REVEALING POWER: The Training Methods of The Warriors of Ancient Russia   Forged In Adversity: “War is a scalpel that cuts away at excess to reveal truth.”  –Major Konstantin Komarov—   Since its first public exposure to the Western world in 1993, the Russian Martial Art of Systema has sent shockwaves through the world of martial arts and combative tactics. Alluringly powerful and exhaustingly comprehensive, many are drawn to this art by the promise of achieving the moral and physical excellence of some of the most feared warriors our planet has ever seen, but for those who remain uncertain, for those who still struggle with categorizing or evaluating the small samplings they may have encountered in print, by DVD or through random training, the questions often remain, what is the goal of this art, does it really work  and how is their method of training different?                 The seeds of this answer are found in the evolution of the style itself. Tracing its earliest roots to the 10th century, the Russian martial arts were challenged by harsh climates, expansive terrain and a persistent history of invaders on every border. Within this crucible, the earliest warriors quickly realized the supreme importance of adaptability. Refining their natural instincts and integrating the most effective elements from each enemy, they developed a method of combat dedicated to individual strengths and unconventional responses.                 Even today, the first goal of Systema training is to help the student to identify and explore their natural instincts.  Unlike many Oriental martial systems which emphasize pre-determined forms and memorization, Systema seeks to reveal the inner power of the practitioner’s unique attributes. A common misconception concerning styles that claim to be based on instincts is that any movement or response is natural and therefore good. The simple reality is that not all reflexes are good. In the words of Laurence Gonzales, reflexes are simply those responses that statistically served us best as a species more often than they got us killed and these reflexes weren’t formed in a day; they were reinforced through trial and error over a massive period of time. If the reflex to grab served our ancestors well and prevented them from falling out of trees or helped them hold onto weapons during the hunt, it was ingrained into our genetic hard-wiring; this certainly doesn’t mean that same response is our best option when someone is swinging a knife at us or when our hand touches a wire filled with live electricity. The blink response, cultivated by thousands of years of experience, still serves us well most of the time, protecting our eyes from bright light and dust, but the same response could get us seriously injured if we indulge it every time someone throws a punch our way, continuously interrupting our ability to successfully assess and respond. For this reason, the very foundation of all Systema training begins with providing the student with the conditions they need to study and identify their own unique responses to basic stimuli, so they can learn the benefits and dangers inherent in them firsthand.                 These conditions include slow and mindful drills that allow the student to study how they can move their body. Critics might argue: “What use is there in training so slowly? A real attack will never come at that speed!” This is a valid point. Our fear of violence often makes us want to rush right into full speed training, risking injury and reinforcing bad habits, but it’s important to note that if you only train at full speed and with full force, you’ll only be reinforcing your existing flinch responses—you won’t be giving your nervous system the time it needs to reprogram itself and improve. Think about any skill you’ve ever learned: did you learn how to walk by running down a flight of stairs at full speed on your first try or did you start by crawling, toddling and falling, holding onto objects as you walked until finally you could run without thinking about it? If you know how to drive, did you learn by entering a demolition derby the first time you got behind the wheel or rush onto the highway immediately, or did you practice jerking forward and backwards and steering in a parking lot until you could handle quiet streets without hitting people? If you’re like most people, you learn through slow, mindful work. In Systema, we extend the exact same, proven approach to all aspects of learning.                 Work can begin in solo exercises. If you can’t control your body effectively in solo work, adding the stress of a partner or “mock attacker” isn’t going to make it better. This can include unique variations of very common body weight exercises like push-ups, squats and rolling as well as isometric and dynamic tension work. By working slowly, the student becomes more sensitive to their own body, learning to control it better one piece at a time and creating a powerful chain-reaction of self-realization and efficiency. Simply put, the more you can feel the different parts of your body, the better you can move them; the better you move them, the more you will feel them.                 Students can also work in an identical manner in pairs or groups, learning to respond authentically to slow stimuli like pushes, grabs or armed attacks. Again the key is to work at a pace slow enough to separate flinch responses from genuine observation and learning. Flinch responses are like a survival safety net that are with the student from their first lesson and then gradually eroded and replaced with more relaxed, educated and efficient movements. A classic Systema training drill involves having a training partner slowly touch and press against all surfaces of your body with a training knife. The more closely this weapon can emulate a real weapon in size, weight and color the better the psychological conditioning will be, however caution should still be given to using a safe training tool. The purpose of the drill is to authentically feel the blade and to allow it to direct the movements of your body. The recipient should move with energy and timing equal to the poke, neither anticipating it, nor competing against it. They