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Introduction

Child's Play is a term used by Russian Systema Practitioners. The idea is to teach principles of a subject and then allow the student to explore and develop their natural movements when applying the principles. In essence, remove all prior "baggage" and explore the principles using a childlike mindset.

In a "fight or flight" (adrenaline induced) state caused by an event, the body restricts blood flow to extremities and reduces fine motor skills. That means, an untrained person's brain shifts to the mid-brain and functions in "survival mode." The body will move instinctively. Some refer to this as twitch reflex, such as when you move away from a hot pan or fire. This instinctive movement can be trained and that is the goal of Child's Play Study Group.

How to train instinctive movement?

There are many methods used by systems around the world. Our focus uses various agility/movement and scenario-based drills designed to bring unconscious movement to the conscious thought. In conscious thought, we are able to analyze the movement and suggest corrections based on maintaining balance and structure of the body. Think of a dancer who has perfect grace and movement. The dancer has been trained to maintain balance and structure of their body in order to express themselves through natural movement.

Course Curriculum

Like any skill, it takes hours of proper training to act instinctively. People looking to fast-track the learning process are lying to themselves. There is no substitute for training. There are, however, many ways to train. Whichever way works best for you is best. I use drills designed to show students how their body will respond to a stimuli. Understanding the body's response is the process of conscious learning. The response can then be analyzed, corrected, and retrained. The brain truly is like a computer. It will store a trained response to become a natural response. Another aspect of our drills is to train the mind. There is a principle that the mind and body are one. Our training develops and trains the mind to understand the body's response, understand the dynamics of the event, and remain calm and in control during an event.

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