Systema Masters in NYC!

[RachelKlingberg]

It was an exciting week for Systema. Fighthouse hosted our honored guests Mikhail Ryabko and Vladimir Vasiliev, who were here to present Systema to the United Nations on Wednesday, October 24, and to film for the Discovery Channel, which took place at Fighthouse on Thursday, October 25, Mikhail and Vlad helped to teach the regular Tuesday and Thursday classes at Fighthouse, and finished up the week with Friday and Saturday seminars on October 26-27. I shall attempt to describe the events in a series of posts, starting with Mikhail’s arrival on Tuesday, October 23.

Tuesday evening

Sonny was teaching our class when Mikhail arrived. Everyone stopped what they were doing to greet Mikhail with much joy, and we all went over to shake his hand. He didn’t say much, I imagine he was tired after the long flight. He spoke a little about striking, but mostly showed us, then everyone lined up to receive strikes. It was interesting to see the newcomers enjoy this experience. I think he was gentle with us. I’ve seen him guys get hit much harder, and right in the chin, but I guess it’s like they say; he gives the strike you need.

I was not training because of my concussion; I’d just returned from an MRI. My classmates encouraged me to take a strike, but I wasn’t sure if it’d be good for my head. I asked Sonny to ask Mikhail and Mikhail replied no, because the head injury has created tension in my shoulders, it would not be good for me to be struck.

So I’ve never been hit by Mikhail, and can’t comment on that, but maybe some of the other guys who were there on Tuesday will add some thoughts.

Sonny offered to ask Mikhail what I could do to heal my concussion. He replied that before I went to sleep, I should do a slow inhale, tense my body after the inhale, then hold my breath and the tension for increasing seconds, up to 30 seconds total, then a slow exhale and relax.

He also massaged my neck and shoulders in the most wonderful way. He knew exactly where the tension was and didn’t have to use a lot of pressure to ease the strain. He cracked my neck, restoring my spine to proper alignment. As the tension drained from my shoulders, I felt the bruise on my temple where I had taken the blow. But I felt it as a topical bruise of the skin rather than the deep ache it had formerly been. Mikhail asked me how I felt and I said, relaxed, my shoulders feel a lot softer, but I’m more conscious of the injury. He put his fingertips right on the bruised part of my temple and massaged gently. I felt so much better.

I understand now when people describe Mikhail’s warmth. I had only met him once before and so I got to know him a little better during his week in NYC. Vlad has the same quality, genuine warmth, true compassion that is evident in his gentle touch. How strange that two of the most dangerous men in the world are such mild-mannered, kind, steady people. It is my privilege to know them even in the small way I do.

*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

(next: Systema Demonstration at the United Nations!)
_________________
There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact. - Sherlock Holmes

[Chris Misek]

Thanks so much for taking time out to write that-as you always do.Its appreciated.
Waiting for next installment
Cheers.

[RachelKlingberg]

I was honored to be invited to the United Nations for this demonstration; many deserving students from all over the world would have been glad to be there. Edgar told me that because I'm a writer, if anyone was to document and remember what was shown to us on that day, it'd be me. I shall try to live up to his expectations. First let me say thank you to Mikhail, Vlad, and Edgar, for inviting me to be their guest, and to the United Nations, for hosting this enlightening event.

I met our group outside the Visitor's Entrance, and could not believe how handsome all the guys looked in their suits. I've never seen Edgar or Vlad that dressed up before. Peggy and I were also wearing formal business attire and both of us were in heels. Mrs. Ryabko and Mrs. Vasiliev were dressed beautifully. I think all of us spent a moment or two marveling at each other's appearances; after years of working out together, always looking sweaty and rumpled, it was strange to suddenly see everyone so dressed up. It was an occasion to look one's best; being a guest at the United Nations is a great honor.

That was my first time meeting Larissa Ryabko and I'm sorry that there was too much of a language barrier for us to communicate beyond "Hello." She is a stately woman and looks very much like a colonel's wife, which I intend entirely as a compliment. Maybe I will learn Russian someday so I can greet her properly.

The UN representative who served as moderator opened the event by saying that martial arts gets a bad rap in television and the movies, yet it involves self-discipline, awareness, love of beauty of movement, and harmony in the body, mind, and with the environment. "True inner discipline is freedom," he said, and to that end, martial arts masters from Russia, China, Japan, and the U.S. would demonstrate.

