good place to start. If you do Systema, this will make sense, if you don’t, this is worth attention.

Taking conscious control of your breathing is a key element in better managing any of the following:

  • Anxiety.
  • Performance under pressure.
  • Endurance and recovery during exercise.
  • Suffering from stress.
  • Struggling to relax.
  • Dealing with chronic or regular pain.
  • Recovering from trauma or injury.

Training in the breathing methods of Systema will help.

Over 2 days on Feb 24th and 25 I will lead you through training that will:

  • Identify problem areas with your breathing.
  • Provide corrective tools to restore optimal breathing function.
  • Gently and progressively stress these tools to give you the confidence to adapt your breathing to manage the scenarios listed above.
  • Build confidence under physical and emotional pressure.

Details:

Date: 24-25 Feb
Timings: Sat: 11am Finish 5pm | Sun: 10am Start Finish 4pm.
Venue: Systema Academy, Avonside Enterprise Park, New Broughton Road, Melksham, Wiltshire, SN12 6PX.

Accommodation:There is plenty of good accommodation in the Melksham Area. A quick search on booking.com or airbnb will reveal all!

Personal touch:
The course size is going to be limited in order for me to spend maximum time with individual participants to address individual problem areas.

This course has been advertised already and is filling up.
Click here to find out more and secure your spot now.

 

 

Here is the link to pay via Paypal.

or email me for BACS details.

My very best wishes for your training and good health,

Matt.

Why I tried Systema and why I keep coming back – Chris Johnston.

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I recently asked members if they would answer the question why they started Systema, and what keeps them coming back. Systema is so deep and diverse that people come for many reasons. Chris’s answer touched me, especially the end.

I first found Systema through some web browsing, looking for a martial art or fun physical activity that I could do with my eldest son, (I think he was 6 at the time).  My wife found a video you had posted of the Saturday kids classes and it just looked like fun.  We particularly liked how the kids were involved in everything, doing the demos, talking to camera etc and the way that the parents and children all trained together.  We thought we’d give it a try.

The kids class was all we had hoped for and more, with an emphasis on fun and movement we were both hooked and as soon as my younger daughter was old enough she also joined.  As a quick aside, she was at the time being recommended by her school for medical intervention due to worries about coordination and balance – worries that have completely disappeared within the last two years due in no small part to her Systema practice.

My youngest son and my wife are both planning to start on the Systema path in the new year so it will be a whole family affair, two generation with an age range from 3-40, all training, learning and laughing together!

My journey into Systema combat started after around 6 months of family classes. There was an open invite to a trial adult class and so I went to take a look.  It was bonkers, very different to anything I’ve seen in a martial arts class before.  Body weight exercises, but using someone else’s body, (such as press-ups on someone, squat while holding another person etc), full contact training but always with respect for your partner and the same sense of fun and adventure that was so addictive in the children’s class.

The thing that stood out for me the most was the movement, a fluidity and body control that I really wanted to have and I’m happy to say that I can now do some of those simple fluid movements myself. Movements that I could never have done before.

I keep coming back because there is always something new, there is a constant challenging of boundaries. I have learnt that I’m so much stronger (both mentally and physically) than I realised. I now believe in myself more. Finally, the classes bring a sense of peace that I get nowhere else.

Chris Johnston.

Chris and his children have been training for over three years and it will be a pleasure to welcome the rest of the team to the club in the new year!

P.S. The 4 Day Intensive course on 16-19 Nov is now waiting list only for all four days.

The Emotional Square

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The Emotional Square.

I get a lot of people asking me how to deal with negative emotions like fear, anger, anxiety, envy etc. These emotions leave them feeling guilty, frustrated and exhausted. The emotions and resultant tensions are toxic to thier bodies and minds keeping them in a constant state of stress.

After a question from a friend and student about how best to manage emotions it occurred to me that it is like the ‘Fire Triangle’. In fire safety you are taught that fires can be put out by removing one of three sides of the fire triangle: Air, Heat or Fuel.

The Emotional Square is similar. It consists of four sides, but this time you add the element. The four things that a negative emotion can’t live with are: Relaxation, Good Posture, Movement and Good Breathing. If you add one or all of these, the negative emotion will quickly leave the body.

However, that’s easier said than done. You first have to be aware of the presence of the tension, bad posture, lack of movement and bad breathing. Then have the tools to correct them.

Lets start with the first one. Relaxation. Most of us are tense without even being aware of it. This is one reason that people enjoy vices so much. When you think about it they all have something in common, they relax us. There are simple tools that we teach in Systema to manage tension. They consist of movement, breathing, tension/relaxation and combinations of these. One way to find out if you are tense is to see how freely your body moves. Take your shoulders for example. can you move them individually and freely? Another method is to tense and then relax them. Once learnt and practiced these tools quickly become yours.

