Dave Merrell Seminar Review First off let me say what an Awesome time we all had! We had 31 people attend from all over Australia including Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Bundaberg, Toowoomba and of course here in Brisbane.   Seminar Topic: Movement From the Ground Up Dave Structured an awesome seminar with the theme being to move the body from the ground up. Many people see the individual body part movements and do static pushing drills so that they forget that one of the keys to Systema is continuous movement - and this includes the feet. As Dave pointed out in Systema that movement can be initiated from any part of the body, but a good foundation for all other movements and skills is founded in understanding movement from the ground first. Day 1 focussed on the fundamentals of movement; in this instance the seminar focussed on learning to walk and move, rotate on the heels and to get 90 degrees to any attack. (video clips will soon be available to illustrate some of the drills). It was an awesome day of excellent instruction - which extended into informal training session during the lunch break in typical Dave fashion (lucky for us). During this break Dave demonstrated how to "take the fight out of someone" with a strike (downwards through the solar plexus) with some amusing results (a green face on what poor soul). It was a warm day and we started off with a serious of breath exercises that increased in difficulty, to the point that we were all struggling, if not unable, to complete. I certainly had some serious dizzy spells and one person nearly passed out - the message here is know your own limits and don't succumb to ego. After all, Dave wasn't choking me, I only needed to open my lungs to breath...needless to say the simple breathing exercises demonstrated alot about the psyche to! We then moved onto the obligatory squats and pushups - including just one push up that went far longer than my body wanted. But was again more about the will to continue than physical prowess. After which we moved onto a whole series of pushing and walking drills to learn to move from the ground up. The focus was rotating on the heel in order to create a "free" side (used in attack) and a "working" side used to supprt your weight and for trapping the opponent.   MORE TO FOLLOW SOON............   Drills: Pushing drill - but keep the body connected and let the person pushing rotate your whole body, not just the point of contact. As you begin to move from the push let the weight transfer into your heels, breath in and raise your centre (this makes you light on your feet), start to rotate AT THE SAME SPEED AS THE PUSH, and as you turn sink your weight down, bend the knees and breath out. At the completion of the movement you should be at 90 degrees to the push direction, all your weight should be on the leg furthest from the attcker (called the "working" side as it is used to support your weight and trap the attacking arm when necessary) and the side closest to the attacker should be light and free to attack as you wish (the "free" side). A good way to test if this drill has been done correctly is once the push is completed attempt to walk in the directio you face - but step first with the leg closest to the attacker. If done correctly you shouldn't need to transfer your weight in order to step with that leg. As above but you include a simple trap of the pushing arm. The aim is you move your back arm (furthest from attacker) straight up at the elbow and touch the tip of your thumb against the centre of your chest. The attackers arm will be in the space formed between hand and chest - ther eshould only be very light contact on the attackers arm. As the attacker withdraws the trap should close and you will be pulled around and able to strike with either your elbow or fist (rather confusing to describe). As above but include a take down against the attacker as they reach extension. Classic drill where one person walks at you and you walk out of the way - that aim is to stay close and as the attacker passes you, you should be at 90 degrees to them either with your chest or back. As above but as they walk at you you should initially walk backwards a few steps and then step to the side alowing them past. breath, relax and pivot on the heels.