Valerie introduced Russian Martial Art, with comments from Mikhail and occasionally Vlad. Mikhail was surprisingly verbose. His military background is evident; he was at home in this environment, the elder statesman speaking before the committee. Vlad smiled the whole time, he looked like a mischievous schoolboy about to launch a paper airplane. He didn't say much. Mikhail quoted Romans: "If you want peace, be ready for war." He also said, "I was always sent to war. The United Nations is the only organization that wanted me to stay home. My family and I are grateful." We laughed, but he was quite sincere.

Mikhail provided an introduction to Systema through Valerie's translation. "Russian Martial Art encompasses wrestling, striking, health and fitness, and religious components." He explained how Systema was classified under the Soviet Union and if the Soviet Union had still existed, Systema would still be suppressed. I realized that I had been directly affected by the dissolution of the Soviet Union, in that it gave me a chance to learn Systema, which has changed my life.

"No competition, no stances, no tournaments," Mikhail continued. "We get close because it's a better range for holds and strikes." He demonstrated the range of the legs, which is farther than the arms. Mikhail said that students see results after just a few classes. "Go with the force, don't resist," he said. "You should be no different than an everyday person, just standing around."

He and Martin began to demonstrate. Martin tried to grab him. It was interesting to see Martin, one of the top instructors in the world, with an even greater master. It was the first time I was seeing the extent of Mikhail's skill, and it was truly amazing. The other masters there to demonstrate their styles looked on with rapt attention.

Mikhail demonstrated hitting Martin several times, using the unhurried, un-flashy movements he had talked about as 'everyday standing around.' Martin took the strikes very well, perhaps better than anyone I've ever seen. And because Mikhail's strikes aren't flashy, an uninformed person might think he's not hitting Martin that hard. But when Martin sat down next to me afterwards, I noticed he was panting. I thought to myself, "So he's mortal," because I've never seen Martin out of breath! Martin told me later than when Mikhail hits him, he is acutely aware of his own mortality.

He also showed the no-contact work with Martin, which is of course, amazing. He never falters. Just when you think Martin might actually get him, Mikhail steps out of the way at the last second. It's really a marvelous, breathtaking sight. It was my first real close look at the extent of Mikhail's skill with the psychic energy; previously, I had only seen this high-level work on videotapes.

Frank A. was next to demonstrate, and he too tried to grab Mikhail at different speeds, fast and slow. Mikhail showed the no-contact work with Frank, as well. He attempted to de-mystify it, showing how Frank would halt if he raised his fist, stuck out his leg, or presented an imposing figure. He said there are various ways to employ the no-contact work: by stopping suddenly, or by moving suddenly, even by taking a sharp breath, all of which cause a 'frozen' reaction in the opponent.

Mikhail talked about even movements, uninterrupted, and full breathing. He emphasized the need to dissipate aggression with your own actions and breathing. If you have fear, you feed the attacker's aggression. He also said that Systema practice never includes pre-arranged attacks.

Frank attacked him faster. "The defender must be calm and ready," said Mikhail. "Strike in such a way so that he forgets about you," he said, hitting Frank and stopping his attack. "Quick, painless resolution." He demonstrated exciting versus calming strikes, and several strikes that I think made the recipients (Frank and earlier, Martin) laugh.

Frankie F. and Denis also demonstrated with Mikhail. Denis takes strikes very well, after Mikhail hit him, he invited one of the other masters to come up and hit Denis a few times. Master Short Iwasaki hit Denis in the stomach – I am not sure if he was hitting him as hard as he could, but he was putting a good deal of effort into it. He smiled as he saw how little his strikes affected Denis. Compared to Mikhail's punches, which seemed so much quieter, Denis hardly seemed to notice Master Iwasaki's. He also kicked him quite hard, but Denis just smiled and moved only a little.

Denis said, "The strikes make you warm." He lifted his shirt, and his stomach was reddened. "I did not get offended," he added, and I think the strikes do less damage because of that.

Vlad did a very brief demonstration with multiple attackers that I wished was longer, but there was so much to show, and not enough time. Somehow Vlad's shoe came off and in his usual witty expression of Systema, he launched it at his opponent, to much laughter. I wish Vlad could have demonstrated longer, but there were other masters waiting to demonstrate their own styles. The moderator thanked Mikhail and his demonstrators: "Versatile, wonderful, powerful yet relaxed… very beautiful," he said.

