My own, personal Systema cheat-sheet (Part 2)!

OK, I believe it is high time I wrote the second part of this three-part article, on the three sets of rules that in my opinion[1], provide a much needed context in Russian Martial Art, in order for one to be able to classify the huge number of Systema training drills or devise new ones, according to the attribute or skill which is being exercised and trouble-shoot his practice. Just to remind you, the first set of rules is neurophysiologist N. A. Bernstein’s definition of dexterity (you can read more about it here), which helps us view Russian Martial Art not as a set number of comprehensive, start-to-finish, martial arts techniques that someone learns in order to “graduate”, but rather as a training method to make one’s body dexterous, “clever” enough to solve the motor problems of hand-to-hand combat. So, let’s move now to

Rules set #2: The Three "Pillars" of Systema
The most common explanation of the three pillars one hears from Systema practitioners is that a practitioner should “always breathe, move, and keep body in form”, which although true to a degree, in my opinion is a rather oversimplified way to view Russian Martial Arts’ unique way of explaining combat within the context of a rational Western scientific tradition. I will explain why it is so later in this article, but for the moment, let’s just examine how breathing, structure and movement relate to combat performance.

Besides being part of the processes of delivering oxygen to where it is needed in the body and removing carbon dioxide waste, breathing is the only bodily function we have that allows us to regulate the physiological effects of survival stress on our body. Well, what are those effects? Let’s check out what Bruce K. Siddle, internationally recognized authority on use of force training and the effects of survival stress on combat performance, has to say on the subject, in his classic book Sharpening the Warrior’s Edge: “…a ‘perceived’ high-threat stimulus automatically engages the sympathetic nervous system. The activation of this system increases the heart rate, which in turn has a crucial affect on motor performance, visual processing and cognitive reaction time. For example, at 115 beats per minute (BPM), fine motor skills (precision and accuracy skills) deteriorate. When the heart rate exceeds 145 BPM, complex motor skills deteriorate and the visual system begins to narrow. But when the heart rate exceeds 175 BPM, a warrior can expect to experience auditory exclusion and the loss of peripheral vision and depth perception. This initiates a catastrophic failure of the cognitive processing capabilities, leading to fatal increases in reaction time or hypervigilance (freezing in place or irrational acts)”[2]. In a few words, when you are facing an emergency your sympathetic nervous system kicks in, and the effects of this activation can make all the martial arts skills in the world totally useless, since when you can’t think (that’s the “catastrophic failure of the cognitive processing capabilities” is all about), you cannot fight... Now, in comes breathing, the only voluntary method of control you have on the workings of your autonomic nervous system. According to Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, former U.S Army Ranger, paratrooper and West Point Academy Psychology Professor, “breathing and blinking are the only two actions of your autonomic nervous system that you can bring under conscious control anytime you choose. As such, your breathing is the bridge between your somatic (voluntary) and autonomic nervous system. Think of your autonomic nervous system as a big, shuddering, shaking machine that has only one control lever sticking out from its side. Your breathing is that control lever, the one thing you can reach out and grab”[3]. To sum this up, controlling your breathing means controlling your psychological state when fighting – breath controls the intent.

OK, let’s move ahead to structure, which, from a mechanical point of view, is every construction with the ability to bear load. Your musculoskeletal system, for example, is such a construction, which has evolved so as to allow you to negotiate the force of gravity when in a standing position. Since our ancestors did not collapse under their own weight, they were able to move from one place to the next, able to hunt, collect fruit or, escape from predators, thus they managed to survive, thrive and perpetuate their genes. Now, besides helping you to keep an upright posture (the “up” in “upright” is dictated by gravity, of course), your structure (or “form”, or body alignment) provides a stabilizing platform for your individual muscles to generate movement. If it was otherwise, each and every one of your attempts to move would have similar results as those one has when trying to fire a cannon from a canoe. One very important thing to understand about structure is that it’s not something statically maintained: you cannot “keep your body in form”, since form is dictated by function. What you can do is constantly align your structure in such a way that you are able a) to negotiate the force of gravity and b) generate force with your muscles so that you can move, according to the action you want to perform! For example, your structural alignment when you want to generate forward pressure is not the same with the one when you want to pull something backwards and both are different from the one you need just to remain standing. In combat, the correct structural alignment is the one that allows you at any given moment to perform your chosen action directly and with minimum muscular effort. Thus, relaxation, which is considered to be the “fourth pillar of Systema”, is actually a result of maintaining proper structure, so it is not an independent feature of correct technique (also the term used should be “selective tension” rather than “relaxation” in my opinion, since a lot of people confuse relaxation with being flaccid). When structure is “broken”, additional muscular effort is required in order for one to remain standing (thus the “expediency and economy in energy expenditure” principle we have seen in N.A. Bernstein’s definition of dexterity is violated – see first part of this article here). Also, no defensive or offensive action can be performed before one returns to a sound structure, thus the initiative is conceded to the opponent, so it is easy to understand that structure creates opportunity.

Each one of our combat skills (evasions, deflections, strikes, kicks, throws, takedowns, joint manipulations, submissions, immobilizations etc) is executed through movement. Ability to move equals ability to utilize the specific weapons that one has in his arsenal, so it obvious that movement equals ability.

In Russian Martial Art, one cannot view breathing, movement and structure independently of each other (as in “always breathe, move, and keep body in form”): breathing affects structure thus creating movement, structure is altered by movement and has to be accompanied by breathing, movement causes breathing which affects the structure. It is the integration of the “three pillars” in a unified whole that defines what proper technique is![4] This way we arrive at the fundamental truth (the axiom, or the dogma, if you like) which lies in the core of Russian Martial Art, out of which, all our strategies, tactics and specific techniques emanate: in combat, we strive to always keep our breathing, structure and movement integrated, while at the same time trying to disintegrate our opponent’s breathing, structure and movement, thus depriving him of his intent, opportunities and abilities. This is why for a large part of our practice, we study correct movement through the biomechanical range-of-motion exercises, we examine how various breathing patterns affect our psycho-physiological state and we also train on how to integrate breathing, structure and movement through a large number of floorwork exercises.

In the core of every martial art or combat system lies a set of fundamental “truths”. For example, Tae Kwon Do is built upon the presumed superior strength, power and reach of kicking attacks, while Wing Chun Kung Fu is based upon the supposedly universal applicability of the centerline theory, the linear striking action, the simultaneous attack and defense. But are these basic principles true or are they just assumptions (maybe even wishful thinking) made under a specific historic or cultural bias? It is up to you to search for an answer to this question. The fact is that the core axiom of Russian Martial Art is based on the sciences of biomechanics, neurophysiology and psychophysiology and their findings regarding the way the human body and brain function – and that’s why it allows us to look at all sorts of combat settings (fist fighting, grappling, fighting with or against weapons, fighting on the ground, restraint and control tactics etc) within the context of a rational Western scientific tradition.

In the next and final part of this article we will examine a third set of rules which provides context in Russian Martial Art: Victor Spiridonov’s Combat SAMBO fighting strategy.

References
[1] Once again, I want to clarify that these sets of rules in no way constitute an “official Systema training guide”, that’s why I’m referring to them as a personal cheat-sheet.
[2] Siddle, Bruce K. Sharpening the Warrior’s Edge. PPCT Research Publications, 1995, p. 7
[3] Grossman, D., Christensen, L.W. On Combat. PPCT Research Publications, 2004, p. 329
[4] You can read a pretty good and very detailed analysis on the integration of breathing, structure and movement in Scott Sonnon’s books Body-Flow: Freedom from Fear-Reactivity and Prasara Yoga: Flow Beyond Thought.