Friday, November 26, 2010

Systema Japan Lesson - 24th November 2010 - Strikes

On a cold winter's night in a Tokyo park, we went back to basics.

1) Walking and running with breathing - 1 step/ 1 In-breath and 1 step/ 1 Out-breath. This went up to 10 steps/1 In-breath etc. and then down again.

2) Push Up & Squat - slow 30 seconds down and up. At the bottom, we held our breath for as long as possible and then after that we did Burst Breathing until we recovered.

Sit Up & leg Raise - slow 30 seconds up and down. At the  top, we held our breath for as long as possible and then after that we did Burst Breathing until we recovered.

3) Stomach Massage - lying on our backs with our knees up, we massaged around the ribs and the stomach. When we found a painful area, we used Burst Breathing to reduce the pain.

4)In pairs, Partner 1 (P1)stood up while Partner 2 (P2) walked up and down the body with the fists. This was done on the front, left side, right side and the back of the partner. Emphasis was put on letting the fist find the right places for themselves, using the full surface of the fist and keeping the wrist straight. The movement was done with breathing, relaxation and good posture.

5) In pairs, P1 stood there and relaxed. P2 placed their fist in a comfortable position on the body, inhaled, exhaled and let the relaxed weight of the arm fall through the partners balance points. When P1's form slightly changed, P2 stoped pushing. It was just enough to feel the form change. When P1 received the push, they had to breath out, relax and keep a good posture. P2 placed their fists all over the body and did the relaxed push in different directions. The push doesn't come from the body or shoulder, it comes from the fist. This should be done without tension except for the fist.

6) In pairs again, the same thing was done but this time when you were able to find the moment when the balance was taken and the form changed, you let the arm go deeper in that direction thus affecting the person's form even more. It was necessary not to use strength to push but just to use the weight of the arm and let it go through the body smoothly. It shouldn't create tension in the partner.

7) Next, we practised striking our partner. Starting off with pushes, progressively the strikes went deeper and deeper. It was important to work to your partner's level but as Vladimir Vasiliev said "You shouldn't feel sorry for them but you shouldn't break them". The receiving partner had to breath out, stay as relaxed as possible and keep their posture straight while being struck. When the person finished receiving strikes, they had to do ten slow push ups.

8) With your partner, you walked towards each other and struck each other once. Next, twice and so on until ten strikes and then back down again i.e. 1 - 10 and 10 - 1 strikes.

9) After this, everybody did ten slow pushups, squats and sit ups.

10) Circle Up

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