Spanish Subtitles available – translated by Bratzo Barrena
In this exclusive 2003 workshop, Systema founder, Mikhail Ryabko, presents the theory and practice of training and teaching Systema.
Topics include:
- What mindset to have in class
- How to sense your students, your setting, and what to teach
- What to start your training with and how to progress
- The difference between an instructor and a participant
- Balance between confidence, pride and encouragement
- How to engage students, yet not show off
- Ways to communicate and evaluate students
- Handling a student with attitude
- Calming down an uncooperative student without intimidation
- Assistant instructor, proper teaching and dignity
- Best age to start training
- Ways to avoid aggression for kids
- If your student is a criminal
- A student with mental or physical illness
- Working against a bigger opponent
- Controlling the class with your voice
- Who to choose for demonstrations
- How to teach strikes and protect yourself from rebound
- Strikes – surface to deep, subtle, internal, proper dosage
- Importance of breathing, pushes, use of legs, controlling the attacker’s space
- Fluid knife disarming, rhythm, effectiveness and fullness of movement
- Theory and practice – the extent to which skill is needed for a teacher and ways to perfect it
For our Russian speaking viewers:
All explanations in this film are in both languages – English and Russian.
Все обьяснения в фильме – сохранены и на русском, и на английском языках.
1 hour 3 min
Support the tradition of strong spirit, profound knowledge, and dedication to training. Be a sponsor or request to be sponsored through Mikhail Ryabko Warrior’s Legacy Scholarship Fund.
Robert Baker –
Great to see this timeless information! Excellent ideas, very profound. I like the sense of humour.
This will really help me in class.
Robert Gergi, Toronto –
Lots to see and a lot to think about in this film.
I was a participant at that event in 2003 and tried to attack Mikhail with a knife. His movements are minimal, but his efficiency is amazing.
He makes you realize that when you are totally taken down – don’t take it personally, it is just part of your training.
He also makes it clear that it only takes one correct punch…
and that relaxation and humility are the key.
Thank you for this production!
Patrick Lutterbach, Germany –
A very insightful instructional film from the founder of Systema himself.
Especially interesting as if pointed towards Systema instructors and not students, it covers topics like:
– how to handle new students coming to your class
– whether they are ‘know it alls’
– aggressive or
– simply afraid of physical contact, especially of punches.
He does so in a very friendly and even funny way.
I highly recommend this instructional video to all Systema instructors, whether long-term or new ones, but also for those who are ‘just’ pupils.
This is a gem that should not be missed!
Emmanuel Manolakakis –
I remember this workshop like it was yesterday. It was back in 2003, right around when I opened the Fight Club, and Mikhail’s words from then, still have an incredible amount of application; they are timeless. I would like to thank Valerie and Vladimir for releasing this video. It was really nice to see something that went back in time, years ago and is still so relevant today. It brings back wonderful memories.
What I remember from the seminar was: the laughter, the calmness and the way with which Mikhail worked with the entire group. He somehow managed to make everybody feel special. People from so many different backgrounds felt connected to one another under the umbrella of Systema. He made us feel unique and inspired us all. We had a calm power in what we were doing.
This video is more than a guide on how to teach. Mikhail’s views are much bigger picture. He has a great ability to talk about something huge, like your life, and what it’s all about. And then, he’s able to narrow down and talk about the most concise detail about you. He teaches big picture, and small picture: there’s a lot of depth, a lot of height and a lot of width. Like a pair of binoculars, he zooms in on a minuscule detail and then zooms out to see the whole playing field.
The first thing Mikhail mentioned was our attitude towards people and situations: that’s very personal and very deep. It set the tone right away. You’ll hear him talk about “you”, and how “you” treat people with dignity. You’ll hear him talk about health and healing; about creation and destruction. You’ll see his calmness as he talks about these serious topics. And you’ll notice how much humor Mikhail uses in the cleverest way – it’s humor to lighten the room, so we can study these topics that are scary, and calm people as much as we can.
Mikhail was essentially teaching us how to live a good life and never talking down to us. He always presented information to us as an equal. He was empowering us to go forward with this responsibility, knowing that we have his support. When you know that the people around you are not counting your mistakes but supporting you through your growth, and this journey; there’s really nothing impossible.
I really hope people watch this video, regardless of who you are; student or teacher. I think there’s incredible information for everybody to take away because all of us are teachers in a way, whether we decide to take that responsibility or not. When you go to class and you know something, you should be able to teach it.
I really think this video is priceless. Any dedicated Systema student should watch it – it’s got that much great content.
Systema student from Korea –
I want to be a Systema instructor. I think Systema is the greatest martial art in the world and is aiming for a very good way of training. I think Systema’s training method enables proactive and intuitive responses to physical conflict with others as well as proactive responses to psychological stimuli. I think that when behavior changes, thoughts change and reactions change. What I think is a reaction includes a verbal response(A mode of communication). I think these skills and abilities are very important to stressful modern people. So I hope many people know Systema and make good use of it.