Saturday, December 10, 2005
Notes from Systema seminar with Jim King
Whap! Sock! Pow! Feel, Flow, and Deliver. Now this is what Russian Systema is all about and Jim is a totally great coach, patient and very open to sharing his vast knowledge. He made room for our individual learning processes and everyone got to feel the moves. Ouch! The Jo was central all day as we learned to co-ordinate our movement with it_and despite of it: in rolls, falls, evasions, strikes, chokes, and attacks from multiple opponents. There were some very nice drills to discover flow in evasions and counters. A key principle Jim stressed was trying to always try to feel what part of the body is available for movement. Maybe you find yourself pinned down but that one little angle or joint or part that isn't can still be used as a bridge to freedom. I got insight into some excruciating nerve disruptions from a Japanese swordsman turned Russsian fisticuffer. Fortunately the pain passed as quickly as it was inflicted. Yow! The flow in the drills was just amazing. Never once did I entertain the thought "...this would never work in real life". There was just no doubt of that sort even remotely possible. Commenting on some of our more complexified and impractical martial artistry Jim repeatedly invited us to simplify, work close, feel, work the spine, and focus on the man_not the stick he wields.
