Another write up by George Borrelli. This time..it's about me!!And it's not what you may think...

I personally asked George to describe an incident that occurred with the two of us when we trained together for the first time, here in Austin,  Texas. His reaction to working with me was so powerful and strong,that it became one of the most moving experiences I've had in my life. His honesty and candor is something that many men lack in the arts. I value George's insight and work and am honored to know him.(side note: I earned the nickname "Medusa" in many training and one on one scenarios...women harness an energy rarely matched by men. I'm not embarrassed or ashamed by this, as many great female heroines,spies,assassins used their eyes and energy to control a situation. George is one of the very few (2) men that have stopped me dead in my tracks and caused an energy shift. Take note fellas.)

Emasculation in Training
Martial Arts (Siberian Cossack Systema)
November 20, 2015
George Borrelli  Systema Colorado Springs

I have experienced where certain women seem to be able to counter my
Systema martial art work, arresting my abilities to get “control”. In
this discussion, to keep it interesting, we will address sex, love,
fear, your mamma, and finally, dancing like you are Agent 007, James Bond.

After a lifetime of martial arts and nearly five years of Russian
Systema, I'm significantly challenged working with roughly 1 in 100 men,
but I'm challenged with most women! The men I struggle with are not just
the larger and stronger men, it isn't necessarily their size. So what is
going wrong and why?

In the cooperative training, while learning, you need a kind of
commitment or honesty to the charge/attack from your partner. Without
that commitment, most of the concepts and techniques are not of great
use. Additionally you need a kind of “lost in the movement” psychology
of the attacker. If the attacker does Systema very well deceptively in
his attack, then things get evened out, more or less. So that is one of
the challenges. You have to make clear when you want your attacker to
have honest intention or a deceptive Systema deceptive and evasive style
of attack.

In the Systema defense, and counters, as should be in most all martial
arts, you cannot “look down”. You can't focus upon the knife hand nor
the punching hand at the cost of not seeing the entire person and
keeping your head up. You must see everything from an upright, balanced,
structured “dancing position”.  Watching the hand makes your response
too slow as the hand is just too fast to catch up with. We say that the
speeding train already left the station is much to hard to catch.
Instead, you should stay aware of the total person in an upright
position. This gives you a fighting chance to catch the movement.

As important, you must take the subtle lead of the engagement, similar
to the lead role that a man has in couples dancing. That “lead” or
“frame” to the outside observer, is mostly evident by your structure and
poise, where you look, but there is an internal aspect as well.

Certain women are naturals at using psychological warfare. They have a
“gaze” that can cause you to look elsewhere. Their gaze is behind an
intimidating power. That gaze, if it gets you to look away, takes your
power, focus, posture and ability to work well.

I will explain what I think is happening inside the man when this occurs
at the hands of this special woman. If a woman looks at you with
love-dominating power, as your mother, as a lover, as a demon; that
intensity is something we avoid automatically. We avoid the eye contact,
and sometimes much worse occurs in us.

Culturally we men are taught proper behavior with women. We are not to
challenge mother. We cannot have (even feel) love with a woman other
than “the chosen or assigned” woman, our wife, girlfriend, and/or lover.
In part it is fear because we do not trust ourselves. We also feel fear
because we don't trust this woman putting her “spell” on us. We also can
feel inadequate with a woman's strong and powerful emotions as expressed
in her eyes and body energy. As a man, if we cannot be dominant we feel
in trouble, sometimes we feel emasculated. In effect, we “cannot keep it
up” in the face of such challenge. We “go limp” in the face of this
pressure. Please forgive the sexual connotations, there is no real sex
involved. But this is a dance between the two sexes, so the imagery
works here.

I think something similar happens when a very high level male Master is
demonstrating with you, you tend to be dis- empowered in the moment. You
don't want to challenge him. It wouldn't be appropriate, even if he asks
for it, there are many fears that will prevent you. You fall under his
spell.

In a similar manner, an energetic, confident, and emotionally strong
woman can “take your breath away” and take your power away in the
moment. She does this with a force from within her. That force may be
the force of fearlessness. I say it may also include “love”. To me, that
state of “love” is a state where there is no fear, no anger, no worries,
but a complete deep absorption of the moment and of you. A woman who is
able to love deeply and fearlessly can have that power. Not all women
are able to be quite this present in the heat of the new attack/defense
against a stronger man. Sometimes the energy works against her.

