By Vladimir Vasiliev & Scott Meredith
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HIT DIFFERENT
With a light and simple movement of his fist alone, Vladimir Vasiliev is able to apply stealthy and shocking power of greater depth and freedom than professional heavyweight boxers can achieve with their entire focused mass, strength, torque, and momentum.
Vladimir’s spontaneous and intelligent strikes work against any target, from any position, for immediate resolution of armed or unarmed confrontations, for energizing a partner, and even for healing. These strikes are the culmination of precise movement, impeccable timing, exact contact calibration and extraordinary emotional clarity. This is the meaning of “Hit Different”.
In STRIKES: Soul Meets Body, chief Systema instructor Vladimir Vasiliev reveals the physical and psychological training regimen that underlies this unprecedented martial arts capability, rooted in centuries of Russian combative and spiritual tradition.
experience the truth and the power.
Petros Petrakis –
MMA Champion Shares.
I really enjoyed this book!
I’ve been training at Vladimir Vasiliev’s school in Toronto since 1995 and want to share what it’s like.
Systema dates back over 10 centuries, yet it is still cutting edge today.
It had a calling on me. I was not impressed by any other instructors as much as I was by Vladimir Vasiliev.
I have years of martial arts experience including MMA.
Between the years of 2006 and 2010, I had been an undisputed MMA heavyweight champion in “Fighting Spirit”, “King of the Cage”, and “ECR – Extreme Cage Rage”, Chicago.
The interesting thing is that I did these fights in my forties being at least 15-17 years older than most of my opponents.
Also, all these years I have been working full time in construction; very hard labour. I only had about 2 hours a day of training, while all the other fighters had 4-6 hours of training daily. But because of Systema, I was actually able to beat these guys. This is because Systema clearly has better body mechanics and better strengthening of the psyche.
Systema is number one as a self defense style, moreover, it would be the most useful tool for MMA fighters. In fact, it would be a real wake up call for any fighter. Unique delivery of training in Systema gives you a healthy body and a calm spirit. No art is this good at making you resilient.
Most fighting arts are a slow process of degrading physically and psychologically. Systema is the opposite, it rebuilds. Hits in Systema do not have to be damaging, they can be therapeutic.
Today’s MMA athlete is exposed to diverse fighting methods. The mechanics and principles of Systema will never go out of style.
If you have never done martial arts or if you are fed up with the traditional and sport-like martial arts, Systema is all you need!
MaxFox – Police Training Instructor –
The latest book about Systema “Strikes” is a very interesting and unusual document. Scott Meredith gave an excellent review on specialized combat training through his documented encounters with famous combat arts specialist, Vladimir Vasiliev. The methods described in this book are very unconventional and go beyond mechanics and techniques. The author makes it obvious that all described by him training methods and outcomes can be easily incorporated with any sports and /or fighting arts. The book details the many unconventional remedies for physical and spiritual conditioning which go hand in hand.
I am left with the feeling that this work teaches the reader not how to destroy but how to control and persevere during potentially deadly encounters. I felt humility in the teachings of Vladimir.
I appreciate that this book is far from being an obstruct fantasy but a series of effective training methods for very serious work. I also found it entertaining and easy to read. Thumbs up.
Karl K. –
Just amazing…and refreshingly different. Quite an amazing manual! Gives a completely different perspective on striking than any other book or video I have seen, and I’ve been in various martial arts for almost 30 years. There is a depth of understanding here that is so rich with detail and for lack of a better word, “spirit,” that you will most likely think about the material many hours over the time you spent reading. I am very impressed with the completeness of what was written, and I am still absorbing it. The author has somehow captured the essence of how to develop profound striking power without even the need for a DVD or video links. Just amazing… and refreshingly different. I will be applying this to my training and will try to meet up with the author at one of his seminars or at his school.
Juan Ascencio –
Personally I learn more from watching and doing more than reading. However as I’ve gotten older and wiser (I hope), I have come to value the written word and the priceless information contained in great books by great authors.
