Practices: Pain as a Training Device in Systema (w mayor Komarov)

Mayor Komarov sees Systema as a way of learning very efficient principles for everyday life. In this interview fragment he talks more about the role of pain in physical practice and how pain can be used to direct oneself towards a more efficient, healthy behavior.

Physical practice – in Systema – allows one to integrate principles of non-resistance, relaxation, fluidity and continuity into everyday life. For example, when you lift something heavy normally you’d hold your breath, but in fact – after you train – you learn that when you do it while holding your breath you might hurt yourself. Therefore, pain is a good teacher, because it shows you how not to do things, how to do something in a way that is more correct to avoid pain.