Push-up in a teacup

by Andrew Gordon Middleton

The objectives of conditioning in Russian Systema are not limited to physical improvement but have an important mental component, particularly with regards to self-knowledge. These are interconnected and can only be teased apart if we willfully ignore certain details. Other arbitrary divisions in the training programme could be conditioning vs. movement or physical vs. mental. However we choose to dissect this, it is important to understand that the programme can provide more than an “exercise” regime if you are interested in working it.

The core principles of Systema are at play during the conditioning portion as much as during the combat portion. They are typically listed as structure, breathing, relaxation and movement. As with any holistic system, these have a lot of interplay and shouldn’t be thought of as isolated elements. To these four, I add sensitivity and adaptability. Just as in Systema combat we do not want to impose our will (force vs. force) on an opponent, in conditioning we want to develop adaptability and for that we need sensitivity to our own structure, breathing, muscular tension and movement. We don’t insist on full breath if there is weight on our chest or if we are otherwise unable to take an easy breath (obsessing for a breath when it is not available is as much a mistake as forgetting to breath when under tension). Nor do we want to move for the sake of moving or relax to the point of being unresponsive or compromising good form.

One mainstay of conditioning is the basic push-up and it is a good case study. The push-up is a great exercise because it works not only the triceps and shoulder girdle but also the abdominal and back muscles. In Systema the basic push-up is done on the fists because this both strengthens the wrist and it prevents it from being hyper-extended. The feet are crossed to provide extra stability in the lower back and abdominal muscles but also to provide a narrower point of support at the feet so that we can better work the shoulder girdle. Because it is an exercise that works the torso, in the basic push-up we don’t want to pinch the back by sagging or arching up as in a yogic downward facing dog. If your body weight is too much to do ten basic push-ups, it is better to use the knees for support than to compromise your good form. Push-up holds (known in some practices as “the plank”) help develop good physical and mental form. Likewise, the practice of push-ups over a slow or very slow ten count works the individual muscle fibres of the triceps that are often passed over by a more typical push-up pace.

The slow push-up work is also where it starts to get interesting, when we push our limits with long push-up holds and slow push-ups over a count. The idea is to work the muscles of course but the innovation provided by this training is to use the fatigue and explore what your options are when you have apparently passed your limits. It is important to reach muscle fatigue because then you start the mental work, the real work of Systema conditioning. If you are fit, well rested and injury-free, getting home should be a simple affair. If a boogieman comes out of a darkened doorway and you are stronger, faster, more knowledgeable in martial arts techniques, wearing your favourite track pants and the ground is comfortable and dry, you should have no trouble getting home safely. But life is rarely as tidy as all that.

Just as a Buddhist might consider their tea ceremony a microcosm of life, we find our metaphor for life in a slow push-up. Gravity is often a harsh taskmaster. So too an exhausted muscle fibre can be uncompromising in its uselessness in doing work once it has reached its limit. Of course the muscle fibre will come back to life after a few minutes but that kind of time-out psychology has ugly implications in our world of push-up life. So in training we want to reach our physical limits so we have something to work around. If you are capable of one hundred Navy SEAL-perfect push-ups and could easily do more, do more.

The work starts when you reach the point when you cannot continue unless you learn to think around the problem. This is when that you need to cheat in your next few push-ups. As ever, cheating is a process of thinking around a problem. It need not be a negative thing, especially if it requires more creativity and investment, rather than the routine following of instructions. In this case, it is an educational process so you don’t stop when you reach your limits. Instead you learn to adapt to the situation of tired muscles and insistent gravity, perhaps by recruiting different muscle groups and move them in a different way. For combative applications it is important to learn what we call a wave-like motion, using momentum to get up now that your muscles are exhausted.

At this point, you are free to lose the idealized form of the basic push-up. But as you lose this fixed form, do not lose sensitivity to your form. Instead, as you adapt to the situation, you are starting to incorporate movement in place of strength. It is not without regard to structure though and the same concerns for not pinching the back still hold. You don’t want to rest in a position where one option of movement provides you with no healthy option of movement, where there is no longer any natural give or elasticity. The motion you want to cultivate is as subtle as possible. This will translate into efficiency of movement and a striking ability uncompromised by excessive telegraphing.

So work your muscles to exhaustion with slow push-ups and then play and explore lopsided push-ups, explore over extended push-ups and push-ups with different hand positions, movements and limitations. Lie on your stomach and stretch your hands out as far forwards as possible. Now maybe retract your shoulders an inch and then suddenly push simultaneously forwards with your arms and back with your leg 45 degrees into the ground. I call this the superman push-up and learned it from Martin Wheeler. Once up, try lifting diagonally opposed limbs; then try this without disturbing the position of your torso.

This all holds true outside of self-defence scenarios. If you are in a difficult exam at school or get into an accident on your bike, your first reaction shouldn’t be self-pity or acceptance that you’ve reached a cul-de-sac in your teacup. Breath, take inventory and play your way around the problem, remembering your time in the extended, slow push-up of life.