Seminar Reviews

Thank you very much Mr. Mikhail Ryabko and Mr. Vladimir Vasiliev, for all your teachings in the Aiki Expo 2005. I am very impressed by your skills in Systema and I am glad to find that both are great people. I hope to see you again!

Review of Aiki Expo & New York 2005 with Mikhail Ryabko & Vladimir Vasiliev Starting on May 27th through June 5th many people were blessed with a very special experience during multiple events that started with the Aiki Expo in LA and ended with the Fighthouse seminar in NY. Mikhail Ryabko and Vladimir Vasiliev who are considered to be the top two instructors of the Russian Martial Art know as Systema taught several memorable seminars. Everyone who attended the event in NY received a T-shirt with "Unforgettable!" written in vibrant orange letters across the back. I don't think you could pick a single word that could describe the last two weeks any better. For many in attendance including myself this was their first personal exposure to Mikhail Ryabko. There is no question that this is a very special man with unparalleled skill. And yet as amazing as it was to see and feel him work. Mikhail Ryabko seems to also be a very normal down to earth guy who loves to smile and laugh. Vladimir Vasiliev also treated everyone with his amazing talents. Watching Vladimir work with Emmanuel Manolakakis on Sunday in NY was pure poetry in motion. To be honest the deepest and most profound experiences I had over the two weekends came as a result of getting the privilege to feel Mikhail Ryabko first hand. It is astonishing how much one can learn from being punched. Now everyone that was in attendance saw the pure honesty in which Mikhail delivered his blows. For those of you that did not get the opportunity to feel his hands it may have looked very brutal. No one can question the martial validity of Mikhail's movement. But I hope everyone will believe me when I say that I have never received a more positive feeling punch. It is hard to explain. I received punches all over the body from Mikhail. Including the head, jaw and straight in the face. Normally I would expect to be severely damaged by blows containing the high volumes of energy that I could feel going through my body. Yet when it was all said and done I had absolutely no injury from his blows. Not even a bruise or fat lip. What is even more unbelievable is although I received no injury it would have been impossible for me to continue fighting after receiving his punches. In Vladimir Vasiliev's new "Hand to Hand" DVD the introduction states that the underlining principle of Systema is non-destruction both physically and psychologically for both you and your partner. Working with Mikhail Ryabko allowed me to feel this first hand at an entirely new intensity level. For this I can not say THANK YOU enough. After watching Mikhail or Vladimir work with someone you always see that person embrace them and give them a truly heart felt thanks. I believe this is done because someone who has just finished working with Mikhail or Vladimir recognizes in their heart how precious a gift they have just been given. You get to feel with out question how powerful and cleansing non-destruction can be. If you are a martial artist of any style I highly recommend that you take advantage of any opportunity that you may have to work with these two men in the future. There is truth in their movement that we all can learn from. There are too many people to thank for making the multiple training events happen over the last few weeks with Mikhail Ryabko and Vladimir Vasiliev. All I can say is that each and everyone of us has been truly blessed to have these two men enter our lives even if just for a moment. From my heart, THANK YOU, Mikhail Ryabko and Vladimir Vasiliev. - Kaizen Taki Systema NW

Simply Incredible! For great reviews of the AikiExpo check out forum. Thanks to Stanley for organizing this seminar and, first of all many thanks to Mikhail and Vladimir.

