Systema Punch: Solo Training To Build The Fist 

Thank you. It’s always interesting to study the body in different ways like this.

Great to hear you've had an eye-opening moment Sally. What would you like to learn about next? Physical exercises Defensive techniques Breathing exercises

Good eye for details. When performed correctly Systema will resemble many other systems and even sports. The reason is because good human movement is good human movement.

So happy you found some helpful info in the video. What brought you to this video?

@@JesusRevezzo Beginning steps to learning self defense techniques, I suppose. Looking at developping hand strength. Have some arthritis but have always been interested in systema . . The world is much crazier than it used to be, and being a little older and living alone I don't want to be viewed as an easy target.

Hey thanks Heather. The chapters really do make it easy to navigate the video.

You’re welcome

You're welcome

You're welcome George.

Hey Fred, glad you liked the video. Train well sir.

You're welcome. Use it in good health. And you should check out Vladimir Vasiliev's book called 'Strikes'. It goes into much greater details on building your fist.

@@JesusRevezzo thanks and will do!

Many thanks Chris. There's much more coming soon.

You're welcome. Glad you found it useful.

Thank you George, glad you like it.

Absolutely! I've had a couple of haters on this video. What did you find most interesting or helpful in the video?

@@JesusRevezzo The haters can happen, keep improving Jesus 💪. The demonstration and explanation of how to make a fist and from the easiest to the most difficult push-ups was useful to me.

@@walterlandaburo Thank you sir. I know having a range of exercise difficulty is important to give people success.

You're very welcome edward. I'm happy to hear that you're getting some positive benefit and enjoying the feeling of the movement.

Thank you. What was your biggest takeaway from it?

learning

You're very welcome Brian! And thank you for beard compliment. 😎 What did you find most helpful or interesting about the video?

I am sorry to hear about that. But, it is a great example of what I am talking about in tip #4. It could also be an argument against heavy bag training since those react much differently to our strikes than other people do. 😎 Kidding aside, there is appropriate times to hit heavy bags and to use straight punches, and to use full body back up mass. But as you can verify, we need to be careful doing so. How long did it take to heal?

Yes, the work to be done is in the relaxation of the shoulder and the mind. It's a strange concept, but we must be strong and stable while remaining relaxed. This doesn't mean limp though. Glad you're enjoying the content.

I do enjoy punching people in their biceps and triceps to shut down a fight. And I agree, the size of a fist does have a lot to do with punching power. Although, on the other hand, why are we afraid of a bullet? Because a bullet is very small and delivered with high velocity and extreme accuracy. And as we develop that for ourselves, in our striking, the size of the fist becomes less important. But, then again, a big fist with speed and accuracy is a devastating combination.

Will do. There is plenty more room to explore in this system.

@@JesusRevezzo yay! Can’t wait

Hey @frankperrella thanks for the love. I agree those guys are all great at what they do. Although, I don't know Bryant. Is he a relative of yours? And I remember watching Oleg when he debuted in the UFC many moons ago. Oleg and Vladimir Vasiliev, the Systema founder I am certified by, did a some training videos together many years ago. I believe they called Russian mega fighting from the TRS company. Did you ever see those?

@@JesusRevezzo Bryant may be a distance Relative I would like to find out because he's professional. I'm 44 so I remember Oleg Takagrov & Vladimir Vasilev in Russian Mega fighting Vladimir was a top Boxer to. I have a Russian Sambo & Systema school it's not that far from me. I want to get back to training in Highschool I hurt my back it's been a problem ever since I go See a Chiropractor & Take Holistic Herbs 🌿 it happened When I was Wrestling in Highschool. Systema taught me how to Relax & Hit Harder, I can't stand people who Knock Some of the Martial art's especially if they never tried it. 🙏🥋🥊🥊

@@JesusRevezzo Are you Italian to? 🙏🥊🥊🥋👍 My Family On my Grandfather's side came From Sicily he Knew Ray Boom Boom Mancini back in the day. That was Sad Boom Boom Mancini accidentally killed the Japanese Boxer that hurt Ray's Career

@@frankperrella1202 bummer to hear about the injury from high school and I am happy you found new relaxation and striking abilities with Systema. Have you been able to visit Vladimir in Toronto ever?