The second one is Posture. A commonality of negative emotions is that they bend the body out of shape. If you visualise of the stooped shape of someone who is depressed or the hunched shape of aggression, jealousy or anger. Straightening the posture will release the emotion. In good posture your head should be up, gaze straight ahead and neck relaxed. Your chest should be gently expanded with your back muscles relaxed. Your hips should be loose and free and your knees slightly bent and relaxed.

Thirdly we have Correct Breathing. Nearly everyone breathes unconsciously. That’s just as well or we would be in trouble when we sleep. However, if in your waking moments you can be more conscious of when you breathe, or more importantly when you don’t breathe, your performance, health and wellbeing will improve exponentially. As Vladimir says Breathing is the basis of everything, the fuller we can understand and use this resource the better. When affected by negative emotions you will either be not breathing at all, mouth breathing or shallow, chest breathing. You can rectify this by initially burst breathing in a relaxed way, then gradually returning yourself to long smooth breathing. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Again practice in this, with a good teacher, and regular testing of it will make the skill yours.

Finally we have Movement. Have you ever noticed that when we are emotional, and a friend says, ‘come on lets take a walk’ the emotion that was consuming us moments before starts to ease. Walking is great but almost any movement will help.

So we have the three things that fire can’t live without: Air, Heat and Fuel;
and the four things that negative emotions can’t live with: Good Posture, Good Breathing Movement and Relaxation. Adding just one of these will start to clear the emotion. Adding all four at the same time will clear you out in no time.

If you want to learn more about these tools and how to use them email me back or alternatively come along to classes. Click here for more details.

All three skills will be covered in my upcoming book ‘Living Systema’ due for release in Mid November.

My very best wishes,

Matt.


Matt.

Systema Breathing & Health Testimonial – John Hawley

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Systema Health and Breathing Testimonial – John Hawley

I remember looking at him and thinking he must be mad – but again I did it and that was a turning point in my life…

After an introduction by a friend I met Matt in early May ’17 at a point when my physical health and confidence was at an all-time low.
In June ’16, well into my 60s, I unexpectedly had to have urgent major surgery resulting in the removal of my left lung followed by over three months of intensive chemo and radio therapy – and for months after that wrestling with cumulative and debilitating side effects.

Medical advice in early ’17 was that it would take at least two years to recover. There was no other support available so I was told enjoy day time TV! I was angry and frustrated, something that I was not prepared to accept.

When I met Matt in Melksham, as I watched him walk up the second flight of stairs my immediate thought was I couldn’t possibly get to the top (I struggled at home to get up our stairs) but I did it. His positivity, calm confidence, and the overwhelming sense of genuine care was immediately evident.

We discussed what I would like to achieve over the next three to six months, goals which I thought then were impossible. At best I felt a shuffling wreck. But Matt said we could achieve them and more, and then had me walking around the dojo, motivating, encouraging and prompting me with an almost spiritual understanding. He then asked me to do a press up, sit up, leg raise and a squat – I remember looking at him and thinking he must be mad – but again I did it and that was a turning point in my life.

Over the following months he has patiently taught me how to walk and breathe again. Week one I could barely walk back to the car, or a hundred meters from the house without collapsing and wondering how I would get home.  I am now daily doing a series of exercises and walking a mile and a half with an achievable goal of four miles in sight. Matt’s confidence, motivation, commitment and patience is extraordinary.

Each week he has added a stretch factor, another challenge, another bench mark; improving significantly my breathing capability, getting me to jog around the room, walk the plank backwards, hanging on the bar by the door downstairs for ten seconds and lifting my feet off the ground (exceeding Matt’s expectations) were memorable moments, seeing Matt genuinely delighted with my success and achievements. I feel a real and holistic re engagement with my body and soul.

After training sessions I have wonderful aches and pains in parts of my body I thought had long ago given up.

I run the risk of a tsunami of adjectives, Matt has hugely and positively changed my life, giving me new hope, new aspirations, an incentive to look for new challenges, helping me rebuild my confidence and self-esteem. Summer camp ‘18 now seems an achievable target.  Matt’s ability to enthuse and motivate personal self-achievement, and his passion for people is a very rare and inspirational quality.

For people who have had similar experiences to mine or worse, I feel like shouting from the roof there is a better way forward, you can get your life back. Talk to Matt.

John Hawley
July 27th 2017

John is a rare man. He wasn’t prepared to accept the debilitating condition that his life saving surgery left him with. He has worked incredibly hard in the sessions, but that isn’t enough. Systema isn’t magic, you have to put in the work. John has put in the work. He has persevered through the daily breathing and movement exercises that we agreed on and the results have spoken for themselves. He has holistically and gradually built himself from the inside out. Systema is a complete system of internal and external work. John has left no stone unturned. It has been an inspiration and a pleasure working with him over the past 3 months. 

Matt Hill.

To find out more about Systema Breathing and Health classes click here