It was about six months ago when I wrote the second installment of a three-part series of articles about the sets of rules that provide context to the practice of Russian Martial Art. The article was about the "Three Pillars of Systema" (namely, breathing, structure and movement) and their relationship to combat performance. Regarding movement, I concluded that, since each one of our combat skills (evasions, deflections, strikes, kicks, throws, takedowns, joint manipulations, submissions, immobilizations etc) is executed through movement, then movement obviously equals ability.
A few months after I wrote this article, I was reading a textbook on the "constraints led approach" to motor control and learning. In that book, a chapter was included on the ecological psychology perspective on skills acquisition. In a few words, ecological psychology, also known as "direct perception", is a school of psychology based on the work of James Gibson [1] who argued that animals and humans stand in a 'systems' relation to the environment, such that, to fully explain some behaviour, it was necessary to study the environment in which this behaviour took place. The aphorism "It's not what is inside the head that is important, it's what the head is inside of", seems to capture that point [2]. Now, the reason ecological psychology is appealing to those involved with the study of motor learning and control is because it seems to provide answers on what is happening when acquisition of motor skills (such as a throwing technique, a punch, etc.) occurs without awareness of what is happening, i.e. when people cannot exactly explain how they move when they perform a specific skill.
So then, what does ecological psychology and direct perception have to do with movement, the third pillar of Systema??? Well, a central idea in Gibson's work is that movement generates information, which leads to further movements and so on, i.e. indicates a cyclical relationship between perception and movement. "We must perceive in order to move", wrote Gibson, "but we must also move in order to perceive"[3].
In one of our recent training sessions at the Göteborgs Systema-RMA Klubb we were practicing a drill were one person lies down on the floor (prone or supine position doesn't matter), three or more training partners lie on top of him, acting as dead weight and then he must find a way to "escape" from this positon. My interpretation of this drill is that, once under a pile of bodies, one must first and foremost find a way to breathe, locate a part of the torso which is not compressed where the minimum of movement required by breath can occur (being able to breathe delays the onset of panic and trust me, there's nothing that spells panic more than 300 kilograms placed on your chest). Once this fundamental movement of breath can be performed, it provides information about which direction one should move towards, in order to escape from underneath - where there's space to breathe, there is space to escape!!!
Let's see another example of movement providing information that lead to further movement: have you ever seen a MMA fight where the competitors spend way too much time in a standing clinch position, without either of them doing anything decisive, peppering each other with annoying but not effective punches? In my oppinion, when some fighters get in the clinch they are mostly worried about being taken down, so they just brace defensively, remain immobile, and waste precious energy without implementing (actually, without even trying to implement) their strategic plan. What experienced fighters do when they get in the clinch, is continously move: they use the box stepping pattern and try to break their opponents posture, so they can initiate a throwing technique, disengage, or just create space in order to generate some serious striking power (as opposed to pitty-patting their opponent).
There is an old-scool boxing saying, according to which "when you do not know what to do in the ring, just use your jab". I guess that a more inclusive version of this might be "when you don't know what to do, just move" - because movement not only equals ability, it also provides the information on how to use your abilities.
If you want to knnow more about ecological psychology and direct perception, you can find a very good texbook by Claire Michaels and Claudia Carello, in pdf format here.
I am always impressed to discover converging views expressed by people who seemingly belong to different martial or physical culture disciplines. Check out the following excerpts from two books I am currently reading, Hidden In Plain Sight: Tracing the Roots of Ueshiba Morihei's Power by Ellis Amdur, and Free to Move by Scott Sonnon.
Amdur writes: "For Ueshiba, however, 'kasutori' was not primarily for the purpose of martial prowess, as analogous training was for Daito-ryu practitioners, even though such martial effectiveness could still be developed. Practice is for the purpose of creating a body that is not only analogous to the enlightened spirit, but also a body that makes the elightened spirit possible".
The word "kasutori" in the above text, refers to the extraction of the pulp-like sediment that is a by-product of the production ofJapanese alcohol. The claim here, in a few words, is that through the practice of the Aikido basic techniques, we remove the tension that lies our partner's joints as if it was residue.
