Notes from Systema seminar with Emmanuel Manolokakakis

This workshop covered a wide range of topics including awareness & survival, strength & endurance, breath & motion, combat mobility, dynamic control of aggressive offenders, special tactics & work with multiple opponents. We started the day working from the ground up with breathing exercises designed to re-calibrate our systems for efficient selective tension. By the end of it I felt I had improved my proprioceptive abilities to remain relaxed in the body while tensing up only a particular segment or kinetic chain. This work makes Systema practitioners very tough to pin down. We then worked our way up the body with exercises dedicated to tactical use and manipulation of each joint: ankles, knees, hips, spine, and upper limbs. Even the chin became an efficient tool for threat removal and control. The workshop was held outdoors at the Alameda Naval Air Station and attacted many local practitioners and a bunch from out of town. We had a lot of fun and a great opportunity to learn core material from a very cool instructor. No injuries except for that unexpected impact to the side of my right knee from Gigantor.