The
goal of Combat Systema is not to learn how to beat an ass. That's
something that you pick up if you stick with it for long enough, but
it's scenery, not the destination. Anyone who has that as their final
goal is misguided. Unless you live in a penal colony, you will spend
almost exactly 0% of your life fighting. Spending years on that is a
pretty poor return on investment.
We study Combat Systema
because learning to accomplish your will in the face of determined and
skillful resistance is a Pretty Good Skill To Have.
It translates well to a lot of things that aren't prison.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Monday, June 23, 2014
Russian swordwork vs western fencing
As I noted a few posts ago, I've been pretty heavily into swordwork for the past few 5-6 months. As this is a Slavic martial art, I've been looking for historical references to how Cossacks, Russians, and various other Slavic groups practiced with blades.
The results have been frustratingly sparse.
In the field of written material, one of the few references I've found ("Training for Cossacks - 1889") is very short and doesn't have very many details - much of it appears to be dealing with horse-mounted carrying and presentation of the sword. Plate 21B is interesting because it shows the Shashka being held in an unorthodox manner described on an early Scott Sonnon knifework video.
The purpose of this hold is not at all clear, as in most other schools of saber work that I've looked at (particularly Alfred Hutton's British work), the small fingers are critical in controlling the blade; here they are under the handle. I've seen this facilitate some interesting blade twirls that - while they are interesting to look at - have little to no practicality in combat. Google Translate hasn't been much help in translating this page, BTW, so I'm going to see about chatting up some of my Russian buddies and see if I can't get a decent translation going.
The majority of the shashka videos available on Youtube show blade twirling demonstrations. Some of them breathtakingly beautiful. While these are similar to moulinetes (french for "little windmills") described in western fencing sources as early as 1570 (Di Grassi), the cossack ones seem purely decorative, as the circular motions often go completely behind or to the side of the sabreur. In western saber fencing, the moulinets are intended to warm up the wrist and are always targeted towards an opponent.
To go back to the example of the Youtube girl - as near as I can tell, the purpose of this type of cossack swordplay is to familiarize the user with the blade, and to demonstrate to observers (including out-of-range combatants, perhaps?) that the person has spent a fair amount of time behind the handle of a saber. As for combative ability, some of these spins could be used for attacks both with the forward edge and the back (false) edge of the saber, but many could at best be parries with the side of the blade, as the edge is not always lined up with a combative target.
The results have been frustratingly sparse.
In the field of written material, one of the few references I've found ("Training for Cossacks - 1889") is very short and doesn't have very many details - much of it appears to be dealing with horse-mounted carrying and presentation of the sword. Plate 21B is interesting because it shows the Shashka being held in an unorthodox manner described on an early Scott Sonnon knifework video.
The purpose of this hold is not at all clear, as in most other schools of saber work that I've looked at (particularly Alfred Hutton's British work), the small fingers are critical in controlling the blade; here they are under the handle. I've seen this facilitate some interesting blade twirls that - while they are interesting to look at - have little to no practicality in combat. Google Translate hasn't been much help in translating this page, BTW, so I'm going to see about chatting up some of my Russian buddies and see if I can't get a decent translation going.
The majority of the shashka videos available on Youtube show blade twirling demonstrations. Some of them breathtakingly beautiful. While these are similar to moulinetes (french for "little windmills") described in western fencing sources as early as 1570 (Di Grassi), the cossack ones seem purely decorative, as the circular motions often go completely behind or to the side of the sabreur. In western saber fencing, the moulinets are intended to warm up the wrist and are always targeted towards an opponent.
To go back to the example of the Youtube girl - as near as I can tell, the purpose of this type of cossack swordplay is to familiarize the user with the blade, and to demonstrate to observers (including out-of-range combatants, perhaps?) that the person has spent a fair amount of time behind the handle of a saber. As for combative ability, some of these spins could be used for attacks both with the forward edge and the back (false) edge of the saber, but many could at best be parries with the side of the blade, as the edge is not always lined up with a combative target.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Gross Misconceptions
When I first started studying Systema (Ryabko style) back in 2007, I had a giant misunderstanding of what I was seeing. I'd watch a master put an attacker on the floor seemingly without effort, and two things jumped out at me:
"If you stay relaxed and move fluidly, you can do whatever you want to your opponent".
...which went a long way towards explaining why for several years, my Systema never worked on anyone who wasn't in my Systema class.
This horrible bullshit "rule" took up space in my head for a long time. Like most terrible ideas, it persisted long after it should have, and it took many years of getting choked, ankle locked, swept off my feet, punched, kicked, and generally manhandled by martial artists outside the main Systema community for me to replace it with more correct* rules.
* More correct. Not absolutely, authoritatively, mathematically provably correct. But better than the lie they replace.
RULE # 0: IF YOUR SYSTEMA ONLY WORKS ON OTHER SYSTEMA PLAYERS, THEN IT IS WORTHLESS.
