These are the words of Aran Dharmeratnam, based on observation and training during an intensive two day seminar with Vladimir, lifted from a discussion forum and kept here - enjoy.
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Post 1:-
We have just been fortunate to have Vladimir come over and teach a seminar in London. It was very dynamic. The maestro covered many different areas. Day one included :
mass attack work, work against two people grabbing limbs, ground mobility drills, and how to stand up amidst a crowd of stomping people. The interesting thing to note with mass attack work is that it actually seemed to energise and invigorate the body. It teaches one to remember that attacks can occur from all 360 degrees. In such instances, mind has no chance to even process the situation but body can learn quite fast how to protect itself.
In the work against kicks, Vladimir stressed the importance not forgetting the feet. He pointed out how sometimes we move head ( or what ever area kick is targeting) but leave feet where they are and then lose our balance. So the emphasis was on keeping form while evading kick and being able to use feet to move in any direction. In other words, the footwork must allow us to move forwards, backwards, laterally and in other ways
In working against the attackers, Vladimir never engaged them emotionally, he just avoided the attacks with a neutral face. There was no dramatic eye contact , in the way NHB fighters 'lock horns'.
We also did some of the regular exercises such as the push ups but again this would actually energise the body and teach one to work more efficiently. One of the most interesting comments that stuck in my mind here was the phrase - make sure you exhale into the body. I had heard Vladimir mention this before back in Toronto, but I could see the importance of this from different angles.....the concept of exhaling into the body helps to keep the body full. It helps to conserve energy and keep the mind calm. We sometimes thinking of breathing as the importance of accumulating, absorbing and gaining oxygen. In other words we can focus more on the inhale. But this comment about exhaling into the body remind one about the second phase of breathing. It reminds us not to exhale in a careless manner. As I type this, I'm reminded of the children's story of the three little pigs...and the big bad wolf who would 'huff and puff'!
In escaping two people grabbing limbs, it was interesting to see the wave concept being applied. At times the wave, almost seemed like something you could see visually. Vladimir seemed to create wave motion in one direction, to escape from hold then he would ride the wave using it to put the attacker down. Though, I am reluctant to write too much about this concept because, I guess it is something created by body, so any verbal observation will turn it into something too intellectual. Incidentally, Vladimir actually mentioned something about how certain knowledge can act as a hindrance...the mind can hinder movement I guess......
Day two also covered many areas, though one area that many will find interesting was the sensitivity work. Here topics covered included reading, feeling a person's intention. At the same time, while one person learnt to sense or feel intention the partner learnt how to project intention. I guess the ability to project a certain intention, allows one to deter and distract certain opponents. One of the interesting points made was about the blind spots in a person's radar..... It reminds one that the body stretches far beyond the visible physical shell. Perhaps the layers beyond the physical shell can sometimes be like the fridge door in a family household - all sorts of things stuck on it. It was mentioned how one of the body's manifested layers has a memory. Of course the area of sensitivity seems to run very deep in Systema ...perhaps to places where some would not even want to accept.
Day two also covered Vladimir's short work. He would project a combination of strikes - it was like a monsoon of fists, elbows, forearms, knees and feet. There are some fun demos of this on the Defence In Confined Spaces DVD. Seeing the work live, is always good, but its hard for mind and eyes to always follow what is being done on just one viewing....The work was very fast but the strikes could be used to stop, drop or move the attacker. In most cases- they would drop attacker! Then there were more specific abrupt methods used to drop an opponent to the floor - professional work.....!
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