Introductory Booklet

Systema CHCH – Systema New ZEALAND

Revision 1
2011
 Introduction
This document is an introductory booklet that provides a basic description of concepts and principles
of Systema and its learning process. All these should help you to develop your own Systema.

Contents
1. Notice/ Disclaimer........................................................................................................................... 2

2. What is Systema? ............................................................................................................................ 3

3. What is the history of Systema? ..................................................................................................... 4

4. Why should I train Systema? .......................................................................................................... 5

5. What to expect during training? ..................................................................................................... 6

6. What is required to train Systema? .............................................................................................. 10

7. What are the principles of Systema? ............................................................................................ 12

8. What are the principles of breathing? .......................................................................................... 15

9. Training recommendations ........................................................................................................... 16

10. Why Systema focuses so much on movement? ........................................................................... 17

11. Why Systema focuses so much on breathing? ............................................................................. 18

12. What types of training are available in Systema?......................................................................... 19

13. What can I do before starting Systema and make the transitions smoother? ............................. 20

14. Who are the Systema masters? .................................................................................................... 24

15. Training Development Principles .................................................................................................. 25

16. Systema links and additional training material............................................................................. 26

17. Systema New Zealand on the Internet ......................................................................................... 26

18. Feedback ....................................................................................................................................... 27

19. Information about the author and collaborators ......................................................................... 27

20. Booklet History and Revisions....................................................................................................... 27

Discover yourself 1
 1. Notice/ Disclaimer
The information contained in this booklet is for general information purposes only and it has been
designed for free digital distribution. The ideas and concepts included in this booklet were put
together using Systema DVDs and books, internet material, and the help of the Systema instructors
and training partners.

Although we (the booklet’s author, Systema CHCH, Systema NZ, and the people involved in the
review, production and distribution of this booklet) endeavour to keep the information up-to-date
and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the
completeness or accuracy with respect to the contents of the booklet for any purpose. Any reliance
you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

Always consult your physician prior to beginning any exercise or physical training program. If you
experience any strain, stop immediately and seek the advice of a licensed health care professional.

Note that Systema training sometimes can be difficult and strenuous and that injury to you or your
training partner may result if you do not execute the drills and exercises with the proper care and
precision. We, the fore mentioned people, assume no responsibility for any injury or damage
resulting from the execution or practice of any drill or exercise presented here or in the referenced
material, or during a Systema class. In no event we will be liable for any injury or damage resulting
from direct or indirect use of this booklet.

Through this booklet you are able to link to websites which are not under our control. We have no
control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not
necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them, they are just for
reference.

Always, if possible, avoid all physical confrontation using de-escalating techniques (not included in
the booklet). In the event of a hostile or life threatening event use only the necessary force to stop
the threat and remove yourself from danger. If you are in doubt of what may constitute “reasonable
force” and/or “excessive force” contact the local law enforcement agency. Note that laws vary
among countries, states or regions.

Now I wish you the best, and enjoy the content of this booklet and have fun training. Remember
that Systema, just like any other physical activity, cannot be learnt from videos or books alone, so
let’s get training!

Discover yourself 2
 2. What is Systema?
Systema (Система in Russian and translate as “The System” in English) is a complete set of concepts
and training components that enhance one’s life. Systema can be classified as a survival system, not
just a martial art. Systema comes to us in its modern form through various Special Operations Units
within the Russian military's elite/special forces (called Spetsnaz). After researching martial arts
through-out the world, the Soviets rediscovered their own heritage in the traditional Slavic 'hill-
fighting' arts to be practical, deadly and sophisticated. From this base in real-world application
Systema has evolved to what is taught today at the clubs all around the world. Systema gives the
student the ability to deal with daily life situations in a more efficient and calmer manner, and this
maximizes the chances of success.

Systema is also known as "poznai sebia" (Russian language: “discover yourself”). Everyone is unique
and should understand and apply themselves uniquely. During the training you will get to know how
you behave/react to different situations, and discover (or rediscover) the freedom of movement that
our bodies are capable of and how our minds can remain functional under various stresses.

Every Systema practitioner will have different reasons why they want to train Systema, such as being
able to deal with aggression, defend yourself, your family and your country, become a healthier and
stronger individual, or overcome fear and gain confidence. Some of you will have seen various clips
on the Internet and just want to emulate the movements of the masters of this art. But through
training you will discover your own movement and develop something that works on a very personal
level and it’s yours. In the end, Systema principles can be (and should be) used all the times to allow
you to live a better, healthier life. In Systema, the synergy of three components creates a true
warrior: Combat Skill, Strong Spirit and Healthy Body.

The practitioner objectives will be to achieve a body that is free of tension, filled with endurance,
flexibility, effortless movement and explosive potential; and a spirit or psychological state that is
calm, and free of anger, frustration, irritation, fear, self-pity, delusion and pride.

From the note TRAINING SUGGESTIONS from Vladimir Vasiliev:

“The emphasis in your training should be on understanding movements of all kinds - your own
movements, those of others and just movement itself.”

From the Systema Excellence DVD by Konstantin Komarov:

“In Systema we eliminate any ‘baggage’ to move freely, we unlearn more than what we learn.”

“Learning Systema works as a spiral, going through all this components and cycle again and again to
reach mastery of you. It is a discovery of a lifetime.”

Discover yourself 3
 3. What is the history of Systema?
The Russian style of martial art dates back to the 10th century and was practiced by the Bogatyr
(Russian heroes/knights). They are normally present in the Systema logos.

Throughout the history of this huge country, Russia had to repel invaders from the north, south,
east, and west. All attackers brought their distinct styles of combat and weaponry. The battles took
place on different terrain, during freezing winters and sweltering summer heat alike, with the
Russians often greatly outnumbered by the enemy forces. As a result of these factors, the Russian
warriors acquired a style that combined strong spirit with extremely innovative and versatile tactics
that were at the same time practical, deadly, and effective against any type of enemy under any
circumstances. The style was natural and free while having no strict rules, rigid structure or
limitations (except for moral ones). All tactics were based on instinctive reactions, individual
strengths and characteristics, specifically designed for fast learning.