should simply yield upon contact. The misconception regarding this drill is that we’re training to get cut. Nothing could be further from the truth. In Systema, the primary goal in a conflict is always to detect and avoid danger before it can erupt. In a fight against a knife, the goal is certainly not to wait until we’re being cut to respond. Rather, this drill is a classic example of reverse order training—of preparing for the worst case scenario first—in this instance, contact having already been made. By studying the effect each movement has on the body, the student bypasses the need for memorized patterns or movements and educates their natural “body intelligence”. They teach themselves how to respond authentically to the knife without conscious thought. As this awareness and confidence grows and the students body becomes more relaxed, the distance is increased to a roughly a meter. As stabs and slashes slowly enter, the goal now is to move the body as a whole, pre-emptively stepping to escape harm. If necessary, the arms and legs can be used as probes, to deflect, guide and secure the blade. Should the blade accidentally contact the body, the previous response of yielding to the cut kicks in to minimize harm. As the drill evolves further, the students increase the distance again, learning to identify the precursors to the attack—the changes in posture, expression and emotions, the path of the eyes, verbal cues etc., to the point where students can see the intention before it manifests. Often, students will begin to detect suspicious irregularities in the posture or clothing of their partner that suggests where a weapon may be hidden before it’s even drawn. This attention to pre-combat indicators allows the student to confidently steer clear of potential harm. Since the metal of a knife also carries psychological ramifications, training can be escalated by using dull metal training blades which become progressively sharper with more advanced students. This type of logical progression is used against any manner of attack from guns and sticks, to punches, kicks and grabs. Through slow sparring, the student gradually replaces fear with familiarity. Although this concept has long been a central tenet of the Russian method, it is entirely consistent with the most modern research on stress inoculation, which has shown that the most effective method for preparing one-self to function under duress is to begin with a slow education phase, followed by a relaxed rehearsal phase and ending with testing against resistance. This simple 3-step approach is a continuous cycle in the Systema method.   The Path of Non-Destruction: “The apparent fierceness of the Warrior proceeds from a primary caring for others like the thorn on the rose, the Warrior exists to protect others.” —Rick Fields— Tightly connected to the early Russian warriors’ emphasis on adaptability was the fact that ancient Russia lacked a formal army to protect its people. As a result, civilian warriors required an art that was quick and easy to learn without interfering with their daily duties as farmers, hunters and merchants. As a result, the early arts quickly transcended a simple catalogue of tricks, tactics, or techniques and adopted an underlying philosophy of non-destruction. Primary emphasis was placed on ensuring that training and the attitudes and reactions that it created, in no way damaged the body or psyche of the practitioner or their training partners. This was essential in keeping the family, village and ultimately the country as a whole strong and healthy.                 This is why the art is referred to as Systema (Russian for “the System”); it is a complete set of concepts and training principles for improving every aspect of the practitioner’s training and their life beyond it. Physical training addresses all seven physiological systems (nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, genito-urinary, digestive, lymphatic/immune, muscular-skeletal). Among the many examples of the principle of non-destruction in application, students learn how to cultivate incredible striking power without hitting striking inanimate objects like punching bags which can potentially harm the structure and function of the body. Instead, practitioners are taught the role of proper biomechanics in generating force and the advantages of integrating breathing and form with a relaxed and focused mind. A wide assortment of innovative drills teach the student how to correctly place their striking surfaces on their partners and then how to generate force with less and less muscular effort. Students learn to strike through correct structure, harmonizing the roles of performance breathing, skeletal alignment, joint elasticity and selective muscular contraction. The effects of this approach are so immediate, that Systema has become renowned for its ability to improve the striking power of its practitioners in remarkably little time. From this understanding of structure and coordination, the student also learns how to identify vital points and anatomical weaknesses while simultaneously improving their own ability to absorb and recover from powerful strikes without harm.                 In Systema, training goes beyond simple conditioning and fitness concerns however to address all three levels of human ability: the physical, the psychological and the spiritual. Psychologically speaking, training teaches the student to confront their individual fears in a safe and productive environment. Unique endurance exercises teach the student the true limitations of their physical body and dissolve the weakening elements of pride and ego, laying the foundation for correct work. These also help students to distinguish between panic, fear and true danger. Students may be placed in circumstances where their attributes are limited: for example, striking without the use of their arms or legs and relying on hidden and over-looked weapons like the shoulder, the sternum, or even the hip. Limitations can come in the form of specific breath work, blindfolded work or lowlight conditions. They can also come from the environment itself, with training being adapted for confined spaces like cars, elevators or stairwells, or natural settings like forests, snow, or even fighting in the water. All of this work serves a far higher purpose than the literal preparation of the individual for a single threat. Rather, it transcends the immediate context and cultivates an extraordinary strength of spirit, all the while reinforcing the underlying focus on adaptability.   