Why Learning to Fall Is One of the Most Important Skills You’ll Ever Develop Of all the physical fears people carry into martial arts training, fear of falling is one of the most universal — and one of the most worth addressing. It makes sense. Falling feels like losing control. The ground comes up fast. Read More …
Why Perfectionism Is the Enemy of Self-Defense (and What Systema Does Instead) If you need to know the right answer before you act, Systema will challenge you. That’s not a warning. It’s an invitation. Most martial arts give you a menu of techniques. You learn technique A for situation A, technique B for situation B. Read More …
Fear of embarrassment is one of the most powerful forces keeping capable adults out of the martial arts. Nobody wants to look incompetent. Nobody wants to be the worst person in the room. And walking into a room of experienced martial artists as a complete beginner takes real courage. But here’s something worth sitting with: Read More …
Yes, Systema has roots in Russian Special Operations. That history is real, and it’s part of why Systema works so well. But it has almost nothing to do with what actually happens in a Systema class. Systema Colorado in Longmont is not a paramilitary training compound. Nobody marches around in camouflage. There’s no machismo culture, Read More …
Is Systema Fake? Is It Too Brutal? (Spoiler: Both Criticisms Can’t Be True at the Same Time) Two of the most common reactions people have when they first see Systema on video are completely opposite — and they can’t both be right. Reaction one: “That looks fake. Nobody would actually fall down like that.” Reaction Read More …
(In Fact, Waiting Is the Worst Thing You Can Do) Here’s something most martial arts schools won’t tell you: waiting until you’re “in shape” before you start training is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. At Systema Colorado in Longmont, we hear it all the time. “I want to get fit first, then Read More …
If you’ve trained in a traditional martial art, you know what progress looks like. It’s visible. It’s around your waist. Each new belt is a marker — proof that something was learned, tested, and validated. The system tells you where you are. Systema has none of that. No belts. No ranks. No stripes, no certificates Read More …
If you’ve never taken a martial arts class, never been in a fight, and have no idea what to expect walking into a training session — this post is for you. Specifically, it’s for the version of you that has been circling the idea of trying Systema for weeks or months, and keeps talking yourself Read More …
Most martial arts schools have more men than women. That’s just the reality across the board — and Systema is no exception. But here’s what I’ve seen after decades of teaching: when women do find Systema, they often take to it faster and more naturally than anyone expects. So why aren’t more women training? Let’s Read More …
You’ve put in the time. Years of it, maybe decades. You have calluses, rank, muscle memory so deep it fires before your brain catches up. You’ve been hit, choked, thrown, and you kept showing up anyway. That background is real. It matters. And when you walk into a Systema class for the first time, it Read More …
