A Class With Sword Work

Our last class before Christmas was very small, only three students and our two teachers. To warm up we did these very hard pushups with each person holding a knife. One lays on their back with hands raised, the other holds their hands and gets into pushup position, then the person on the floor lowers their arms and the person above sinks down as if they were doing a pushup. This is very hard without even holding the knife, which added an extra challenge. Then we did the same thing with the person above sideways (perpendicular) rather than above the person on the ground. Then, in the same position, we tried to stab or slash each other, difficult because of the constriction of having to link hands.

Denis brought us some wooden practice swords which were a little more realistic than the lighter wooden ones in that they were slightly heavier and had a hilt and pommel, rather than being just a loosely-shaped piece of wood. Of course they were nowhere near as heavy as a real sword. I was expecting some instruction on how to hold the sword or wield it, but except for a brief comment from Denis not to let the tip of the sword drag on the ground, we just plunged right into the topic. Just as we often do with knives, we started by pushing our partners while they remained in place and yielded just the body part being pushed, then we did the same thing while they stepped, and finally we stabbed and slashed at them with the swords while they avoided. Then we practiced counter-offence by using the sword to defend against our partners' attacks and return to them. This was unlike anything I've ever done in Systema class before. I always figured with swords, you had to spend a long time learning to draw and hold the sword properly, and that a beginner wouldn't start sparring until mastering the basics of sword-fighting. But we took a Systema approach to our sword-work and just dived right in. To make it more fun, we had two, and then three, people, attack one person as they used their sword to defend and counter-attack. I quickly found the principle of constant movement to be the key in avoiding the three swords as they slashed at me. I was most successful in avoiding when I stepped "through" the sword after I used it to block an attack, just as Edgar taught us to step through the "holes" left by your attacking partner when you manipulate them. It's kind of like the "hair-combing" method of passing off a blow, by "brushing" your arm back and over your head and stepping through. So it was less of a block with the sword than "passing" the attacking blades off with my own sword and then moving through the hole. It was a challenge with three attackers, and I found myself moving all over the room to avoid them, trying not to get distracted by looking at one person's blade but rather keep all three within my peripheral vision, keeping an eye on their shoulders, rather than the blade itself, to see the movement before their swords entered my space.

Edgar and Denis also took their turns with the three students attacking them with swords. I was very impressed with the way both of our teachers evaded the sword and maintained a position of advantage against the three of us. Denis in particular evaded us with ease but Edgar was also quite skilled in gracefully foiling the three slashing swords. I know that both of them have many years of martial arts experience and that they have probably studied an Eastern sword art, but I also think that Systema in itself prepares you to fight with any kind of weapon, and that the principle of constant movement will always serve you well when faced with multiple attackers.

We then spent the remainder of class working with knives in close quarters. We stood side by side with our partners, shoulders touching, and then one person attacked the other with the knife. Edgar explained to us that you have to feel the attack first, with your shoulder or your arm, rather than waiting for the knife to arrive in your personal space. An important part of Systema--maybe all martial arts, but I've never studied another--is to feel the attack before it happens, using perception and sensitivity, and move before the knife is pressed against you. Of course this isn't always possible, and that's why we also work on freeing from holds, grabs, and chokes, but whenever you can, move before you end up in such a vulnerable situation.

We also did this exercise side-by-side facing in opposite directions, and with our eyes closed. Then we tried the same thing back-to-back, which is a lot more difficult. You have no choice but the feel the attack, as you cannot see what's coming. Closing the eyes actually didn't make a big difference with the back-to-back exercise because your perception is most dependent on feeling, not vision.

Then we did the same exercises in chairs, side-by-side, and side-by-side facing opposite directions. Here the chair can be a useful accessory, as you can use the back of it to apply pressure to the arm or to the hand as your partner attacks. The idea with the exercises above was only to disarm the knife or foil the attack, but we next moved into more vigorous applications as the three students sat on the couch. The one on the end was the attacker, the one in the middle the bodyguard, and the one on the other end the target. The attacker tried to stab or slash at the target, who just sat there pretending to be a dumb celebrity, and the person in the middle had to defend them. We switched this around so the target and the attacker were sitting in different places on the couch.

To make things interesting, Denis asked my mom and I to remain on the couch and we'd defend against knife attacks as a family. Edgar attacked my mom and the third student came at me. We were actually very effective as a team and were able to use the attackers against each other to take them down. I was using my legs a lot as I've found, with your back against the wall, that if you simultaneously draw in the attacker in and kick their support out from under them, it can be very effective. Denis told me I should go lower with my legs and not target the waist, as it's more sneaky and surprising. My mom was doing very well against Edgar's attacks and we were all impressed. Then Edgar and the other student took the couch. To my surprise, they didn't find this exercise as easy as we did and our attacks were more successful. But there could have been any number of factors; perhaps we were more resistant to falling that they were. But without a doubt, working with the knife is one of my mom's favorites, and she likes confined spaces as well, because she doesn't feel her petite frame is a disadvantage as she does when we are doing leg work, for example. I have long legs for a woman and that's probably why I like the legwork, so, just as it says in the Guidebook, every body type offers some different advantage.

After class, Edgar and Denis related to us something they had heard: "Systema just happens to be a martial art." I thought that captures Systema very well. The more I learn of Systema, the more astonished I am by its depth. It's hard to believe I have recently finished one year of training at Fighthouse, because it still seems so fresh and new to me. Not a day goes by when I don't feel grateful to be part of the Systema community.