Mikhail Ryabko teaching Systema punching

Many fellow martial artists who know that I practice Systema Russian Martial Art under Mikhail Ryabko, ask me every now and then if his punches are as heavy as they seem in various videos around the net. Well, I can only describe Mikhail's strikes as "life altering", and so are the strikes of his son Daniil, from whom I have taken more...

A large number of people who attend one of Mikhail's seminars and get hit by him, stay fixated on the punches (man, how does he do it?). This is not necessarily bad since, as Daniil Ryabko once told me, "all Systema styles are good, but when it comes to punching the Ryabko style is way better". On the other side the equation Systema=Punching is missing the subtle essence of the art, which is the natural integration of breathing, body structure and movement in a harmonic whole. And, keep in mind that this indegration is good for you not only when you want to punch someone, but also when you want to play basketball, dance the salsa, get your groceries out of the trunk of your car... well, you name it!

Now that I've said all of the above, if you still insist to know what Systema punching is all about, there are two DVD sets out there that are going to help you a lot, Val Riazanov's Ballistic Striking and Rob Poyton's Systema Punching Power Workshop, that teaches you how to punch like a hammer, training with a... sledgehammer. But the basis of correct Systema punching is using mainly the weight of your fist (an attribute described as "heavy hands" by many practitioners of the art) and not the bodyweight transfer from one leg to the other as is practiced in boxing for example. So, although it might sound crazy, in Systema you don't put your bodyweight behind your punches. You can, but you don't have to, it is a choice but not a necessity. This is tactically useful, because without body movement, your strikes are much less telegraphic. For the MMA fanatics, who tend to trash Systema as "impossible to apply in the cage", please notice the punching mechanics of Fedor and Alexander Emelianenko. I'm not saying that these guys are practicing Systema - what I'm saying is that they don't use much hip torque and still they hit harder than most fighters. This I guess is the Russian way of punching, derived from Cossack Boxing, distilled by Systema practitioners, but also present in other Russian styles of fist fighting.

Anyway, if you're interested in how to acquire "heavy hands", here's a little video filmed last summer, when Mikhail Ryabko paid a short visit to Athens and the Systema Athens school, which was still under construction back then. When he found a hack hammer lying around, he took the opportunity to demonstrate an interesting analogy between using a hammer and punching. I think the point he's trying to make is obvious and a translation from Russian or Greek is not necessary. Just try it and let me know the results!



Always make sure you enjoy your training,
Spyro Katsigiannis
Systema Russian Martial Art & Filipino Kali instructor, San Shou coach.

How can I turn on the aggression & go on the offense during sparring?

This was a question posed by a user in Yahoo Answers. The answer I gave him was voted as the best one. Includes a number of points to consider if you always want to be on the aggressive when sparring, plus an excellent drill to help you back into the game if you find yourself becoming a punching bag for your opponent. Read on:

Question: "I'm way too passive during my freefighting/sparring matches. I find that I naturally wait and then react which always makes me end up in a bad situation. Anyone here know of some good training tips for turning on the aggression and going on the offense?"


Answer: First of all, not being naturally aggressive and reacting to an opponent's attack is not necessarily a bad thing. Lots of fighters have built their careers on good counter-fighting skills, right? So, to begin with, a good idea is to polish your counterattacks. There are many good resources out there (books, DVDs etc) that you can choose from and study, depending on the style you practice. On the other side, if you want to be proactive instead of reactive in your fighting, here's a few things you should consider:

1. An aggressive fighter must be able to depend on his conditioning. Are your body's energy systems able to cope with the needs of constantly moving forward and generating power? "Fatigue makes cowards of us all". If you want to be a hero, tons of sweat is part of the price you have to pay.

2. Having a plan always helps. It makes no sense if your aggression is only translated to charging your opponent like a bull. You must be aggressive in trying to force your game, so find out what your game is. For example, a fighter with Filipino Martial Arts experience might first try to angle and attack the moment his opponent tries to re-orient. The downside to having a plan is depending on it too much. Make sure you have a plan B in case plan A fails, otherwise you will keep on trying and failing which always results in frustration and a downward psychological spiral.

3. An aggressive fighter must be tough, i.e. able to take a strike and keep going until he overwhelms his opponent. Are you willing to take strikes and keep going? If not, once again, counter-fighting is your best option.

4. If you are not naturally aggressive, in order to have your chance on the offensive, you must first curb down your opponents aggression. This means that he must respect your power, attacking must always entail some fear factor for him. If every time he attacks, your counter-attack is a pat on his cheek, he'll keep on coming till he breaks you down. I repeat, I don't know which style of martial arts you practice, but keep in mind that beautiful, flowery techniques are useless if you can't back them up with power.

5. Finally, and this is the most important part, you must stop being judgmental about your game. This is not some sort of self-help BS, it's sports psychology. If every time you spar you're thinking "I'm not aggressive enough, I must attack more, oh, he's overwhelming me, I don't know what do do" and so on, your train of thoughts is on a downward slope. When fighting, your thoughts must NOT have either a qualitative or a quantitative dimension. Instead, focus on a set of simple, neutral set of instructions. For example, when an inexperienced fighter finds himself cornered, the first thing that happens is that his breathing is disrupted. Then, he just covers up, stops moving and practically turns himself into a punching bag. In this case he might focus on the set of instructions "breathe - keep moving - hit back" and repeat it over and over, in his mind, of course. Get your self a sparring partner and try the following drill (it is a DRILL, not all out fighting): have your partner throw continuous attacks at you (in combinations, not blitzkrieg). Your job is to block, evade and move away until you start to feel that you are loosing control, that you're overwhelmed and helpless. At exactly that moment, start repeating "breathe - keep moving - hit back" in your mind (or any other set of instructions you want to come up with) and unleash your counterattack till your opponent retreats. Now start throwing continuous attacks at him and have him block, evade, move out of the way until he feels overwhelmed. Continue this way back and forth, increasing the intensity if you wish. Try not to begin your counter-attack until you feel overwhelmed. This is a psychological exercise, the point of it being to taste frustration and still be able to spring into action, so you must get a little frustrated first! Give it a try and let me know the results.

Good luck with your training,

Spyridon Katsigiannis Filipino Kali Instructor
Systema Russian Martial Art Instructor
San Shou Coach
http://naturalfighter.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/spyrokatsigiannis
http://www.fighterszonecentral.com