With STRIKES, it felt like I had the opportunity to train with this great teacher on a one to one basis. It felt as if Vladimir was talking to me directly helping me to understand the elusive power behind Systema and its strikes. This is going to be one of those reference books I’ll go back to for the rest of my life.
Thank you for your time and work, Vladimir Vasiliev and Scott Meredith.
Stacy Lewis –
After I finished reading this book, I said to myself “that was so good I am going to read it again.”
The material in this book is instructive for both experienced practitioners as well as those just starting the Systema journey. This book spoke to me on an personal level. It showed me areas that I need to work on for training and for life in general, which are both really the same. I will read this book many times. Reading this book is like Systema, there is always more.
Thank you, Vladimir Vasiliev and Scott Meredith, for sharing.
Pascal Verhille –
I will never forget the first “light” strike I got from Vladimir and often asked myself how it could produce such an unexpected and amazing effect inside both the body and mind.
Many parts in the book helped me to better understand the process, I was very happy to know more about it. There are so many other deep things to discover and learn in the book, which is perfectly structured.
I was also curious to see what was behind the mysterious subtitle “Soul meets body”; the answer was clear after reading.
The philosophy of Systema is well presented.
Although the approach is of course quite different, it sometimes reminded me of some spiritual and martial concepts of Morihei Ueshiba, in which breathing is also a central part and links both areas.
My congratulations to Vladimir and Scott for writing such a masterpiece, and my thanks to them for all the positivity it provides in daily life. I’m sure this book is already largely successful, and will continue to grow year by year.
Yoni O. –
A philosophical and complete approach. The title itself is certainly an understatement, in this book Vladimir Vasiliev and Scott Meredith really shows how deep something as seemingly simple a strike can be. I greatly enjoy the philosophical approach, it really gives a deep understanding of oneself and others, and its complete and unique physical conditioning of the hands and wrists in a fight as well understanding psychological reaction of oneself and others with a strike has incredible implications on how, where, when and why to strike. If you practice Systema or not this book is invaluable to any martial artist or anyone who would like to use their fists at one point to protect themselves.
Dr. P.D. Holtmann –
Truly, a bible of striking… The book “Soul Meets Body” can help you to better understand your own angers and fears – how to not run away, but not attack, how to not win, but not loose, how to simply be ready for what comes – may it be a fight or one of the many stressful day-to-day conflicts? The interview passages feel like one-to-one instructions by Vladimir Vasiliev himself. Scott Meredith has done a great job compiling, editing and arranging the in-depth interviews with Vasiliev.
The book contains dozens of inspiring exercise-variations, solo as well as partner work, which can be easily integrated into an enjoyable and healthy daily life. Although I have been doing similar exercises for years, the new descriptions reveal important new details, which come to the fore during the most mundane actions, ranging from dish-washing with light breathing to letting go of tension in the knees while walking.
The book benefits beginners, advanced students and masters of the art of Systema at the same time, while it also serves everyone interested in the health, stress-management, and fighting aspects of Systema. If one wants to develop a more resilient, intelligent, intuitive and healthy self, then the new DVD by Vasiliev “Breathing and Fear” wonderfully complements the book with concise descriptions of Systema breathing methods.
Pete Rogers –
A wealth of knowledge!
Truly a soon to be classic…
This book captures so much of the essence of Systema and goes much further than just strikes. It’s is a great resource for current Systema students as well as a great view into the system for those new to or unfamiliar with true Systema.
Matthew Denton –
Good book.
Fun to read Has lots of information
Adds an interesting perspective to how to have power in your strikes
Anne Beardsley –
This book was incredible. I would recommend it to any serious martial artist, simply for the passages on combat mindset alone.
I felt like this book kept my eyebrows raised the entire time I read. Sometimes my thought was, “What a brilliant way to put this complex concept I’ve struggled with!” Many times it was, “Wow. I….have to make a note of this, right now.” And occasionally it was, “Goodness gracious, those Systema people are hardcore.”
This 300 page book took me six weeks to read, and I was reading diligently. This is because I have page after page of notes, and frequently stopped to reread a passage, or stare off into space and consider, or go back to my own practice and see how I had been doing things and where the gaps lay.
