I am a Systema practitioner and instructor. I remember taking a training session with Vladimir Vasiliev some time ago. With COVID, and the shift to on-line seminars, it has become easier to keep in touch with Systema HQ. He gave us an exercise where we tried to put on a leather glove without the use of the other hand. "No problem," most thought. So, we went on to try to slide and wiggle our hands into the glove. The more we strained and tried to get the glove on, the greater the tension grew ... not only in our hands but also in our wrists, necks, jaws, lower backs ... Many stopped breathing. Our legs became tense as we grimaced and went on to realize that without the other hand, it was almost impossible to get the glove snugly on.
In true Systema principle, we were told to focus on our breath, to relax, and to breathe into our tension. We were also told to take inventory of the emotions that emerged; the frustration, the anger, the self-pity, the confusion, the aggression, and the embarrassment. I started smiling and laughing. How ridiculous was it that we, well-trained and well-skilled Systema instructors couldn't get the gloves on our hands.
It was here that we revealed the profound nature of Systema. It's rooted in self-discovery and how to seek clarity of mind. In Systema, we embrace every experience, both positive and negative, as an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves.
This glove exercise, similar to slow press-ups or slow squats, forces one into a state of frustration and exposes the mind to how these sorts of simple tasks can generate negativity and tension throughout the body. These sorts of situations happen to us throughout the day, not just during training. We must be aware of how our minds are often on auto-pilot and we need to catch and correct these negative thoughts and tensions. Through the training, we remembered that we were training with a "Breath Master," and that our breath is what rescues us. The breath cleanses the body not only of physical tension but also unwanted emotions within the psyche.
You can find the glove drill in chapter five of Vasiliev's STRIKES: Soul Meets body.
I find myself wanting to do a teachers’ PD that features this exercise. Teachers often design instruction for an audience they know little about. When students (or their peers) struggle, they not only are clueless as to why, they lack the facility to deconstruct how it is that their learning even might have triggered the problems in the room.
Think about if from the standpoint of fight/flight/freeze. What’s the first thing that happens? We hold our breath. It’s a reflex. Systema trains you away from this harmful programming. Harmful? Yes. Your body’s systems, and your brain, need a steady flow of air. When you freeze, you deny your body what it needs precisely when it’s needed. To break this reflex, you must train it away. That’s one of the many values of Systema. It’s also one of the many reasons I recommend training Systema to the autistic people that I know.
If you’re in the Los Angeles area, you can always train with me. Or, you can find many training partners and instructors on the Systema HQ web site.