As I watched my daughter Natasha practicing the drills in the new film
Train & Play,
I remembered a lesson from my childhood. Natasha had a distance estimation exercise; she had to predict the number of steps from an obstacle, then close her eyes and walk towards it to see if she was correct. There was also a task I like of remembering displayed objects after having just one glance.
When I was in grade 6, about 12 years of age, I had a great math teacher in my boarding school. He used to be a military reconnaissance officer during World War II. His classes and approach to teaching math and life skills were very unique and to the point.
One day, my two friends and I skipped a math class and stayed in our dorm playing cards. There were 6 beds in our room, and mine was the furthest from the door. As we were enjoying the game, we heard footsteps approaching in the hallway. My friends immediately hid themselves in the closet but there was no extra room for me, so I dived under my bed. The covers of the bed did not quite reach the floor. Of course, our math teacher came in and instantly opened the closet to reveal the two rascals, then I saw his big shoes stop at my bed side and I heard his voice, “Vasiliev, crawl out.”
We were all taken back to class with shame. Later that night, my teacher shared a touch of his professional knowledge with me. He told me that I should always know my distance and my physical ability. “Where was your estimation and quick thinking?” he said. He explained that I should have known how many steps there were from the door to my bed, and I should have held myself up hanging onto the metal bars under the bed as he was walking up. I responded saying, “You would find me anyways,” to which he replied, “I would, but someone else would not…”
I am glad I could pass on some of this and other experiences from my life to what we teach in Systema.