The Modern Era: “The best is always the enemy of good enough.” —Mikhail Kalashnikov— When many hear that Systema’s roots date back to the 10th century, they wrongly attach the many connotations carried with this label, including the notions that often accompany traditional Oriental arts. Systema’s origins are quite separate and distinct from these however. Given the conditions in which Systema was formed, the art never developed the uniforms or ranks so often found in many Oriental arts. From the very first session, students of all levels and experience freely train together and exchange ideas in the spirit of true comradery. In keeping with the goal of personal growth, all forms of measurement and testing are self-imposed, with every student simply striving to achieve their own personal excellence.  Attitudes within the training hall are also light and relaxed. Students laugh and joke, talking freely on par with instructors. Students perform according to their own capacities, doing what they can and monitoring their own limits without fear of scorn or reprimand for sitting out if they must. In the absence of formal ranking, students are free to measure their actual personal achievement and for all schools every class ends with a group discussion, where participants share these discoveries, discussing their fears, observations and personal challenges, strengthening themselves and their comrades in the process. This is often followed by massage, back walking and other restorative health practices. Overall, there is a distinctly light, playful and welcoming attitude that permeates any good Systema school. While the Russian warrior traditions enjoy a rich history, Systema is very much a modern method. When the Communists came to power in 1917, they stifled all national traditions in an attempt to assert their dominance, but they could not deny the potency of their country’s native arts. To this end, Systema was further refined and reserved only for the most elite tiers of their military’s special forces. Here it continued to be tested in some of the most difficult conflict zones of the 20th century as the characteristic adaptability and strength of spirit cultivated by the Slavic warrior traditions fused with modern weapons and tactics. Leading practitioners guided the style through its continuing evolution in their roles as soldiers, law enforcement officers and body guards. As a result, today Systema offers its students a wide array of uniquely modern work, including offensive and defensive work with firearms, knives, sticks and chains, and all manner of improvised weaponry.   Students whose professions require this depth of knowledge are naturally attracted to these specializations, but all practitioners, regardless of age or previous experience, can benefit from learning the civilian applications of these fields as well. For example, the focus and resolve cultivated in learning to survive in the wilderness can transfer a positive outlook and appreciation of the simplest benefits in one’s everyday life while professional body guarding tactics can easily be modified for the protection of friends and family. This modern framework also includes a detailed treatment of the psychology of conflict, the role of detecting aggression, the essential components of verbal and non-verbal de-escalation and the preparation of the survivor’s mindset. The net result is an utterly complete system of survival and self-improvement.   A Student’s Perspective:   “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”  –General George S. Patton—   It’s only natural to wonder, where will this path take me? What does Systema really mean to me as a student? The simple reality is that no two paths to personal mastery are the same. Most of us have been conditioned by years of schooling where teachers lectured and students sat in quiet, obedient rows, hurrying to take notes. In many martial arts schools, the approach is equally rigid. Coming from this, it’s only natural that we want a specific formula, a one word answer, or an all-powerful secret technique that will make us invincible, even though we all know this isn’t how people naturally learn. True learning isn’t about being told; it’s about being allowed to discover. Like combat and life itself, learning must be free-flowing, adaptive and responsive.   The Russian Orthodox faith has played an instrumental role in the development of Systema. One of its fundamental teachings which remains entrenched in Systema’s approach is the idea that all situations, whether good or bad, ultimately serve to create the best possible conditions for each individual to understand themselves. In this light, Systema’s training curriculum carries the immediate goal of helping every student realize the true depth of their ability. Over the long term, the goal of Warriorhood has always been to exist for an ideal beyond the self and so Systema seeks to strengthen and improve the individual to better serve and protect these values. Today, thanks to a rapidly growing community of followers and instructors, coupled with the benefit of modern technologies like the Internet and DVD, the generosity of the Styles leading masters are unbounded, spreading the health, confidence and life-giving benefits of this incredible art worldwide.   For more information about Systema, please www.RussianMartialArt.com   Author Kevin Secours, B.Ed. is a 23-year veteran of the martial arts. A senior instructor in Russian Systema under Master Vladimir Vasiliev and Grand Master Mikhail Ryabko, he also holds a 3rd degree black belt in Modern Kempo Jujitsu, a 1st Degree black belt in Akai Ryu Jujitsu and Full Instructorship in Five Animal Shaolin Chuanshu, extendable baton, tactical cuffing and defensive tactics. A certified educator with the Quebec Ministry of Education, he is the director of the Montreal Systema Academy.