As the title says, it’s about striking. How to hit. But to get there, Mr. Vasiliev and Mr. Meredith discuss:
— How to maintain awareness in combat
— How to free your body, so that it can make multiple strikes and adjust to openings and adverse situations (such as being grabbed, surrounded, or injured)
– How to learn to keep a cool heart in the heat of the moment
— How to give all the damage to your opponent when you strike, instead of splitting it 70%
– 30% with them — How to learn to stop being afraid of getting hit, losing, etc.
– How to breathe calmly and well while going through crazy situations
– How to have a relaxed, powerful, responsive body
– How to take a hit They give drills to get you there (crazy, hardcore Systema drills).
This is one of those books that I will certainly reread. And be working on these things for years.
Timothy D. Raskon –
This book is one of those rare treasures that I feel like I will never be done with.
I think that even if I only had the drills and information in this one book to practice, I could keep on practicing it for the rest of my life and not run out of deeper layers to discover.
I’ve never actually had the privilege of learning directly from a Systema instructor, and there aren’t any schools where I live, but it’s okay because the information in this book is truly principle-based rather than spoon-feeding a particular fighting style.
You can take the information that’s presented here, and if you really understand how to work with it, you can incorporate those principles into any style.
I do a basic version of Northern Long Fist Kung Fu. Since I’ve started applying these principles to my training, my forms are smoother and more fluid, and I don’t run out of breath so easily though I am moving faster. In sparring, I am calmer, I can more easily discern what my partner is about to do, and react to it more naturally than before. If you are a martial artist, you need this book.
Edsj Edsj –
An unbelievable book. Would recommend to anyone. This takes your training to a whole new level with concepts that refocus your mind, body and spirit.
Jason Weil –
The principles taught in Systema have made me a better person. I no longer see opponents as someone to fight with, but rather as friends to help.
Mark Wienert –
I recently purchased the book Strikes and am reading, absorbing, and practicing the exercises. Great Infomation on developing powerful relaxed strikes.
online review –
Purchased this book for my 27 year old son. He has had a hard time putting this book down and always reads me excerpts from it while doing so that have me quite intrigued. There is a lot of spiritual guidance and deep meanings behind the Strikes which makes it way more intense than the title suggests. Even though my son is the one reading this book, the time we share together discussing the meanings and concepts, making us strike up wonderful discussions makes it that much more interesting.
I will indeed read this, if I can get it away from my son and if not, he can reread it and we will continue having discussions and just sharing this special time together. I know I probably shouldn’t have given it 5 stars w/o my reading it cover to cover 1st, but anytime a book can bring two people closer together, it deserves it, in my books.
Milos Malic –
Yes, do read this. No matter which martial art is your choice.
If you are thinking about joining martial art training, read this book.
If you are facing a battle in your life, even if it doesn’t have anything to do with fighting people, or if you are fighting stress or illness where your soul will meet your body, by all means read this book. This is the master peace I never expected. Both masters Ryabko and Vasiliev were always eager to demonstrate, show, explain or fix certain aspects of our strikes. And then, in 2015, BOOM! This book was out.
In there you can find how to hit so you don’t hurt yourself, as well as how to use strikes as a diagnostic tool to signal your training partner what he needs to fix. You will learn how to hit stealthily. So many things that you can only dream about in 99.9% of martial art schools around the world.
I am so proud of my signed copy I got from Vladimir, I think that is one of most valuable possessions I ever had.
Matt Conner –
The comic book stories at the end of the book are exciting and full of action. Behind them is a deeper and more fascinating narrative of how someone (Vladimir) could grow up in such harsh circumstances and a different culture, make his way through great adversity and violence, and become such a success, sharing his knowledge in a new land.
I will continue to look forward to the deep narrative of survival and triumph in future publications and in every other part of Systema.
brian.plotner007 –
The info is good, but there’s not nearly as much practical info as I would like. There’s a lot of metaphors and explanations, but there’s not much info on the proper mechanics of a proper strike. There are a lot of excellent exercises to develop strikes, and most of those are good. I would recommend the book, but I would love to see a second edition that fills in gaps in the first.