The Systema Instructor's Manual: The Completely Revised and Expanded Edition of Exercises & Ideas for Teaching a Systema Class

The only manual written for the person standing at the front of the room. Most Systema books teach you the art. This one teaches you how to run the class. Whether you are starting a small training group, adding Systema to an existing school, or simply want a deeper structure for your own practice, this is the practical, drill-by-drill manual for teaching the Russian martial art. Aaron Ellis has spent more than thirty years in the martial arts — an ISKA Queensland kickboxing champion, a two-time Australian Muay Thai champion, a strength and conditioning coach, and a Systema practitioner since 2005 in the Ryabko–Vasiliev lineage, trained by a number of Vladimir Vasiliev's certified instructors. This book is built from two decades of his own teaching: what works on the floor, what to drop, what order things belong in, and how to explain a drill so it actually lands. Inside you will find: • Nearly 60 drills, each written in a consistent, teachable format — what it trains, how to set it up, how to run it, what it should feel like, the common mistakes, and how to scale it. The four pillars of Systema — breathing, form, movement and relaxation — set out as the foundation everything else is built on. A full breathing section: the seven principles as taught by Vladimir Vasiliev, with practical breath-training drills. Dedicated work on movement and sensitivity, slow sparring, weapons (staff and knife), balance and posture, rolling, and real-world application and protection. Ready-to-run class plans, including a complete ninety-minute class laid out minute by minute, and a planner for building your own. Throughout, the emphasis is the one that defines good Systema teaching: relaxed but never floppy, honest about what works, and always more interested in helping a student feel a principle in their own body than in impressing anyone with technique. Previously published as Exercises & Ideas for Teaching a Systema Class, this is the completely revised and expanded second edition — rewritten, reorganised, illustrated, and substantially enlarged. If you teach Systema, train others, or want to understand the art deeply enough to pass it on, this is the manual to keep in your bag.