西斯特瑪有些看起來似乎和一般武術或是防身不太一樣的練習，例如：站或坐或躺著被擊打太陽神經叢、躺在地上被很多人壓著鑽出來、閉眼或單手或單腳受限下進行練習、被踩著大腿正面作仰臥起坐、、等，這些練習不是在搞怪，而是在幫助練習者經驗到不同刺激下覺察自己身心的覺受，並維持呼吸以及對自己身體的控制，是一種探索式的練習。想要知道為何西斯特瑪進行這些練習，也許可以從軍用格鬥技術開始說起。
在現代戰爭的宏大敘事中，格鬥術常被視為士兵最後的保命手段。然而，從俄羅斯古武術西斯特瑪（Systema）的角度來看，格鬥術的演進史，本質上是人類在極端壓力下奪回生理主導權的漫長抗爭。當體能耗盡、空間受限、恐懼吞噬理性時，士兵真正能依靠的並非死板的預設招式，而是回歸生物本能的生理韌性。
現代軍用格鬥術的邏輯起點，可追溯至20世紀初由費爾貝恩（W.E.Fairbairn）研發的Defendu系統。費爾貝恩曾在混亂的上海租界處理過數百次街頭格鬥，其經典著作《Get Tough!》奠定了早期軍警格鬥技術殘酷且直接的基調。雖然他意識到競技與實戰的落差，但早期的體系仍傾向將士兵訓練成執行精密招式的機器。
從西斯特瑪的觀點來看，特定招式在極端壓力下往往反而是一種限制。根據行為科學中的希克定律（Hick's Law），大腦儲存的應對選項越多，需要反應的時間就越長。在生死關頭，士兵短暫的猶豫往往源於搜尋正確答案的邏輯過載，而非對環境流動的感知，這種認知停滯在戰場上往往是致命的。
到了1980年代，美軍陸戰隊推行了著名的LINE系統（Linear Involuntary Neural-override Engagement），試圖透過高強度的重複操練達成神經覆蓋，也就是強行用肌肉記憶去壓制人體對恐懼的自然反應。然而，這套系統最終在 1998 年遭到廢棄，其失敗主因是所謂的狀態依存性（State Dependency）。LINE系統試圖用剛性的技術去對抗生理本能，卻忽略了若士兵未學會處理呼吸與緊張，一旦心跳突破175–180 BPM，交感神經會完全主宰身體，大腦會為了生存而關閉非必要的資訊輸入，神經系統便會發生短路。此時視野會變狹窄，甚至聽覺會被排除，平時練得再熟的動作，也會因交感神經過度亢奮導致的肌肉僵直而無法施展。這證明了單純的技術操練，始終無法跨越生理崩潰的鴻溝。
隨後取代 LINE 的 MCMAP（Marine Corps Martial Arts Program）標誌著軍人格鬥進入了生理與心理高度整合的新維度。它不再單純追求殺敵技術，而是將訓練重心轉向壓力管理與人格特質的鍛鍊。
這個想法是格鬥不應只是肌肉的對抗，而是呼吸、放鬆與身體運作的動態管理。透過在極度疲勞下的對抗訓練，迫使士兵在體能透支時仍能維持戰術覺察。這種對生理系統的壓力測試揭示了一個真理：唯有在生理接近崩潰時仍能做出的動作，才是真正能保命的本能。也就是說，當一名士兵連續作戰數日、極度缺眠且身負重物時，身體會進入生理崩潰模式，此時精細動作會迅速退化，人體僅能依靠大幅度、高容錯的粗大動作。
而西斯特瑪的訓練不給予標準答案，而是要求練習者掌握呼吸規律以平復神經系統、維持肌肉放鬆以防止恐懼僵直，並利用自然的身體結構在各種狀態下均可維持行動能力。
站或坐或躺著被擊打太陽神經叢的練習並不是為了練習抗打，而是幫助練習者找到被擊打時如何透過呼吸回復身體能力、經驗到被擊打產生不適時身體發生的反應、以及如何透過身體的操作來減輕被擊打所受的影響。這不是一個單向的練習，進行擊打的人不是用傷害對方的想法去做這個練習，而是觀察對方的承受能力下進行擊打。被擊打的人一般來說身體會在被擊打的地方產生一個緊張來抵抗這個擊打，擊打的人要探索如何讓這個自然產生的緊張不發生之下進行擊打。很多時候我們看到西斯特瑪的大師進行擊打時表面上看起來好像沒有很大的力量，但是對手的反應很大就是因為這個探索式的練習。
躺在地上被很多人壓著鑽出來也是個類似的探索練習，當躺在地上自己身上有好幾個人壓在自己身上時，最快感受到的是呼吸困難，接下來視野變狹小、外界聲音變小、身體變僵硬都是練習者需要去解決的課題。用蠻力脫出當然是一個選項，但是這種作法對於體力的消耗極大，這個練習其實和拔河這種全身性運動很像：看起來很簡單但其實非常耗體力。如何在維持體力下脫出就是這個練習的主要探索課題。沒有標準答案，但是呼吸、放鬆、覺知一樣是重點。
現在我們練習的西斯特瑪在訓練強度上和軍用版的不是一個量級，例如在長時間不睡覺的情況或在極端惡劣的訓練環境下進行訓練，但西斯特瑪的各種抗擊打訓練與對抗練習，本質上都是在幫助練習者於不適的狀態下，重新找回呼吸、放鬆與行動的自由。
Systema encompasses several practices that may seem unconventional compared to typical martial arts or self-defense methods. Examples include being struck in the solar plexus while standing, sitting, or lying down; wriggling free from beneath a pile of multiple people on the ground; practicing with eyes closed or while limited to using only one hand or leg; performing sit-ups with someone stepping on your thighs, and more. These exercises are not random oddities; rather, they are designed to help practitioners experience various stimuli, heighten awareness of their own mind-body sensations, maintain proper breathing, and retain control over their body. It is an exploratory form of training. To understand why Systema includes these practices, it might be best to start by discussing military combat techniques.
