The Power of a Skirt: Does A Skirt Have More Power Than You May Think?

The power and beauty of a skirt. 

I write this on the eve of many realizations...one being, that I have worn a dress or skirt consecutively for over a week now, trying to implement the self given "skirt-a-day" challenge. This idea came after I returned from Russia(actually, it was in the works there) and wanted to work on a few social ideologies that I witnessed during my time there that may or may not get the attention of a few people who knew me best back home.
While I'd like to think this idea/challenge really worked, to be honest..it was a bust.Not completely, not yet, because I told myself I would do 30 days and see how I felt after. The goal was simple, wear a skirt or dress for 30 days , see if I can get a few of my friends to join in the fun(sorry girls, I totally forgot to mention it) , and see if there are any social or behavioral changes in the people around me based on the fact that I am simply wearing a skirt.
Before the fem-police get called in...I have to go back to how this whole thing started.

While in Russia, I had the honor and privilege to train with a wonderful woman named Olga Malkova.

Olga Malkova...fierce.

At first glance, Olga seemed quite ravishing and shy. She has raven colored hair and orange eyes(ok maybe not "orange" but very light brown..certainly orange in the sun). Her smile almost sings and her voice matches her. She is very polite, courteous and graceful.
Oh...and she can probably kick your ass.
After a few days of being around Olga, she encouraged me to wear a skirt to training. I nearly fell out of my KEEN hiking shoes when she suggested it. My immediate thought was "what if I trip and fall?!!!" But once I took a look around the room, I noticed almost all the women were wearing skirts. None were falling because of them and ALL of the women looked really graceful and amazing. That night, I unpacked my completely crushed and wrinkled skirt (which I was advised to bring beforehand) and laid it out with great disdain. I had no idea what was going to happen or how even..I would walk to the gym..in a skirt...(I didn't. I changed clothes at the gym..because yes..I am that stubborn).

Olga and several of the other women, were really, really amazing practitioners and martial artists. For the entire time I studied and tried to train in Systema in the US, I complained and whined about the lack of female presence in the Systema community. I only knew of a handful of women who trained in it and we all kind knew of each other and it was nice, but some of us felt very ho-hum about training. I personally , was lucky that I had some great experiences with some great instructors but overall, I always felt like I was missing something or, that I was going to get killed on the mat. Either way, there certainly wasn't a balance and I had been told many times, Systema is not for women.
SO of course, my shock in finding Andrey Karimov and his almost even number of women vs men seminars, was astounding. When I asked him if he trained women or taught them Systema, he replied "Why wouldn't I? Women are a strong social aspect of the world and are great to learn from!"...um. wha?
Not at all like any answer I heard before and also the biggest reason I went to Russia to train with him. There were just as many women at this seminar as there were men, and it certainly helped for the dancing part! But to watch these women toss men around like it was easy, was beautiful all on it's own, and in fact, I would have to say the epitome of perhaps what "soft work" should be.

I digress....
The day I walked into the gym in my skirt(or one of them), you could hear a pin drop. It was awkward to say the least and I felt probably the most embarrassed I had ever felt in my life. The only other closest example I had to this feeling was when I went to a friend's house for her birthday party and her husband did not recognize me (after knowing me for 10+ years) because I was "cleaned up". In fact, he almost didn't let me in the house! Had I known this whole time that wearing a skirt had THIS much power, perhaps I would have done it more...
and that was precisely Olga's point. Not that there were any stipulations or feminazi rules about it, but she could fight, dance, swordplay, sing and then cook, all in a skirt, all without falling and all with not even breaking a sweat. She was fully in control of her body, her movement and her grace. She, was in CONTROL.

Please don't let me fall on film, with a sword
(that was my mantra)

nailed it..sort of.

Once I started training, I quickly realized how NOT in control I was. I damn near tripped over my skirt every 5 seconds and of course, this was the same day we filmed a swordplay video.(ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!IN A SKIRT, ON FILM, WITH A SWORD ??!! UGHGHGH)... yes..that happened. Not only did the sword get caught in my skirt every 3 seconds, my frustration level was increasing and my mental state was getting frazzled. Now, this became a challenge. I looked around the room and not one other woman had this same issue, not even the female children. Not one. I was devastated, but trucked on.That night we danced until 2 am. I am pretty sure I mooned everyone there with the number of times I stepped on my skirt and pulled it down accidentally. Grace factor=zero.

The next day, I returned in my hiking pants(which fit by now because I was losing weight from all the physical activity), only to find the men AND women , slightly disappointed that I was not wearing a skirt again. AND, they told me about it!!! I almost felt bad that I had let them down, but wondered what all the fuss was about. The men told me I looked beautiful and the women said the same. It was probably the most compliments I had ever had, in my life.
Why would I not want more?
In fact, a few of the men and women asked if my own boyfriend treated me any different wearing a skirt and I had to embarrassingly admit, he did not. They encouraged me to wear skirts more often to represent a more graceful and feminine energy and maybe , he would hold my hand, or carry my things...maybe.

