the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

Only if you have Balls of Steel and an Iron Shirt!

I knew I saw those techniques somewhere!

This is like another Steffan Yam thread.

Yam, Yam, Yam, Yam.

The issue with Systema knife defense has come up numerous times before. Last time I raised the question whether it'd be safe to allow the knife to come so close, even touching, the body before applying any disarming moves. This clip shows other issues.

Leaving the knife work itself and their strange attack trajectories aside, -- the guy apparently has good skills, but all these slow drills are missing one major point IMHO -- the defender must match the attackers' speed, otherwise it's an exercise in futility IMHO. He's going 2-3 times the speed. When they all go full-speed, he won't be able to go 2-3 times faster, will he? So the bit at 1:02 done at full speed... just a guess, but it probably won't work.

The only way of matching the attacker's speed is to slow him down. The reason is action beats reaction. How will you start after the opponent, but arrive first, unless he is hindered along the way?

I think with a knife situation you don't want to be so reactionary. He's letting the guy with the weapon determine the tempo and all that, but without taking control or jockeying for a safe position.

My guess is he gets cut pretty badly.

S

klonk wrote:How will you start after the opponent, but arrive first, unless he is hindered along the way?

My understanding of that term is different -- you "arrive first" because "you know him but he doesn't know you", you read his intent, i.e. you move when he intends to move, not after you see him move. Hard to explain... But this is venturing way off-topic here...

ah well. we're all here trying to make sense of this thing called... life

sometimes there will be disagreements

Looks dangerous.

Is this an example of what to do or what not to do?

Hey, at least everyone remembered to wear their army pants.

you guys have a ball with it. what does it matter?

it's not perfect, but some will get something out of it, and some won't

SNIP
Hey, at least everyone remembered to wear their army pants.
SNIP

No, there is at least one bloke in jeans. Perhaps he is a passerby who - walking innocently through the woods on his daily constitional - decided to investigate this strange tableau of slow motion, grunting and giggling knife wielders being punched around by a Russian chap in a hat?

klonk wrote:The only way of matching the attacker's speed is to slow him down. The reason is action beats reaction. How will you start after the opponent, but arrive first, unless he is hindered along the way?

There are other factors as well, like for example the economy of motion that leads to "positional speed". When you always go half of the way you can be able to match the speed as well. Other factors come into play when you're already in contact....