At my first ever training in Texas at the Siberian Cossack Systema, is
where I first met Olivia Overturf. The first time I trained with her, I
experienced something like a complete “castration”, a loss of my ability
to call my normal levels of power. I was “limp”, and I simply couldn't
do the work. I was unable to look at her eyes and face. Since her face
was “in my face”, I automatically felt a need to look away, and
downwards. Looking downwards took my energy, balance, ability to see her
movement in time. I was beaten by her heart, strength, presence, love
power. She was fully in the moment, and that rocked me. She took the
lead of the dance away from me. As a good training partner should, she
helped me by pointing out that I looked away from her eyes and looked
down to the floor. That was quite helpful.

The next opportunity to work with Olivia, I was very cognizant of her
energetic abilities and the affect it can have. I have “danced” with
powerful women before. When I saw her “fire”, I immediately “shifted”
and “became” like “James Bond”.  In the movie series, “007”, the hero,
James Bond often danced and made love with a woman sent to kill him. He
simply rose to the occasion. He still embraced and danced with all the
poise and correct posture, he still loved her, but at the same time,
took her balance, and played the man's role in couples dancing, he was
the male lead. But remember that this is a softer lead as in dancing
rather than a brutish behavior. A brutish lead has tension and would be
detected and countered. She would not follow.

So when I felt Olivia's powerful gaze this time, I looked into her eyes,
opened my heart fearlessly and “Became Bond”. My energy and my center
was The Center, not hers. I led her about the “dance floor”.

Little did I know and little did I care, that she had a blade hidden
with a premeditated intent to kill, outside of the choreographed
practice. But I was “in charge” - without being forceful, fully aware,
fully present, taking the lead that she had to follow. My having the
lead interrupted her plan, she was stuck in her own OODA (Observe Orient
Decide Act) loop. I would say she was stuck in the first “O”, observation.

The lesson? You must remain centered, no matter what. If you get
attacked by a strong person who can manipulate heart, love, fears,
deeply inside of your heart, your past, your deepest emotions, your past
pain, you must rise to the occasion! The same is true with a physically
and muscularly powerful person, don't let his power prevent you from
being the gentle lead of the dance of self defense or fighting.

Stay centered young man, take charge, become “Bond”. Keep your head up
and your calm awareness working, and by all means be a gentleman … but
lead the dance!

Janice Bishop reviews A.Karimov seminar in Austin ,Texas.

2015 Texas seminar with Andrey Karimov

First of all, I want to thank Olivia for bringing Andrey Karimov to the US. Without her hard work and dedication, none of this would have been possible.

I was so excited to see Andrey's shashka work, especially the videos of his students Natasha and Olivia, because I had finally found something in Systema that I could physically do once again after my forced retirement 5 years ago.*

When Olivia invited me to Texas, I really thought I would have to sit out most of the seminar and just do the whip and sword work. However, like most things in life, my prediction of what I could do was nowhere near the reality. I ended up doing 7 days of training and only sat out for the jump rope work and one other drill.  (The funny part is that I didn't do any shashka work until the seminar was over and everyone else had left.)

Out of all the martial arts seminars I've attended over the years, I think this one is in the top two for the effect it's had on my outlook of life. The seminar and the whole Texas experience was exactly what I needed at this point in my life. I had been aimless and basically uninspired for the past few years. Seeing elite people in action has a much more profound effect than any, "You should..." speech can ever have.

Having worked behind the scenes at other events and seminars, I can state this one was off the charts. I've never seen anyone do that much work for 9 days straight. I was literally falling asleep sitting up during the evenings. I'm not sure when or if Andrey slept while I was here. Olivia slept in until 7 am one morning and I thought she was really sick because I had never seen her sleep in so late.

If there was a motto for the Texas seminar, it would have been,  "Watch carefully, I'll show you how it's done. Now it's your turn." Everyone was challenged to step outside of their comfort zones and given the opportunity to grow. It was left up to each individual to accept that challenge.

I think most people here did work outside of their comfort zones during the seminar but it will be interesting to see who can continue to do so in real life and who will quickly step back into their personal comfort zones and choose to stop their own growth.

Seeing the pictures and watching the video clips from this seminar, it looks like any regular Systema class. Being here was a totally different feeling. (I trained in a skirt one day!) For me, it wasn't physically demanding training but it was mentally exhausting because all of the work required focus and precision.

Andrey's movements are smooth, precise and coordinated. He made it look so easy that my brain kept saying, "Oh, I know that." Right up until my body replied, "I don't know anything."

As an added bonus, there was a lot of individual attention at this seminar. Andrey's ability to keep the work calm affected the participants and helped everyone stay focused. The balalaika music added another whole dimension to training. It controlled the tempo of the class almost subconsciously. I joked that most North Americans don't dance without alcohol but by the end of the week, everyone's movements were much more free as movement and dance stopped being two different concepts for us.

