I’ve been thinking about a very serious question, rather a series of questions, about Systema lately, questions I think you should also take some time to address for yourself. I’ll give you my answers which may help you as well.
Here they are:
Why do I continue to train in the Martial Arts and why do I train in Systema rather than BJJ or MMA?
I am a smart, college-educated man, so what is it about Systema and other martial arts that I prefer them over MMA-type training?
Am I daft? Do I not see the clear advantage of MMA training?
Is it that I have too much invested in other martial arts training to give it up and do MMA?
Is it age?
Or could it be something else entirely? And are my reasons right for you?
The simplest answer I’ve come up with so far is that Systema gives me the greatest chance to protect myself successfully against the greatest number of threats in the greatest number of different situations.
Every martial art, somewhere along the line, gets niched; they all get specialized into a narrow context, like being in a cage or even being “all knife, all the time.”
I happen to operate in multiple contexts:
I don’t regularly live in a cage, although home sometimes feels like a zoo.
I don’t always have a knife on me, although much of the time I do.
I don’t always NEED the deadliest, quickest kill techniques, even if I’d really like to use on them on the idiot in line in front of me.
The bottom line for me is that I never knew when or where an attack (or attackers) might come from so I need to be best prepared to adapt to any eventuality.
I need to be able to switch into self-defense mode in a split-second while keeping my wits about me to formulate the best response to ANY random, surprise attack.
Systema gives me the ability to use both instinctive responses and at the same time rational, creative thought to deal with shock and surprise.
Systema allows me to remain calm under pressure, assured of my ability to (to quote Clint Eastwood) “adapt, improvise, overcome,” faster, easier and more effectively than any other art or combinations of arts I’ve seen.
There you have it, the quick answer to “Why Systema instead of other very effective martial arts?”
Brad
P.S. More answers to this question next time…there’s a whole bunch more to say on this topic for sure.