Hello all!

I just wanted to share my feelings about my first try at Systema. Partly because it's on that very forum that I got first glimpse of it, at the time I was searching about unarmed MA to fill a growing need!

I'm a long time, if not very good, japanese weapon MA practitionner. Naginata to be precise, started around 1990. For long I was reluctant towards unarmed MA, with the usual fears (getting hit, managing the agressivity and violence without the medium of a weapon, and a pretty long one as far as i'm concerned!, etc...)

This year I began to look and read (mostly here) about arts like shorinji kempo, systema...

It was Sytema which drew more and more attention. First were the principles. Quite differently of my naginata practice, it went out of the kata and forms system.
All the attention granted to respiration, decontraction, freeing of the body, souplensness and release of any constraint was more than a opposition to my practice. It sounded like a complement.
Then, some videos finished to convince me that I should give a try.

So this week-end I attended a beginner's seminar with Jérôme Kadian (http://www.systemafrance.com/).

I will start with some promotion by saying that Jérôme is a nice, interesting, and humourous instructor. He lead us smoothly across exercises increasing in difficulty and involvment. We started by some warm-ups, and then gradually involving exervices. Moving, avoiding hits, avoiding and responding.
The simplicity and directness of the methods we saw (collapsing the partner structure while keeping ones strong...), tha fact bthat those priciples have to be interpreted by everyone with one's own method, and the amazing efficiency through simplicity were a true richness to discover.

We came along some ground escape, and some test about how your fear can influence efficency or simply your ability to continue moving.

Starting unarmed MA with the reluctance about the hits, I was amazed to discover what the human body was able to endure. You can indeed continue to breath with two heavy guys lying on your chest. And that is frightfull! But it make immediatly understand how fear control can change things, and how that confidence about how much you can get, it might not neutralize you completely.

Getting a punch in a competition MA must be hard. For the physical (ouch!) and the ego (I got hit = I'm less godd than the other). Getting used, gradually to a certain amount of punch in an exercise (with teh smile!) change one attitude toward beeing hit.
Great value for me at least. "Wow! I can really take that? And give that?"

Grappling and various locks escape were also interesting. No method here also (like"with this lock, this escape"). And also discoveries. Were is my body, how is my arm, What ca I change, twist to free a locked joint?

Of course, nobody would be able to escape a professionnal reverse arm lock with one systema seminar. Nor is this my goal. I don't have the particular need to be a streetfighter!! But I think that systema has great things to offer for one body and mind knowledge, and than, better adaptation to situations. And not only stressful ones as a street fight.
Although frank and honest in the physical involvment it requires, Systema feels not aggressive or violent. It maybe fast and effective, but it looks aimed at defense and not offense.
Will that practice (I am twitching my schedule to fit a couple of Systelma training in it, yes I'm in!) improve my other MA practice. What have in common a modern unarmed combat method originated at least from army combat training, and a japanese weapon art, sport oriented with all it's traditionnal background?
At the core, at a certain level, all the concern about relaxing the body, beeing at one and filling oeself in the action, are the same in both. My naginata practice requires relaxation so that the cuts start and go fast and real.
Even on a shiaijyo, you might have a certain stress (sometimes not very good, like winning a championnship). That stress while hamper your clean practice.
I think Systema, by it's nature, can bring things positive to any practice.
Indeed, most of us this week-end obviously had backgrouds. No need to forget it, but just apply Systema principles to what you already know.

However, even with a single-day seminar, I would advise some physical preparation before starting Systema. It IS physically demanding!!

Well, That's my impression, I hope I didn't miss completely the point of Systema.

Good training to everyone