When the Communists came to power in 1917, they suppressed all national traditions. Among those,
the practice of any old style of fighting at the risk of being severely punished. At the same time, the
authorities quickly realized how viable and devastating the original combat system was and reserved
it just for a few Special Operations Units (Spetsnaz). It was not until the end of the cold war that
Systema became known. So, it’s only recently that the Pre-Soviet Russian martial art heritage is
being rediscovered.

Military service was compulsory in the Soviet Russia, but most people went in to the Regular Army
where their martial arts training consisted of training in “Sambo”, a Russian martial art based on
traditional Oriental styles emphasizing jiu-jitsu or kick boxing. But very few in the Soviet military
even knew of the training Vladimir and other members in his unit received due to intensive
government secrecy.

The world got to know this martial art known as Systema through Vladimir Vasiliev. After he finished
his service he established himself in Canada and in 1993 founded the first school of Russian Martial
Art outside Russia (Systema Headquarters). Since he has personally trained and certified hundreds of
Russian Martial Art instructors and schools worldwide.

Bogatyr by Michal Ivan

Discover yourself 4
 4. Why should I train Systema?
Any strategy, philosophy and movement that might be great in any sports martial art could result
useful in the streets or on the battlefield. But Systema was purposely designed for those
environments, and it has been proven to be very effective in those arenas.

You could, for example, train for many years in a particular martial art and be an amazing fighter. But
if you were to introduce at least one more opponent into the fight, you might still prevail but mostly
you would not be ‘doing’ that martial art anymore. Most martial arts are simply not designed for
fighting two or more opponents efficiently at the same time. It is primarily structured to fight one
opponent at a time by following a set of fixed rules. Also, most of the other martial arts are not
spontaneous as they rely on stimulus-response techniques. For example, practitioners are taught
that when a strike comes at you from a particular angle, you use a specific response. This “if they do
this, you do that” type of training eliminates all natural responses and movement.

Systema's structure is intentionally designed to appear structure-less. It relies on the development

of natural, intuitive and creative solutions to problems. The Systema practitioner should ideally
remain calm during the execution and should have precision in problem solving through a highly
developed sense of relational timing. Efficiency and economy of movement are highly sought after
skills and paramount to the effectiveness in combative situations.

Systema is primarily designed for real life application, it works for unpredictable situations (such as
multiple opponents, various weapons, uneven terrains, poor lighting, confined space, etc.) for
professionals in the military, law enforcement and security, for someone who's got to fight while
injured or wounded or has to protect his family, for someone who is older or not in good physical
condition. Training in Systema is designed to avoid injuries (and even heal your old ones) and
prepare you mentally for unexpected scenarios.

Discover yourself 5
 5. What to expect during training?
The following are some concepts that can give you an idea of what to expect when training Systema:

 Non-destruction / No harm: This is a fundamental rule for training. We all have to ensure
that training does not damage the individual physically or psychologically in any way. It is
fairly easy, in Systema everything that destroys is wrong and everything that strengthens,
energises, heals and builds is correct. For example, if you do exercises with proper breathing
you enhance your heart, circulatory system, nervous system, and your psyche to become
calmer and more efficient. In any activity, if training is done without breath work - it will
strain, damage and destroy every parameter of your physical health and will make you
unstable, fragile and psychologically weak.

 Training variety: There is no set curriculum and no two classes, even by the same instructor,
are the same. The practice will include exercises and drills that will allow you to practice the
Systema principles and get to know your current mental and/or physical limits. This is
generally executed by way of progressions that allow the student to comfortably assimilate
the information quickly and thoroughly.

 Deal with controlled stressful situations and fear: During training you will have to deal with
drills that simulate a particular situation that will test your body and mind in a safe and
controlled environment. This allows you to analyse how you respond to that stimuli and
then you can correct it, if required (for most people that is the case as they will use tension,
aggression and/or unconscious breath holding). This correction is not just from the physical
aspect, but you also have to free your mind from ego, preconceived ideas, or very often just
stop feeling sorry for yourself. Most people have fear of being hit, of falling and/or being
trapped. Systema will provide drills to address these fears and let your body recover its
natural movement under any situation no matter how stressful that is.

 Use it all the time: Once you start training, you will see that the principles and concepts can
be applied to everyday life activities. Systema’s objective is efficient living, which increases
the survival of the individual.

 No competition: As explained before, Systema is a survival system that originated from

military training; it does not rely on competitions to validate itself. The practical usage of
Systema is tested with ever increasing pressure as the student's ability to deal with any
situation grows. These aspects are explored in seminars that are run by Systema Instructors
all around the world, in addition to group training sessions at the club and solo training at
home. So, do not expect any medal or trophy to show your friends, the big prize in Systema
is to re-discover yourself and make use of your full potential in every situation.

 No ranks: Systema has no ranks or levels of any kind. Normally in a class or seminar there is
an instructor or a group leader - who guides the training - and some practitioners. You will
not wear any sort of belt or hat to let people know ‘how good’ you are at this. Beginners
and the more advanced practitioners work together - each learning important lessons from
each other.

 No uniform: in Systema there is no strict dressing code or uniform requirement. You should
wear comfortable clothing and shoes that you do not mind getting stepped on. Note that it

Discover yourself 6
 is still trendy to wear military outfit (but the real benefit to these types of clothing is that
they are very sturdy and can hold up to the rigors of training), although any sports pants and
t-shirt will do. Some people like to train barefoot or use minimalistic shoes; this is preferable
to normal sports shoes, as this allow better mobility of the feet, which in turn increases your
body’s mobility and balance.

 No protective gear: Other martial arts or self defence systems use protective gear, but this
will not teach you how to deal with real situations. Systema will focus on training in
scenarios that are as real as possible, but you will be exposed in a gradual fashion to more
and more complex drills so you can adapt appropriately. Also you will be executing rolls and
falls on hard mats or hard floors, these are excellent tools to teach you to be soft and
relaxed. An Old Russian saying is "a hard floor is like a good friend, a soft one is like a bad
one." This refers to the fact that you are clearly informed of your performance. Although
being a bit painful the information gained this ways is more helpful in the end.

 Contact: This relates to the above - as you do not use protective gear you will subject to
diverse types of contact from your training partners, from punches, kicks, grabs, pushes,
twists, slaps, etc. Breathing has to be used to deal with any discomfort caused by contact. As
previously indicated this drills will be introduced in a gradual fashion so you learn to deal
with discomfort through breathing, without creating tension in your body and your mind.