The other three masters were also very interesting speakers and I was going to add a few lines about their demonstrations, but there is so much to write, and I want to get it down while it's fresh, and also keep this at a good, readable length, though I could write a whole missive. There were masters of Tai Chi, Aikido, and Tong Il Moo-Doo also there to demonstrate.

After the demonstrations, they opened the floor to questions, and the moderator requested another demonstration of Mikhail's no-contact work. I think Denis was the one to demonstrate with him, but cannot quite recall. They showed a few more minutes of this extraordinary work, during which Mikhail really does appear to be an ordinary person, "just standing around." Ordinary, but so elusive – always one step ahead of his attacker, almost as if he's reading his mind. Mikhail had a few more words about the psychic energy, which I think of as "the energy of intent." I think the moderator, rather than having any particular question, just wanted to see more of this remarkable movement.

After posing for photographs and thanking everyone, we celebrated the exciting day with a lovely meal at the famous Russian Tea Room. It was a memorable experience, a day I will remember for a long time to come. Systema has truly become an international martial art, and a force for good. I hope the entire world will be as fortunate as I to benefit from this precious gift of knowledge, freely shared with us by two great masters whose greatness extends so far beyond combatives.

*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

(Discovery Channel filming re-cap to follow - I was not present but I'll invite those who were to post about it in my next message)
_________________
There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact. - Sherlock Holmes

[Eric Hansen]

Rachel - thanks for that great report. It is really insightful and elucidating. Edgar made the right decision in sending you.

[Mark Fan]

Thanks for the write up! Always a pleasure to read your posts.

[John Elliott]

Thanks a lot!
_________________
aka jellyman, TheTypenator

Matthew 25:31-46

"The easiest way to get hurt is to stand in the middle of the road. " - Furman

[RachelKlingberg]

Thursday

As I mentioned previously, I was not at the Discovery Channel filming. Having just returned from two days' vacation for the North Carolina seminar, and another afternoon off to attend the United Nations demo, I just couldn't get any more time off work. Valerie told us the filming went so well, they continued filming even after the Discovery Channel left. I saw some photos; it was fun to see Mikhail and Vlad in their military clothing. Valerie said that it will air in 2008 and there will be an announcement on the official site.

I am hoping someone who attended the filming will post a few words about it – it doesn't have to be fancy nor grammatically perfect, just tell us what happened.

Since I don't have any notes about that, I will write about something else, a little off-topic, more personal that you might have expected, but still relevant to Systema (I think.) On Wednesday evening, after the United Nations demonstration, and after a lovely meal at the Russian Tea Room, I went out drinking with some of the guys. I cannot drink like Systema guys do. I should have known better than to try to keep up, but people kept pressing drinks into my hand. So, I was out till 4 a.m. and when I showed up for work the next morning, I was still drunk. I couldn't walk a straight line. Fortunately no-one noticed (it's that kind of job.) But I felt deeply ashamed. I generally only have a glass of wine on my birthday and to go from that to heavy drinking as we did on Wednesday night - it was like dumping a huge load of toxins in my body.

During my lunch break on Thursday, I rested on the sofa in the faculty lounge. I had the spins so bad, and felt so nauseous; I thought I might have alcohol poisoning. I was ashamed of mistreating my body, as I generally live a healthy life. For some reason I remembered what Vlad had told me in NC, when I asked about handling negative energy from a traumatized partner. He said I should pray for forgiveness. I've never been what most people would call a believer; I guess I was really asking to forgive myself. I began to breathe deeply in the Systema fashion and it was like the best painkiller in the world. Even in all my remorse, I felt that I was still connected to the world and that world was better than I, and therefore, by living in it, I could make myself better, too. That helped with my shame. I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, and when I woke up an hour-and-a-half later, I was no longer drunk. I felt alright, just tired. But I was still too hung over to make it to Thursday evening class. I had to save my strength. The doctor had ordered bed rest in a darkened, silent room. I was not supposed to be exerting myself and especially not supposed to drink alcohol. But I'd been training hard, and drinking quite a lot more than usual, in North Carolina and then back in NYC. It was no wonder I felt terrible as well as ashamed of being so careless with my health, which I have always considered a precious gift.

I know this is not so remarkable to many of you who drink more often; going to work drunk might even be kind of funny. In retrospect, I can laugh about it, but at the time, I felt such remorse. At the same time, I was amazed at how the Systema breathing, and Vlad's simple advice, made me feel better immediately. I don't think anything else but the Systema breathing could have put me into such a deep, dreamless sleep, and into a frame of mind where I could stop dwelling upon my own misdeeds and remember that I am part of the greater world, and one which is full of promise.

