Fight Club
401 Donlands Ave. M4J 3S2 Toronto, ON, Canada

An Interview with Emmanuel #fightclub #systema #toronto #martialarts

Reflecting on Tuesdays class

Move. Breath. Relax.

Making things is an art. Making things meaningful is an art and a science. Do you notice that in my demonstration?

Wholeness in Systema presumes that life, which has many diverse manifestation, is not to be compartmentalized; and that a human being is whole and cannot change piece by piece - only as a whole. In this way, the mastery of systema is a very fundamental change of a student; his body, psyche, perception, and consciousness, making him more natural and healthy as a whole ~ Wise words

We all know how to put our phones into Airplane Mode when we are on a plane. But do we know how to put our practice sessions into Practice Mode? Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect" ~Vince Lombardi Practice makes the master ~ Patrick Rothfuss... Listen to Emmanuel talking about Practice Mode in this weeks Fight Podcast http://www.fight-club.ca/can-you-put-yourself-into-practic/

Throwback Thursday's - Trying to explain the importance of clearing the line of danger (in this demonstration a kick), but also being able to return to it in an offensive-minded way.

Hey FC Crew, What is your body telling you right now? Go through a quick check Is your face relaxed or tight? Is your breathing exhaled or held? Is your posture slumped and held or upright and balanced? Are your shoulders and neck tight and lifted or relaxed and down? Is your chest lifted high or relaxed? Is your head jutting forward or balanced on top of your spine? Are your shoulder blades pinched or relaxed? Is your belly pulled in and tight, or relaxed and smooth? ... Go through every portion of your body and check once a day at lunch or during your personal time. This is the difference between a routine and a habit. A habit is rigid and fixed. You are compelled to repeat your habit and you feel anxious and uncomfortable if you do not. A routine is stable (consistent rather than fixed), plastic (it can transform to be specific to the intensity of the situation), adjustable (it can be changed to meet different tasks) and reliable (rather than predictable). It's a toolbox rather than a hammer. By staying aware of your body's signals throughout the day you can be proactive and spontaneous about your tension. In this way you can take short breaks to release the tension before a habit forms. Just two minutes suffices in most cases. If you're uncomfortable doing it in front of other people, go to the bathroom and close the door. Stress relief is so important and big part of what I teach at FightClub. Breaking bad habits and creating great routines that help students grow and develop is not far behind! "Tension is a habit. Relaxation is a habit. Bad habits can be broken. Good habits can be formed." FYI - We are still training outdoors every Tuesday and Thursday from 7-8 pm at the East York Collegiate field. Come and train!

When problems arise stay calm and smile on the outside - Not to make a bad situation worse. On the inside be serious and ready - This is where it counts!

This simple drill can teach you so much about how to hold enough tension for what your trying to do ... I need to have enough strength to lift and lower my body in a push-up. But not too much otherwise I will lack the sensitivity to feel the direction of the strike pushing down on me.

Creating Pressure through Compression. Core work for the body.

Throwback Thursdays - Trying to explain the importance of clearing the line of danger (in this demonstration a kick), but also being able to return to it in an offensive-minded way.

Predictions - FightPod PodCast http://www.fight-club.ca/predictions-fight-podcast/

Something to think about the next time you training

Most athletes have injured there wrist at some point in their training. Make sure you strengthening and move in the full range to try minimize future injuries.

If you win these battles enough, the battles against yourself ... it becomes easier to win the battles in the world. The picture here of Oleg punching towards Steve is very interesting to me. Oleg is serious about his punch and Steve is serious about how he wants to see it. I was talking Steve through my processes of thinking and feeling about Oleg's punch. When you learn to 'see' things the right way and only operate by what you 'feel' - everything about your work will change.

A different way of studying arm grabs and escapes.

So many people look at Systema from the Outword to Inward angle. For myself, I believe its better the other way around. Get 'into' Systema, training, learn and experience it first hand! Online or Outdoors and then watch how when you look out into the world how much better you will see it and understand it.

Your fingers, wrists, and forearms wrestling with each other.

Relaxation is good (lazy not so much). Strength is good (tension not so much). Approaching your training the same way. Build it into you own person practices to know and feel these things. Emmanuel explained this yesterday zoom classes and will be covering it in more depth in tonights outdoor training classes. Hope to see you there ... youth classes start at 6 and adult classes start at 7 at East York collegiate (field in the back).

Outdoor training has proving to be a blessing. Make sure you get out and train every Tuesday & Thursday 7-8pm at East York Collegiate. (In the field).

What is emmanuel working on these days? This weeks' Fight Podcast! http://www.fight-club.ca/what-is-emmanuel-working-on/

If you feel life is getting to be a little (or a lot) like the movie Ground Hog Day - Your not alone! The solution is simple - work on being creative! Life is meant to be lived Every day we need to arise and feel new But this takes work... This week we will be working on creative approaches to training during our outdoor training sessions on Tuesday & Thursday evenings 7-8 pm.

Finding your lightness and heaviness through pushups. Think, breath and Do.

What is emmanuel working on these days? This weeks Fight Podcast! http://www.fight-club.ca/what-is-emmanuel-working-on/

Speed with relaxation and control.

Working with the concepts of multiple strikes, speed, and head movement.

Some footage from Mondays Live Online Training Class. Adding speed through the point of impact.

Bring more detail to the simple pushup

Making familiar body movement patterns (to you) such as walking, running, ground-work, push-ups, squats, leg raises, body raises, will calm your mind. Then alongside your body moves try moving your knife in a smooth and calm fashion. Try not to see attackers or bad things right now.

Focus on calm arm movements all around you and try to pass the knife from one hand to the other.

Learn how to properly train your mind. Sessions every Tuesday and Thursday from 12-1pm.

Utilizing the Stick to help you develop a good punch

A short clip from yesterday's Zoom class. How to use a stick to build creativity movement patterns. If you feel stuck in old habits and ways of thinking this will really help you.

A short clip from yesterdays Zoom class. How to use a stick to build creativity movement patterns. If you feel stuck in old habits and ways of thinking this will really help you.

So much good information and conversation around the topic of mental training as it relates to life, training and Systema. Here is little taste of a discussion from one of the live mental training sessions. Held every Tuesdays & Thursday from 12-1pm. If you want to join in just email me at [email protected]

Shoulders, Shoulder blades, and Chest. Finding small movements and softness.

Nothing wrong with speed or going fast as long as the source is not fear based. Try developing your speed in a different way. Watch and listen to how Emmanuel does it in this Manny Minute video clip.

THE AUTHENTIC SELF & RELATIVE CHANGE - FIGHT PODCAST Listen to Emmanuel talking about training to connect with your authentic self and how change is relative to everything it's connected too. So if I'm an architect designing a building and I change the dimensions of a wall. Everything else around this must also change because they are all connected to the same structure. In much the same way all our lives have changed. We must accept the change is connected to the whole str...ucture, in other words, we must change completely (not just in parts). "Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it" http://www.fight-club.ca/authentic-self-relative-change-fi/

Well done Jamie! https://youtu.be/xpoQ2sbkop0

What does it take to make a good decision? Its part instinct, its part intuition, its part imagination.

What does it take to make a good decision? It's part instinct, it's part intuition, it's part imagination.

Incorporating Visualization into Your Movement Practice