Outdoor Systema Training

I have recently taken to doing Systema training outdoors, in the forest, fields, on grass or stone.
There are a number of benefits to training outside:

- Every drill you do is much harder, as you have to attend to the different surroundings, light/wind conditions, sloping or hilly land and obstacles in the landscape.

- A drill from Moscow involved feeling how the surroundings made you feel.
eg - Being in the forest feels more enclosed, peaceful and this calms you down
However being in a office environment effects your psychological condition differently as there may be tense people around you (which usually increases your tension) , you might feel pressure or stress just being in that enviroment, due to negative associations.
There are many factors to take into account, the more you feel them, the better you overall awareness and adaptive ability will be.
Going outside can also be used for a change of pace, to give you freedom, relaxation and a higher/different outlook on your thoughts

- This enviroment adds variety to your training, in which you can use the landscape - the ground, trees and sticks in order to strengthen and relax yourself, in a multitude of ways, and as the enviroment is different and strange to you, every exercise you do will be twice as hard due to the higher stress/tension we feel when in a new enviroment.

IDEAS FOR TRAINING

- Walk with closed eyes through the forest, use burst breathing to keep your movement smooth and continuous. You will then notice that your awareness is then in every step you take, as you begin to feel the ground with your feet.

- Running - Run along trails and up hills. In this exercise try to find your own breathing pattern, the one which makes you feel most compfortable. When you find it your endurance will increase.

- Slow pushups, Legraises, Situps and Squats - Doing these exercises on unstable or sloping ground will give you a new appreciation for burst breathing.

- Climbing trees - Try to climb up a tree while exhaling, then climb down on an inhale then vice versa.
Try to also use only the muscles you need to accomplish the work.

Climb the tree while tensing your whole body and using burst breathing to move through the tension, do this slowly.
Then do the same thing but completely relaxed.

These are just some ideas, be creative and make up your own.

Please post a comment if you have any other ideas.

Thomas