@@frankperrella1202 I am half Italian. My father's parents immigrate from the Naples area in like 1900s. My dad was born in Lackawana New York in 1931 and grew up boxing and fighting in the street with friends.

Depending on the situation, I will strike with the whole flat fist. Or the big 1st & 2nd knuckle. You can also strike with the single first knuckle and imagine it's a spear or sword or even a needle that is poking straight through someone. Test those out and let me know what your experience is. 👍

@@JesusRevezzo thanks Bro, I will. I know that striking with the top 2 knuckles is the most popular advice, but I feel with a vertical fist my bottom 3 knuckles seem more comfortable. I feel that with a vertical fist, if I hit with the first 2 knuckles, I need to crank my fist fwd or raise my elbow higher... Which isn't too much of an issue but just doesn't feel natural unless I use a horizontal fist 🤜

I hear you. Also keep in mind, angle and target are variables that may effect this as well.

I am. You can think of the fist a couple of different ways. The whole fist/three knuckle is kind of like a sledgehammer. The two knuckle or one knuckle is more like a bullet. It allows more precision and penetration. It also depends a bit on your hand/fist structure. I’ve seen some guys with giant meaty fist that basically flat across all four knuckles. Interesting you can use either to transfer the strike’s energy through the other person. I know that sounds a little WOO-WOO to some people, but I have an older video where describe how that happens using a Newton’s Craddle toy. The one with the little silver balls hanging from strings. Those really help people see the kinetic energy transfer that can happen with your punches and strikes.

Hey, hey.

You're quite right! There must be some tensing. So perhaps the question is: how much tensing do you need to use in order to make the tight fist? Or maybe the we can consider the idea that you can close your fist loosely with a "mostly-relaxed" forearm while moving and during the moment of impact your tighten the fist - with forearm muscles - and then just as quickly as you tightened, you loosen. Here's another question to ponder, if you are working without gloves, wraps, or other hand protection do you even need to close or tighten the fist to strike effectively? If you have proper structural alignment. I would say Yes you can and here's one reason I say that... If you get into a push up position on your fist, which I imagine you would agree is a very common exercise in fighting arts, and then practice opening your fist so the backs of your fingers are lying flat on the floor you can still learn to do pushups in that position. And if you can learn to do pushups while "standing" on the knuckles and the rest of the hand open, then you can also learn to deliver effective strikes without actually closing or tightening your fist. Sound fair?

You throw the punch, ideally, when you're balanced and have a properly available target. And only under the conditions of not being able to shut down a threat any other way. For other more in-depth explanations we would probably need to meet or do a video call.

I'm open to that. But Vlad also teaches multiple strikes. Being relaxed to the point of the body just knowing when and how to respond.

@@jimfromMaine Indeed he does. Maybe I misunderstood your question of "can you tell me when to throw it??" Can you expand on what you mean when you say when to throw your punch?

Sure. In the self defense I studied many years ago we looked for an opening. A vulnerability in the opponent. A clear opportunity to strike. Most other martial arts, including Systema, teach HOW to strike but rarely do we see WHEN to strike. Is the 'whip' always appropriate as it is an elongated strike? Or is combat better suited for short work?

@@jimfromMaine the strikes will always be dependent on the situation. Just as the self defense studies you've done. Depending on how combat is defined either short work or the elongated whipping strikes may be appropriate. Both can be super effective. You could consider this... If in an actual self defense situation you would use any and all of the tools you have to shut down the threat as fast as possible. And get to safety, call the police, and wait for the clean up process. But, safety is the key, right? On the other hand, if you're a personal bodyguard or some sort of protection professional, short work would more likely be tour go to. If for no other reason, it draws less attention from a crowd. Hope that helps.