Pressure test often. Find schools around you with open mat policies and an absence of meatheads. Play with your friends. Play with wrestlers. Play with passionate but inexperienced n00bs. Play with BJJ guys. Judokus. Boxers. Guys with black belts in Korean Day Care. Find what works and what doesn't. Come back to this step often as your refine your techniques.
RULE # 1: YOU CAN'T DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO YOUR OPPONENT, NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOU ARE. YOU CAN ONLY DO WHAT MAKES SENSE. 'GOOD' MARTIAL ARTISTS ARE THE ONES WHO KNOW WHAT MAKES SENSE.Staying calm and relaxed just helps you see opportunities better. Calm and fluid movement also can allow you to get your body into a better position without drawing your opponent's attention to it. Most Systema drills are a blend of these two. The "what makes sense" part is usually called biomechanics, and deals with which forces his body is strong in fighting against, and which he can't resist well. (i.e. 'His weight is mostly off his front leg - it's ripe for sweeping' or 'His weight is fully forward and overcommited; continue and push him into the floor')
The "how to accomplish it" part is usually not given a name - you are just told to relax and breath. The name it deserves is "misdirection", because that's what it is, but that name makes it sound like a parlour trick, so no one calls it that. (for instance: you can pull and arm by grabbing a wrist, but this alerts your opponent and allows him to resist that pull with full force. If you catch his wrist in the crook of your elbow, you can often pull him off balance before he knows what you are doing - he's not used to being "grabbed" by anything except hands).
So staying relaxed and fluid allows you to do whatever trickery you are up to for a little longer before your opponent can figure out how to resist it. Sneaky.
RULE #2: IF SOMETHING ISN'T WORKING WITHIN THE FIRST 2 SECONDS, TRY SOMETHING ELSE. DO NOT CHASE A TECHNIQUE.
You know that feeling you get when you try your favorite armbar on a 300-lb gorilla and he just grins and flexes as it fails to work? Your hands are already on him; just because Plan A didn't work doesn't mean you disengage and go back to the beginning. Fluidity helps you turn it into a hammerlock. Or kick out one of his legs as he's concentrating on his upper body.
Afterwards, be sure to play it off like that's what you intended from the start.
- The encounter ended with the master standing and the attacker on the ground, usually caught in something horrible (typically an armbar or neck crank)
- The master moved very smooth and relaxed.
"If you stay relaxed and move fluidly, you can do whatever you want to your opponent".
...which went a long way towards explaining why for several years, my Systema never worked on anyone who wasn't in my Systema class.
This horrible bullshit "rule" took up space in my head for a long time. Like most terrible ideas, it persisted long after it should have, and it took many years of getting choked, ankle locked, swept off my feet, punched, kicked, and generally manhandled by martial artists outside the main Systema community for me to replace it with more correct* rules.
* More correct. Not absolutely, authoritatively, mathematically provably correct. But better than the lie they replace.
RULE # 0: IF YOUR SYSTEMA ONLY WORKS ON OTHER SYSTEMA PLAYERS, THEN IT IS WORTHLESS.
Pressure test often. Find schools around you with open mat policies and an absence of meatheads. Play with your friends. Play with wrestlers. Play with passionate but inexperienced n00bs. Play with BJJ guys. Judokus. Boxers. Guys with black belts in Korean Day Care. Find what works and what doesn't. Come back to this step often as your refine your techniques.
RULE # 1: YOU CAN'T DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO YOUR OPPONENT, NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOU ARE. YOU CAN ONLY DO WHAT MAKES SENSE. 'GOOD' MARTIAL ARTISTS ARE THE ONES WHO KNOW WHAT MAKES SENSE.Staying calm and relaxed just helps you see opportunities better. Calm and fluid movement also can allow you to get your body into a better position without drawing your opponent's attention to it. Most Systema drills are a blend of these two. The "what makes sense" part is usually called biomechanics, and deals with which forces his body is strong in fighting against, and which he can't resist well. (i.e. 'His weight is mostly off his front leg - it's ripe for sweeping' or 'His weight is fully forward and overcommited; continue and push him into the floor')
The "how to accomplish it" part is usually not given a name - you are just told to relax and breath. The name it deserves is "misdirection", because that's what it is, but that name makes it sound like a parlour trick, so no one calls it that. (for instance: you can pull and arm by grabbing a wrist, but this alerts your opponent and allows him to resist that pull with full force. If you catch his wrist in the crook of your elbow, you can often pull him off balance before he knows what you are doing - he's not used to being "grabbed" by anything except hands).
So staying relaxed and fluid allows you to do whatever trickery you are up to for a little longer before your opponent can figure out how to resist it. Sneaky.
RULE #2: IF SOMETHING ISN'T WORKING WITHIN THE FIRST 2 SECONDS, TRY SOMETHING ELSE. DO NOT CHASE A TECHNIQUE.