 Learn and apply the principles of Systema: The principles are the core of Systema; they
establish the building blocks of the system and they increase the odds of survival on any
situation. They will be introduced and explained later in the booklet. It is recommended that
you learn these and discuss them at the end of the class.

 No rituals: in Systema there is no ritual or bowing of any kind. You may shake hands with an
opponent before and/or after a drill, but there is no formal greeting process. The Systema
class have a basic structure that includes a warm-up, drills, cool down and a quick review to
share what was learnt and what was the experience in general. Putting all the actions into
words, explaining what everyone understood during the session, will help everyone to learn
and to understand the principles quicker and better. Talking and examining the principles
makes you more aware of them and this will help you mastering them.

 No pre-arranged movements: Systema uses relaxed, natural and free movements instead of
pre-established movement (known as katas or forms in other martial arts). Doing so, your
movements are unpredictable, spontaneous, fast and instinctive instead of being
choreographed and the results of a thought process. This allows you to move by feeling so
the cognitive part of your brain is available for increased awareness and strategic planning.

 Diverse types of training: Systema training can be done solo, with a partner or multiple
partners. When training at the club, the focus will be on executing drills that require
partner/s. There are also many solo training drills that will be presented. It is recommended
that these are executed at home (as a kind of homework), as this will accelerate the learning
process. In all these types of training you must always follow the Systema principles.

 Low speed training: Initially in your training or when trying new drills, the work is done very
slowly. The idea is to reprogram your brain to respond naturally without thinking about how
to move, but just move naturally, breathing and relaxing all the parts of the body that are

Discover yourself 7
 not required for movement. Speed will come with time once the brain adapts to the newly
found way to move and learn to deal with the stress/fear associated with that particular
drill. If you speed up or use tension to overcome somebody else movement then you will be
cheating yourself and you will not learn from the event, instead you will be back to old
pattern of movements. Patience is vital during the first stages of training, and when starting
new drills.

 Feedback: You will notice that everyone in Systema will be helpful and allow you to improve,
but you are also required to help the others students and instructors. In Systema everyone
respects each other and treats everyone the same. If at any time you feel that a particular
drill is overwhelming, then you have to speak up and let the others know; slowing down or
adjusting the drill to your level might be required to continue the training properly. There
should never be judgement associated to feedback provided by your partners. This is the
only way that you can improve when you are not able to perceive what is not right by
yourself.

 Use of whole body: Systema uses the whole body for pushing, grabbing, locking and striking,
not just the legs and the arms. Head-butts, shoulders, elbows, chest, hip, etc. are all allowed
and encouraged as the training is always done in a controlled manner. Learning to move
properly is the one of the primary goal in Systema, and you must be able to move all body
parts separately and also integrate them when required.

 Developing fighting skills: All drilling in the System (including the various health practices)
work to develop a strong and versatile fighter. Sessions cover a wide variety of subjects
centred on the staples of fighting: wrestling/grappling, striking and weapons (use of knife,
stick, chain, etc). Defensive and offensive skills are taught and used in a manner that allows
you to become interchangeable, creating a fighter that is truly unpredictable and adaptive.
As training progresses and skill is attained variations to the drilling add ever more stressful
situations to test yourself in.

 No aggression: Systema training focus on eliminating any bad emotion and this includes
aggression. Even during real confrontations you should only impart on the attacker the least
damage possible to end a threat.

 Have fun: You can smile or laugh during sparring. Systema training is very relaxed and you
can expect to execute some drills that will test you at many levels. As the human mind and
body are very adaptable and can learn many new things with proper training, soon you can
enjoy drills that at the beginning seemed too hard or even impossible to deal with. Having
an open mind, relaxing and accepting every drill will allow you to learn more and enjoy the
training. Remember to provide feedback to adjust the drills to your current level. At any time
that you feel overwhelmed, or if you have to rush your movements to deal with those of
your partner/s, then slow yourself, take a breath, smile and carry on working properly.

Also, training should be executed with positive energy in tune with the Systema philosophy,
so you should make your faults the object of your humour. Otherwise frustration, irritation
and embarrassment can lead to hostility and anger. Humour clears your mind from all these
emotions.

Discover yourself 8
 If you take life and training too serious all the time, you will be unable or too fatigued to
make the change necessary to react on a really serious situation.

Self discovery and self control are hard work tasks but they are truly rewarding. When you
do things right, you get a tremendous feeling of joy both consciously and unconsciously.
Because of this, all the people practicing Systema have become happier and healthier.

Discover yourself 9
 6. What is required to train Systema?
The following are some of the requirements to have and/or develop during the Systema training:

 Proper breathing: This is a basic requirement for life, not just for Systema. Breathing can be
accomplished using the three types/regions of breathing: chest or high breathing,
intercostals or medium breathing, and diaphragmatic or lower breathing. This last one is
essential as it relates to relaxed breathing, but many people are not aware of it as they hold
too much tension in their abdominal muscles limiting the expansion of the abdominal region
and by doing so they stop diaphragmatic breathing altogether.
On the other hand, you can breathe through the mouth or the nose. In Systema it is
essential that inhalations are executed through the nose and exhalation through the mouth.
Note that during normal activities both inhalation and exhalation will be executed through
the nose, but you can change to mouth exhalation when you want to relax more or require
to exert more force.

 Mobility and flexibility: To master Systema you must be able to move so that your
extremities and the rest of your body can move in different ways simultaneously, this is a
sort of 3-dimensional flow of the body. So mobility and flexibility are required for free and
adequate movements. Also for movement absorption (blending under the application of
external movement/force).

 Relaxation: While standing you should be (or learn to be) relaxed, as the weight of the body
is held upright by the structure, only some stabilising muscles will fire as required to keep
this position. Then when moving the required muscles will fire producing enough muscular
tension to generate movement. All other muscles should stay as relaxed as possible. Some
people, for example, when standing due to tense abs will present also tension in the back to
compensate. So, your job will be to find where you have tension that is not required and
deal with it using breathing (or other techniques to release residual tension, such as
massages, muscle shaking, rollers, etc). That is one of the reasons why we start training
slowly, so you have the opportunity to check your body and look for unnecessary tension.

