A few years ago we had a visitor to Systema Colorado who had just returned from Summer Camp. He was pumped up, excited by his week of training, and a little too eager to show my students everything he learned. This is all to be expected, because intensive training sessions engender good vibes for a Read More …
Paige M.J. Erickson When I tell people that I travel alone in Europe eight months a year, the first question is always whether it’s safe for a woman. (The second is: how do you pack only one suitcase for eight months?) While I do feel comfortable as I travel, it’s likely because I’m mindful of Read More …
In January 2017 at Arapahoe Basin, a skier was being let off the ski lift when his backpack got caught up in the lift chair. He was yanked past the skier drop off and pulled, along with his backpack, as the chair returned on its way to the base of the lift. As he was Read More …
Rolling around on the hardwood during a workshop with Vladimir, I had a realization that made doing Systema much easier. As we traded attacks, I felt nothing to apply force to, to break or choke. Vladimir once commented on another martial system as being based all on levers. He then waved his body and said,”where’s Read More …
It’s been about a year since I developed Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease, and now seems like good time to take stock as to how having such an unpredictable disease has had on my martial arts training and skill. RA, as it’s commonly called, manifests in varying levels of pain, inflammation, stiff joints and fatigue as my Read More …
Our next Systema Colorado Quarterly Weekend Workshop — Blades, Batons and Bare Hands — is set! Join us Saturday and Sunday, November 12th and 13th, 2016 for some wild weapons work and empty-hand defense. Click below to register: I’m In! For Blades, Batons and Bare Hands This EARLY-BIRD SPECIAL ($50 OFF) ends October 15th, so Read More …
We get drop-in students all the time, some who train in other arts, but most who have trained in Systema to one degree or another. All Systema instructors have our own way of presenting the art so variation in approach is expected. In addition, schools tend to gravitate toward drills, scenarios and moves they are Read More …
It’s that time again! Our next Systema Colorado Quarterly Seminar is Saturday May 21st, 2016. The topic is: 2-for-Flinching, Part 2. I will be covering how to stay poised, composed and relaxed when your attacker withdraws, feints or changes speed. This type of work requires hours of dedicated and focused time and is best training Read More …
Last week I said there was Good News, that I have made available a video download of this month’s Systema Seminar, “2-For-Flinching.” To be blunt, there were lots of growing pains — editing, encoding, uploading, weird permission settings, corrupted files, etc. — but today I have… Better News! I had to re-edit the whole seminar Read More …
I’ve been teaching Systema for decades and see it over and over, a reaction that goes virtually un-noticed and un-acknowledged. It’s an innate reflex that does you in every time, and it’s completely overlooked in the conventional view of response to threat –“fight or flight.” Every martial art tradition, save one, starts training with techniques, Read More …