Of course, this single-handedly went against everything I strived for my entire adult female life. I wouldn't say I was a "feminist" but I would say that I could carry my own things,open a door and hell, I was known to have some of the most random, male dominated hobbies around. I'm not entirely sure if that's being a female in Texas , or just because I knew I had to do what made me happy. The cost was becoming obvious: I lost my feminine balance. Big time. Not only have I noticed in the past 2 years or so, that typically, I am the one holding the door open for men in public, but also I am the one fixing things, I am the one maintaining order..I was also, extremely exhausted. My body has slowly been giving off warning signs, everything from clusterheadaches to a horrific and nightmarish miscarriage. I was exhausting myself by doing everything and working hard to keep the ship from sinking.
But I didn't realize this until I was in Russia. During one of our discussions, one of the men told me how important it was for women to rest, therefore, the men
carried and chased after the young children from the time they could walk, until the children were self-sufficient. (Yeah, mom friends..we did it wrong).....He stated that women were really the driving force in the household and their support, love and nurturing spirit were all necessary to keep men motivated through anything;long work hours, financial loss or even..war.He also stated "this is why it's called "Mother Russia", she is revered.

not even his baby, ya'll, he's just helping.

This sentiment almost had me in tears. Mr. Karimov himself had told me that women were like a nuclear power plant and you never wanted it to explode....(LOL). And by the looks of how these men treated not only their own wives, but me, well there was something certainly to be said about it all.
I was slightly catered to, by some of the men in Russia. And by "catered to" I mean really, they were just attentive. If I looked too pensive , they checked to see if I was ok. Ran out of water?...some on the way...Raining? was covered up....Cold? Offered a jacket or to huddle in close. And usually, my arm was guided on almost every expedition we went on..in unison with many other women..... the women really were cared for. All of them.

Roman Khozeev knows how to do it right!!

Now, the personal debate for me was surely that it could not be just the skirt. However, in retrospect, what man would want to walk with a woman, who is not flowing gracefully with a long skirt, next to him? Not many. And when I brought up the actuality of what it is like in the states, that not many men walk around holding the hands of their female companions in the US, the Russian men were shocked.
Not only was this commonplace for the men in our group, it was common for the men to make sure if anyone else's wife was not accompanied, that one of them would make sure she was taken care of. All the women felt really, really safe. This was something I had not felt in ...well, ever.

Again, I was not sure if this was about the skirt, or about the maturity level of the men. All I can say
is that the women were amazing fighters and practitioners.
They were on point with their skill and grace and I learned so much from each one of them. The men did not take it easy on them in training and every female held her own. It was amazing and beautiful all at the same time. The women had an empowering tone overall and one that I admired daily. In fact, I sent a text message to a friend in the states and told her about this skirt phenomenon. While I waited for her response, I realized that I wore skirts before but usually on special occasions and that, on average, wearing a skirt on any other occasion other than a night out or church Sunday, meant you were a lazy , hippy female , who perhaps had no laundry left. Her response was exactly what I had thought in my head of when I personally stopped wearing skirts..."I usually only wear skirts when I don't have to chase the baby around".

this picture got alot of feedback on many levels

Almost simultaneously , I noticed one of the men in our group, carrying his baby and his
wife was training right next to him, in a skirt. To both their credits, they each trained with baby in hand and switched duties during training , so they could get equal amounts of time participating. This was not something I had going for me when my son was this age, but I could totally see the point of not wearing a skirt one your baby is walking...UNLESS , your male counterpart is equally responsible for the baby rearing.

yes..she took him out with a baby in hand.

Again, looking around the room, and in reflection of our trip, the parts of me that were lost in my personal journey, became the parts of me that were immediately brought back to the table. Often times, women lose their sense of identity when they become mothers and wives and they become all too secondary of a thought in a household. They are easily overlooked, unappreciated and even, left behind and this is exactly what happened to me. I became only "mom" and nothing more which almost everyone at the seminar noticed.....
getting to a point of how to change this , was almost all too much for me to deal with and at times, it is what certainly broke me at the seminar. My emotional state when from being numb, to wondering what I had done in my life and relationships, to how would I be able to recover..?? Yup..all from a skirt...

So, Olga's advice was simple..."Olivia..start small, start wearing a skirt and see how you feel , on the inside, the rest will radiate from within."

She's good, because yes, I feel great but really, the only person who noticed was another friend of mine who coincidentally , ALWAYS wears skirts and dresses. But I also noticed that she has amazing physical balance(she wears heels all the time) and I have literally seen her ask for help when she needs to carry something heavy and no one rolls their eyes at her(um, if I ask for help to carry something heavy, often times it is because I am being sarcastic---hence sub-issue part 2). While her encouragement for hanging in there with the skirt challenge is amazing, I wonder still, what social impact it will make on the people around me? What if I become someone who asks for help after years of not needing any? What if I become someone who can receive a compliment without snorting a sarcastic laugh after...? What if this skirt thing works wonders in my training balance and grace (something I've struggled with my entire adult life)???

Hopefully some of my skirt antics will be available on DVD or video soon and you too, can see my blunders during training with a skirt. So far, it's only day 9 of wearing a skirt and I've tripped and fallen twice, not bad at all. I rather enjoy the whole skirt thing and if you'd like to join in the challenge let me know!!

For the Love of Children:The Importance of Emotionally Safe and Structured Training with Kids in Systema

Alot of people may be surprised at the heavy dose of children's work Andrey Karimov offers at his extensive seminars. Our 21 day seminar in St. Petersburg offered up a nice sized portion of in depth work with children. Before I go any further, Mr. Karimov is a practicing psychologist and has carefully spent several years constructing these modules for children and their emotional health. Each game and series is designed with a few key components in mind :

• identifying children's deep, emotional issues by gauging responses to activities
• helping each child work through such issues
• allowing parents to partake in witnessing their children's independence and strengths 
• formulate a strong sense of identity and free thinking 
• allowing children to try and succeed in a safe, nurturing environment without judgement

Does your kid have the wiggles? Body language is very telling.