Now, let's check what Sonnon says: "I came to realize martial art is just a physical trick to convince the mind to adopt a higher vibratory frequency: to be more graceful and less disgraceful. The immediate and traumatic feedback of being hit, thrown, or joint-locked tells you precisely where you're holding tension. It shows you where your ego abides within you, when your mind should have no abiding place. Wherever you stop mentally, you amplify emotionally and brace physically".
To my knowledge, Scott Sonnon has not studied Aikido, and my guess is that Ellis Amdur, a respected scholar and instructor of classical and modern Japanese martial arts, knows little about the range-of-motion exercises that Sonnon describes in his book (actually the book is about way more than healthy joints, but you get my point). Could it then be possible that there are a number of universal laws which govern the relationship between our mind as a manifestation of our matter (body) and vice versa? And if these laws do exist (I strongly believe they do) wouldn't they be independent of the cultural context (Japanese martial arts, Russian system of health, Alexander technique, Feldenkrais method, you name it) they are expressed in? Just a little food for thought and maybe basis for constructive dialogue...
You can find out more about Ellis Amdur's Hidden in Plain Sight here. For more info about Scott Sonnon's Free to Move click here.
What follows is an excerpt from a book I read recently, and made quite an impression to me. The book is Ellis Amdur's Hidden in Plain Sight: Tracing the Roots of Ueshiba Morihei's Power. I want to make clear that I haven't ever trained in aikido, nor am I interested to. On the other side, I believe Morihei Ueshiba was one of the greatest martial artists of the twentieth century and also a great thinker, although limited by the era he lived in and the Japanese culture. I also consider Ellis Amdur an excellent writer and I especially appreciate the fact that he attributes Ueshiba's formidable power to his training and not to some supernatural energy he mysteriously tapped into.
Here's the excerpt: " A person with 'locked' joints has 'handles' and 'levers' - when force vectors are applied, such an individual cannot absorb and flow with said forces, cannot channel them into the ground, or cause them to resonate and amplify within a trained body, and more importantly, send them back through himself into the aggressor. Such locked joints do not only occur within the physical body. Ueshiba shows the same understanding as Wilhelm Reich, Ida Rolf, and Moshe Feldenkrais, that physical 'handles' and 'levers' are associated with binding and limitation within the psychological structure. Even with the most dedicated practice of physical technique, one very possibly will remain psychologically distorted, something we have seen in even graceful, very powerful martial artists. Similarly, were one merely to chant, meditate, or otherwise strive to cleanse the 'psychological/spiritual' body, one might be quite at peace until one 'runs into' the world, something occurring again and again when spiritual teachers of quite high attainment meet the temptations of modern society with a body still hungry for that energy".
You can find more about Ellis Amdur's work (which includes much more that martial arts training and writing books) here: http://edgework.info/
I must have heard it someplace before, but it all came back to me during my summer vacation, when I was reading Malcolm Gladwell's last book, Outliers: The Story of Success (a great read whether you're on vacation or not): in order to become a world-class expert in anything, you need 10.000 hours of practice. In one chapter of the book, Gladwell goes on to describe in detail how the Beatles had performed live for 10.000 hours before reaching their artistic apex, how Bill Gates had been doing computer programming nonstop for seven consecutive years before he dropped out of Harvard to try his hand at his own software company, how it took Bobby Fischer nine years to become a chess grandmaster and so on. It's not as if this conclusion is in any way surprising - we have all heard sayings about one having to "pay his dues", "put the time and effort needed", or even "sweat the t-shirt" as people say in Greece - but now we have a specific target number, synonymous with greatness: 10.000 hours. So, is that it? You fill in your quota and go ahead to become a master? Well, I'm not so sure and the scientists are not very specific either: "In study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice skaters, concerts pianists, chess players, master criminals, and what have you, this number comes up again and again. Of course, this doesn't address why some people get more out of their practice sessions than others do", writes neurologist Daniel Levitin, as quoted by Gladwell. A number of theoreticians suggest that it is the microstructure of the practice sessions (the specific routines and exercises) that is most important, but existing empirical research in the field has several limitations. OK then, if it isn't just the 10.000 hours of practice, what else helps one become a master???