My name is Edgars Cakuls (Tsakouls). I am Systema instructor from NYC. Briefly, my background is in various martial arts like Sambo, Karate, and Kung fu for around 25 years. Now I have been fully converted to Systema life for around 5 years. Because of Vladimir, I reversed my age, became happier, healthier, and stronger than ever before. Systema it is more than a martial art. It is about to returning to state of natural being – innocent childhood, when you are happy to do crazy things like diving to the hard floor, enjoying getting hit, and doing all possible and impossible things with your body and your opponent’s, too. Sorry for late review on Aiki Expo event. The reason was that one week after the expo I was hosting V. Vasiliev and M. Ryabko seminar in NYC at Fighthouse! So I was busy trying to do my best before the seminar and to return to the normal life afterwards. I attended Aiki Expo 2005 for the first time. It was surprisingly well-organized and unusually big martial art event. Thanks to Mr. S. Pranin for putting together Aiki community and now Systema, too, in one place and on annual basis to practice and learn from each other. Mr. S. Pranin is an open-minded person who is not afraid to invite Systema authorities for Aiki Expo, too. I was talking with Mr. M. Ryabko and he told me that he has seen so many really good Aiki masters and also that only Aiki people can really see and understand Systema. I myself did not see much of the Aiki classes since I came to see Mikhail for the first time and was completely absorbed with his teaching. But I saw some parts of the last day’s Aiki training and I personally liked the demonstrations of Mr. Christian Tissier, Mr. Jose Andrade, and Ms. Pat Hendricks. One of the behind-the-scenes Aiki Expo memories bring me to a regular hotel room on the 14th floor. It was not planned, but Systema and Aki people gathered spontaneously because of Ms. Kaila Feder’s hospitality. We instantly converted one bed to the table for the snacks. The table became full of snacks literally from nowhere – greens, smoked fish, bread, and sweets. Wine was flowing and the 18 people in the room become soft and comfortable in 10-15 minutes. Somebody brought a guitar and language barriers disappeared. We sang English and Russian songs in a well-known way…”la,la,la…ye,ye,ye,”…and so on. Than we all told funny stories…. At one point Mikhail R. turned his head to Vladimir V. and said …”Volodja, (in Russian, this is a form of calling person in lovely way” – usually, only family members and good friends talk in this not familiar way)…Tell us how you came for the first to my class in Russia and tried to beat me up with your friend.” Vladimir drops his head a little, with a smile on his face. He paused for a half a minute, and then told us the story. Vladimir and his friend planned before class how they would surprise and beat up Mikhail. The friend was to attack and keep Mikhail busy from the front while Vladimir would try to approach Mikhail from the behind. During the attack Mikhail, manage to move behind the back of Vladimir’s friend so fast that Vladimir unintentionally kicks his friend to the head with a roundhouse. The funny thing is that the two friends started to argue and fight with each other, forgetting Mikhail! Next day Ms. Kayla Feder and her students our new friends joined Systema group and seems to me she was impressed with the training and the demonstrations. Generally, each Systema class was attended by around 10-15 Aiki people. Of course they were cautious in the beginning, but become more relaxed later when they felt the friendly and non-competitive atmosphere among Systema people. They were shocked to see how Mikhail punches the people. The sound of hits was scary. But even so, many of them at the end of each class formed the line with the Systema people to experience the pain…. My partner Peggy from Fighthouse met me arriving from L.A….”Wow…you look good!” she said. “Yes,” I told her, “to get beaten by Mikhail is very scary and painful but it is a blessing from him. He knows how to punch and who needs more or less. It is about making you a better and healthier person.”

I was positively surprised by this excellent seminar by Mikhail Ryabko and Valentin Vasiliev. I am relative new to systema and enjoyed the instruction to the movements by the top experts. The most impressive to me was the stick fighting and knife defense, as it showed good and highly effective solutions against a high variety of attacks. For sure it was not my last seminar and I am looking forward to the next one. Thank you.

Well it hasn't happened yet, but I know it will be excellent, and when I say excellent, I mean really excellent!

