The subject of “empty force” is one of the hot potatoes of the martial arts world. It has been “doing the rounds” in Chinese martial art circles for a few years now, with various proponents claiming everything from “weakening opponents with a swish of the hand” to knocking people out from a distance. Opinion is often sharply divided, with the defenders of “chi power” on the one hand and the downright skeptics on the other.

Exponents claim it is possible, without physical contact, to influence the movement of another person, even to the extent of making them fall, lock up and so on. The Oriental arts tend to describe this as manipulation of the “energy fields” that either surround the body or emanate from within it, the "power of chi".

The scientific camp claims there is no scientific proof for this “energy” and that any manifestations can be explained as being down to the power of suggestion, the body’s natural reactions, student awe, or just downright trickery. An American stage magician, James Randi, famously made an offer some years back that he would pay $1 million to anyone who could demonstrate a “supernatural” ability that he could not explain through science.

The opposing camp claims that modern science doesn't’t at present have the capabilities to measure these subtle energies, but point to the fact that for hundreds of years people have been using various healing systems with great success. By way of example they may mention the fact that many years ago we could not quantify or control electricity, for example, yet it is now a fundamental part of the modern world.

It is interesting to speculate whether there is any scientific investigation of these phenomena going on. It is often claimed that the Soviet and American intelligence agencies carried out high level research into psychic abilities, though information on their results is often either unobtainable or remains contested. In any event, that may be working from a different paradigm to the "chi based".

As for empty force in the martial arts - I’ve had considerable experience in such demonstrations. In fact the teacher at a (Chinese arts) school I used to attend made almost nightly displays of empty force. My feeling at the time, and now, is that what he did relied totally on psychology rather than "energy". If the student didn’t see the movement of the teachers hands, he did’t move for one thing. There was also considerable prestige given to those students “advanced” enough to feel the masters “chi”. I’ve seen similar displays from another teacher, whose Chi-powered performances would once again seem to be purely a result of students almost cult-like behaviour. I’ve also attended workshops from an American gentleman whose forte is moving people from a distance as they stand in line - though to his credit he, at least, worked with people who weren’t his own students.

Probably the most outlandish claim I heard was from a UK based Shaolin school. Their demo of breaking an iron bar on the head failed to impress a friend of mine (who had worked in the metal industry for years and knew his iron bars!). When he asked if the same result could be acheived with a "proper" iron bar, he was told by the master "yes, as my chi would alter the molecular structure of the iron before impact". Sad to say my friend had no bar to hand...maybe next time!

But back to the "empty force". For me, there were two problems with these displays. The first was the ratio of success. The second was the explanation given when the display was a “success”. A short time ago I invited an “empty force” teacher to one of my classes, with largely the same results. Some things that were clearly bio-mechanical in nature (such as the unbendable arm) were said by him to be “chi-powered”. Things that didn’t work - ie where the psychology and body mechanics were not “in place” or could be overcome - would variously be attributed to a person’s lack of sensitivity or even “energy weak spots” in the room!

More recently Systema has become a subject of the empty force debate - particularly after people see video clips from the Beyond the Physical tape, or of Mikhail doing "soft work" with some of his students. The resulting scorn and outrage was somewhat tempered by the explanations of what those clips actually represented, but nevertheless the incident highlighted again the dramatic polarisation of the empty force debate.

So, does Systema teach or involve “Empty Force”? My answer would be a clear "no" if we are talking about stopping attackers with "chi-power", or shooting beams of energy from the palms. In Systema any non-contact work is primarily taught and explained along psychological lines.

Psychological Warfare has long been a recognised part of military tactics. Whether it’s dropping propaganda leaflets over enemy trenches or playing loud rock music in a siege situation (such as Waco), the manipulation of an enemies psychological state or morale can have important consequences. On a more mundane level, you practice this type of work every time you walk down the high street - especially when you do that funny little dance with someone coming directly towards you!

How does this translate into our martial arts setting? There are a few different things to consider:

Firstly there is the “flinch response”, or the simple desire to get out of the way of something. This works by the simple fact that sometimes the body will move “by itself” to avoid pain or damage. A similar example might be if someone suddenly throws something to you - most times you will go to catch it. These are in-built responses that are very difficult to overcome. So one aspect of no-contact training is to take advantage of those responses - a dummy attack to get the guy to drop his hands, or a low “stop kick” on someone moving on at speed to make him pull his leg back would be simple examples. This can be worked up to a more subtle level - slightly dropping a shoulder, even using your eyes (I've used looking over a persons shoulder and nodding to good effect - most times people will turn and look).

So this is work on a basically physical level, the body responding to a perceived threat. But sound can be just as effective. You go to pat the friendly looking dog and it growls - what do you do? The dog has made no threatening movement, but it’s response has “checked” your intention.

Verbal communication can work (try creeping up behind your spouse and shouting “surprise!” if you don’t believe me). Not only words, but the tone of voice and manner of delivery can have a big effect. Asking a seemingly absurd question in the heat of a confrontation can "jumble" the brain for a second or two.

We should also consider that a vast amount of our communication is non-verbal. Neuro Linguistic Programming goes into this in great depth, how to adopt body posture to achieve “rapport” with another person for example. So here is a whole other area of subtle work that can have profound effects in a real life situation.

I’ve read a few stories recently regarding hypnosis. How accurate they are I don’t know, but according to one account an enterprising chap in India visited a bank and after talking in a “soft low voice” to the cashier happily walked out with a bundle of cash (now if only he would start a class up!). The extent to which one person can manipulate another may be considerably more than most of us think.

How useful any of this may be in a “combat” situation is, I guess, down to the way you train it. The difficulty I’ve found is that when you practice it in a group, everyone knows that “something is going to happen” and either gears themselves up to let it happen or to resist it. Some people also approach it with an attitude of “see, it doesn’t work on me!”. This is why it is always important, as Mikhail says, to ensure your safety first. The feint that fails becomes a hit. This is not a class-room game we are playing but an attempt to develop practical skills.

Experience has shown that throwing even basic level work in when people are not expecting it brings good results. In some cases - with a person drunk or off his head, there may not be a place for subtle work. In other situations it may get you out of having to resolve the problem without violence. Of course, this type of work is not done in isolation, it always acts as a back-up to physical skills.

The training drills for this type of work can be open to misinterpretation . People view a video clip and, if there is not sufficient explanation interpret it as "knocking people over without contact" or precisely the type of empty force work I described earlier. This is usually compounded by the type of evasive movement / rolling / falling that Systema practitioners tend to employ. Even "soft work" has been interpreted in this way - for a good example of this and the resulting explanations visit here

The interesting thing is that even when clearly explained, some people still prefer to view this as "empty force". Of course, the great thing about Vladimir, Mikhail, or any systema teacher worth their salt is that are quite prepared to demonstrate the work to anyone willing to come along and see. There is nothing hidden or mysterious about it, there is no element of "student control" involved, just a clear understanding of the situation and its potential consequences.

As far as training goes, I certainly believe the “psychological” should be a part of regular training. How far it goes depends, I guess, on both the skill level of the teacher and on the willingness of students to try something a little different. It should never be trained in isolation and, like any type of work should be kept in balance and practical. Its use and development can only add another useful tool to your work.