A few months ago, I had the opportunity to spend about a week with senior Systema instructor Emmanuel Manolakakis. Manny, as he is known in Systema circles, has definitely done his 10.000 hours of practice - he's been training in and teaching Russian Martial Art for more than fifteen years and his fighting skills testify to that. He also has a great talent in communication and, when he's talking, some very complex ideas seem to flow out of him effortlessly. During one of our long conversations on the value of the Systema training methods and their adaptability to each practitioner's lever of skill, he asked me: "How good do you want to become in this?" "Well, as good as I can be", I said. "You know what? It's all about how thin you want to slice it", Manny replied matter-of-factly.
Before I go ahead and try to explain what this means in the context of Russian Martial Art training, let me quote here psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, from his book Flow:The Psychology of Optimal Experience, on the relationship between physical activity and the phenomenon of "flow" - a state of joy, creativity and total involvement, in which problems seem to disappear and there is an exhilarating feeling of transcendence. "Even the simplest physical act becomes enjoyable when it is transformed so as to produce flow", writes Csikszentmihaly. "The essential steps in this process are: (a) to set an overall goal, and as many subgoals as are realistically feasible; (b) to find ways of measuring progress in terms of the goals chosen; (c) to keep concentrating on what one is doing and to keep making finer and finer distinctions in the challenges involved in the activity; (d)to develop the skills necessary to interact with the opportunities available; and (e) to keep raising the stakes if the activity becomes boring" [bold added my me]. As an example of this method, the author takes walking - as simple (some might call it tedious) an activity as one can do using his body. Well, a simple walk can be spiced up in a number of different ways so as to produce flow, Csikszentmihaly claims, such as choosing slightly different itineraries, selecting places to stop along the way, developing an efficient walking technique, paying more attention to intersting sights that might be located nearby, measuring the time taken to complete the route, or comparing the perceived effort needed to cover the distance each time.
Now, let's take a moment to think about it: doesn't this recipe, suggested by Csikszentmihaly, on how to make a flow experience out of practically any physical endeavour, seem to be the path leading to mastery? Because what else is mastery, if not continuously setting goals (slicing it very thin, that is) and measuring one's progress towards them, concentrating, making finer and finer distinctions in the challenges tackled (once again, slicing it really thin), acquiring skills and raising the stakes again and again? Or is it that one becomes a master by simply "going through the movements" for 10.000 hours? I personally doubt that, or else our world would be full of people who have achieved mastery - for example, every person who's done a job for six years would be one - and this is obviously not the case. Oh, and one more thing: 10.000 hours of just going through the movements would make mastery an extremely dull affair...
So, how is it then that Russian Martial Art allows one to divide the road to mastery to an infinite number of very thin slices? I believe the secret lies in the lack of emphasis on technique and what in sport science is known as "external focus training", i.e. concentrating on the results one's actions have on the environment. In Systema, there's is no "ideal" way of performing an action, so the practitioner builds up skills by actually solving motor problems, adapting from trial to trial, and not by constantly reproducing a supposedly ideal technique. Take, for example, a takedown that is achieved by rotating our partner's shoulder line, clockwise, by manipulating the neck and one wrist. Well, what if we tried for the same effect by manipulating the neck and one elbow, or the neck and one shoulder? How about if we rotate counter-clockwise, will our partner still fall down? We can also try to use our elbows instead of our hands to apply the force needed, and maybe add a hip or a knee-bump or a nasty little kick to the shin, in order to break our partner's structure further and do the takedown even more effortless. This freedom to explore can lead to endless variations on a specific action, and according to recent scientific research in the field of motor learning and control, what we have as a result is "better skills retention and transfer". Perhaps we could translate this as "a step closer to mastery"?
In case you've missed the point here, I never claimed that one does not have to train for 10.000 hours in order to become a world-class expert in anything. My whole point is that practice doesn't necessarily make perfect - only perfect practice makes perfect! So go ahead and put the time and the effort needed. But also make sure to do as Manny says: slice everything very, very thin...