• giving parents, specifically fathers, ideas and formulas to help improve relationships with not only their children, but the children around them

and much more.... each activity starts out quite abruptly with the balalaika(yes, I know...you don't know how to play one, don't have one, or don't understand why it's needed....) Remember the game musical chairs? The music played while we all ran around to get to the last chair but the minute it stopped, it was game on?
This, is how the balalaika is used. Now , if you try this in your school, you can certainly use whatever instrument or music of choice but the key is to be consistent. As with anything with children, consistency fosters stability.

Is you Systema kid's class helping or hurting them?

Mr. Karimov often started each session simply by monitoring the children. It was almost a given that the adults in the room were not to interfere or redirect the children in any way...(and if you know me personally, you must know how incredibly difficult this was for me). Without any cues or directions, Karimov began to play the balalaika at a moderate pace, he then would build speed and abruptly stop. The kids, once they heard the music, would run around the room(floor covered in mats) and drop to the ground and stop, when the music stopped. Usually, there would be a few seasoned kids in the group that knew of the routine and seemingly, the other kids just followed along. Again, not much , if any direction from the adults. Once the children stopped(most dropped to the floor face down), Mr. Karimov would quietly point out the children who were unable to keep still...the ones peeking, wiggling, shifting positions, or still walking around....
These were your rule breakers , for lack of a better term.Which is not necessarily a bad thing. These kids also maybe had a difficult time in general by not having a calm demeanor and often times would look back at their parents for approval to make sure they were doing the drill correctly. Again, there was alot to be said by witnessing this display of simple body language.
This all begged to ask the question, what were we teaching our children, in "Systema" in the United States? I know of maybe a few instructors who have done a great job formulating really amazing kid's classes , but that's only a handful. I've found more instructors who have completely thrown the baby out with the bathwater by having kids line up only to punch one another and claiming this was their anti-bullying program.
No one talks about the psychological effect of improper training, or how to help parents foster better relationships or even...dare I say, gets fathers involved?? Not anyone I've heard of.

And how does this pertain to you , as a martial artist? If you have a child, and you spend a ton of time away from you child, training...doing mainly "systema" things, why not utilize that time to the benefit of your parent/child relationship? Not only did some of our best warm up routines come from working with the children at our seminar, almost all of us had a ton of fun, were completely limber and loose, and all of us reached a level of training much more effectively than if we JUST DID SIT UPS.

Barring the musical mat exercise, the demonstrations that followed blew my mind(luckily, the adults got to play too!)...

The great and unmatchable Masha...you'll be hearing more about her

One demonstration in particular, knocked me off my feet, figuratively and literally. Mr. Karimov and a partner each had one end of a rope...they dragged the rope towards and lineup of children and either shifted the rope up or down forcing the children to make a snap-quick decision. Sounds easy? It's not. The goal of the game was to get children to understand that adaptability really is dependent upon them, not the people around them, and that they alone, were responsible for their decisions, so merely mimicking their cohorts may not work for them, especially since the rope was being moved at different angles. And guess what? Same game for adults and almost all of us fell. Why? Perhaps because we have what Mr. Karimov refers to as "maladaptive programming". We are conditioned to overthink, overdo, and over prepare for everything. Pre-jumping over a rope , as an adult, will most certainly land you on your face..(yes, this happened to me). Waiting until the right moment to decide whether you should leap, drop to the ground or merely slowly walk over the rope, was a key way in identifying what your natural behavioral patterns were, and for children, this is key for their parents to understand.

• Are you raising an overconfident child who is impulsive? Early rope jumper.
• Are you raising a child who struggles to decide what to do and goes with the crowd? Cautious rope jumper.
• Are you raising a child who makes the very obvious wrong choices frequently? Opposite end goal determination rope jumper.
• Are you raising a child who waits until the very last minute , but makes a successful choice? Again, cautious, yet thoughtful rope jumper.

Not as easy as it looks. Better than sit ups, squats, rolls and pushups.

You get the idea. And this was only one game, of many, many games. This game, by the way, works great for adults and the kids LOVE to watch the adults play. Not only do you get a heavy dose of plyometrics on board, you start to really work on yourself. Now that I look back at pictures of myself doing this demo, I can reflect on what it felt like participating. Not only was I wearing a skirt, I
noticed that I waited until the moment the rope touched me to move. Again, I'm not a big fan of using excessive energy ( I'm old, what can I say?), but this also is a slow process I've learned to use throughout my life. Normally, I would have panicked, already wondered how I would jump or which direction, but knowing that Karimov was liable to raise the rope in any direction almost gave me a better sense of calm in my own quick decision making and adaptability skills. I , in fact, was relearning to trust my own judgement.

Again..this was a game designed for children, but worked really well for all of us. I will be continuing writing about child-specific , and emotionally safe children's games and training from the seminar in St. Petersburg with a highlighted focus on the importance of adequate work with children. Oh, and at the end of each children's session, the kids lined up to thank the adults... mutual respect was very key in wrapping up each session.

