Solo Training in Systema
By Aran Dharmeratnam
One of the most common questions I’m asked about training relates to how practitioners can improve their skills outside of the classes. The fact is many of the principles we work with in training can be applied and explored in everyday life. Such principles relate to natural living, flowing with the moment and stillness.
Now if we look at solo training from a more simplistic perspective, it could be said that each art may have a different approach to solo training. For example, in some of the Russian wrestling arts, the solo training is used to accumulate strength, explosiveness and stamina. The practitioner will spend a great deal of time in the gym. In Systema, there is a physical dimension to solo training; but there are also other aspects. These parts would be of interest to those people who are keen to understand more about relaxation and those keen to explore the more subtle levels of mind body training. Over the years I have had people come to train with me, who have had established backgrounds in various arts and mind body systems, including Aikido, Chinese internal arts and very physical arts such as Thai Boxing. What’s been good to note, is that they have all been able to appreciate and connect on some level with the solo exercises found in the Russian martial arts.
The intuitive factor:
Solo training- the training we may do outside of class can be very intuitive. Rather than follow a rigid routine, we should listen to our body. As the practitioner progresses they will have a better connection with the body. They will understand the messages conveyed by the body. They will start to sense it’s current state- its weakness, vulnerabilities and its capabilities.
Our body is constantly adapting to the surroundings and the actions we carry out. The actions, movements and activities we initiate can affect the body, even hours or days later. For example, a person who goes swimming one afternoon, may well feel the effects the next day. So we need to be able to recognise our body’s current state to have a better understanding of how to train it. Then as the student goes deeper into the art, they should find that their intuitive abilities further guide the way they train.
Timing:
We appreciate the value of timing in a fighting situation. When it comes to solo training, timing is also important. We already looked at the importance of listening to the body; also bear in mind how at certain times of the day our body will be in a different state. Take for example, early morning. Consider how the body feels when we first wake up! Our muscles will probably be sleepy and consider how other aspects of our body are affected such as: our body temperature, our heart rate, our circulation, our mobility and our awareness. For this reason, the practitioner who wants to carry out morning training should respect the body’s current state and adapt the training accordingly. I know of incidents where a person gets up in the morning and, armed with good intention, charges head first into very physical body weight exercises, only to gain an injury. Maybe the person carried out some kind of warm up, but if they didn’t adequately prepare the body, muscles could get damaged.
Systema has some valuable exercises, used to prepare the body. These exercises are based on the principles of calm movement and breathing. The main thing is that they allow the body a chance to gradually progress and adapt to the day ahead. They help the person to reconnect with the body and awaken the systems.
Finding time:
For many people, life moves at an incredibly busy pace. People spend long hours working, travelling and trying to meet their various commitments. Some people feel that they don’t even have one hour to spare for their solo training. In my opinion, people sometimes find it hard to acquire time because they are looking for too much time. Rather than try to find that one and a half hour slot in the morning before work, or that two hour evening slot; sometimes just work with small measures of time. It doesn’t matter if its only twenty minutes. Even in relatively small time slots, genuine training benefits can be gained. This becomes even more apparent as the Systema practitioner gains a deeper understanding the exercises. As they realise the different ways the exercises can be applied and as they start to get a better sense of what their body requires, training time can be used much more effectively.
Here some of the more direct physical and psychological objectives of Systema’s solo training. It can be used to:
Prepare the body
Breathing exercises carried out from a static lying position can be used to wake the body and help it adapt to the day ahead. Systema students learn various static positions such as: lying on their back upon a flat surface, with arms lying relaxed at the side of the body. There are others; including the normal standing position.
Energise the body
From these different breathing positions, the student also learns have to apply controlled momentary tension to specific muscle groups. There is also a tension wave used in tangent with the breath. On a basic level, the tension work helps the person to reconnect with sleepy muscles, improve control of the body and invigorate it.
Calm mind and body
The various static breath drills or drills done using slow movement are designed to calm mind and body. Slow work has a calming effect; it can include walking drills and more specific coordination movements.
Remove tension
The exercises mentioned above help the person connect with a deeper feeling of relaxation. With steady practise, the person starts to understand that they don’t have to fight against or suppress various tensions. They start to discover how negative emotions and tension can sometimes leave the body simply as the person allows themselves to reconnect with the calm, relaxed state.
Recharge the psyche
These exercises can helpful after physically demanding training. Different breath patterns have different effects; some can be used to inspire and motivate the person, calming the nervous system and other physical systems. These breath patterns are sometimes applied in harmony with Systema’s body weight exercises, which include the squat, push up and body raise. This type of work is carried out when the body is in a more prepared state.
Increase awareness
In carrying out Systema’s body weight exercise the person is not just using them to enhance their capabilities. The exercises also help the person to develop an awareness of the body’s level of mobility, relaxation and current state. The calming effects of the breath work can also increase awareness of our surroundings as long as the person uses their breathing to connect with the moment. There are some mind body practises that can make a person go too inward and these can hinder external awareness. Ultimately there must be a balance.
Strengthen on physical and mental level
There are more physical aspects to training which involve the bodyweight exercises already mentioned. The exercises can be used to strengthen the body’s ligaments and tendons, as well as the person’s readiness to endure.
Understand balance
Systema’s bodyweight exercises offer useful ways to connect with balance. There also more specific balancing drills where the person may have to balance on one leg while working with the staff or practise jumping certain objects, in an efficient manner, making sure they land with control and good form.
Connect with stillness
Training in a quiet place without distract from the modern world, a person can connect with stillness. Solo training is a good time to connect with silence and that feeling of stillness. And as some of the Russian martial arts masters convey- prayer is also another useful aspect of solo training.
The list goes on and the above objectives are accessible if one is diligent with the training. There are also very specific exercises that can be used to hone reflexes and strengthen the dynamic equilibrium.
Solo training- an important component
When it comes to self defence training, generally speaking we do need to train with another person, but solo training does offer many interesting and useful roads for the dedicated practitioner. Whether its through using the breathing exercises, the balancing drills or through walking, the Systema practitioner has many ways to further their training and connect with the source.
To find out more about London Systema training with Aran: Email: aran@globalkick.com
Tel: 07939 678 356
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