Like most people involved in martial arts training for a long time, I too have done my share of harmful stretching practices. I still remember with dread my years of practice in a hard-style Shaolin style of Kung Fu, where stretching was accompanied by growls, moans and pretty often, screams! To be totally honest with you, even if I wanted to forget those "training" sessions, I still have the nagging injuries (insisting for more than a decade later) to remind me. I really don't know if the extreme Shaolin stretching methods are beneficial for the children in China that take up Kung Fu at the age of five, but they most certainly have not been any good for me and all the people I know who practiced them from the age of eighteen and up.
After my Kung Fu years, I trained in Filipino martial arts and Judo, so stretching was never a serious part of my training - what I did was spend maybe thirty seconds stretching a muscle that felt "kinda tight" and that was it. So, the other day I was reading an excllent book on sports conditioning methods (High-Performance Sports Conditioning, edited by Bill Foran, published by Human Kinetics) that included one chapter on Performance Flexibility, written by Nikos Apostolopoulos, director of the Serapis Therapy Clinic in Canada, the only clinic in the world pioneering the development of therapeutic stretching. In that chapter I found tons of interesting information I wish I had known earlier, so I thought I'd share some of it with you:
On why you should stretch: "Proprioceptors in the muscles, tendons, and joints, which sense muscle length, tension and joint angle, are critical in providing information to the motor system. Therefore, flexibility enhances the development of coordination and technique and the ability of proprioceptors to receive stimuli".
"Proper flexibility training can moderate, or even delay for many years, the deterioration of range of motion that occurs with age".
"Done at low intensity, static stretching and micro-stretching develop the flexibility reserve, decrease the influence of hypertrophy and other muscular changes during the development of strength, and decrease muscle tension, thereby increasing circulation and neural conductivity. This decrease in muscle tension also assists in decreasing muscle tone and aids the removal of metabolic wastes (i.e. lactic acid)".
On how you should NOT stretch: "When the athlete performs a stretch and feels the muscles burning or senses an extreme pull in the muscles, that is a strain... A strain results in microtears of the muscle near the muscle-tendon junction. Microtears are microinjuries. The body responds to these tears by releasing collagen in the area, resulting in the development of scar tissue. As scar tissue ages it contracts, further tightening the surrounding tissues. These microtears [...] are located in the area of transition between elastic (muscle) and inelastic (tendon) tissue. In contrast to the middle of the muscle belly, this area has poor circulation, which is further diminished with the development of scar tissue. Therefore the repair process is slower".
On how often you should stretch: "...An athlete must stretch at least twice a day to improve flexibility. The athlete must stretch each muscle group at least three times per session".
On how intensely you should stretch: "Performance flexibility stretching is always done at a low intensity level (approximately 30 to 40 percent of perceived exertion). At this level, stretching increases the pliancy of the connective and muscle tissues".
"While stretching it is critical to avoid strain or pain, which would result in the activation or constant maintenance of a subconscious protective loop. The body maintains this loop to respond to an injury. Its activation results in the development and reinforcement of muscle imbalances and a further decrease in the range of motion around a joint".
On how long you should hold a stretch: "The optimum length of time to hold a stretch is approximately 60 seconds. It normally takes about 30 seconds for a stretch to progress from the middle of the muscle belly to the tendons".
"... Individuals who hold a stretch longer than 90 seconds often complain of feeling tighter".
Well, as the training season for Göteborgs Systema-RMA Klubb comes to an end, I believe the time has come to finish this three-part article on the sets of rules that, in my opinion form the backbone of Russian Martial Art. Just to remind you, the first part of the article referred to 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. The second part of my cheat-sheet was about the “three pillars” of Systema (read more about it here), the way breathing, structure and movement relate to combat performance and how they form a “martial dogma” that provides us with a unique way of explaining combat within the context of a rational Western scientific tradition.