You know that feeling you get when you try your favorite armbar on a 300-lb gorilla and he just grins and flexes as it fails to work? Your hands are already on him; just because Plan A didn't work doesn't mean you disengage and go back to the beginning. Fluidity helps you turn it into a hammerlock. Or kick out one of his legs as he's concentrating on his upper body.
Afterwards, be sure to play it off like that's what you intended from the start.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Swords
So I've been spending a lot of time over the past few months working with the sword.
The Mameluke sword, specifically. It's a terrific weapon that is part of the dress uniform of every Marine officer. Marine NCOs (Non-Commissioned Officers, like myself) have their own sword, but I really prefer the look and the feel of the officer's model. I tell people that it's because it lacks a hand guard and so students can see my hand motions more easily, but that is bullshit, because you really don't need to see how my fingers move. They don't.
I just like the look of the saber.
The crazy thing is, the Marine Corps has included swords in their dress uniforms since at least the 1820s, but there is absolutely no training offered for them. No combative training, anyway. You are taught to draw the weapon, to salute with it, to make crisp motions on the drill field, and to re-sheath it. At no point does any Marine get any training on how to straight up Highlander off a head with one of these things.
It makes me sad. And I'm not the only one.
So back to training. Why the hell do you NEED to learn how to use one of these things? It's not like you carry one regularly, or are likely to be challenged to a duel.
You need to learn how to use one because it's a goddamn sword and swords are awesome, that's why.
Fencing was taught for centuries as a critical part of a young man's education, a refining step to turn a young lunkhead into a braver, faster, more competent, and more physically fit lunkhead. Teddy Roosevelt fenced. Aldo Nadi (1920 Olympic triple gold medalist in fencing, considered one of the best fencers of all time) commented that America was a perfect match for fencing, as our citizens were naturally athletic and enjoyed physical exertion (he wrote that in 1941. A lot has changed).
Even the Boy Scouts of America had a fencing merit badge (actually, a "Master at Arms" merit badge. It included fencing, archery, quarterstaves, and wrestling.) until about 1911, when a bunch of 1911 soccer moms decided it was a Bad Idea (it wasn't).
So anyhow, it builds character.
And it starts with weapon familiarity. Saber spinning gives you that.
There are a few really good resources out there for getting you started with this kind of work:
1) Spyro Katsigiannis has an excellent video on the basics of stick spinning for power generation.
2) Jim Keating has forgotten more about bladework than most instructors ever learn. Here's him breaking down a flourish from western saber fencing.
3) Your own eyes. I like to use VLC Player to slow down videos to 1/4 speed and analyze their motion on my own. It's an invaluable tool, and something that is inexplicably discouraged in some schools of systema. Use it anyways.
Happy training.
The Mameluke sword, specifically. It's a terrific weapon that is part of the dress uniform of every Marine officer. Marine NCOs (Non-Commissioned Officers, like myself) have their own sword, but I really prefer the look and the feel of the officer's model. I tell people that it's because it lacks a hand guard and so students can see my hand motions more easily, but that is bullshit, because you really don't need to see how my fingers move. They don't.
I just like the look of the saber.
The crazy thing is, the Marine Corps has included swords in their dress uniforms since at least the 1820s, but there is absolutely no training offered for them. No combative training, anyway. You are taught to draw the weapon, to salute with it, to make crisp motions on the drill field, and to re-sheath it. At no point does any Marine get any training on how to straight up Highlander off a head with one of these things.
It makes me sad. And I'm not the only one.
So back to training. Why the hell do you NEED to learn how to use one of these things? It's not like you carry one regularly, or are likely to be challenged to a duel.
You need to learn how to use one because it's a goddamn sword and swords are awesome, that's why.
Fencing was taught for centuries as a critical part of a young man's education, a refining step to turn a young lunkhead into a braver, faster, more competent, and more physically fit lunkhead. Teddy Roosevelt fenced. Aldo Nadi (1920 Olympic triple gold medalist in fencing, considered one of the best fencers of all time) commented that America was a perfect match for fencing, as our citizens were naturally athletic and enjoyed physical exertion (he wrote that in 1941. A lot has changed).
Even the Boy Scouts of America had a fencing merit badge (actually, a "Master at Arms" merit badge. It included fencing, archery, quarterstaves, and wrestling.) until about 1911, when a bunch of 1911 soccer moms decided it was a Bad Idea (it wasn't).
So anyhow, it builds character.
And it starts with weapon familiarity. Saber spinning gives you that.
There are a few really good resources out there for getting you started with this kind of work:
1) Spyro Katsigiannis has an excellent video on the basics of stick spinning for power generation.
2) Jim Keating has forgotten more about bladework than most instructors ever learn. Here's him breaking down a flourish from western saber fencing.
3) Your own eyes. I like to use VLC Player to slow down videos to 1/4 speed and analyze their motion on my own. It's an invaluable tool, and something that is inexplicably discouraged in some schools of systema. Use it anyways.
Happy training.
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