True colour in the Dark Room

Tuesday 7.00 - 8.15 pm Class 8.15 - 9.30 pm Jam in The Bath House 80 Eastway, London E9 5JH   What is Systema PlayFight?  It's a thrilling blend of play and dance centred around the combat theme. We allow ourselves to gamboling as kids, a young foal or kitten. The essence of playfighting lies in a state of heightened awareness, feeling and understanding of aspects of our movement. Engaging in play naturally propels us into a flow state as we harmonise with our surroundings, bringing joy. We become fluid, uplifted, and open. This form of dynamic meditation unlocks...

Active & Passive Movements by Tibi Moravcik We have a tendency to move actively. Active movements demand your attention, it’s usually a bit delayed and less accurate. If your movement is passive, your reaction could be quicker, more accurate - you can flow more smoothly with your surroundings. There are more aspects according to which we can recognise active and passive movement: according to force; according to attention; relative to another object. According to Force The first aspect is about a force which is moving with your body: 1. Passive movement is made by an external...

By Tibi Moravcik   Many of us live today under pressure, under stress. Chronic stress negatively affects the human body, especially the musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, nervous and reproductive systems. Stress is also one of the reasons for mental disorders. Stress usually causes undesirable tension, which consumes your vital energy, makes you feel tired, and causes pain. Stress also has a strong effect on your workforce productivity. Under stress, it is much harder to focus, so your mistakes magnify, and your creativity goes down. Stress...

by Tibi Moravcik In the previous blog titled: ‘Flow of Balance’ I explained how we flow against gravity and how we can synchronise with others. Now the question is: how can this be used in a real fight? The answer: two waves can combine to create either constructive (in-phase) or destructive force (out of phase). If you move in phase with your opponent, you create constructive interference, which can be used to take his balance. By moving in phase with your opponent’s strike, his force doesn’t hit you. If you move out of phase with the opponent, it can help you to keep...

    by Tibi Moravcik Is it actually possible for someone to stand absolutely still? No. Even if you try to stand still, you are still moving, the human body is constantly juggling to maintain balance. True stillness is not achievable. The small movements which keep us balanced flow in continuous waves from the ground up through the whole body to the top of the head. It is much easier to juggle solid objects than a human body which has joints, and is made from 50-75% water! Juggling within the body is so complex that it takes us years to master it. Try it yourself...

by Tibi Moravcik I still remember how my grandma used to push me in the swing. She used to swing me for hours.. She was tireless; now I understand why: because she had a feeling for when to push me at the right moment – in harmony with kinetic energy – efficiently – with a tiny amount of energy.. Her touch was so soft.. yet energy built, and I would swing higher and higher. Finally, I freed myself – I learned to use my kinetic energy (shifting weight at the right time) to harmonise with the pendulum. The pendulum is a really interesting energy which deserves our focus.. Kinetic energy,...

Let your Inner Fire lift you up  How to have a relaxed liquid posture created by Inner Fire?   Gravitational power pulls you down. Vital energy - Inner Fire lift you up. We tend to hang down on the skeleton passively. A collapsed position causes deformation of our posture and is often a cause of a backache. In a collapsed position, the flow of the Inner Fire is restricted – we have less vital energy – Inner Fire, we trust ourselves less, we are 'down'.     In a hanging position, via a screwed body, we are like a fireplace with a blocked chimney....

There are two kinds of self-defence: 1) First teaches you to be more aggressive & violent – it feeds your dark side, 2) The other makes you calm & teaches you to control your anger, ability to harmonise – they support your humanity. Which one is more effective? Somebody says: anger & ‘seeing red’ gives you unbelievable power, tenses up your body & makes you ready to fight. That’s true. However: 1) Aggressive behaviour usually makes conflict worse. The opponent could take it like a challenge to fight, or even worse: he could feel in danger (he could...

More specifically, Short Work is the result of the opponents’ tension and your relaxation. In a confrontation, your attacker is either tense and you need to see where or you can force him to tense up wherever you need him to. Then you bounce your strikes and movements off his tension. This allows you to deliver multiple strikes all in one movement. For example, you deliver a punch and your arm does not stop or pause upon contact, it does not return back towards your body but continues to travel and deliver more strikes in various directions. There is great benefit in learning Short Work, for it allows...