So, let’s now move ahead to
Rules set #3: Victor Spiridonov's Combat SAMBO fighting strategy
Before we begin to analyze the Combat SAMBO strategy (the “single algorithm of actions used in warding off an onslaught” – more on this later), it would be a good idea to try and explain the historical framework under which SAMBO and what we currently refer to as Russian Martial Art were developed, and the connections between those two. Most people tend to believe that SAMBO (a Russian acronym meaning "self-protection without weapons" - SAMozashchitya Bez Oruzhiya) was developed as a pure grappling style in the 1930s Soviet Union, by Kodokan judo black belt Vassili Sergeevich Oschepkov and Victor Afanasievich Spiridonov, an officer of the Russian Army, who combined elements of Japanese jujitsu, judo, Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling with techniques taken from the various native wrestling styles of the older Soviet republics (such as the Georgian chidaoba, Armenian koch and Tatarkuriash)[1]. Another view, less common, has Spiridonov and Oschepkov being among the group of combat experienced individuals, members of the Dynamo athletic society (also including Anatoly Kharllampiev and I.V. Vasiliev), that was assigned in 1923 by the Cheka (Chrezvychaynaya Komissiya, Extraordinary Commission), the Soviet state security service to conduct a worldwide research on the field of hand-to-hand combat in order to improve the combat system of the Red Army. These four persons were given the title of “combat investigator” and travelled around the world in order to study a great number of native martial arts. The course of this investigation lasted about ten years - in the history of mankind, there has never been such an awesome pursuit (and a state-sanctioned one!) of information into combat. The huge body of knowledge that was gathered by this research was to be controlled by the state and is said to have resulted in three combat systems, a Close Quarter Combat system to be used by the elite forces of the former Soviet Union and secret police, a Subject and Crowd Control Tactics system to be used by the police and a competitive form which would become the training regimen of the general military[2].
Although it is pretty hard to discern the thin line dividing history from propaganda when one is trying to research events that happened during the Soviet era, I believe it makes perfect sense that a world-wide research of combat styles would have naturally resulted in more than one approaches to combat and not only the unarmed, pure grappling style we know as SAMBO today (some refer to this version of SAMBO as a “Russian version of Japanese Judo”). There’s also another thing we should keep in mind: that the combat investigators of the Dynamo worked to some degree independently of each other[3]. Now, while Oschepkov was a hulk of a man, very athletic and an accomplished judoka, Spiridonov was maimed during World War I from a bayonet wound to his left shoulder, something that greatly restricted his ability to practice any form of wrestling. It is safe to assume that even if these men had not worked independently, they would most probably have used different approaches to address the problems of hand-to-hand combat. So, once again it should come as no surprise that Spiridonov is said to have developed Samoz, a softer system than the pure grappling style of Oschepkov, “one that could be used by smaller, weaker practitioners or even wounded soldiers”[4].
While, due to Soviet propaganda, sport SAMBO was to become the official version of the art, and also the one that was “leaked out” to the espionage of competitive nations as the supposedly secret Soviet fighting style, the Combat SAMBO[5], reserved for use by the elite forces of the Soviet Army and the secret police remained a closely guarded secret. According to the chapter on Combat SAMBO included in former Russian president Vladimir Putin’s (who holds the title of ‘master of sports’ in both Judo and SAMBO) book on Judo, Spiridonov was the father of this style, since “the techniques he developed became the foundation of combat SAMBO”[6].
I believe that the various expressions of Russian Martial Art that are taught today around the world (all of them became known to the West only after the collapse of the Soviet Union), such as the Ryabko-Vasiliev Systema, Kadochnikov’s Systema and Alexander Retuinskih’s ROSS are derived to a large degree from Spyridonov’s style[7]. But even if the historical connection seems to be weak (once again, the obstacle in discerning history from propaganda in the Soviet Union seems sometimes insurmountable) once one studies the basic fighting strategy of Combat SAMBO, the similarities between the fundamental theory of Spiridonov’s style and the practice of contemporary Russian Martial Art become hard to ignore. And since this is exactly what this article is all about, here’s the Combat SAMBO strategy, once again as presented in the afore-mentioned book on Judo by Vladimir Putin:
“Steps in Combat SAMBO
In combat SAMBO, regardless of the nature and substance of an attack, there is a single algorithm of actions used in warding off an onslaught. This algorithm is the order of steps, each of which represents the resolution of a specific tactical objective:
Step1: Minimize losses from your opponent’s attack.
Step 2: Seize the initiative through diversionary actions.
Step 3: Get your opponent on his back.
Step4: Execute a final, pain-causing action.
Depending on the situation, additional steps might be taken:
Step 5: Disarm your opponent.
