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Moscow Seminar March 2006
During the afternoon of the 8th March 2006 Vinny Campbell and myself arrived at Moscow’s Sheremova airport to be picked up by Daniel Ryabko, son and student of Systema’s Patriarch Michael Ryabko. We were taken from the airport to our home for the next five days at a health farm on the outskirts of Moscow. There we were joined by people from the US and all over Russia for what was going to be an intensive seminar in Systema.
Later that day we were joined by Jeff Sherwin from the Martinez in the US and one of his students Dennis who originally came from St Petersburg in Russia. Having experienced Russian Health farm cuisine we made our way to the local shops for essential provisions such as beer, water and chocolate before settling down to an early night.
The next morning we met in the gym at 1100 am and met Michael and the students who had traveled from all over Russia to meet this great master. For those who have not had the pleasure of meeting Michael he is humble and patient with all he meets.
The class started with running and other exercises that were designed to connect our movements with our breathing. We then moved onto holding our breath whilst analysing our bodies responses to the fear that this causes. This was an important experience for me and for the first time I understood the reasoning behind the drill. I found it fascinating that each person had their own individual reaction to the fear and that in my case it was link to a stomach complaint that I suffer from. Michael also explained that by praying in time with the pulse at these points we would be able to heal ourselves.
Next we moved onto having our training partners hold closed our mouths and nose so that we could not breath. Again the object was to analyse and control our fear. Michael suggested that we reduce the time taken from the point we feel fear and starting to pray, “Lord have Mercy.” This had a very calming effect on me and allowed me to remain relaxed.
In the next drill we moved onto having our partners apply strangles to us while we worked with the fear. Again with a little prayer and concentrating on breathing I was able to remain calm to a point where I started to slip into unconsciousness. Anyone who has been in life threatening experiences will know that the ability to remain calm under pressure is essential to survival. That way you can find solutions to the threat that are simply invisible to a person who is gripped by panic.
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