***Photos courtesy of the great Evgeny"Eugenious" Pechkin. You'll be hearing more about him too.

Guest Blogger Jesse Carrillo interviews Yuri Sheshukov of Siberian Cossack Systema

Yuri Sheshukov

Yuri Sheshukov is an instructor from the Siberian Cossack Systema school of Russian Martial Art. I recently met him and trained under him in St. Petersburg during a 21 day seminar. Sheshukov gave instruction on knife fighting, pole/stick fighting, the Cossack Shaska, the Nagaika (Cossack whip), lower acrobatics, rolls, armed/unarmed takedowns for Military or Police, and for lack of better wording on my part, “drown-proofing” or working with fears in a water environment. In spite of the long hours and constant training, during three separate meetings, we were able to sit down and converse through a translator. The following are my notes that I took during these talks and I present them here to shed light on a very gifted instructor. Any shortcomings in the following interview are entirely mine. -Jesse Carrillo

JC: Where did you grow up?

YS: I lived in Kazakhstan until the age of 5 in a village near the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk. My parents then moved to Yakutia in the Sakha region. In Sakha, I attended school and had sport interests in power lifting, Sambo, cycling, camping and cross-country running.

JC: Tell me about your Cossack heritage.

YS: Growing up I knew that my grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and their fathers were involved in many Russian military conflicts in our history. The villages and areas where I was born were at important crossroads throughout history and were known as “Siberian” regions. All of the villages were historically Cossack villages that defended Russia from different threats. The central parts of Kazakhstan is steppe country and historically these areas were conflict zones with enemy tribes that were called “jungars”, examples of these marauders were peoples like the Afghans and Chinese. When Russia was expanding its territory in the 19th century, Forts were built and garrison towns and settlers would be brought in. Alma-ata (“father of apples”), the capital of Kazakhastan was a fortress town formerly known as Verniy (“Loyal” or “Faithful”).

At this time my ancestry can be traced to Cossack areas and even to Russian immigrants in Poland. During these periods of Russian expansion, the Russian government needed skilled and loyal Russians to move to these areas of recent expansion like Kazakhstan, and thus my ancestors came to be in Ust-kamenogorsk.

JC: What years did you serve in the Military and what branch?

YS: After high school I entered a Military Academy in 1991 where I graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1995. I was commissioned as a Lieutenant and began to serve in the VDV or Airborne branch. As an Airborne officer I was assigned to a reconnaissance unit. As my career progressed I served on a Brigade staff after company command. Our forces were trained and prepared for Airborne warfare similar to the Airmobile concept in the U.S.A. For example, taking over enemy Nuclear bases. Russia has large borders and this is primarily why there are many Airborne units. Our specialties were airborne drops in the rear areas of the enemy so as to surprise them.

JC: When did you begin to train in Systema?

YS: I began training Systema while in the Military Academy. I initially was interested in other types of martial arts like Filipino knife styles. As a Military officer one is responsible for the readiness of their men, and I then moved on to arts that I believed would assist Airborne soldiers in completing their mission. In the Army, I met an officer who would instruct me in the Kadochnikov system and ROSS which I then would pass on to the troops. When my Army service finished in 2000, I decided to not re-enlist and to begin a civilian life. During this time, a friend told me that I had good martial arts skills and that I should become an instructor and begin training groups. I then began training groups with what I had learned in the Army. I became a serious student of the martial arts and began to explore different types of martial arts and the cultures from which they came from so as to gain better understanding. I conducted training on my own for seven years until 2009 when I met Andrey Karimov. I then began collaborating with him.

JC: When did you begin working with the Shasqua (Cossack saber)?

YS: In Novossibirsk there is a Children's sports school for saber and fencing that is well known in Russia. Since the 8th grade I had been fencing and I began working with the Shasqua in 2009. I can say that between the ages of 15-17 my focus was on sports weight lifting, then between the ages of 17-21 my focus was on modern military weapons (Military Academy). Since that time and prior to 2009 my focus was on knives and stick fighting along with the unarmed combatives.

JC: Are there different schools of thought concerning the use of the Shasqua?

YS: Technically there is only one style but there are many small variations when it comes to speed and techniques. The Shasqua saber has been around in Russia since the 12thcentury. Approximately 300 years ago the idea of the saber made its way to Europe and its use there has been heavily documented. This documentation did not occur in Russia because the Shasqua and its use was deeply rooted for so long that the need to document was not an issue.

JC: What qualities other than learning the particular Shasqua “swordplay” does working with the Shasqua instill?

YS: The Shasqua shapes one as a “tool”, and this “tool” is correct. No matter what you are doing, you will be capable of completing those tasks. The Shasqua instills discipline in that working with sharp weapons, you must be aware of the consequences. The Shasqua teaches one about “brakes” and when to implement them. The ability to focus is also reinforced.

JC: Who are the trainers that influenced you?

YS: A.A. Kadichnokov for one. Also, my trainer in the military was of the R.O.S.S. system. In the military there is down time and along with actual training, I would also spend it watching videos of these combatives so as to enable me to be proficient. The task of an officer is to teach his soldiers. I analyzed the training videos and would take the lessons apart so as to enable me to pass them on to my soldiers. I read A.A. Kadochnikov's books and I dug really deep into the subject so as to be able to teach VDV Airborne soldiers.

JC: Along with what I have seen during this Russian martial art seminar what other type of training do you offer?

YS: I work Systema concepts with children, specifically in 3 categories within the age groups of 4-17 years old.They are very young children's groups, children's groups and teenage groups. I train bodyguards, both new comers to the field (a three week course) and refresher training for active persons in the field.

