Rolls and Falls

ROLLS AND FALLS

by Emmanuel Manolakakis

When you talk about rolls and falling one must first consider their many aspects and applications. A roll or fall can be done by choice, but usually results from a reaction to something. They can also be used as an offensive move but are more commonly a defensive one.
A typical urban street is a hard, uneven surface with lots of little stones or debris. It is not a place you would want to land. On a conscious level this would explain why most people hate going to the ground. On an unconscious level people love or hate the ground because of their training. A wrestler loves this area while a boxer may not, this comes from their training and the psychology around their particular sports.

In SYSTEMA rolling or falling is just another skill that you can call upon when you need. Just like a punch, kick or grab, it is a movement like any other. You don't need to love or hate the ground, just become friends with it. If you need to go there go, if not don't. Your situation will dictate more what is possible.

As I often mention to my students, your chances of falling, slipping or tripping on something during the course of the year are more likely then you getting into a fight. Hospitals are full of people having hurt themselves by falling. Injuries are common to the hands, arms, back and head. Practicing this aspect has an application beyond the martial art.

Training on hard surfaces is preferable to mats. An old Russian saying is "a hard floor is like a good friend, a soft one is like a bad one". Your focus should be on blanketing the ground, not slamming into it. Contact is made only on the soft tissue, not the bones. A good indicator would be the amount of noise from your roll or fall. No noise is excellent. Banging would indicate bones are contacting the ground and could possibly be damaged.

You begin a roll with your hands stretched out in front of you. This is an instinctual position for your hands. They come forward to brace or stop a fall - this is the body's way of trying to protect itself, so start from here. Rotate the arm from the hand so that your shoulder rolls forward. You will be rolling through the shoulder and the back, on the soft tissue and muscles, not on any bones. The legs will come around and land carefully, not slamming into the ground. Using the momentum of the roll and not fighting it is essential.

Now that we can get to the ground safely let's talk about ground fighting. There are two main perspectives - survival or competition based. You must make decisions when you train about which path you will follow. A lot depends on your personal goals, aspirations and wants from martial arts.

I have done both in my years and can safely say that survival based training is much more practical, efficient and safe. By focusing on survival you more easily build creativity and awareness skills. These two attributes are vital for any real life applications.

SYSTEMA starts by having students simply move on the ground - crawling, sliding, shuffling and rolling. No negative stimulus is initially applied. This gives a student room to discover and learn his or her movements. Following this you can start to progress and have someone walk towards you while you're on the ground. Your objective is to simply move out of the way safely. This simple drill can get very interesting when your training partner starts to run at you and you are forced to move quickly. Add to this the many other students surrounding you in class doing the same thing and the person running is just half the problem. The progress has no limits, you can have your partner start to step or kick you while you are on the ground or have them use a stick or knife to strike you with, the objective is still the same - just move out of the way. The offensive applications come from the movement chosen by each student. Anything is possible, the only limit is the students creativity.

Time is also spent in the more traditional forms of wrestling - where two people are locked or engaged physically. Students are shown how to use the ground to their advantage and how to work with their movements. They learn first hand what works and what does not work for them.

Hey Everyone

Check out the video clip...

http://www.youtube.com/user/FightClubmma

Comments?

Emmanuel

Training for Economy of Performance

The fact that someone can protect themselves by simply
moving is an incredibly simple one. Following years of
training, I came to understand that the problem with my
movements was that I loved them too much! There was a
lot of wasted effort, not very efficient at all. I started to
look closer at training for economy of performance.
I changed my training focus to reduce my movements
to accomplish more with less effort.


Hence, economy of performance improves as a result of:
• low psychological stress;
• good posture (being lighter on your feet);
• eliminating energy-wasting movements;
• efficiency of breathe.

Low psychological stress
In psychological terms, good performance is the result
of focus and optimal arousal. Focus is the ability to set
aside irrelevant factors, and be calm. The first step is
setting aside work and family concerns during training.
Thus you learn to be in the present, not thinking about
what might be. Optimal arousal means being psyched
without being anxious. Anxiety results in loss of focus,
increased muscle tension and less efficient movements.

Good Posture (being lighter on your feet)
Bending, leaning or reaching, breaks your form which
then weakens your structure, directly impacting the
economy of performance.
By paying attention to posture, one can make a
significant difference in triming away excessive body
movements. Your arms and legs will become more
relaxed and move efficient.

Eliminating useless, energy-wasting movements 

Tension makes you rigid and stiff, but more importantly,
it robs you of energy and fills you with wasted
movements. By making your movements smooth,
you will find more
subtle ways of applying power and breaking someone
elses form while keeping yours.
Have a closer look at all your abilities and make sure
everything is pointed in the right direction. For example,
when you punch or kick the vertor of force should be going
forward. If you pull back sharply you’re taking some power
backwards. If you tense up your feet, some power is
traveling dwonward. If your yelling upon contact, some
power is leaving through your lungs.

Efficiency of breathe
The benefits are to many to mention. Practice your
breathing relentlessly. Read book Let Every Breathe by
Vladmir and your will be on your way to more ecomical
and efficient training. 
If you find training gets too intense,
take a break and get your breath back before contining,
or have a plan to work through and recover. It is one of
the true cornerstones of any martial arts training.

Here a three drills I use to help me train for economy:

The three time drill
Have someone grab, punch, kick or stab at you at
random. Handle it spontaneously. Then have your partner
repeat the attack the exact same way another two times
and see if you could improve on your response. Polish it up.

Video tape yourself
You might find out that there are a lot of little useless
movements or nuances you have developed over the
years that you cannot explain. Have a trusted teacher or
friend watch with you and you’ll get an even better
prespective.


Don’t focus on the esthetics of it all
Sometimes we want things to be too pretty to show off
our skills. Doing the right thing feels right and is usually
simple and quick. Not just in martial arts but also life.

“The strong take from the weak and
the smart take from the strong”


 - Pete Carril, former Princeton basketball coach

I hope this helps you,
Emmanuel Manolakakis