 Muscle strength: This is the capacity to use and control any muscle when required with the
intensity required, this also means that these muscles should be relaxed at the start of the
movement and those opposing ones should remain relaxed all the time. Systema training
uses bodyweight exercises for strengthening and these are often done in a slow and mindful
manner; this avoids the formation of knots in the muscle fibres and removes any existent
one, this also removes tension from your body. It is common to start shaking when the
movement is done slowly, this is your body adapting to weaknesses or dealing with residual
tension built up in your muscles and tendons. Systema makes you use all muscles in the
body, but they are worked together, instead of group by group like in bodybuilding.

 Tendon strength: In Systema the tendons, the cord-like parts of the muscle attached to the
bone, are the focus for strength. As a result, you don’t end up adding bulk like a bodybuilder,
but you keep muscles limber and avoid stiffness. This way muscles are more ready to act
without warm-up if a sudden threat presents itself. Again Systema uses slow movements
using body weight

Discover yourself 10
  Patience: During the training there is a constant repetition of the drills in an un-
choreographed manner. Training Systema involves a quick learning curve, however to learn
the deeper aspects requires a lifelong mission of honest exploration. Results will depend
upon the mental state of the person and their capacity to deal with ever changing stressful
situations. But if you try to rush it and get the title of “master” then it will take longer.
As Systema is principle-based not technique-based, the training can be frustrating for some
people due to the seemingly haphazard methods of teaching. Those used to rigid guidelines
and point by point instruction often feel lost. Through a patient approach, improvements
are noticeable in the short term and you will often take small personal lessons from the
larger set of session information. This builds upon itself at each session attended and these
things will take on a 'second-nature' quality. Remember that no belts or trophies are given,
but you will gain qualities much more important than any title.

 Desire and clear objective: motivation is required to learn and master any activity. Be
honest and answer the question: "Why do I want to start/continue Systema training?" Look
deep and find a ‘solid’ and meaningful answer, remember this when you feel any frustration,
doubts or you feel that you have to quit.

 Not being afraid of observing your feelings in uncomfortable situations: You must be ready
to let go your ego and stop feeling sorry for yourself in the various situations you may find
during training (and in life). Every situation must be accepted as it is and dealt with it as it
comes; the objective of the training is to recognise when any bad emotion is emerging and
this allows you to control it from the start. Breathing is used to channel all your bad
emotions out. We use inhalation, in a figurative sense, to collect them from your body and
then push them out with exhalation. Breathing is the connection between your psyche and
the physical world.

 Being spontaneous: If you are spontaneous and creative then Systema will be more
enjoyable and you will learn much quicker. Let things run without trying to control too much
every situation, enjoy the freedom of movement and let the body respond as required, this
will allow you to come up with more creative solutions for any situation. If you try to use any
particular type of movement then you will create tension in the body and frustration in the
mind when things do not go as planned.

Discover yourself 11
 7. What are the principles of Systema?
Systema is based on a few basic principles, as you will notice they have been given names and
presented in a list format, but you have to understand that these principles in reality are all
integrated as a whole and must work as a whole to be effective, if you ignore any of the principles
then you will have a hard time trying to stick to the others.

During training you need to constantly check yourself and observe when you stop following any of
the principles. Ask yourself: what triggered that? How do I feel? Can I deal with it and stick to the
principles again? These and many other similar questions will help you to develop your OWN
Systema.

These are the principles of Systema:

 Breathing: Breathing is the foundation of Systema. It should always leads movement (for
beginners it is normally recommended to lead with exhalation, but as you get more
conformable you can lead with exhalation or inhalation). Breathing also allows you to
‘absorb’ forces/movement in the abdominal and chest area, and can be used to release
tension and fear. You must learn and use proper breathing type required for every particular
situation. Refer to the next session for the principles of breathing.

 Faith / Relaxation: This could be understood as relaxedness, confidence, mental fortitude or

the like. Every practitioner expresses this in their own individual way. This allows you to
reduce energy expenditure, increasing stamina and mobility. Also you can deal better with
movement and stress. Being relaxed will allow you to be more sensitive so you do not
provide support (If there is no support there is no strike) and then there will be no resistance
to any movement. Also relaxation will allow you to be ready for anything, accepting what it
is without thinking.

 Form/Structure: Always keep the form; this is a position where the body uses only the
structure to keep you upright and stabilising muscles to keep the balance. Your body should
always be in the form and in balance, and when they are disrupted you will let your body
move and return to the form in a relaxed manner. Note that the whole body must be
perceived and used as a complete system, but although one part of the body can be moved
while others relax, they should never be physically or psychologically separated from the
actions of the other parts.

 Movement/Flying centre of gravity: You must have and allow freedom of movement, and
make use of muscular memory; which is feeling of right movements, this is any natural
movements of your body. Systema teaches that only the natural response of the body will
provide a proper defence, and should not be any prior planning, memorized tactics or
anticipation. At the beginning when moving check constantly your body for tension and your
mind for negative emotions, and get rid of them through breathing. This will become second
nature the more you train.

Systema movement uses a principle so-called “flying centre of gravity’. The body can move
up and down, side to side, back and forward, spinning in all 3 dimensions simultaneously.
The body moves like a pendulum with the point of suspension somewhere above the head.

Discover yourself 12
 This allows the pelvis to move separately from the shoulders, this way pelvis and shoulders
can also spin on their own axis and allowing them to perform movements in the form of
circles, “figure eights” or ”infinite loops”.

 Brevity / Minimum Effort/ Efficiency: Do what is necessary, no more no less. Eliminate any
extra movements and relax what is not required for that particular movement. This is also
known as efficiency, as it allows you to deal with a stressful situation for longer, which in
turn increases your chances of survival. You should always preserve some strength so you
can survive. Also if you create too much movement and tension this will overexcite the
nervous system and you psyche reducing your perceptual capacity and sensitivity.

 Continuity/Completeness/Flow: Always execute continuous movements and also complete

those movements. This makes the movements really fluid, smooth and fast to the eyes and
other senses of the other person. If the movements are not completed properly, it will
create tension in your body. Also this applies to the opponent’s movements, as you can
make his/her movement yours, this way you follow the principle of relaxation or non
resistance and you can move with whatever the other person is doing without opposition.
You should not get stuck on anything (i.e. locks or fighting against force) or caught up in
particular games or response patterns, as doing so will seriously harm the freedom of
movement that Systema needs to work effectively.

