Below is an email that a received from Systema Student Tim after a recent trip to China:
Hi Matt,
Recently Karon & myself were fortunate enough to go on a tour of China finishing off with the Grand Prix in Shanghai.
We decided to go each day by underground/Metro as we could buy a 3 day pass to go anywhere for £4.50! As the circuit was an hour out of the city & the underground took you right there – this was a bargain (I’m from Yorkshire…)
Now, there are 25 million people living there and it seemed like they all use the Metro. Added to this complication are the rules… There aren’t any.
Add in the factor that if you are older, Chinese & female elbows are a legitimate tool and they know how to use them when boarding trains or moving in a queue.
I should state that our tour guide said this is normal etiquette for the Chinese and not to be offended by it.
So the first day was an education, we decided that being British and polite was not going to get us anywhere.
I should also clarify that I do not enjoy crowds, small spaces or being crushed.
So where did Systema come in?
I had been on Matts course of ‘Movement in Crowds & managing Panic’ and decided to give it a try.
I got right in the middle of a crowd at a transfer station (that part was easy – everywhere is the middle), then started to breathe, soften my body, give and turn on being pushed & elbowed as I slightly started to lean / semi fall forward.
I went through them like a knife through butter!
After a few stations I got pretty good & actually started to enjoy my trips on the Metro.
By the second & third day I couldn’t wait to, ‘get among em!’ and really enjoyed utilising my skills.
It didn’t go right all the time, so I softened my body when it didn’t, breathed more and kept going.
Wow! Did I have some fun and got some training in to boot.
Karon saw me disappear into the mass each day & did think I was a bit mad, but that’s another story.
Anyway – just a story to say how we can adapt our Systema skills to the real world.
Kind Regards, Tim