Sheshukov works with children of all ages.

(JC to the reader, I took the liberty of adding some of YS's other types of work so as not to leave anything out. This was taken from a vita he provided: 

- Workshops for parents on child education in the framework of Russian culture

 - Participation in military-patriotic gatherings "Siberian outpost” (Man camps) 

 - Production of training films and other materials

 - Performing as Cossack ensemble "Siberian Cossack” that includes Cossack dancing, singing and playing instruments like the Balalaika.)

JC: Where do you see yourself as an instructor in the next five years?

YS: I am interested in traveling. I am completing work on a training book and I would like to put out more training DVDs but some concepts and principles need to be shown/instructed first hand. I plan on getting my current DVDs translated to Italian and English to get the information out. Books I am working on include an instructor development guide, Knife combatives and unarmed combat. I am looking into self publishing or possibly going through a publishing house.

JC: How can persons interested in your training contact you?

YS: I can be contacted directly at yurisheshukov@mail.ru or through Andrey Karimov's U.S. representative, Olivia Overturf at milosmami@yahoo.com or on the Cowboys and Cossacks FB page. My FB page is:https://www.facebook.com/yurisheshukov?fref=ts

JC: Is there anything you would like to share before we go back to training?

YS: Yes, of course. Everything we call Systema is high, deep and wide. It will expand and grow wider and deeper because it contains basic cultural elements. Martial arts teach children proper upbringing to become human beings and this is achieved mentally, culturally and philosophically. This is why it is easier to reach skills and evolve to your full potential within Systema because it is a multi-faceted system which evolves the personality. In our ancient, Russian Cossack traditions of song, games, music and dancing, the men participating was common. Nowadays, a person can enter Systema from any “side” – the military side, through singing, the dancing aspect or through playing with children. The person who participates in the System will find new knowledge to replace their fears.

(Yuri also plays the balalaika! Along with dancing, singing, and being a great historian, he is truly a gifted instructor and will have more to come soon. **Olivia**)

Back to Basics:Getting out of line......

It's no secret that Andrey Karimov's style is quite specific. One of the overall themes of Cossack fight style is to move the hell out of the line of attack and only counterattack if necessary. All with as little energy expelled as possible. My own personal theory is perhaps this methodology was adopted to conserve energy in the long haul for other serious warfare trials and tribulations fought by the Cossacks. Whatever the case may be, I LOVED the "less is more" technique. In all practicality, a fight should last no more than a minute. Anything after that, and you may be screwed, royally. So the best thing to do is avoid a situation(if possible), react calmly, and get out of the line of attack. Seems pretty basic, right?
Yeah, no. (Da, nyet..if you're Russian).
One of the VERY first things Mr. Karimov reviewed with us, as a whole, was how to step out of the line of attack. It seemed like it should be easy and really, just watching him, you'd think it was. After about 2 hours of just trying to work this method, I quickly realized that my internal training bad habit brain was misfiring. How could I NOT pick this up? Luckily for myself(and anyone else who was stuck),the gym floor was visibly lined. And even better,Andrey Karimov and Yuri Sheshukov teamed up and combined this with dancing to get us to really grasp what was going on (keep in mind, this was very event-specific for this seminar and not the usual 3 day type workup you would receive otherwise).
Finding the "line" of attack was pretty simple... attacker comes at you...this is your line.
Evading this space became very tricky for whatever reason. My brain scrambled relentlessly in hopes to just be able to move out of the way. Once I got the "move out of the way" part down , I had to learn how to move out of the way to one side or another, completely.
Again, sounds simple. 'Twas not.
One of the main things Karimov teaches is that (your) "legs save". Meaning, move your legs, your body comes with. Move your hips, and your overall structure will solidify with a more solid bearing. Again..I have hips, I move them, alot... but why can I not move them in training?

This is where the dance came in. After what seemed like hours of the class as a whole stepping on ourselves, making complicated and multiple steps for a simple side move, Karimov and Sheshukov resorted to what is similar to line dancing(but in a circle).With the balalaika playing at a moderate speed, we meandered at a slow place from shifting our bodies from one lateral point to another, all with minimal energy and steps. Think "step-ball-change to the right, step-ball-change to the left" all while making sure there was ample clearance and, at least try to end in a parallel fashion near your attacker(this was also incredibly tricky).
At most, this movement should be 4 steps, depending on how close you are in the line of attack. Anything more than that and you will find yourself not only tripping over your own feet, but perhaps landing even closer to a weapon, multiple attackers or even worse...implanting yourself on the ground due to lack of stability.

Get out of the way!

Once the rapid pace of the music picked up, our rhythm in this drill picked up...we moved in a circular motion around the room evading our imaginary line of attack for at least an hour or more without stopping. We even added arm movement(Cossack style for men, the women had handkerchiefs in place to remind us to block our life zones). The women used the frontal triangular method of blocking the upper body while moving and the men learned a more fierce striking and swiping method of pushing and rotating the attacker's upper body (structure breaking)while moving out of the line of attack. To further make sure we understood the process, Karimov and Sheshukov incorporated the almighty stick.

removing the body from the line of attack

removing only the head from the line of attack

And guys, you would get hit if you didn't get out of the way. Imagine handing a small child a baseball bat in a china shop and told him to have fun. This, was probably the quickest way I got it together. While it was not complete pressure testing at it's fullest, it was enough to get the point across.
Oh...and this wasn't just one session...this particular basic concept was a combined 6 - 7 hours of work throughout the next few days,if not more. Why? Because most of us were stuck in not using our bodies effectively and efficiently and neither instructor gave up and called it quits until we all got it. Each new methodology we learned in the forthcoming days, the "getting out of the line" technique was used. Knife disarming, sword work, hand to hand...all of it required a new, heavy dose of getting out of the line.

