Systema Review

Typical Hickory Grove Training Partners Class Agenda

by Mark Hord, November 2005

Having been asked this question a number of times, I thought it would be helpful to others wishing to start a similar group to have a basic class outline. This is just the way we work our group and is not intended to be a substitute for what might be taught by the certified instructors. These notes are as a suggestion only and not as instruction - they are from our experience and what seems to work for us but may require some adjustment for your circumstances. Speak with a certified instructor for more ideas.

Our typical class is 1 hour to 1.5 hours long. We began with 1 hour mainly because I was new and had difficulty coming up with things we could do - but also it helped us ease into training I believe rather than suddenly being overfed, so to speak.

Our class generally follows the same basic agenda:

  1. Setting the agenda, about 5 minutes. I have something prepared but always like to ask if there is something someone else in the group would like to cover that day. We try to accomodate everyone having a say in what our training will be.
  2. Warmups, 15-20 minutes but sometimes less depending on what we have to follow for our agenda.
  3. Basic drills related to the agenda for the class (see the drills for ideas on warmups and basic drill ideas). 20-45 minutes generally beginning with singles or partner drills then progressing to multiple attackers if appropriate for the agenda.
  4. Circle up. This is generally a time in Systema groups to discuss what they did in class and what thoughts they had on the training. It may be voluntary or it may be that you make a rule that everybody must share something - up to you. Our group does this and then goes into a time of prayer requests or sharing something from the bible. (Note: prayer and bible are not typical for all training partners, it just came as a natural thing for our group. But, prayer never hurts so maybe more groups want to try it - let me know if it works for yours.) Then we end with prayer for the requests and for the progress of our training. Depending on how awake everybody is, this might run from 5-15 minutes but we set no time restraints so long as we're staying on topic.

Fascilitator Advice

Again, this is just my opinion and may not reflect what better advice from certified instructors so take it as one person's opinion only! Hopefully that basic agenda gives you enough structure to get started. Here are some rules of thumb that I think you will find helpful:

  • Do not put much emphasis on the time for each portion of the agenda, just let it go for however long it seems to work for you as you get feedback from the training partners.
  • Keep the communication with everybody in the group open; you are not an instructor, you're only a fascilitator.
  • Avoid being the master of ceremonies and try to get everybody involved in suggesting drills or an agenda.
  • Watch for individuals who seem gifted at certain concepts and ask them to fasciliate the class at times; this keeps everybody involved and it keeps you from getting burned out. For example, one of your partners will likely excell at a concept like ground fighting; let them plan the agenda for a class and pick the drills and warmups to share those ground fighting skills. Another training partner may be especially gifted with knife work; let them set the agenda for a class focused on work against/with a blade.
  • Get involved on the discussion forums and ask for ideas there from others with more experience. For instance, I posted a question about the "swiss ball" once and got a lot of great ideas for ways we could use it in our group. See Big Ball Ideas.
  • Do not stress and worry so much about getting this right; relax and have fun.