If you have some knowledge of martial arts training in styles other than Systema, then one of the most obvious differences you will notice when first exposed to Systema is the lack of ranks and related trappings. In Systema, there are no ranks, no belts, no titles such as "Sensei" or "Master" or any of the usual formalties that you would be accustomed to in most other arts. There are times, in fact, where "class" appears to have no order at all but seems to have more in common with a riot than a class. Perhaps that is one reason we also do not normally call it "class" but usually refer to our gathering as a "training partners group." And, the differences are not mere symantics but differences that point to the underlying differences in philosophy from other arts.
"[Systema is] not a martial art you learn, it's a martial art you've forgotten." Martin Wheeler
At the core of the differences is the basic philosophy behind Systema. Systema practicioners are not training to learn the same set of skills as our instructors, quite the contrary. We do not want to develop the same skills in every student. Instead, every student is working toward developing skills that are natural and therefore already present in seed form in themselves. It cannot be conveyed by another but only discovered by the individual. A "teacher" with the Systema mindset is not so much a teacher as a facilitator guiding the student toward their own interpretations of basic principles. Systema training, at its core, requires the practicioner to teach himself by discovery through doing the work.
Further, Systema places a great emphasis on the feel of an adversary's body movement. The Systema student has to feel and see how an adversary's body responds when pushed in various situations. In this way, the student gains a practical and intuitive understanding of body mechanics by experiment. Because of this, Systema students work very little or not at all with punching bags, breaking boards, etc. In fact, such work is considered by many to be detrimental to gaining the intuitive body-feel skills we are trying to develop.
Though the core philosophy is auto-didactic, it does not mean there are no instructors or that instructors are unnecessary. And, it does not mean there is not a certification process in Systema to become an approved instructor. The implication is simply that a certified instructor is not required for a training partners group to learn. Instructors who are certified in Systema are few but growing in number as the art gains popularity.
Instructor is, perhaps, a misleading term in itself since instructors in Systema are more often facilitators guiding practicioners toward the work rather than lecturing or demonstrating. A certified instructor has no special title to distinguish him or her from other students - they are equal pilgrims. But, rest assured, the general acknowledgement of respect and honor to the certified instructors is on a par with any other art as might be expected. As with any other art, respectt is earned and given but just not formalized with titles or bowing or lowered eyes or any of the rest of the external formalities so common in most other arts.
Training partners groups are not a typical classroom setting. It is more an informal gathering of individuals who are at various levels of skill all training with one another in random groups of 2 or more individuals. Often, there is no specific "leader" identified and can be as simple as the group getting together, discussing what they have seen in videos or seminars, and suggesting what concepts they would like to practice. Sometimes an individual will act as a facilitator who brings a suggested general agenda - for instance, a concentration on work against knees and understanding the movement of knees. Following that. the group will divide up into groups of two or more (dependent on the focus suggested) and work on drills that teach a basic concept. Students are encouraged to put their own "stamp" on the concepts they learn and to improvise in every drill to try different approaches. In this free-experimentation, students learn about their own movement with respect to one or more adversaries in their group. Generally, the drill switches back and forth in each of the groups with each member of the group improvising their own interpretations of the concept.
As stated previously, a certified instructor is not required. Generally, one individual will act as a facilitator but there is no reason all members in the class cannot share the responsibility or rotate the responsibility for convenience. For that matter, there is no reason someone has to be an oversear to the entire class, each pair of practicioners could be their own class within a class. But, in general, in the interest of time-management, someone will step forward to offer the class some structure and focus.
At times, the drills seem to have little to do with "fighting" skills. This is sometimes seen by new students as reason to believe it is of little use in real world situations. But Systema training is indeed probably the most effective hand to hand fighting art ever developed. The reason the skills may seem to have little to do with fighting is because they are fundamental skills that are intended to give the student a feel for his own movement and the movement of others. With that fundamental understanding, he gains a solid foundation on which to build additional natural skills that are more obviously fighting skills. It may seem to be a longer process to work on a "foundation" first and then add structure but, in the end, a good foundation makes way for the structure to develop more rapidly.
It is not unusual for Systema students to develop a greater fighting skill set in a matter of months than they would in a year of similar training intensity in other arts. In fact, speed of development was one of the goals that drove how the art developed. But, do not think that faster or less structured means easier. Systema training can be intense and brutal at times, especially as you become more proficient and are challenged more by students and instructors who are farhter along than you.
For students who are accustomed to more rigid structure in their martial arts experience, all of this can sound rather confusing and seem pointless. But, the underlying learning philosophy is that students learn best not by being told or shown but by doing the work. "Do the work," is a phrase you will hear often among Systema practicioners. It is a core philosophy that we learn fundamentals and creativity by doing the fundamentals and creating our own skills to add to them. Creativity cannot be conveyed from a teacher to a student, it can only be learned by doing the work. And, training partners are the essential ingredient to doing the work. Watching the videos and perhaps practicing some fundamental skills like rolling and falling are things you can do on your own. But to progress to any level you need another body to work with to get that intuitive feel and practice the creative improvisation Systema requires.
Systema students are not all learning the same things so there would be no meaningful way to rank them against their peers. There would also be no meaningful way to judge them in competition against one another because there are no standard rules or requirements to be measured for comparison. It is not that we do not wish to be measured, it is simply that it is impossible to measure something without a standard of measurement. It is not that competition is discouraged but more that a lack of standard measure makes it impossible. Systema's core philosophy and methods of learning are geared to match our goal in a real fight - not winning but surviving and doing the least damage to the attacker as necessary for that goal.
Systema does not lack the rankings and titles because it's practicioners are "above all those things," it lacks them because they do not make sense in the context of it's core philosophy. No one can teach you their art and call it "Systema." They can convey some fundamental concepts but it is the individual who builds on them his unique interpretation. There is no wrong or right way to do something, only the way that is natural and works for the student. Students can then focus on the things they do well and work to compensate where they are lacking in natural ability.