First Ever Systema Seminar in Japan with David Merrell My name is Scott McQueen and I had the pleasure of inviting David Merrell to Japan at the end of March this year to teach our small group in Tokyo. I met David (and his student Peter, who is also a certified instructor of systema in Florida whilst staying at Mikhail’s house just prior to the Russian Trip/seminar last year in August (my first hands-on experience with the system). So it was that the seed of the first systema seminar in Japan was planted. There are no qualified or certified instructors of Systema in Japan as I write now. With great pleasure I invited David to Japan for 1 week to teach our small group of guys. We were in for a treat! On the first day of training we received an overload of information on the basics that David passed on, drawing upon his years of training and personal conversations with Vlad, Mikhail and Mikhail’s students. He was able to teach us how to move and position oneself with the minimum movement and effort required. He was extremely patient with me and my three left feet. In that first day he gave us enough drills and feedback to keep busy for a year or 2 (lucky I took notes). He showed us seemingly simple balance drills and correct footwork that are the foundation of fluid movement and correct positioning (that he said took him 5 years of going to Russia and building rapport with the Russian players to learn) to enable one to control an opponent and yourself. It was explained to us if you are in control of the aggressor (and yourself) you can strike at will (which is secondary to controlling them) and direct them to where you want them to go with your movement, instead of letting them fall where they will. "Of course!!" you may all say, but it easier said than done. I am sure it will take long hours (years?) of studying movement, use of footwork (where’s the weight?), placement of hands, elbows, knees, hips, etc and your intent and the effect it has on the aggressor. We did many movement exercises for balance, trapping, kicking, groundwork, knife work, stick work, punching, slow-sparing, as well as breathing, psychology and a bunch of things I have forgotten but am assured will come back out when the time is right. David was a real trooper - we didnt have a proper gym to train in, only parks, and let me tell you it can get very cold at this time of year at night in Tokyo. I have a sneaking suspicion he had a great time too - I took him site-seeing to the touristy places, like Tsukiji - the worlds largest fresh fish market (had to wake up at 4.30am!) with the biggest tuna I (and he) had ever seen, out to dinner with our group and our partners (he seemed particularly happy about that). My girlfriend also took him out to one of the best sushi bars in the exclusive Ginza district (an (even more) expensive shopping area) while I had to work.. I set him up with home-stay accommodation with a friend of mine, so he stayed in traditional Japanese house and room (straw tatami floor) and got to experience a bit more of Japanese culture than the average visitor. We discovered that David developed a penchant for Moscow mules (a mixture of vodka, lime and ginger-ale) - and he tried to tell us he never drank! (Sure David, anything you say). We also checked out some of the Japanese martial arts here - going to watch an aikido class that was taught by a teacher who came up to just below David’s chest:) All in all we had a wonderful learning experience that will keep us busy and thinking for months/years to come. I can genuinely recommend to anyone/any school to get David down for a Seminar, I am sure he will be able to give everyone a new perspective and focus on their systema training..

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly was an incredible seminar! Dean Stewart brought in Sonny Puzikas, Emmanuel Manolakakis and Jim King to the Huntersville NC school. We covered a lot of ground including: ground work, personal protection, using feet and legs, maintaining form/shape, strikes, mass attacks, knife work, working with a wall, hostage release, Systema exercizes/calesthenics (a la Jim King, enough said) And lots of other stuff I am still processing. Tons of great information All the instructors did a great job teaching the class and also spent a lot of time walking around and helping us out one on one. Thank you to everyone who came from NC, DC, LA, VA, Durham, Florida, Canada. It was a really great, postive group. Thank you to Dean and Amy for running a very organized, fun seminar, and to Sonny Emmanuel and Jim. Also, thank you to Dave Merrell for attending with his excellent teaching. Hey Dean let's do it again next year.

This past weekend was a very awesome weekend being apart of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. This seminar was taught me alot, also having the privledge to working with Sonny Puzikas, Jim King, Emmanuel Manolakakis, Dave Merriel, and Dean Stewart. The Seminar help alot of the students with breathing and form. I enjoyed the personal protection, groundwork, mass attacks, wall work and how you can use it to your advantage. Also, the warm-ups were very helpful, as well as the breathing excerises. I would like to say Thank you to Sonny, Jim, emmanuel, Dave, and Dean for sharing your knowledge and experiences with all who attended the seminar. Also, Thank you too all who attended from TN, LA, VI, NC, AND CANADA (TORONTO). Dean Thank You again and I can't wait till next year, hope theres another Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

This was my first Systema seminar, and I already can't wait for the next one! The seminar was hosted by Sonny Puzikas's Russian Combat Academy. If you have never met Vladimir in person you owe it to yourself to go see him. Vladimir, along with Sonny, are true professionals. It was a very fun and enjoyable experience, and I highly recommend to anyone if you get the chance, go see for yourself in person Vladimir's incredible skills. Special thanks to Sonny & his family for their warmth and hospitality.