Training Tools – Systema Combat

You are both working, all of the time. With all drills in Systema whether you are feeding attacks or receiving attacks you are both working, so make sure that no part of the work is done mindlessly. In many ways you learn Systema by having it done to you. The skill is transmitted body to body. So when you feed attacks in to your partner, be completely aware and conscious and do it with every fibre of your being.

Adjust the volume. First work at a slow walking pace to build the skill, then at a fast walk, then at a run. If you find yourself continually making mistakes slow it down, find and fix the problem and then gradually speed up again.

Variety is the spice of life – and Systema: Don’t always stand straight on. Vary it. Stand side on, with your back to the partner, oblique. Work all of the angles. Remember that Systema is not training for a ring or mat where you are ready, it is for outside where you could be in any position at any time and in any state of readiness.

Play, experiment and explore. Systema does not teach through a set series of kata or techniques. It is important to note that the pictures shown are intended as a guide only and show just one way of doing things. There are in fact an infinite number of ways to respond in almost every case. Play with the principles, experiment and explore infinite variety. Try it with your eyes closed, in a corner, in a tight space, with hands tied etc. Have fun but stay safe. My deep desire is that through the logical progressions in these drills, you will begin freely creating your own drills, to the extent where you are training in Systema in every moment. By all means use my progressions as a guide, but you then have to just move randomly and naturally. Try not to form patterns in your movements.

It all boils down to movement. Really Systema is the study of movement. We study body movement, relaxation, breathing and footwork so as not to rely on strength or speed. There will always be a time when you lose those. In Systema, we train to survive and prevail through superior movement.

Work from contact. An inevitability of combat is that you will get hit. In Systema we do a lot of work from contact, for practical and psychological purposes. There will be times when you haven’t had chance to block, redirect or move. Contact drills teach the body and psyche to deal with hits and to  look after themselves. You learn body intelligence.

Finally, it begins and ends with the breath. Systema begins and ends here. Try to notice every time you hold your breath. Every time you hold your breath and move, tension and fear will come into your body. To be truly free in your movements, you have to be free in your breath. Always look to make your breath the engine or driver of your movement, not a ‘byproduct’ of it.

You can read more about Systema Combat in Matt’s new book, Systema Combat, available through Amazon and all good bookshops.