 Precision: Aim for precise movements all the time. To achieve this, you have to recognise
the following key factors: timing, speed and distance. Train slowly to achieve it, do not rush
or use force to compensate for lack of precision as that will go against the principle of
minimum effort and sensitivity. Remember that quality is more important than quantity.
During training this is true for both partners during the practice of any drill.
Most people are in a quest to develop power and speed. This is because power has strong
association with ego and speed with fear. On the other hand, precision is rarely considered
or even ignored. But you have to note that precision is the key component in any true
master’s work.

 Being professional: Be aware and control emotions during training using breathing. Avoid
aggression, competition or any other negative feeling. Recognise and keep your ego under
control and always have fun (if you are not having fun you have to check what is causing you
to be in that mood). Being professional means that no emotions are attached to your
movements or your partner’s. Uncontrolled emotions are detrimental to effective work.
These feelings come in a subtle way and unnoticeably begin to dominate and eat away your
strength. You must be vigilant. Step one is to be aware of these weaknesses; step two is to
try to overcome them through breathing, understanding, changing the attitudes and the
movements. Then you gain true mental and physical strength and skill.
If you feel proud of yourself when you are praised and you feel some resentment when you
are criticized, this tells you that you are weak and that you can be easily manipulated. And it
is OK to see that you are weak because then you can work on it.
It is recommended throughout the entire class for you to try and identify what are your
limitations that prevent good work. Whether you are learning or teaching, always observe
your emotional condition. As soon as your emotions are unstable then you are not really
working/training properly any more. You might be disappointed with yourself or something

Discover yourself 13
 in class could be disagreeable. No matter what happens in a session, it should all serve its
useful purpose. The work of recognizing and facing your feelings and weaknesses is very
difficult, but such work is extremely rewarding, it creates true skill and allows you to survive
and succeed.
During training and in combat, it is best to look above the heads of your opponents. This is
generally regarded as demonstrating the highest, most professional level of fighting skill.
This way you avoid the pitfalls of eye contact and the low level gaze, and even worst to
watch the punch or kick that is coming to you. And at the same time, looking above the
opponent gets you more connected with the universe which also gives you a certain
detachment from the fight and increased consciousness that can be very helpful. You have a
better perception of the overall situation. Peripheral vision and vision of lower levels is not
hindered, and It may even be enhanced. It’s very hard to learn to keep your eyes up, as it
requires much practice during your training.

 Sensitivity/awareness/Spontaneity: First you learn to be more aware of the information

that your body provides, not just the visual aspect. Systema teaches your body to think, not
your mind, so let the body use the information that continuously gathers for relaxed,
spontaneous and fluid movement. This will help you to learn the feeling of good movement
(efficient, precise and in balance). This requires starting the study of movement in a slow
fashion, so the body and the brain can cooperate to achieve good movement, instead of the
brain trying to dictate what to do, overriding the body natural movements. Then you have to
be aware of your partner’s body, form and balance. And lastly you need to be aware of your
surroundings at all times. This gives you an advantage over the others as you will be always
one step ahead of the game.

 Intention: During training or any other time your movements should be relaxed and
delivered with intention. Once the ‘fight’ starts you have to continue with the same
intention applying the other principles. Being in a relaxed mindset with no emotions
attached to the events will allow you to judge the situation and deal with it appropriately.
You do not try or think about hitting, you just hit. You do not try to move, you just move.

Do not confuse this with aggression, as this is not a positive mind set. You are accepting the
situation as it is and dealing with it precisely as required. Beginners should not think of
intention as the final outcome - for example, put the other person in the ground - as this will
create tension in your body. You must think of the generic outcome of dealing with the
current situation following the principles. This way you do not create any expectations,
which in turn will avoid frustration when things do not go as initially thought or planned.
Remember that expectations of any kind can lead to discomfort, impatience, stress,
frustration, conflict, disappointment, and anger.

Discover yourself 14
 8. What are the principles of breathing?
Breathing is the starting point of all energy in the body. With proper use of breath your own
body/mind can be trained to do what initially seems impossible.

In the beginning, it is essential that you start to harmonize with your breath. Most people breathe as
effort increases because their body is telling them that they need more oxygen. However, as you
become more aware, you breathe so that you can do more work and thereby gain more ability and
performance.

The following are the seven principles of proper breathing of Systema:

 Pathway: Inhale through nose; exhale through mouth.

 Leading: Let breath slightly lead physical action in time.

 Sufficiency: Take as much breath as you need at the moment to execute a particular action,
not more, not less.

 Continuity: Keep breathing, without interruption or holding, no matter what you are doing
(unless doing a special breath-holding practice)

 Pendulum: Let every breath cycle complete itself and reverse naturally, as a pendulum
swings and reverses naturally without interference. Allow, and experience, the reversal
pause at the end of each cycle.

 Independence: No specific type of action is invariantly tied to any particular phase of breath
cycle (i.e. you should be able to punch or roll as well on inhale as exhale).

 No tension: Keep your muscles and your body overall relaxed.

If you use all these principles you will be able to reach great results in physical exercises, increase
your endurance, speed up the processes of restoration, and become a healthier person.

For more details about breathing refer to the Systema Breathing DVD and Let Every Breath book.

Discover yourself 15
 9. Training recommendations
The following are some recommendations to be applied in training:

 Respect physics: Normal speed physics apply to slow training. For example, no tracking, this
is, once the movement starts it will not change until it has been completed, that is valid for
straight or circular movements.

 Aim to the target at the time: when attacking aim for a particular target and fire to that
target, do not be helpful (aiming where there is no target) or tricky (anticipate the partners
movement to get a hit)

 Speed: Always move at the same or slower speed as the partner’s. Do not fool yourself; this
will not help in your development. Training slow will allow you to assess the options you
have got at any given time, instead of always responding with the same movement. Always
look for new ways to deal with each particular movement, as you become more aware of
your body and your mobility is increased then you will have more options available to deal
with movement.

 Learn good movements: Both partners will always follow all the principles, as soon as you
notice that either one of you have breached one or many principles, provide feedback
indicating what was wrong. You should always learn the feeling of good movements; do not
focus on the movement itself but the feeling of it. Do not try to remember the movement,
and do not try to force a specific movement using the excuse that “it worked before” (In
Systema you will not learn techniques).

