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Post-seminar comments from Vladimir Vasiliev:
Tactics of Impact seminar in Milan was truly impactful. Thank you to the many participants from numerous countries around the world for the serious training. People tried to understand Systema very deeply and explore the physical and psychological parameters. As expected from the European participants, they have been very energetic and positive.
I am happy to say that Systema keeps growing and developing, always discovering new themes, new ways to share, new friendships and horizons. It is noticeable how the nervousness and hastiness are now less present in Systema practitioners, while smooth movements, calmness and power are increasing.
Many thanks to Giuseppe Iannone, an experienced seminar organizer and head instructor of Systema Milano for good and generous hosting.
I’d like to share an exercise we did at the seminar.
Condense the Crowd
All participants spread themselves in the gym, each can stand where they wish. Breathe and make yourself comfortable in this spot. Look around without moving your feet. When you hear the command to strike, try to hit whomever you can reach. You can deliver as many strikes as you like; you will also be receiving strikes.
Then, you hear the command to stop hitting and make a few steps towards the centre of the crowd. Breathe and get comfortable in your new location. The next command is to once again deliver strikes to everyone you can reach, still without moving your feet. As the distance gets shorter and the density of the crowd intensifies, it becomes more stressful and it is very important to understand your sources of stress and breathe to reduce them.
Repeat the stepping, breathing and striking until the crowd is tightly packed. You will realize that there is no longer any room to punch and your stability is reduced while your level of stress has escalated. You will also realize how important breath is for physical and psychological stability.
The objective of this exercise is to understand yourself, and to find ways not to allow tension to build and interfere with your work.
(An additional note: Your choice of the starting position in the gym also tells you something about yourself. You will choose to be closer to certain people and further away from others, you will select your distance from the instructor and other objects in the gym, all for a reason.)
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