Training Tips

Articles by Vladimir Vasiliev

The articles presented here are for the education and enjoyment of the Systema community. The writers are solely responsible for the content and such content may not completely reflect the views of Russian Martial Art Systema by Vladimir Vasiliev. Any training conducted by you is at your sole risk.

Born in Russia, Vladimir Vasiliev received intense combative training and profound Systema training from Mikhail Ryabko. Vladimir moved to Canada, and in 1993 founded the first school of Russian Martial Art outside Russia - Systema Headquarters.

He has since personally trained and certified well over 700 qualified Russian Martial Art Systema instructors and schools in over 40 countries worldwide, and has produced an Award-Winning instructional film collection. Vladimir holds a number of government medals and awards including the Russian "Order of Duty and Honor" and the "Order of Loyalty". He offers regular training at his school in Toronto, at international seminars and camps, and through the Systema Video Program.

Systema Training Vladimir Vasiliev

Training Tips from Instructional Materials

by Vladimir Vasiliev Published: August 16, 2011

Work against multiple opponents is challenging both psychologically and physically. In Systema, there are a number of simple things to understand and practice to help you gain control over your external and internal opponents (i.e. your attackers and your own emotions). The first skill to acquire is moving away from the line of attack. It is important to learn not to freeze when a threat comes at you. If you are not very experienced in working against two or more opponents, your tendency will be to keep them in your field of vision all the time. […]

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Systema Training Vladimir Vasiliev

Are You Really Training?

by Vladimir Vasiliev Published: January 04, 2011

Have you ever noticed this about yourself? Your partner does an unfair move towards you, for example: he responds to your light strike with a hard and painful one. And then you get angry. Or your partner is a bit arrogant or slow to learn, and you get irritated. Or, you find your moves work very well, and that makes you proud of yourself. Or someone praises you and vanity starts to creep in. I see this happening every class. In this case, your real training time might be only a few minutes out of the entire session. […]

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Systema Training Vladimir Vasiliev

Systema Youth Program

by Vladimir Vasiliev Published: November 30, 2010

What makes Systema training most beneficial for our youth today? What is SYSTEMAOriginated in the ancient Russia, it is a unique, diverse and complete way of self defense training and the way of life that makes one a Warrior. A true Warrior is skilled at defending himself and others, healthy and powerful, capable of leading the battle in his own heart - and turn pride, aggression and fear into humility, courage and strength. ...year 2010 Austin, Texas. An experienced police officer developed a serious hand tremor while on his job. […]

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Systema Training Vladimir Vasiliev

Knife: Unconditional Mastery

by Vladimir Vasiliev Published: June 03, 2010

In order to achieve unconditional mastery in knife fighting, it is very important to develop independent muscle control. This means being able to avoid any tension in the entire body except for the body part you need at each moment. For example, only the hand holding the knife and the wrist would move and there would be no movement or tension in the rest of the body. This is essential in all professional work especially in working with a sharp knife where extra movement can lead to needless damage to the opponent, to cutting oneself or your own clothing. […]

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Systema Training Vladimir Vasiliev

How to Teach Systema - Interview with Vladimir Vasiliev

by Vladimir Vasiliev Published: March 16, 2010

Question: We can see that Systema keeps rapidly growing. Many people enjoy practicing Systema and eagerly share it. It would be helpful if you gave some guidelines and directions to those who teach Systema as Certified Instructors and those who share Systema training informally with friends, colleagues and family members.Answer: I agree, this is a much needed topic to discuss. With the growth of Systema, we are moving to a deeper level of understanding, this makes our discussions and training more interesting. […]

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