 Move anywhere the same way: Move on the ground the same as while standing up, breathe
and relax with movements. There should be no difference on the ground. For Systema
practitioners being on the ground does not mean losing. Try all levels; work from standing,
kneeling, on the ground; and practice transitions between all these levels.

 Avoid posting: When on the ground avoid using arm/s or leg/s to hold weight in a static
manner, normally called posting. This is common for people during transitions to and from
the ground, for example, when falling people will try to stop the fall extending their arms but
by doing so they are risking to break their wrists, and when getting up they will use an arm
or leg as a base to ‘climb up’. Posting is an inefficient use of the body, normally
accompanied by holding breath, fear and excessive tension. Always relax, breath, and use
correct and natural movements during transitions; you should practice mobility exercises
and re-learn the immense possibilities of movement that your body possesses.

 Weapons: When training with weapons you must understand that It’s not the weapon that
does the harm but the person holding it. You should concentrate your actions on the person,
not the weapon. If you focus on the weapon you will not be able to deal with the person.

 Avoid breaking contact all the time: when fighting at a short range and grappling range, the
tact is the sense that will provide your body the most information, as the eye will not be able
to process as quick. So if not required, avoid breaking contact with the opponent, and stay
close in contact with him. This gives you information of where the person is and what is
going to do.

Discover yourself 16
 10. Why Systema focuses so much on movement?
From the functional point of view our bodies are designed to move freely. When we stop moving
“decease” starts to develop and in a sense we start dying. So we need to keep moving freely to
increase our survival.

From the training point of view note that grabs, punches, pushes, etc, all have some component of
movement. Systema uses movement to deal with every situation. In Systema we avoid working
against any movement.

When an object comes towards our body, such as a fist, if we deal with it using movement in the
same direction, then the force received when the objects impacts our body will be less than if we try
to oppose to it.

In physical terms this is expressed with the following formula:

Force = Mass x Acceleration

This means that the more time it takes for the punch to stop in the other person’s body (smaller de-
acceleration) the less force is provided. So, a person that takes the punch by flexing muscles or
holding the position will receive more force from the movement and this will translate into more
damage, such as superficial and internal injury, than a person absorbing with punch with movement.

But to be able to move in these situations we need to be relaxed. And this requires dealing with fear
reactivity, which is a form of reaction to “fear provoking situations” where you will tense a part or
your whole body when the situation is present. Once fear is controlled, natural movement can be
used in those situations and even anticipate movements by moving accordingly in a relaxed manner.
Reduction of fear reactivity is essential and many of the drills will deal with this aspect of
conditioning.

Systema also encourages mobility exercises that allow you to relearn all the possibilities of
movement that the human body naturally possesses, and this way you can methodically explore and
expand your current range of motion (ROM).

Discover yourself 17
 11. Why Systema focuses so much on breathing?
Breathing is the link between our body and our psyche (emotions); this is between our minds and
the physical/material world. If we have improper breathing this connection is partial or very limited,
and we lose sight of what is going on out there, so our mind gets out of control and starts
introducing fears due to the lack of information.

Some people during ‘stressful situations’ will enter in panic and can even suffer hyperventilation,
which breaks the balance of carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen, as this reduces the CO2 in the lungs,
which in turn reduces the absorption of oxygen from the air. This can cause them to pass out, which
is not ideal on any situation and even less during life or death situations.

Systema has different types of breathing and drills to work with breathing and deal with emotions. It
also provides the principles of breathing to clarify how this should work.

Basically we should be able to breathe properly on any situation and adjust breathing to cope with
stresses of any kind (physical or mental).

When you inhale through the nose the benefits are numerous:

 Forces air into the sinuses which do a more efficient job of filtering and conditioning the air
than the mouth.

 The sinuses produce a gas called Nitric Oxide from the lining of the blood vessels. Nitric
Oxide (NO) is a gas that is produced by the endothelium, or lining, of these very small blood
vessels in the mucous membranes of the sinuses. NO is a toxic gas that is made in small
quantities and it is a short lived gas that has an life span of 4-6 seconds, thus it is present for
the duration of a typical breath, then breaks down. It is not harmful for the body but it kills
bacteria and viruses very quickly; keeping the sinuses from getting infected. NO is also a
very important signalling, or messenger molecule that affects smooth muscles around blood
vessels thus lowering blood pressure, bronchioles (the tubules that take air to the alveoli)
thus improving airflow, thus oxygen exchange into the bloodstream, and neurotransmission
(transmission of signals through the nervous system) as it helps to mediate synaptic
transmission, or communication between neurons (brain cells), possibly enhancing
communications in key areas of the brain and brainstem, which in turn may enhance
reaction times and decision-making during a stressful situation. Also it has been found that
humming increases 15-fold the amount of NO and help with sinus blockages.

 When the air enters through the nose, it cools and ventilates the main sinus of the skull and
against the back wall of this sinus is the pituitary gland. This gland controls the production of
all the body’s natural hormones and it needs rhythmical cooling for proper function. This is
only obtained via nasal breathing. Without the cooling, the gland’s work is affected and this
can have harmful for the body.

 Nose breathing imposes approximately 50 percent more resistance to the air stream than
the mouth breathing, resulting in 10-20 percent more O2 uptake. There must be adequate
nasal resistance to maintain adequate elasticity of the lungs.

The main benefit of exhaling through the mouth is relaxation.

For more details about breathing refer to Systema Breathing DVD and Let Every Breath book.

Discover yourself 18
 12. What types of training are available in Systema?
Systema training is based on exercises and drills.
The following are some of exercises and drills executed in Systema:
 Breathing exercises
 Joint Mobility exercises
 Ground mobility exercises
 Wave movements
 Fear conditioning drills (including contact drills)
 Standing drills (pushing, pulling, punching, kicking and grabs)
 Ground work drills
 Transition drills: standing to ground (ground engagement) and ground to standing drills
 Knife drills
 Stick drills
 Chain drills
 Sword drills
 Multiple attackers/Mass attacks
 Confined space drills

As you can see some weapons are used in the training, but they are mere tools that introduce
different levels of stress.

