In another drill he had us rolling up and down a sloping dirt track. We also had to jump from a raised area over a track then land and roll using the correct breathing and and form to absorb the impact. It soon became clear that it was easier to breath in on take off and exhale on the landing.

Sergej then found us some logs to carry in teams further into the forest. After climbing up a particularly steep section of forest we came to a large log pile. Here we had to climb onto the side of the stack then jump down and roll. We also had to learn to climb holding weapons, bound and as a team.

We then moved onto learning to punch. This started by learning to place the fist precisely on the body and using the correct alignment to hit without tension. The other side of this was that we all had a chance to practice using movement and breathing to take strikes onto the body, because we do not use punch bags in Systema. This lesson alone was worth the trip. With accurate explanations everyone in the group learnt to hit more effectively and it was to be an area that we would revisit many times during the week.

Before lunch we had to un back to camp. Everyone felt they had earned their meal and we all rested before the next session started.

At 1500 Hours we gathered at the side of the lake which is situated next to the camp site. This was to be our first introduction to working in water. Sergej explained that the chances of getting into a fight in water are minimal and that the purpose of the training is for strengthening our psych. One of the main teaching points was how we panic and tense up whilst under water. Also how this effects how long we can hold our breath.

To experience this we held each under water and learnt to escape and then dunk our partners in turn. This moved onto having our partners dunk us without warning and other drills where we would lie on the bottom and have someone stood on us. This is very testing psychologically for people who are used to water. Some of the students had very real fear of the water and this made the drills even more traumatic for them.

The water was cold and throughout the session Sergej would have us perform press ups and other exercises on dry land to warm up. Also we would practice various movements and defences before moving back into the water to practice them in that environment. At the end of the session we had a shot of vodka to warm us up and then made our way to dinner.