So thank you, Mikhail and Vlad, for sharing this wonderful gift of Russian breath-work with your grateful students. It has changed my life in ways I never imagined. It has allowed me to handle physical, psychological, and spiritual pain in a way that gives hope even when it seems there is no hope to be found. It is a gift that will remain with me until I die, and one which I will remember both in my darkest moments, as well as in the moments of joy. Spasibo!

*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

(Next: comments from others on the Discovery Channel filming; Friday evening seminar review)
_________________
There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact. - Sherlock Holmes

[RachelKlingberg]

Friday was our 3-hour seminar with Mikhail. Vlad, Valerie, Martin, Valdis, and Frank A. were also on-hand to help out. I missed the first few minutes, because I was behind the front desk, doing registration. Even with four of us behind the counter, we could not get everyone registered fast enough. I had to bail out so I didn't miss too much of the training, but I did miss the introductory remarks.

We started with some crowd work: walk through the middle of the room, and since we were standing in a circle, it gets pretty dense towards the center. We did the same with eyes closed. It is interesting to observe a crowd of reasonably relaxed people stiffen up and start fighting with each other to get through the crowd and to the other side. Many of these same people walk through crowded places like Grand Central Terminal every day without lashing out at the people nearby, but being in Systema class lends a different flavor, much as we may try to be everyday people, we often end up in fighting mode.

On the same theme, we lay on the floor and crawled through the middle of the room on our backs, and then again on our stomachs. We were doing the "Systema crawl" where you propel yourself along with a wave-like movement, without using your arms. Of course this gets difficult as your reach the center of the room and everyone is massed together. I stayed clear of the melee, because I wanted to be careful not to hit my head. I was still recovering from my concussion. I did it only a few times. Later on Saturday, Vlad commended me for doing this even with my head injury. It did make me more scared than I would have been ordinarily, though I wasn't having any dizziness or other symptoms, except the fear of getting brain-damaged by taking another blow to the same place on my head (my physician had warned me strictly that a third concussion to that same place would result in permanent damage. But they tend to scare the repeat customers.)

We did the same thing with eyes closed, and then partnered variations on this exercise: leading your partner, whose eyes are closed, through the crowd. Then giving just verbal direction, no touch, to a partner whose eyes are closed. Then to two and three people, all with eyes closed, first walking, then crawling, navigating solely on verbal direction from the 'leader.' I realized how difficult it was for me not to be the leader. As leader, I felt reasonably successful in getting my partners across the room. With someone else leading, I had trouble trusting their leadership.

Mikhail said that training is like life and that these are scenarios from war and emergencies. He asked us for comments on how we felt about the exercises. I raised my hand and shared my own experience: When I had to be led by someone, I did not trust him. He told me to crawl straight but I sensed some empty space to my right. I went off on my own, got separated from my partners, and never made it across. They all did. I announced that in a real emergency, I would have died. As typical when you admit you screwed up, everyone laughed and laughed. Vlad in particular gave me a delighted look. I am always honest about my training but never imagined that my failure would be met with such amusement and delight from Vlad and Mikhail.

We did knife work after the crowd work – one person draws, the other has to stop him. This was an awareness exercise, not a disarm drill. To stop the draw, you have to look at the whole person; the shoulder, the face, expression in the eyes. If you can push the shoulder back before the draw, that will prevent it. Mikhail demonstrated with his amazing skills; his slight-of-hand is better than any magician's. He easily outfoxed his opponents and drew the knife on them before they had time to react, and seemed to take much enjoyment in outwitting them.

We did the same thing in groups of three: the one in the middle draws and the two on either end stop him. I was quite good at drawing and evading my two partners. I tricked them in all sorts of ways, going down, moving the non-drawing arm, faking them out, using Vlad's trick of scratching my head. They commended me on how well I was doing; by the time they tried to stop me, I already had the knife at their throat or kidney. "Yes, I'm a sneaky little b*tch, aren't I?" I said. Maybe I was a little too pleased with myself. I generally would not use that kind of language. But in some scenarios, like knife work, being a b*tch is not always a bad thing.