Discover yourself 19
 13. What can I do before starting Systema and make the
transitions smoother?
The following are some recommendation to make a good start in Systema:
 Breathing exercises:
Learn proper breathing and also the different breathing patterns and holding breath drills.
For example:
o Breathing to the stomach
o Burst Breathing
o Breathing with movement
o Half Breathing
o Triangle Breathing
o Square Breathing

The following are some examples of breathing exercises for relaxation and recovery:
o Lie on your back, close your eyes, and inhale to ¾ of your lung capacity. Tense all
your muscles, make fists and pull your toes towards you, hold your breath, and then
exhale with complete relaxation. Repeat the drill 10 times.
o Then do the same exercise, but this time tense only separate body parts: the left
arm, the right arm, the left leg, the right leg, back, chest and stomach. Totally relax
on every exhalation. Repeat for 10 reps for each body part.
o Next do the breath holding exercise. Inhale to ¾ of your lung capacity and hold your
breath. Listen to your cells. Once they start demanding oxygen, resume calm
breathing until complete restoration. Repeat the sequence 3-4 times. Then slowly
open your eyes, sit up and stay seated for 1-2min, then slowly stand up.
You should feel total relaxation and restoration of your energy.

Another exercise is the Systema breath-walk exercise, which breaks up the breathing
process into step sections:
o You inhale through the nose over one step, and exhale for one step.
o Progress to two, three, four, five, six and more.
Then you can include the triangle breathing where you inhale one step, exhale on the
second step and hold the breath for a third one.
Once this is learnt, you can proceed to the square breathing where you inhale one step, hold
breath on the second, exhale on the third step and hold the breath for a third one.
In both cases, triangle and square breathing can be extended to two or more steps.
Also this exercise can be done doing other activities, such as squats, push-ups, chin-ups, etc.

The breath holding exercise is a basic one to deal with fear:

o Lie down on your back.
o Let the air out from your lungs, relaxing the muscles of your whole body, do not
expel the air, you allow it to leave the body without tensing yourself.
o Now just wait. Focus a 100% on feelings and bodily sensations. Soon your thoughts
might start to be negative and that is normal, do not give them any energy. Your
willpower should be collected and you should scan your body and find the place in
that is radiating fear, which later on could become panic. This feeling is not steady it
is wave like, it goes up and down. Just hold on to the successive waves. The fear will

Discover yourself 20
 normally travel from the lower part of the body and go to the middle part, even
producing shakes. Nothing bad will happen to you, this is not damaging. Note that
humans can hold breath for a few minutes.
o If you feel that the panic is taking over, then you start breathing using burst
breathing, but this should be a whole body burst-breathing not just a shallow one.
The time you have to use burst breathing should be double or even triple the time
that you hold the breath.
o You should not force the normal breathing and stop the burst breathing, you will see
that it will vanish by itself, and at that point you will have no desires, no fears, you
will be empty and the burst breathing will stop by itself and you will be breathing
normally again.

Remember to follow the breathing principles in all exercises.

 Tension / Relaxation exercises:

These exercises are designed to work with breathing and tension of muscles. This will help
you to recognise when you have tension in your body and learn to release it. Also it will help
you to develop the wave movement in a more subtle way.

You can try the following:

Lie down on the floor and concentrate on tightening up each body parts one by one. Inhale
and tighten up the right arm, then exhale and relax it. Now inhale and tighten the left arm,
hold it very tight, and exhale relax it. Do the same with the right leg, then left leg and then
both legs at once and both arms at once. Then do the whole body. This tensing up and
relaxing will show you the difference between relaxation and tension and helps them be
more aware when tension is present. When breathing you can imagine that the air is leaving
or entering the tensed area, this visual aid allows you to reach a more relaxed state.
More advance exercises will deal with moving the tension from one extremity to another
going through the body in a wave like movement of tension. Also you will start this exercises
when kneeling, sitting or while standing.

 Mobility exercises:
These exercises are designed to get the joints moving in the full range of motion (ROM).
ROM can initially be very limited in some joints for some people, but when combined with
relaxation these exercises will allow you to extend the ROM of every joint in your body.

 Contact drills:
These drills are designed to get you used to contact and avoid unnecessary reaction and
tension in your body when contact is produced. Any discomfort should be dealt with
breathing, if discomfort or pain is felt then start burst breathing and slowly lower intensity
once the pain is removed. As a mental aid, visualise how breathing is taking pain away from
the area.

You can execute the following drills by yourself:

o In front of the mirror start slapping your face and body with an open and relaxed
palm. Increase the intensity when you can tolerate them.

Discover yourself 21
 o Make a fist and push into your stomach, try different locations and angles. Start
really slow and increase the pressure as you get used to it. If there is a point that is
painful, apply just enough pressure before it becomes too painful. If this happens
every time, then consult your GP as you might have some problem.

You can also ask somebody to help you with the drills. Repeat the previous ones with the
other person slapping and putting pressure in your stomach. Communication is vital and the
other person must start really slow and light. It is important that the other person do not
push you too hard, in the sense that training requires slow incremental exposure otherwise
you will not be able to focus on yourself and your emotions, and this will increase fear
reactivity to contact or the ‘appearance’ of contact (for example, somebody lift the hand and
you flinch with fear).

 Ground/wall movement exercises

Systema uses drills were you engage the ground. As we normally train on hard or semi hard
surfaces, then this requires you to be relaxed and confident to do so in a safe manner. If you
have tension and hit the ground this will produce damage to that area and make you afraid
of going to the ground (and most grownup people are).
Some exercises you can do on a wall are:
o Look for a clean wall where you can roll standing. Stand at 20 cms from the wall and
just let your back touch the wall without moving your feet. Now roll from your back
to your shoulder and then to your chest, and from there to the shoulder and back.
Move your feet to allow you to stay in balance. Make it as fluid and relaxed as
possible.
o Walk towards the wall, fall into the wall and at the same time twist your body
around so you will get in contact the outer part of your arm, then your back then the
other arm and walk away. Try approaching the wall at different angles.

You can also start some ground exercises:

o Sitting on the ground let your back go to the ground slowly, so each vertebrae
touches the ground in a sequence, while doing this let the knees come up to your
face. Relax and let the legs come back and take your upper body up again.
o Lying on the ground, move your hip sideways to propel your whole body to a side
roll. Do this very relaxed. Try it where there are some obstacles so you have to adapt
your movement to avoid them.
o Walk like a monkey or a crocodile, even as Spider Man. This will be fun and be good
for ground engagement. Remember to start slow, relaxed and land soft as a cat.