Step 6: Search your opponent.
Step 7: Escort your opponent away”[8].
For anyone who has studied any style of contemporary Russian Martial Art, the first four steps must seem very familiar. In Systema Ryabko-Vasiliev, for example, the first skill we train is evasion from all sorts of attacks. Why do we want to evade? The detailed analysis of the above mentioned steps in Putin’s book gives the obvious answer: “If an opponent strikes (punching, kicking, or with a weapon) forceful blocks and props won’t guarantee uke’s safety. The most effective resolution is to step off the line of attack and at the same time deflect the attacking limb in the opposite direction”[9]. What is it that Systema has that Spyridonov’s style hadn’t? It is the knowledge in the field of biomechanics which can make the evasive movements more efficient! Now, regarding the second step, the Combat SAMBO theory states that “After stepping off the line of the attack, if you are able to avoid a serious initial defeat and maintain combat readiness, you need to launch a counter-strike, preferably an injury-causing action. The nature and form of the diversionary action depend on the opponent’s positioning to one another, their respective height and weight, type of clothing, etc”[10]. In Systema, this would mean that we either disrupt the opponent’s breathing or break his structure – both these actions result in taking the initiative from the opponent (see also the second part of this article here). For the third step, taking the opponent down seems to be a priority both in Combat SAMBO and in contemporary expressions of Russian Martial Art. About the fourth step, the detailed analysis states that “Final injury-causing actions (the final blow) must be executed primarily by the legs (heel, toes, knees) and with the arms only in exceptional circumstances”. Well, have you ever noticed what Vladimir Vasiliev always does in his demonstrations after taking down a partner? Exactly!
So, what is the conclusion of this comparison between the Combat SAMBO fighting strategy and the practice of contemporary Russian Martial Art? I would say, that since Spyridonov laid the foundation of his style, the subsequently obtained scientific knowledge in the fields of biomechanics, neurophysiology and psychophysiology (and let’s admit it, scientific research was one of the very strong points of the Soviets) enhanced the application of a combat strategy that remains basically unaltered for about ninety years!
This article concludes the three-part series on the sets of rules that I consider to be my personal Systema cheat-sheet. The point I tried to make in it is that Russian Martial Art, rather than being an “all natural, anything goes, fully improvised” system of combat or a huge collection of “cool” (maybe even funky!) training drills, is a very specific framework of principles and concepts that allows one to study (as opposed to “learn”) hand-to-hand combat in the most efficient way. In my opinion, one does not learn Systema – one studies fighting using the Systema method.
I sincerely hope these texts will be of help.
References: [1]This view is expressed, for example in Latvian born, Judo – SAMBO champion and coach Alexander Iatskevich’s book, Russian Judo (1999, Ippon Books).
[2] A very interesting and detailed article written by Scott Sonnon on the history of SAMBO can be found at http://www.sambo.com.ua/
[5] We should not confuse the martial art of Combat SAMBO (Boyevoye Sambo) used by the elite forces of the Soviet military and secret police with the full-contact fighting sport of Combat SAMBO sanctioned by FIAS (Federation International Amateur SAMBO) which resembles modern mixed martial arts competition.
