Movement

[Clive]

Movement is easy, movement is EASY, so why do I/we find it so hard?

Someone attacks you with a fist or a weapon, what do you do? Freeze or leave a limb.

Why the do we have this paradox?

Misunderstanding.

But look at the attack again. Slow it down. Then look realistically at ways to get out of the way of the impeding danger. Then realise how easy this is and how stupid you have been.

:soapbox:

 

[Jay Bell]

Fear. Fear allows us to protect ourselves and stay alive...however if the fear stems from something we aren't prepared for, then it can hinder and paralyze us. Not just in physical confrontations, but life as well.

But look at the attack again. Slow it down. Then look realistically at ways to get out of the way of the impeding danger. Then realise how easy this is and how stupid you have been.

Agreed!...in life too

 

[Clive]

Jay, when writing the post I originally had fear where misunderstanding was but I decided this word covered things such as incorrect movement.

 

[Mark Jakabcsin]

Clive,
You wrote this "But look at the attack again. Slow it down. Then look realistically at ways to get out of the way of the impeding danger. Then realise how easy this is and how stupid you have been."

I can't say this is wrong but I know it rarely works for me. I find that this practice of analyzing after the fact encourages me to attempt to analyze during the attack. Any type of analysis takes way to much time during an encounter. Furthermore when we analyize we are attempting to find the 'right' answer or at least avoid the wrong answer. Often this leads to the freeze response you mentioned. So much going through our heads and so little time. What to do, what to do, what to WHAM!!! It's all over.

My suggestion is don't try to analyze. Don't try to solve the problem. SIMPLY MOVE. Sometimes it will be good. Sometimes it will be bad. So what.

Imho, it is better to move badly than not to move at all. This is the important part coming up now. Each time we move badly we are experiencing our BEST learning opportunity. It seems to me that Systema is an intuitive based learning system and if we are constantly attempting to analyze situations to solve the problem and arrive at the correct answer we are NOT learning intuitively.

Actually we are retarding our ability to learn intuitively. A large part of learning intuitively is learning what does not work and we learn that by doing things wrong or poorly. Over time we intuitively learn not to move a certain way because bad things happen but we have to do them wrong first to achieve the learning. Eventually the amount of times we move poorly decreases and the amount of times well increases.

This type of learning requires the student to be mature enough to realize first when the results are poor. Some folks seem to think everything they do is perfect no matter how crappy. If we aren't honest enough to admit when we have done poorly or done well then we aren't going to be able to learn. Secondly, the student needs to learn to enjoy the mistakes and understand their value in the learning process. This takes a level of confidence and maturity, which I think Systema fosters.

I will be so bold as to make the following statement. Any student of Systema that goes through an entire class without making any mistakes or mis-Q's has probably had one of the most worthless classes of his life and he has no one to blame but himself. During that perfect class this perfect student did not challenge himself with new and creative responses. He stayed in his realm of safety and didn't really learn anything new. Shame, shame, shame.

Of course the counter to intuitive learning is that some folks are just block heads and can't learn under any system. (Insert appropriate smile face here)


mark


:shrug: :shrug:

 

[Clive]

Mark, your statement on intuition rings true but surely you need to have attained the correct mind set when approaching a situation or problem, which can then be expressed at the intuitive level of which you speak.

Sometimes we find it hard to see the wood through the trees.

 

[Klondike93]

I will be so bold as to make the following statement. Any student of Systema that goes through an entire class without making any mistakes or mis-Q's has probably had one of the most worthless classes of his life and he has no one to blame but himself. During that perfect class this perfect student did not challenge himself with new and creative responses. He stayed in his realm of safety and didn't really learn anything new. Shame, shame, shame

I like that Mark, that is a problem I was having, I was trying to be perfect at moving instead of just moving. This is why I have come to like the live blade training cause you can't BS the knife, you move or you get cut

 

[NYCRonin]

Excellent thread! Good observations all.
Fear? Such a beast to tame (the 'taming of the bull' for you zenists out there). Often, taking the hit from a commited partner - or, if you are fortunate, from VV or MR - this will teach you that you did not die - your fear was more overpowering than the actual hit.
Live blade - a good choice...not for beginners though.
The 'slo-mo' sparring is a major help to remind one to move when confronted.
So much has to do with your breathing and state of mind. Although I do not recommend one go out and seek physical confrontation - I have often found that those in 'action professions' (as Valerie V. describes it) - they have an acellerated learning curve. This is not just because they have already faced the beast but because they take their training seriously (and laugh heartily during training) - too many are encountering the truth of what this method offers and then train half-heartedly - as though the 'magic' will be absorbed by ozmosis.
The movement will come if you allow it to - just keep at it. now more than ever, a sincere student has opportunities to learn this method. It will ALWAYS remain up to the individual to 'do the work' - and make it work when it is required.

 

[Jackal]

Mark,

That was one of the best Systema posts I've ever read.

Thanks.



-Jackal

 

[dc8ball]

I agree with NYCRonin,

in that once you have done the work and gain more experience Freezing will no longer be the problem. Be constantly challenging in realistic ways in your training and of course make it incremental.

Coach Chomycia
www.CoachChomycia.com