And as I pour through countless saved "Systema" videos from the last few years, specifically of what is considered "basic" type training, I notice that this is not readily taught here. It should be. And maybe I have just never heard anyone really mention it. I certainly struggled with the concept as did many others involved in the seminar (although most people had NO prior Systema knowledge at this specific event).It's basic level skill and could save your life.

Seminar Day 3 and beyond :Are you keeping up???!!! No? Me either.

After the end of seminar Day 2, I was not even sure what else we could do that would top what I just went through. To be honest, anything after Day 3 is a bit fuzzy. All I know is, we had stayed up late dancing, I was getting sick(cough, congestion) and I was exhausted. Every bone and muscle in my body was aching.
I was in heaven.
Not only did I not know what to expect from this seminar, I had no idea the level of learning that would take place, let alone, the level of shear camaraderie. We had everything from one-on-one coaches, to individual instruction from A.Karimov

and Y. Sheshukov, to topic specific advice and more. I had ONE dance instructor (R. Khozeev) who literally moved my body the way it should during Kadril. I had another person, literally hold my hand through the stick drill and yet another person, who stood behind me and made my arms and legs go the way they should for sword fighting. Did I mention we set up fake horses to practice the angular motion of what it may have felt like to slice someone's head off whilst on horseback!!What else could we possibly do?? At some point during the seminar, I even jokingly told Jesse that Andrey planned on having live horses brought in.Although I

so much harder than it looks

was joking, I sort of had in the back of my head that this may be a possibility. (Later that night, we actually saw a woman riding a horse down the street and I assumed she was heading to our gym.)The excitement of what was coming was too much to think about... you literally got swept up in this massive tide of fun and there was no looking back(for some). We were exhausted, yet having a blast!
It occurred to me that this was perhaps somewhat close to how Cossacks lived and trained. I mean, yes...we were in a gymnasium, yes,we had air conditioning and heating, ok...we even had translators...but at some point, I began to think that this was exactly what it should be...the ultimate breakdown of the psyche.
Not only did we train all hours of the day and night, we skipped meals, and forgot to drink water.... we also rotated training with dancing as a group, sang Cossack songs and trained in combatives. If possible, you could even squeeze in a chain demo, some whip excersizes, some knife drills and even balalaika lessons. There was no stone left unturned. Everything was at our fingertips and all we had to do was ask. Really...that's all you had to do.
In all fairness, I became overwhelmed with the options. We had a schedule, but the voting of the group needs and wants and facility arrangements shifted those gears temporarily. Being adaptable became crucial. Even on "down" time, we all found ourselves in the gym...training, chatting, learning music or goofing off, together. The dorm style rooms allowed for easy access to many of the instructors and past participants of Mr. Karimov's seminars. Everyone was available to help. Not one person had an ego, a mental block about helping or was too tired. Not one. Including Mr. Karimov himself.He shared his room with about 5 other students and had an open door policy. Every morning I walked in I was greeted with a round of hugs, a few cups of coffee and tons of enthusiasm. The work seemed effortless and endless on his part. I don't believe I have ever met anyone who works harder than he does, in my life. The second a training session stopped, he scurried to his room and immediately grabbed an apple and worked on making balalaikas. Often times , the visual of him working on the balalaikas was reminiscent of Santa's workshop , where several of the men were piecing together these instruments, like elves. Everyone was doing something. It was hard to be bored. It was really hard not to want to help, but it was harder to feel left out, unless it was by choice. This was not an event for anyone who had social hangups or did not understand the value of cultural immersion. THIS , was a seminar for those people who loved to learn about anything and everything.

R.Khozeev teaching me about music

Downtime, turned into community time. If you linked up with someone who was musically inclined, then they proudly showed you their skills.
If you wanted your hair braided, that happened also. Want to talk about Russian history? Go to room #42. Want to eat raw food type delicassies covered in sugar and chocolate? That was room #44. Want a homeopathic remedy for ear infection? Room #43 or #46. Need Wifi? Go downstairs to what we affectionately called "Cossack Cafe". Often times you'd find us lounging around, uploading pictures, you tube videos, showing each other our friends and family back home and more.
The amount of talent that surrounded this group became very inspiring. At some point, I sat in a corner and wondered what I had done with my life. What was the positive impact I had made in society? Had my own work with children been enough? Could I learn to be a part of something so cohesive in my normally introverted, anti-social lifestyle? How did all this pertain to Systema and martial arts?
Well, the answer was quite simple. Mr. Karimov is a psychologist and ethnographer and a culturalist. He has a no holds barred approach to training that was not suitable for some and it doesn't happen at every seminar. He really calls it like he sees it and ,well, what he may have to say could stop you dead in your tracks. You see, it is very difficult to practice any art if you are stuck mentally and psychologically. If you cannot be yourself, what good are you to others in training?If you are trying to show off and demand everyone listen to you, what negative energy were you now placing on others? If you have hang ups about public performance, how good can you be at calming a chaotic situation , in public? After all, Systema is really about remaining calm, and what this seminar was designed to do was to get you out of your shell so you can experience life, learn to live and to enjoy your surroundings.
How can you do that if you are so tightly wound that you can't even fall softly? As I stood to the side and watched people work and train, I noticed everyone was having specific breakthroughs. Myself included. I knew right away that this was now possibly one of the largest , newest social experiments about forming a true Systema community that I would ever see in my lifetime. This group was most certainly about rallying together, being a unit and supporting one another. I had never seen anything like it. Some Systema groups back home, were really negative and filled with jealousy and definitions of who was top dog. Not here. Not ever. This group, was ready to get real. We were ready to work on ourselves to become better people.