Some of my favourite drills involved using visual references (like your shadow) to ensure you had proper form and movement. The last day, we progressed to using centrifugal movement to control your partner and also how to counter that movement to regain your own balance. That one drill explained why I always had so much difficulty unbalancing certain partners. It was not the size/strength difference, it was that I was not keeping the proper distance. Such a simple concept made a huge difference.

Andrey emphasized throughout the seminar the importance of being a good partner and attacking in a realistic manner. Again, precision and focus were required from both partners. Immediate feedback is vital when training. Your fist or training weapon should connect if your partner doesn't move properly.

Many people have said they don't want to do the dance part of Andrey's work but the dance movements are the foundation of the fighting movements. We spent a lot of time working on coordination and the payoff was immediate. Everyone's movement and timing improved once we started to get our legs and hips coordinated.

Thank you to Andrey and Olivia for an amazing seminar. To all my new friends, thank you for the fun times. I'm looking forward to bringing Siberian Cossack Systema to Canada. Let's go!

* I retired from Systema in 2010 on my doctor's advice. He told me if I didn't stop, I would go blind from glaucoma (from increased pressure in my eyes) mostly due to the jarring motions and being choked. This was (and is) not an idle threat. While I still have physical limitations in what I can do, Andrey's work allows me to train and teach again.

George Borrelli's review of training with A.Karimov

My experience training with Andrey Karimov, Siberian Cossacks Systema.

George Borrelli of Systema Colorado Springs, 12 November 2015.

I participated in training with Andrey Karimov in Austin Texas, seven days, 31 Oct – 6 Nov, 2015. Training hosted and logistics worked by Olivia Overturf of Cowboys and Cossacks, Austin, Texas. It was my very first exposure to Andrey or Olivia. This essay explains what led me to train with Andrey and the value received.

I'm a lifetime martial artist, having studied numerous styles for decades, starting in Judo at age four. I've spent the recent 4+ years with a focus on Russian Systema. I subscribe to all the Russian Martial Arts (RMA) and have purchased and study scores of videos, books, and pamphlets describing the various approaches. I've been teaching martial arts for many years, it is all that I do. I've had a focus upon developing high level self defense skills, using minimal muscular power. That includes the generation of high levels of physical power in strikes, throws, and take downs.

In searching endlessly for defense concepts for those out-powered, out-numbered or out-weaponed, RMA rises to the top of a crowded number of competing and compelling martial arts. After decades with many/most other arts, I've settled into RMA, specifically the various incarnations of Russian Systema.

Like many others enamored with Systema, E've searched for the very best instructors to relay to us the fundamentals in a clear manner for us to assimilate. I have my favorite instructors in the Vasiliev school and will continue to both train and hold high regard for their work.

As I've trained quite a lot, traveling throughout North America, I find disconcerting symptoms with the approach most common to training Russian Systema. That approach might be described as “allowing” the student to explore, experiment, and interpret in his own way what the Master is attempting to convey. Typically the Systema Master will demonstrate the high-end skills, then let the students explore, mostly on his/her own. Essentially opposite from the Traditional Asian Martial Arts, where every detail is typically described, and endlessly practiced for perfection, from foundational movement including the detailed position and torque of each toe, all the way up to complex fighting skills. Both approaches have strengths and weaknesses, and come from seemingly opposite directions. With both approaches it takes a very long time to master. For the majority today, more time is necessary than they can invest. Although the students no doubt gain various values in the training, it takes more time than they have to develop effective fighting and self defense skills. Sadly some drop out and seek a “faster” self defense approach from systems like Krav Maga, BJJ, or even MMA. I've found in most Systema classes and schools, only a few of the practitioners come close to genuine ability to defend and worse several students are lost souls, not being able to quite grasp Systema. I think it's problem caused by a combination of the Systema approach to teaching and the lack of time the student invests in the training. Occasionally it is a lack of mastery by an instructor as transmission can only take place from master to student.

I felt that I needed a combination of personal transmission from masters, with freedom of exploration and details on fundamentals, with foundational drills in specificity. I've been around the martial arts a long time and have been in too many real street fights. I found drills of fundamentals saved me every single time. I put in a lot more time than the average student but even with the time I can put in I lacked a Systema Master close enough to develop my own personal mastery to the level I was after. I found myself spending a lot of time and money traveling to get more time with Systema Masters in the hope that I could fill in the gaps in my knowledge and execution. It takes a lot of time with them to learn in that personal tradition. I also sought intellectual understanding and bought videos and books from other RMA leaders, who spend time explaining the details, such as Kadochnikov, Paul Genge, Val Riazonov, Dmitriy Skogorev, Kevin Secours, Денис Ряузов (Denis Ryauzov), Vadim Starov, and others. Even then I didn't get quite enough, so began/resumed training in TCMA (Traditional Chinese Martial Arts) and FMA (Filipino Martial Arts) as well as some BJJ, Aikido, and jujitsu, where I found many keys that I brought back to my personal Systema.

