Intension: Movement wise systema isn’t all that different than other arts. It is the intension that makes the difference. Take for example the 5 minutes push up drill. If you do it to learn to soften your fists on the ground, breath away tension in the back and calm than it serves a purpose. If…

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Pity: to feel for another person in trouble is a human thing but to take pity takes away from both of you. he feels another human sees him as less and you consider your fellow man below you. Both pride and humiliation bring an imbalance that leads us as usuall to a morphed look on…

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Learning the value of breath and whole body movement is easy to show. Start by hopping on one leg and holding your breath with a limp body. Advance to hopping along your breath and you may find that it actually lifts you up. From that go to hopping with an upright posture and see how…

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A nice bit about hitting and taking hits. Try this in a group of three and stand in a row two facing each other and one behind the other. Start by hitting each other a few times and than have the back guy hit the person in front of him with the intent on the…

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working body and mind mobility progress using the joint freedom and aliveness. Strat by leaning on a wall or a person and keeping the base of one finger on him/it start to rotate the body so you use it as a pivot point and go back and forth in different ways. For example going to…

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Try to move smoothly like a man going to sleep after a long day. No unnecesary power and no unneeded movement. Consider how making fast jerky movements agitate the person you are working with and actually cover less space than a smooth unhurried movement.

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Tak ! Try this first with closed eyes. Start pressing a finger into each other and you move without any ressistance not giving any support to the poker. Later move to two directions at once and remember that even if it is a wave of the arm it originates from the core. If you are…

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Try this, lie on your stomach and hold your heels with your hands. Now crawl forward and backwards and than try to roll right and left. If you feel comfortable have a friend roll you forward and backwards. This is just one way to let yourself know where you are tense at the moment. The…

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To move without being noticed you have to be calm on the inside. If you are afraid of possible outcomes or invest too much in it than you are creating tension within you and the other person will feel it. It manifest in the way you move and where you look. If you focus your…

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Try a few simple ways to move without your arms. It of course involves moving your shoulders and arms but without being supported by them. Try getting up and down to a sitting and than a prone position both on your back and chest. Move from prone to sitting by sliding on the hips so…

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