A.Karimov's social model for growth and development

Everything after day 3 was a complete blur and I am not sorry about that. The rapid pace of group excursions, videotaping, training , learning songs and dance were not something anyone could ever catch on film completely and do it justice...

one of the many nightly chats in Mr. Karimov's room

Often times I would look around at the round robin of events and say "I cannot believe this is going on". It really was a cultural candy store full of excitement and learning. I literally could not keep up with everything that was happening....and I am thankful for that! This is the point I threw caution to the wind and finally relaxed......

we formed our circles maybe a few times a day

Seminar Day 2:Is this really happening?

In retrospect, it is alot harder to write about the seminar weeks after it started. REALLY hard. While I took many notes and journaled on my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (shameless plug) , I really thought I'd be able to remember details of 19 days of the seminar when I was able to sit down to write.
I was wrong..so, so wrong!
As we maneuvered our way through the subway systems on Day 2(really, it was the beginning of the seminar), I became increasingly nervous walking into the sports hall.
I had not trained in months, I knew more people I had only corresponded with on the net would be there and , I had not trained in months...(did I mention I had not trained in months?)... I was sore from just walking for 3 days around St. Petersburg and was still in shock by the 30 minute session I had three days prior with Mr. Karimov at Pushkin Park( he tried to teach us one simple technique, that still, completely fascinates me). I knew his style was different, but I had no idea what was about to happen next would really shake me to my own core...in a good way.
Once I walked into the gym, I slowly tried to become invisible, it didn't work. I wanted to be a fly on the wall and watch for a few minutes but I was incredibly unsuccessful.

Roman Khozeev

This is when Roman Khozeev approached me , in what seemed out of no where. Roman had been an huge inspiration and help in my first few weeks of working with Mr. Karimov online and helped me with tons of computer work... I never really thought I'd meet him, so actually meeting him, really overwhelmed me. Roman was very well known for his work with an anti-drinking campaign for men in his hometown of Perm, Russia. I followed his work pretty closely and enjoyed his photographs and music as well.He is one of the many, multi-talented individuals who attended this seminar and was more than willing to help me learn whatever I wanted. It was a huge surprise to see him and I tried not to cry.

Olga Malkova

Shortly after I met Roman, this very beautiful, dark haired woman approached me with open arms. Her name was Olga Malkova, and we connected immediately. I had only met Olga a week or so before my trip to Russia (online), but had seen her in a few videos. Her eyes were as orange as the sunset and her hair was almost dark black. She was beautiful and when she spoke, it almost sounded as though she was singing. Her English flowed even in it's choppy state and with everything she said, she had a smile on her face. Almost immediately, we began a knife drill where Olga and Roman quickly cleaned the floor with me. I.was.SCREWED!!! I never thought of myself as a cocky Systema practitioner , but more of a scrappy fighter turned Systema enthusiast. Olga and Roman made it seem like I had zero experience with knowing my own body and how it worked well enough to move freely. I was both devastated and delighted. By the way, Olga, did everything in a skirt and short heeled shoes. She was the epitome of being feminine and fierce.At the closing Systema circle, a few surprises took place. In walked Yuri Sheshukov

Yuri Sheshukov

and I immediately looked at Roman, then at Jesse , then back at Roman. I asked Roman if that was really Yuri. He nodded. I began crying then, smiling. I was not aware that Yuri would be present, but was told that he may try to show up ( perhaps this was one of my other suprises?).... shortly after Yuri walked in, the happiest suprise of them all happened. In walked in D.A.Kirillov. Dima(for short), is an instructor for the Talanov school of Systema and he and I became friends on the internet. I remember inviting him to the event and had asked a few times if he was coming, but did not actually think he would. When I saw him, I sprung up in the middle of the Systema circle and went to him. Of course, I cried. At some point, Dima began translating for our event. This was truly surreal....BUT, he also picked up a Balalaika

D.A.Kirillov having some balalaika lessons

and began playing..(luckily I have this on film). This was truly history in the making on so many levels. Forming an international supportive community of like minded individuals and groups that , while different, can still support each other, was something Mr. Karimov and I had discussed on occasion. We wanted everyone to get along and to work cohesively, but actually making that happen , seemed like a feat in of itself. Here was Dima, in his hometown, just hanging out with us. It was such a glorious moment that I went from crying to being so happy that I almost completely forgot where I was....almost.