Knowing I needed ample time exposure to Systema Masters, I looked for and found ways to get more hours per dollar. Cowboys and Cossacks of Austin Texas planned to host a Master from Russia for a full week and possibly up to a month of training and exposure to him. I was in with that concept as it met the criteria and I was ready.

I had already been recording all the Systema concepts in writing as I learned and in turn taught them. High in importance of the core concepts is movement. I learned that movement is life. I learned and proved this beyond doubt in countless empty handed knife defenses. In 100% of the drills, if the guy defending didn't move off line, he died. What was missing for me was in-depth details of the movement and drills of them. There were/are drills but they tend to still contain a lot of the self exploration that goes along with them. I needed more specificity to fill out my personal Systema. I also had pretty good generalized ideas of the waves and figure eights already and the TCMA had convinced me of the importance of the hip movement. But there was still something missing.

I watched many Systema Masters effortlessly throw people. As I watched carefully, I could see uncanny resemblance to Aikido principals, just smaller and tighter. But I wasn't absolutely certain what the keys to success were in accordance with Systema. So I kept looking, trying, and analyzing.

At the Austin, Texas training Andrey Karimov showed us detailed hip and step movement and drilled us for hour upon hour and day upon day these fundamental movements, I knew that finally I was filling the gaps. I now had the “how” to move in great details. But Andrey's teaching goes far beyond this. He also gave me my own missing link to the Aikido concepts of the moving center of balance, and taking his into yours. Andrey's explanation and drills were eloquently simplified. Once we practiced the drills for hours, it was ingrained. I found myself tossing the largest man repeatedly to the ground without muscular battle and without his ability to resist. Andrey added music, similar to the way I see Paul Vunac of Bruce Lee's JKD use beats of the drum. That music is to help you move in waves, rhythmically, in control, and in calm. It helps you find the energy from one movement to launch your next movement. Most importantly it encourages you not to stop moving.

I have nearly zero interest in pure culture, maybe that's my own ignorance showing but I'm in this for the physical defense capability, not for learning how people dress or dance. That said, the training Andrey Karimov provided was entirely, every second of it, designed to make you a better fighter.

What I was realizing in the year or so prior to my exposure to Andrey is that dance-like movements actually make you a better fighter! Dance includes body carriage, structure, power in movement, proper breathing, keeping of your center, going with and leading the partner, moving efficiently and effectively, just to name a few characteristics. Andrey only included dance movement that is the basis of the actual fighting movement. He painstakingly showed us many fighting applications for each and every movement taught. In this way I got the details that I was searching the world for in rounding out my Systema knowledge and providing me with the drills to practice. When I used his three-step to get off line, when combined with loosely raising of the arms, immense power was launched off the the most powerful parts of my body and finally into the arms. If I continued to movement with a supple falling and rising either in reverse or in the circular pattern begun, partners simply fell. The gentle “leading” of the partner out of his “center” and either continued or reversal was one Systema concept I hadn't fully nailed until with Andrey. He helps you fill those gaps!

“Movement is life”. Not only that but the details of the foot work and hip movement are the basis of the Systema wave and figure eight power that comes from the body. Andrey provided us all of that! The power I could generate was incredible, simply following his foot/hip movement drills.

Finally, the model of teaching Andrey Karimov uses is the best I've found to date. It is “total immersion” with plenty of time to build up, starting with fundamentals. The closest I've seen to this is Martin Wheeler's four day Master Class or any one of the long duration Systema camps. Andrey prefers a full month! I found seven days helped me turn many corners in my Systema practice. I think without that amount of time, I wouldn't have had those breakthroughs. His making the training somewhat playful was a key in giving me the strength to last the entire week as it helped to keep me from over-doing and inserted some lightness in an otherwise very serious and productive training with a true Master.

In summary, Andrey Karimov's training is up there among the very best of RMA Masters. If you get the chance, you should give it a go. He's only been to the U.S. once. Should he return, jump on it! It may just make you the Systema Master you have long been striving to become. Further, the value for the dollar is unbeatable. His training is cost effective and his host, Cowboys and Cossacks work very hard to make it an affordable and very worthy investment in your personal training experience.