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Systema Up Against the Wall!　by Scott Meredith

Mr. Scott Meredith is in Seattle, WA; he is a student and assistant instructor of Vladimir Vasiliev

Walls are a simple bit of universal architecture -
functional, unassuming, and humble in their supportive
role. For strength, health, mind, and body training,
walls can add a dimension of fun, honesty and
supportive reality. We'll survey just a few of the
ways you can work walls into your training.

But first, a little background. In Systema, all
training functions on multiple levels. There is no
concept of a pure strength exercise, or an obsessive
muscle isolation. All work promotes simultaneous
growth on the physical (strength; flexibility);
psychological (perception; understanding); emotional
(confidence) and intuitive levels. Wall training
serves these deeper purposes as well, and it can be
incorporated into many of foundational drills of
Systema, fostering both practical preparation for
combat as well as a psychological and energetic
transformation of the student. All these exercises, in
the words of the Chief Systema Teacher Mikhail Ryabko,
�must be perfected to make you not only a superior
fighter, but a better, healthier and calmer person.'

First, let's consider exercises that particularly
develop your fingers and hands. We want fingers and
hands that are not only strong, but also 'smart',
meaning they are aware, sensitive, and flexible under
all kinds of unusual pressures and positions.

1. Finger wall-walk -
Face the wall, standing about one or two feet out from
it, feet spaced a bit beyond shoulder-width apart. Now
lean onto the wall, contacting it with your fingers
only, as though doing fingertip push-ups, with one
third or so of your bodyweight supported with hands.
You can rise to the balls of your feet. Now, begin to
'walk' with your hands all over the wall, continuously
shifting your hand positions along the surface, up and
down, back and forth, even crossing your arms under
one another. This exercise tends to free up your mind
and body, leaving you feeling extremely comfortable.
When you are ready, twist your whole body as you reach
behind with one arm, reversing your direction and
facing outward from the wall, but still supported as
before, by just your fingers on the surface. Now,
leaning backwards, 'walk' with hands all over the
surface, up and down, back and forth, just as when
facing the wall. Reverse again, to your original
position.

Moving beyond just fingers, we have their supporting
systems, namely hands, arms and shoulders. These can
also be �worked� using your wall ! For example, you
may know of ordinary fingertip push-ups, but consider
this interesting variation:

2. Wall-and-floor fingertip push-up -
Assume a push-up position and turn you body parallel to
the wall, (as if you are laying on your side) with
one arm on the wall and the other on the floor,
supporting yourself with the fingers of both hands.
Your feet are near each other, slightly out from the
wall. Now, lower yourself into the push-up. When you
feel you cannot lower anymore without collapsing, hold
your position a bit longer, and shuffle your feet
backward, keeping up with your fingers working
backwards along the wall and floor as well.
Wall training can also be used to highlight certain
possibilities of movement with unexpected areas of the
body. All such unconventional motion develops your
body and brain.

3. Shoulder wall-walk -
Face out from the wall; let your upper back contact
the wall. Use your shoulder blades and upper body to
'walk' across the wall surface, back and forth, up and
down, and shift your feet as needed to keep it
interesting. You may wish to stand on the balls of
your feet, rather than flat-footed, for greater
mobility. This work emphasizes the shoulders and back,
two areas whose extension and movement potential is
often overlooked.

Hey, as long as we are talking about relaxing, why
don�t we just lie down? Near the wall, of course!

4. Raising your body with your palms -
This is a very difficult exercise indeed.
Lie on your back at 90 degree angle to the wall
your head up against it. Now, place your palms on the
wall behind you, and simply attempt to walk yourself
up, using your hands or fingertips. This one is a
little tricky, because if you do not relax your
abdomen, it will turn into an ordinary sit-up. So, you
need to make sure your whole abdomen is relaxed, and
that the hands and fingers are doing all the work. The
same exercise can also be performed while lying in the
same orientation to the wall, but on your chest.

And as always in Systema, every variation implies its
own reversal, so we also can try the following.

5. Lie on your back at 90-degree angle to the wall, with
your feet up against it. Now, using only your foot and
leg power, begin to climb up the wall. You can scoot
yourself forward using your back muscles as needed to
accommodate your rise. This can also be done on a
tree, using your legs to grip around the trunk as you
'climb' yourself straight up.

You will find that all the exercises above tend to
make you, or your body, 'think' as you work them, as
they offer unfamiliar angles and challenges.
Furthermore, when we work against the wall in the
kinds of exercises described above, the development of
the tendons is emphasized. The development of the
tendons, as the crucial link between bones and
muscles, in turn yields energy, strength, and health
benefits to the entire physical system. Try the work
above, smile as you sweat, and enjoy yourself!

This article was published on June 01, 2003.