The usual reaction to seeing this sort of training is "but how would that work in real life?" It can be difficult for people to understand the benefit of slow training drills, especially those used to seeing martial arts in films or competition. Yet ask anyone how fast they drove when they first had driving lessons? The next question is usually "what if". Once again, how many of these people, getting into a car for a first lesson, would turn to the instructor and say "what if an oil tanker overturns in front of me,spilling diesel all across the road?".

There is no problem in questioning practicality or asking sensible questions, but people need to first distinguish the difference between training and reality. In a regular class we are not there to fight with our class-mates - by fight I mean going all out to injure someone. We are there to train each other. This means working in different ways to develop different skills. Slow drills are an important part of this process in Systema.

It’s Not Cricket

Think back to school cricket practice (if you did it). The batsman is in the nets. He may want to work on some defensive shots, or on some big hits. So the bowler bowls him a few overs. Does the bowler chuck down a 100 mph bouncer and try to take the batsman’s head off? No. Everyone would think he was a lunatic. The concept is quite clearly understood by everyone involved. The bowler is feeding a ball to the batsman to give him something to work with. If the ball is a bouncer the batsman is too busy getting his nut out of the way to think about playing a stroke. At the other extreme if the ball is bowled underarm at 2mph the batsman has nothing to work with.

Now transfer that same logic into the martial arts class. Today we are working against punches. Do you go BANG and knock your partners nose flat as he turns? Or do you throw a soft punch that is already moving 2 foot off target then pull it back before it gets anywhere near your partner? I’ve seen both happen, and no-one thought to say anything. Transfer back to the cricket nets again and what do you think the reaction would be?

So what are we looking for at this level of training? For the partner to throw a slow strong attack that, if not dealt with properly, will not just land on the target, but travel through it to some extent. If someone is really trying to knock your head off they don’t stop on contact. The technique must be slow at this stage for two reasons - one it gives you time to study how both yours and your partners body react and work together. You can focus on what is happening as it happens rather than think "Oh Sh-" and trying to jump out of the way. Secondly, if you do get hit, it is not going to do any real damage. In fact at times you should get hit - it will start to condition you to taking blows.

Of course real life is not bound by rules, but the point is we have to start somewhere. And in fact the slow drill approach allows you to work in various realistic street methods - the use of chairs, improvised weapons, multiple attackers and so on. Milling is fine, there is a time and a place for it (and it is still bound by rules), but we do that to develop other attributes.

Working slow is also important at first when you start getting into takedowns, locks and throws - the question of injury again. If people are not too confident at falling or rolling, driving them into the ground is not going to increase their confidence and will most likely cause them to tense up and get injured. Working slow allows you to bring an element of sensitivity into your training - you can start working against your partner’s reaction to a lock or throw. You will find skill levels increase much quicker this way, not only the locker but the person being locked. It also allows you to become accustomed by degrees to locks being placed on you - -tapping out is not something we encourage, but rather look for a way to escape.

So should we work slow all the time? No, that wouldn’t be practical either. The tempo can be increased as appropriate to the students level and to suit the particular drill. Working slow initially lets you study your own reactions, both physical and psychological, to whatever pressure you are under at the time. How is your breathing affected? Your posture? Your strength of mind? These are all very important factors in a real fight, yet are often overlooked in a rush to "fight" each other in class. As the level skill increases so too can the pressure - more speed, more opponents, more uncomfortable positions to work from - anyone who has undergone the Systema method of four people simultaneously applying locks on you while a fifth punches you will know what I mean!

Remember, drills are just that - they are designed to work on specific areas. The culmination of training all the various Systema drills is the ability to integrate everything together under pressure - and it is then that the process of working slowly and surely will pay off.