Rachel's Systema Writings >> Assorted Essays >> Tips for Beginners Tips for Beginners (written when I was a beginner myself!) If you are curious, taking a trial class is the best way to experience Systema. Words on a screen, even videos, can never capture it, because Systema is about feeling and intuition. If you decide to take a class, you will be welcomed, by virtue of your interest in Systema which led you to the class in the first place. If you are a new student of the System, do not feel shy if you cannot do all of the exercises or if you feel clumsy or awkward at first. All of your classmates—including your instructor, who is training along with you as well as teaching—have undergone the same learning experience. A sincere effort and desire to learn are all that is needed to be an apt pupil of the System. Find a teacher or a training partner at the official site RussianMartialArt.com Here are some tips that you may find useful. All of the below should be read with the understanding that I myself am new to Systema, having started classes five months ago. For helpful advice from certified Systema teachers, you will want to peruse the forum at the official site, RussianMartialArt.com. Reading about Systema can be helpful, although the deeper understanding will come with practice. You may want to familiarize yourself with four key principals of Systema: breathing, form, relaxation, and movement. You may also want to pick up Let Every Breath or The Russian System Guidebook (the latter is out-of-print but a Google search might turn up a copy). These are the only books available in English about Systema, and also the only book that Vladimir Vasiliev has published, which alone would make them of interest to any student of the System, but the information contained therein is well worth the modest price, and you'll find yourself referring to them again as your training progresses. Once you begin Systema classes, even if you've studied another martial art, you may find that at first, you will be mindful of maintaining posture, breathing, relaxation, and movement, and it will seem that you are learning something by rote. After several months of training, the movements will feel natural, not because they are learned, but because they are remembered. If you've seen toddlers learning to walk, you will notice how they fall softly. They have not learned that the ground is something to flinch from, and this lack of tension protects them from the impact. Systema-ists aspire towards the same freedom of motion, except of course we already know how to walk. For me, it took a few months before I felt this natural movement. But once you remember how to move so freely, you will not want to move any other way, whether you are in Systema class or not. Even while outside of class, while dancing, riding the subway, moving through crowds, or just going about your daily tasks, restricted movement will feel unnatural and artificial, and Systema movement free and easy. While in class, don't think too much. This is not advice you often hear, but in Systema class, thinking and planning will never serve you. Circumstances change too quickly for planning to be effective. Instead you should aim to harness your body's reflexive instinct towards self-preservation. Some of my partners, when they see me thinking too much, will begin to ask me about current movies I've seen or what I do for a living, and attack me while I'm distracted by answering their questions. You may want to minimizing the warning you give to your partner, and do not say which arm or leg you intend to strike with. This will allow for the natural reactions which are the most effective defenses. Use your peripheral vision. It's important to keep your eyes up, and do not focus on the attacking arm or leg. As it says in The Russian System Guidebook, "If you can't take your eyes from the arms or legs or weapons of your opponent, it's guaranteed that the fight will not end well for you." Although it may seem as if it's making your task much more difficult, in fact you can sense an attacking movement without looking at the limb itself, because all movement starts at the center of the body. The shoulder will move before the arm, and a movement of the leg will begin at the hip and shoulder as well. Additionally, your peripheral vision is capable of a great deal of perception, an ability that is innately designed to detect threats and to foster self-preservation. I found it's helpful to practice getting up from the floor without using my hands. For me, this is easiest accomplished if I get up immediately, using the motion of falling to propel my rising again, and I find it strengthens my quadriceps muscles as well. Mimic your teacher if you don't understand the movement of a particular exercise. This is not to say that you should always aim to mimic your teacher's movements; Systema is all about individuality and utilizing, not re-shaping, the movements that are unique to your own body. But if you are having trouble figuring out how to do a particular exercise, it can be a helpful learning tool to stand side by side with a more experienced Systema-ist and follow their movements. Keeping a training log enhances what you learn in class. I keep one, not obsessively, but when my schedule permits, I like to sit quietly after class and sort of de-brief myself on what we practiced. It also serves as a memory recall exercises. I should point out how much I enjoy writing, and for someone else, this might be more of a chore. Even so, I think there is much to be gained by sitting and thinking about class after you leave the school (while in class, you want to discourage yourself from thinking too much, and get in touch with the intuitive rather than analytical). "Just explore," our teacher often tells us. Our sparring is never too structured, and everyone will perform the same exercises with variations. The exercises we learn are merely starting points from which we allow our unique movements to guide us toward self- protection, freedom of motion, and harmony with others and with our surroundings.