I received this email about the Stickfighting Workshop with Al McLuckie we hosted for our Grand Opening.  It is well-worth sharing so read on: Hi Brad, Thank you for bringing Al in for an awesome seminar.  It was kind of different from other seminars in that I felt “sated”, rather than “overstuffed” at the end.  Read More …

“Everyday Gestures That Can Save Your Life” is the title of a never-completed book by American Kenpo Founder Ed Parker.  As a Kenpo student I was so intrigued by the concept that I eagerly awaited the printing of this book, which never came. Why am I thinking about a never-finished book? Because the idea behind Read More …

Last week we focused on some “basic” work, defending against wrist grabs.  Now Conventional Wisdom in many martial arts is to either “counter-grab,” meaning to grab the person back, or to “go against the thumb” to escape the hold.  While escaping and running is fantastic for children to get away from an abductor or for Read More …

I just got back from teaching a workshop in Chicago with Martin Wheeler and Al McLuckie at A Academy of Self-Defense in Chicago.  What a great time it was. As requested by previous seminar attendees, I opened the weekend with 3 hours of Gun Disarming work.  Now I think Gun Disarming is one of those Read More …

I found this blog entry on JazzConspiracy.com.  Recognizing the link between Systema and jazz, it is nice to see people on the jazz side also seeing the connection.  I also recommend watching the documentary on jazz by Ken Burns. Bruce Lee: Jazz Giant “Normally, we don’t think of jazz and martial arts together, but to Read More …

Ok, I’m fixated on this swimming-Systema connection right now.  But trust me, it’s good. So I had my next swim lesson which focused on my stroke and how my entire core — and thus my body — rotated along my spinal axis in the water with my arm as it extended forward through the water.  Read More …

Last time I talked about how similar swimming was to good Systema training.  Now I have a New Perspective to add. I got the book, I watched the DVD and I played around with the ideas but I was missing one crucial element in my training. So I recently took my own advice, advice that Read More …

THE BOTTOM LINE by Major Konstantin Komarov What is most important in any art? For an artist, musician, or poet, it’s inspiration: the state of the soul, which can hardly be expressed in words. Yet, without it there is no art, only craft. So, what is the key to martial arts? Is it strength? Agility? Read More …

I don’t know that I’ll ever get tired of the new words I can create with the word Systema.  Swim-stema just works. My wife Karla has been a swimmer since early childhood and now has me hooked.  At first, though, I felt like a fish out of water– in reverse.  I’ve been “afraid to go Read More …

It’s been too long since fellow Senior Systema Instructor Martin Wheeler has visited Colorado, but fortunately Hollywood didn’t keep him away this weekend.  You know I’m not one for meticulously writing a review explaining every little drill Martin taught.  That would be a particularly “un-Systema-like” review.  Rather, I’ll recap what Martin was trying to teach Read More …