Relaxed and strong

I have a Bruce Lee calendar hanging in my kitchen. This month's quote says "You have to create your own luck. You have to be aware of the opportunities around you and take advantage of them." Today I was lucky. I discovered that two high-level martial artists who were visiting from Germany also trained in
Russian Systema. Systema I know a little bit about - the breathing principles and some of the exercises they do to train the breath - enough to know that I was interested in talking to these guys.

I have trained with Scott Sonnon, head coach of CST (Circular Strength Training) and Alberto Gallazzi, head coach of Tacfit. These two do some bodyflow movements that are incredibly similar to what I saw today with the Systema. I understood that mobility was important. The real key, I found out, is relaxing the body. Easy to say relax but not so easy to execute. For the Russians it seems, strength comes from relaxation.

You may remember I blogged about flow in movement back in February. Why is flow important in body movement? I can now add to that list strength and control. When we go with the flow, life becomes effortless. I felt this when Stefan was able to use my strength to control me. He could throw me with no effort, stop me from getting up with only the slightest contact. He could help me get up with two fingers and a loose hand, no problem. He moved like water. I kid you not. As Master Ken said, feeling is believing!

I asked about exercises. He said they do exercises while relaxing. Pushups, squats, relaxed. How do you do pushups and squats, or any other exercise without tension? By learning how to breathe. He demonstrated a relaxed pushup. It was like a wave. Talk about flow! And yet, the body moved as one. Then he had someone stand on his hand while he lay on the ground and he moved his body around his hand. Very mobile, very agile, very relaxed.

Then he put me in a wrist lock. He said pain comes from tension. If you relax, you can escape the pain, and the lock. Of course, unless you are very practised at staying relaxed, this won't work because there is no time. But the concept is interesting.

My key teacher/mentor is always on me about being more relaxed. It's all coming together! Every time you learn something here, it connects to something you learned there, and eventually there is understanding.

These are the things I learned after spending fifteen minutes with my German friend. His English was limited but he used few words: he communicated through action. Talk about luck! I don't know if any of this makes sense, but it was an eye-opener for me and a step on my journey that I wanted to share. Systema is such a fascinating martial art and I would like to learn more. One way or another, I will discover flow.