Assumption of Failure

The Systema teaching methodology makes little or no sense to students of other martial arts who see isolated clips of Systema training. I used to not understand this because I know why I am doing these particular exercises. Now I see why they are confused or dismissive, because of the "assumption of success" in their own training.

Most martial arts teaching begins with a specific situation, such as the attacker is throwing a right punch at your head. The teacher then shows the student what to do after he as avoided and/or blocked the punch. The rest of the technique follows. This is a good model and it does work to create skill but it does rely on one key assumption, that you don't get hit/touched.
This assumption of success is part of the martial arts myth of the untouchable master who never gets hit or knocked out. After all, no one is training in the martial arts to get hit more if someone attacks them. Everyone, Systema students included, would rather not get hit by the opponent.

Let's look at what happens when the assumption of success is violated. Training as if you will never be hit has two major consequences the first time you are hit. The obvious consequence is that it hurts and you lose the fight. None of your techniques work if you are hit; they rely on evading/blocking. The second, more damaging consequence is psychological. Your personal myth of being the invincible master has been shattered, possibly by someone with no martial arts training. This realization can devastate you, especially if you are a Black Belt or have some martial arts status. You may doubt your training, yourself or both. I have had people with these shattered egos come in my school and ask me to help them. The effect is very real. While "don't get hit" is everyone's goal, it is not the best teaching method.

Most Systema training begins from physical contact, from the worst-case scenario or from the assumption of failure first. Going back to the punch example, the Systema methodology is to touch, slowly push and then punch the student in the head. The teacher systematically desensitizes the student to being hit, both physically and psychologically. Further, the student's body feels and understands the effect of being struck. The body begins to understand range and the onset of a threat. In a brief time, usually only a few minutes the student begins moving before being struck, naturally. (On a side note: the puncher also learns how to properly strike another body, a further benefit of the Systema training methodology.)

Systema students quickly learn how to avoid being struck by, paradoxically, being struck. Another benefit of this training methodology is that if a Systema student is hit he doesn't freeze. There is much less, if any, psychological shock associated with the strike. The Systemist learns to use the force of the incoming strike--from the contact itself--to feed his defense and thwart his attacker in one smooth motion. Further, the same motions used to dissipate and feed back the force of contact are used even if no contact occurs.

When the stakes are higher, as in knife defense, the differences in training methodologies become clearer. Without training your entire body to protect itself, if a knife gets past your arms you have no further defense. You will be cut as deep as the attacker wants to cut you. Provided that your body is training to move independently of your limbs, if a knife does touch you you can minimize the cut or slash to the skin level and keep it from penetrating to your organs. This alone can mean the difference between life and death.

Teaching with the assumption of failure first versus an assumption of success is more realistic because most people WILL get hit until they get much more skilled. Even then, we all get hit. I have never seen a boxer not get hit in the ring. Training from contact helps to keep students from being knocked out until they develop the skills of the untouchable master. Again, Systema students are NOT trying to get hit first in a real fight and then move. This is a "You Tube misconception."

P.S.

This post is a result of teaching knife defense to a brand-new student on Saturday. Within one class Bob went through this teaching progression and was successfully avoiding most knife attacks at near full-speed.