 Functional strength training:

Systema requires you to be strong but not bulky or tense. That is why the focus is on body
weight exercises done slowly. These can be combined with isometric exercises.
Some basic recommended exercises are:
o Sit-ups
o Push-ups
o Chin-ups
o squats

Discover yourself 22
 Remember to do them as slow as you can and breathe in and out during the exercises
(preferable burst breathing).

 Continuous checks:
You must start observing yourself in everyday activities, ask yourself questions such as:
o Do I hold my breath when sitting? When excerpting force? Or when I am in a
stressful situation at home/work?
o What things trigger me? What things I do not like? How I feel about them?
o Is my ego involved or getting in the way? Do I have to show off all the time?
o Do I have to prove myself all the time?
o Do I get emotionally involved all the time?

If little things trigger you then you are not checking the state of your body and emotions,
and/or you are not accepting them as they are. You can always do something about any
situation, but you should not react emotionally. When this happen review the situation from
the very start, recognise that you acted this way and make a conscious effort to detect this
trigger next time.

Discover yourself 23
 14. Who are the Systema masters?
The following are some of the most recognised masters of Systema:
 Mikhail Ryabko
Colonel of the Special Operations Unit with the Russian Military, Chief
Instructor of tactical training for the Emergency Response Team, Advisor to
the Supreme Judge of the Russian Federation.
Mikhail Ryabko was trained from the age of five by one of Stalin's personal bodyguards, and
was inducted to Spetsnaz at the age of fifteen. He has been a tactical commander of
hostage-rescue teams, counter-terrorist operations, and armed criminal neutralization.
Mikhail resides in Moscow, he holds the rank of Colonel and serves as a Special Advisor to the
Supreme Judge of the Russian Federation. He continues to train his many students as the
Master Teacher of Systema. He has authored a textbook on Tactics of Special Operations. He
has been in numerous military campaigns and holds many government medals and awards.

 Vladimir Vasiliev
Director and Chief Instructor of Systema Headquarters.
Born in Russia, Vladimir received intense training from the top Special
Operations Units (Spetsnaz) instructors and is the top student of Mikhail
Ryabko. Vladimir's work spans across 10 years of extensive service with the Spetsnaz. He also
served as trainer for elite units, SWAT teams, and bodyguards. 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 300 qualified Russian
Martial Art instructors and schools worldwide, and has provided an Award-Winning
instructional film collection.

 Konstantin Komarov
 Sergei Ozhereliev
 Sergei Borschev
 Valentin Talanov

Also some of many recognised senior instructors and practitioners:

 Adam Zettler
 Brendon Zettler
 Kwan Lee
 Daniil Ryabko
 Martin Wheeler
 Emmanuel Manolakakis

Discover yourself 24
 15. Training Development Principles
The following are some principles of development that you will help you with the learning process of
any physical activity including Systema:

 Intuitive: your body knows best. Your body’s systems will let you know how things are;
you just need to pay attention.

 Universal: everyone will develop. You just need to be patient.

 Incremental: Start training slowly and light. Do progressive increments; do not rush to
complete all the different levels of intensity. Some parts of the body may take more time
than others to allow you to proceed to the next level of training, or even your mind
might not be ready yet.

 Personal: everyone is different; every person will take its own time. Do not compare
yourself with other people, your must focus on your own development.

 Increasing sophistication: to avoid plateau, boredom, and getting used to exercises,

increase complexity when the current level seems very easy and it is executed with total
relaxation.

 Holistic: develop the whole body, not just parts in isolation. Integrate them to execute
more complex movements.

 Integrative: integrate breathing, structure and movements to reach fluid mobility (or
flow).

 Identify compensation: the body always tries to compensate when a part of the body is
under stress. Pain in one part of the body can be due to another part having issues,
tension or injury. Be aware of your structure and tension.

 Symmetric: use complementary movements. Move to/around the tension not through
the tension (this applies to ones or the other person’s tension.)

 Fun: enthusiastically explore movement. Motivation is vital for development of any kind.

These rules were taken from Scott Sonno’s Intu-Flow DVD.

Discover yourself 25
 16. Systema links and additional training material
For Systema training information refer to:

 Russian Martial Art Forum:

http://www.russianmartialart.com/forum/
 Russian Martial Art training tips:
http://www.russianmartialart.com/main.php?page=articles&tPath=1
 Schools around the world:
http://www.russianmartialart.com/main.php?page=map
 Russian Martial Art DVDs and books:
http://www.russianmartialart.com/catalog/

For mobility training information refer to:

 Intu-flow DVD by Scott Sonnon. Available on Amazon.com.

See a free introductory level of Intu-Flow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1aLdYgfr3M

 Encyclopaedia of Joint Mobility DVD Series for Total Joint, Muscle and Body Fitness,
Flexibility and Strength by Steve Maxwell. Available on Amazon.com.

See the demo at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ogtQ_GPhTg

 Strength & Flexibility DVD by Kwan Lee. Search for this DVD on:

http://www.russianmartialart.com/catalog/

See demo at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz5Ixc3j5lc

17. Systema New Zealand on the Internet

You can be part of Systema Christchurch in Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Systema-CHCH/149623668443583

Systema NZ group in Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=107180122653380&ref=ts

Also in Yahoo Forums:

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/Systemanz/

Discover yourself 26
 18. Feedback
All readers are welcome to contribute by providing feedback about the booklet’s content. This way
we can improve it by making clearer the included topics or even adding new ones.
Send your comments to cbarnaba@yahoo.com. Thanks in advance for helping the Systema
community.

19. Information about the author and collaborators

This booklet was put together by Cristian Barnaba, a member of Systema Christchurch, New Zealand
for almost two years.
Cristian Barnaba is an Electronics Engineer from Argentina based in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Special thanks to the following people for reviewing the booklet and providing feedback:
 Loren Clements (Systema Instructor in Training at Systema NZ – Auckland)
 Daniel Schröter (Practitioner at Systema NZ – CHCH)
 Justin Ho (Practitioner at Systema Australia – Sydney)
 Neal Wilson (Practitioner at Systema NZ – CHCH)
 Les Hayes (Practitioner at Systema NZ – Hamilton)

20. Booklet History and Revisions

Revision A – Issued 10 June 2011 – First draft for review.
Revision 1 – Issued 30 June 2011 – First issue.

Discover yourself 27