But it took my two partners only a few tries to get the hang of being just as elusive as I was. I don't know why I took to it right away. Though I may have some skill with drawing the knife, I wouldn't say I'm especially fluent at using it. The knife I carry for self-protection, a small folder, would always be my last resort. But I've gotten better at the knife disarms. We did some of those, as well, though the emphasis was on preventing the draw. Mikhail insisted that we respect the knife and back away when our partners drew and threatened us with it. He also said, "Don't be a hero, it's always better to run away from a knife." This was a good point; too often the training knives make us complacent. Martin Wheeler once told our class he'd run from a schoolgirl with a rusty pocket knife.

We did a little free work: draw, attack, and your partner has to disarm. I worked with several guys who were surprised at my skill. Most were pleasantly surprised. I guess they do not train with too many Systema women.

Mikhail does not give extensive step-by-step directions; he gives the general idea, the theme of the exericise, demonstrates a few times, and leaves us to figure it out. Martin Wheeler went around the room assisting with the personalized instruction.

We practiced keeping the blade flat while our partners rotated it around our arm and hand. This is tough – keeping it away from the inside of the wrist where the vital arteries are; always keeping the blade flat against the outside of the hand or the outer arm. I was working with Martin. "Is this really hard, or am I just dismal at it?" I asked. Martin told me it was hard but when I watched him do it, he made it look easy. Don't they always?

Next we did similar work against the body – holding our own knives pressed to the body and partner trying to twist or rotate them to cut, while we had to keep the blade parallel and flat. This was a good deal easier than doing it just on the arm and hand. Later on, one of my classmates told me he looked over at me doing this exercise and though I looked great; he actually described my movement as 'lovely.' It was so kind of him to notice and to make a point to tell me!

We did some cutting work on the ground, one partner presses the knife into the other, who lies flat, and then he has to escape and disarm. No thinking, just move. The guy I was working with was extraordinarily open. He didn't know much Systema but he had a good sound base to be an excellent practitioner. It's 90% attitude and his was very open and positive. I showed him a few tricks and tactics I've picked up with knife disarms from Edgar – just simple stuff like one-handed disarming, turning the knife back onto the attacker, and using the momentum of the thrust to initiate the disarms. He liked it a lot and would have been happy to learn more tactics, but we went back to the knife-pressed exercise.

Next, a little free work on the ground, one partner attacks the other, who disarms. I was partnered with a woman from my class who's learning Systema very well. She's small and light and once she realized that she had to use her entire body weight, she picked up the groundwork very well. I told her to make sure to turn her body to get out of the way of the incoming blade. I only had to tell her once; she will never forget that. I guess it's sexist, but I find female beginners so much easier to teach than male beginners. They listen well, you don't have to repeat stuff, they are patient and don't expect to get it right away, but when they do get it, you can be sure they will never forget. This woman has only been training a few months and already has more self-defense skills than the average man she may encounter.

Mikhail was in excellent spirits, often joking with us. He was much more talkative and witty than the first time I trained with him at Fighthouse. He seemed to be having a ball teaching us, and I sensed genuine enjoyment of teaching. He said that the seasoned gentleman of a certain age were the most tense, which I usually find to be true. It seems that sex has replaced the "buttering toast" analogy for Systema. He made a ribald joke about not being tense when you lay in bed with your wife – except one part!

I had a great time on Friday night; it was a true joy to be there with our esteemed master, and several of his top students, as well as many like-minded people. I was sorry when the seminar ended, and my only consolation was that we'd do it again the next day, and for a bit longer.

Thanks to everyone who attended, to Peggy and Edgar for putting together a great event on such short notice, and most of all to Mikhail and Vlad for sharing their immense knowledge with us. Spasibo!

*Vsego nailuchshego* (best wishes),
Rachel

(Next and final installment: Saturday seminar with Mikhail and Vlad)
_________________
There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact. - Sherlock Holmes

[Igor Shteynberg]

Excellent review, Rachel.
I’ve found a few things I’ve missed during the seminar.
Thank you!

A small addition to the review:

There was one more drill which we practiced after crowd work, but before the knife:
In groups of 3 two people just stand a few feet apart, one of the two closes the eyes and the third person(the leader) gives directions to the person whos esyes are closed. The goal of the leader to tell the person who's eyes are closed how to throw the other person. The person being thrown does not do anything (does not help, does not resist). This turned out to be very difficult and fun at the same time. Big difference between being able to do something and being able to give step by step instructions.

When drawing the knife is groups of three Mikhail asked the other two partners to stand right next to the person who draws the knife touching or pressing the body or the hand against the person making it difficult for the partner to draw the knife.
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Normal is just a setting on the washer machine

[RachelKlingberg]