Rolling - learning how to swim on dry land

Rolling is a fundamental skill to any Systema trainee. Its uses are infinite and it is a highly practical, usable skill. There are many dimensions to a good roll,
which include:

- Proper balance of tension and relaxation
- Awareness throughout the entire movement
- Correct breathing and form

The basic Systema roll is as follows -
- Starting on your knees, extend one arm straight out to the side
- Place the other hand on the floor next to your shoulder and look under and through the space between your arm and the floor.
- Now continue rolling over from shoulder to the other shoulder and down to the opposite hip.
(For more information about rolling and for a greater and more precise description of how to roll see "Let Every Breath" by Vladimir Vasiliev and Scott Merideth

Note - In the movement this may become a shoulder to hip roll, but emphasizing the shoulder, shoulder, hip instead, gives overall better form and teaches you to have a greater degree of control over your own body.


Once you have evolved your roll into a fairly soft roll. Here are some challenging and interesting variations, Which help you gain more precision and control of your movement and breathing.

- Start the roll in different stages of the breath cycle , inhale , exhale , breath held on inhale, breath held on exhale.

- Using a stick hold it in different and uncomfortable positions Eg - On the shoulders which the hands draped over it.

- Blindfolded or with eyes closed

- With the whole body or specific parts tense

- With a stick down one trouser leg or tied to a leg

- Roll with any object held in your hands - a knife, a whip, a chain, a cap etc

- Roll over and on a stick or sticks -- ouch

- Roll towards an obstacle and change direction mid- roll to avoid it

Practice these drills they will take your rolls to the next level.

Have fun
Tom

Systema - Foundation of movement

Foundation of movement

A few thoughts on movement, tension and techniques

In systema we do four main exercises the pushup, the situp , the leg raise and the squat. These exercises done in a relaxed way using only as much tension as we require allow the body to gain a fullness of breath and an awareness of every body part. They also distribute any tensions in our body over the whole body area allowing a sense of whole body relaxation or fullness, this is where the body only uses just the amount of tension required to move and when for example you are required to move an object you can do it by spreading the tension throughout your entire body or by only using the muscles that are required.

The core exercises provide a foundation for movement and these 4 exercises form the programs of movement in our body. These exercises are gross/large muscular movements which as opposed to smaller/fine muscular movements/ techniques do not limit us and allow our freedom and creativity to express itself.

Done for a long time they erode the old habital motor programs or patterns of tension (conscious or unconscious)

which have become ingrained over the years into our body eg bending down to pick up an object with a rounded back as opposed to squatting low and bending forward with the back straight.

The core exercises done slowly and relaxed using only the amount of tension required and no more excessive or unconscious tension load these gross movements into the muscles, tendons and ligaments as opposed to gym style pushups or situps with the breath held or creased, which increases the muscular and nervous tension.

Any technique is really an engrained pattern of tension that limits us to a particular response and causes us to be tense. If were are told for example to punch someone into the body in a specific way or direction then our mind focuses only on that and other options are not seen, so that however the person reacts to that punch we have a specific counter movement and are not flexible or fluid in our approach or further work. This is the same for the bodies senses when when we focus on one sense eg hearing our sight, smell, touch, the other senses are dulled.

Systema instead allows you to see what you can do and what needs to be done

Systema instead allows you to see what must be done and to do it.

In systema one approach is to use tension and the three main ways of doing this are to - make use of existing unconscious tension in the attacker eg - hitting towards a tense arms, shoulders or back.

- make use of the attackers use of conscious tension eg – a stance or a movement towards you which carries tension.

- To create tension in the attacker using your own movement, gestures, sound etc

Tension can be physiological and psychological and usually one leads to the other and they both influence each other.

Our ideal level of overall body tension must allow for maximum mobility and strength. Doing these exercises over a period of time creates a unique muscle tone, and connects all parts of the body with an overall awareness and strength

Stay healthy
Tom