[6] Putin, V., Shestakov, V., Levitsky, A., Judo: History, Theory, Practice. North Atlantic Books, 2004, p. 144
[7] For the connection between Retuinskih’s ROSS, Kadochnikov’s system and Spyridonov’s style see
a)Darby, J., Young, R.W., Secrets of the Russian Martial Arts. Black Belt Magazine, September 2001, p. 67
An excellent blog post by Circular Strength Training coach Bao Tran (to find out more about Circular Strength Training, visit www.rmaxinternational.com or if you live in Sweden, check out CST Coach Ola Lindblom's website: http://professionaltraining4u.com), who notices a very interesting connection between the way we move and our mental state:
"On a very rainy Friday night over Japanese Yakitori at NYC’s St. Mark, I had a chance to listen to the thoughts and feelings of Ms. Yin Yue, professional dancer, celebrity trainer, and one of Tracy Anderson’s top instructors. Over our Japanese comfort food and beers (well I had beer and she didn’t), she mentioned one of Tracy Anderson’s beliefs about fitness, which was very similar to what I learned from Coach Scott Sonnon. Dance and fitness Trainer to the stars like Madona and Paltrow, Tracy Anderson www.tracyandersonmethod.com believes that “you look the way you move”. When I asked Yin what she meant by her statement Ms. Yue gave me an example from her discipline of dance. A Hip Hop dancer wouldn’t look like a professional ballet dancer because they move differently which in turn reflects their mental state. Likewise a ballet dancer wouldn’t look or think like a Hip Hop professional dancer. Interesting… Her comment made me reflect deeply about my own potential for flow, athleticism, health, and fitness. How is my current training program changing my whole appearance, mood, and brain? This is a really profound idea which many fitness enthusiasts rarely consider while exercising. How many times do you think gym members are reflecting how their choice of exercise is changing their movement potential, brains, and holistic being? Not many but I am going to help you change that right now. I was not thinking about bodybuilding per se when I meditated on Tracy Anderson’s belief. I can see how and why body builders adopt a rigid mentality based on their choice of exercise. While their training does effectively build muscle mass it also builds an invisible prison for their joints and connective tissues. Ask a professional body builder honestly if he or she feels healthy and pain free. Yes, the “no pain-no gain” mentality is the reason why you look the way you do. Many people like me who got hurt from Body Building and who got jaded when it didn’t help me improve my martial arts game return to and explore the health and fitness alternatives such as dance, yoga, martial arts, and much older strength training systems than body building such as sports, gymnastics, Olympic lifting, clubbell athleticism, and kettlebell training. What do these health and fitness alternatives has over body building? What is the missing secret ingredient to health and fitness? Movement sophistication.Yes, the missing key is movement, which is the key to health, longevity, and optimal performance. Anyone who has been researching the marvels of neuroscience can see the connection between movement base training and wellness. The human body has evolved and is wired to move multi-dimensionally and dynamically until it dies".
Before you go there, have a look at this video of Feldenkrais method practitioner Ruthy Alon exploring spiral movement to raise herself from a lying down to a sitting to a standing position. The video commentary is just as interesting: "Your individual, unique way of moving reflects not only the level of wellness, but your entire personality, the way you see yourself taking a place in the world", claims Alon. Well, what do you think???
Spyro Katsigiannis has trained in various self defense systems, martial arts and combat sports since 1985. He became a certified instructor in Systema RMA in 2007, by Mikhail Ryabko and Andreas Weitzel, and he expanded his knowledge of Russian fighting styles by training in ROSS (The Native Russian System of Self Defense) with Alexander Retuinskih and Frank Etherson, in SAMBO with Vadim Kolganov, and in Systema Homo Ludens with Alexander Kostic. Spyro is a certified instructor in Filipino Kali and has a national certification as a San Shou (Chinese kickboxing) coach by the Greek ministry of sports. He has competed and coached athletes in San Shou. He has also received training in Eagle Claw Kung Fu (Ying Zhao Fan Zi Men), YiQuan and Judo. In 2008 he founded the Göteborgs Systema-RMA Klubb, today known as the Göteborg Dynamo Club, with the goal of integrating the common elements of all modern Russian Martial Art styles, rather than representing and promoting a specific Russian “brand” of martial arts activity. He represents the Russian All-Around Fighting Federation in Sweden. He has written a number of blog articles on the history and training methodology of Russian Martial Art.
A few months after I wrote this article, I was reading a textbook on the "constraints led approach" to motor control and learning. In that book, a chapter was included on the ecological psychology perspective on skills acquisition. In a few words, ecological psychology, also known as "direct perception", is a school of psychology based on the work of James Gibson [1] who argued that animals and humans stand in a 'systems' relation to the environment, such that, to fully explain some behaviour, it was necessary to study the environment in which this behaviour took place. The aphorism "It's not what is inside the head that is important, it's what the head is inside of", seems to capture that point [2]. Now, the reason ecological psychology is appealing to those involved with the study of motor learning and control is because it seems to provide answers on what is happening when acquisition of motor skills (such as a throwing technique, a punch, etc.) occurs without awareness of what is happening, i.e. when people cannot exactly explain how they move when they perform a specific skill.
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