D.A.Kirillov from Systema Talanov,myself and A.Karimov

Once Dima left, there was a new sense of celebration in the air. I believe this was one of the many nights that we would all stay up until 2 am singing and dancing and learning. There seemed to be so many people in the room that I even lost track of Jesse. The dancing continued at a raid pace and Mr. Karimov showed no signs of slowing down. Aerobically, I was screwed. Perhaps this was part of the plan to get us so exhausted that we could train with little or no tension.Ultimately, it worked for me. While there were a few folks who did not appreciate this style that this specific seminar was geared to, it made no difference to the rest of us. This became one of the greatest social experiments, dance groups, cultural experience, martial arts seminar and learning expositions ever! This was only day two.  Later that evening, we danced as a group in a style known as Kadril. The rapid movement of Kadril(see bottom of page for video), had me sweating in minutes and within an hour I was so exhausted that I forgot what time it was , nor did I care.
Many of us sat around and said " I cannot believe this is only Day 2!!". What else did Mr. Karimov have in store? What else would we learn? What were we learning about ourselves and each other...? What could this event teach us other than martial arts and combatives? Day 2 turned into one of the most beautiful and emotional days I had of the seminar....and it was only going to get better!
Not only did we have all these amazing experiences on Day 2, the Pravilo device was set up, Jesse had some one on one training with our "coach" Vladimir and the knife and stick work began to pick up in pace....! Day 2 was loaded with so much fun...no clue how it could be topped!! (It was...oh , it was....)

Jesse getting some one on one pointers from Coach Vladimir

Radik Valeev and his Pravilo device. A much needed stretch for after- training relaxation

Shaking off the whip strikes...zing!!!

Seminar Day 1: This is a test,only a test....

It's cold, ya'll

For starters, St.Petersburg is a massive city. Massive. The weather is crazy. And cold..windy and really, really cold. 

The day of the seminar, we left our apartment and meandered through the subway systems to our destination stop. Jesse and I were separated by confusion about calling a taxi vs walking to our location point. It was raining,windy and the temperature dropped considerably. This is where the following two hours became a test in my urban survival skills,emotional strength, and determination level.My pre-programmed cell phone maps were not working. I was lost. Our translator began trying to help me navigate(via messages) back to the training center and a few very kind people in the streets offered to help. Almost everyone however, turned me back around in around circle. I won't even discuss the man who yelled anti-American sentiments at me for 30 minutes while chasing me with his barking dog,who also seemed to dislike Americans. Yelling back at people in Spanish was something I was used to and comfortable with,so that's how I dealt with him. At some point,during his rant, I yelled "it's raining,sideways,what do you want,an umbrella??!". Not my finest moment,but also , I realized this was a test. It was only a test , (one of many more to come).If I were in the US in the same predicament, I would have headed home,cozied up with my animals and found a book to read. However, this was a seminar I had waited for,for almost a year. There was no way I could back out of Day 1. 

Finally,our two translators managed to find me in the rain,at a park. This is where I met Richard,a tall Nordic model-looking young man,who I had corresponded with online for maybe 6 months prior. He and Jaroslav literally rescued me. I held back tears of joy seeing them both because it was already raining and perhaps they didn't know that their act of chivalry redefined my beliefs about young men today.
Once we made it back to the sports complex I was overwhelmed by the size of the area. It was massive. There was a judo tournament going on,and judo had been and sport that piqued my interest for the last year. There was confusion at the front desk about badges,passports, entrance fees. Several of us were stacked in a pile and this is where I began noticing some familiar faces from the videos I had been watching for a year. I knew,for the most part,these people did not know me,and I didn't want to seem overly emotional about seeing them,so I tucked under my rain soaked hoodie and waited. Throughout the melee of Russian voices,whistles of the judo tournament,chaos and confusion. ...I heard a very familiar and comforting sound. Andrey came marching to our rescue playing his balalaika and an incredibly loud tone and high speed ,walked up to the front desk,mumbled some words to the receptionist ,then ,like a mama duck,tucked all of us under his wing and shuffled us back upstairs.
He was indeed ,magic.

I'm a little underdressed...

Once I walked into the gym ,I began noticing more and more familiar faces that I've only seen on DVDs. It was a very surreal feeling. I tried to contain myself as much as possible, but once I saw Natalya Kopylova, I broke into Beatles fan-like hysterics. Natalya was featured in one of Andrey's online short videos in a display of beautiful Nagaika(Cossack) whip work. And there she was,a mere few feet in front of me.
Within minutes, what seemed like a thousand people, shuffled me in front of her and handed me a sword. Um,yes.This happened. Not only was I rain soaked and cold, I had very little idea of how to even hold a sword. And now, I was holding a sword,in front of a room full of people, in a foreign country,on camera. My dear friends,this was not the worst thing that's ever happened to me,but it is certainly perhaps one that tested all my social awareness,confidence and demeanor. As Natalya graciously demonstrated how to hold the sword, I fumbled through translation and tried to simulate one ounce of what she was doing. I failed,but, I'm ok with that.
After a few rounds of music, some light training and socilaizing,we formed the traditional "Systema circle". Mr. Karimov began by discussing with everyone how I told him I was coming to Russia and how,over the course of almost a year,he developed this seminar titled "Together for Peace".  One at a time,our gracious peers began delivering their thanks for the seminar and all were vehemently excited about the next 21 days. By the time it was my turn to speak,I erupted into tears. It occurred to me that my persistence with Mr.Karimov,paid off and here we all were,together in one room. I could barely choke through my tears as I thanked everyone for being present and I thanked everyone for welcoming us and I don't even remember what else I said.....
In fact,after Day 2 of the seminar, I don't remember much at all.....
(Luckily there are plenty of pictures and I jotted down many notes)