Within the grand narrative of modern warfare, hand-to-hand combat skills are often viewed as a soldier's final means of survival. However, from the perspective of the ancient Russian martial art Systema, the history of combat evolution is essentially a long struggle by humanity to reclaim physiological dominance under extreme pressure. When physical strength is exhausted, space is restricted, and fear consumes reason, what a soldier truly relies upon is not rigid, preset moves, but a return to biological instinct—physiological resilience.
The logical starting point for modern military hand-to-hand combat can be traced back to the Defendu system, developed by W.E. Fairbairn in the early 20th century. Fairbairn had handled hundreds of street fights in the chaotic Shanghai International Settlement, and his classic work, Get Tough!, established the brutal and direct tone for early military and police combat techniques. Although he recognized the gap between competition and real-world application, the early systems still tended to train soldiers to become machines executing precise techniques.
From Systema's point of view, specific, preset techniques often become a limitation under extreme pressure. According to Hick's Law in behavioral science, the more response options the brain has stored, the longer the time required for a reaction. In a life-or-death moment, a soldier's brief hesitation often stems from logical overload while searching for the "correct answer," rather than a perception of the fluid environment. This cognitive stagnation on the battlefield is frequently fatal.
By the 1980s, the US Marine Corps implemented the well-known LINE system (Linear Involuntary Neural-override Engagement), attempting to achieve "neural override" through high-intensity, repetitive drills—essentially, forcibly using muscle memory to suppress the body's natural response to fear. However, this system was ultimately abandoned in 1998, primarily due to what is known as State Dependency. The LINE system attempted to use rigid techniques to combat biological instincts but overlooked the fact that if a soldier had not learned to manage breathing and tension, once the heart rate surpassed 175–180 BPM, the sympathetic nervous system would completely dominate the body. The brain would shut down non-essential information input for survival, and the nervous system would "short-circuit." At this point, vision narrows (tunnel vision), and even hearing can be excluded (auditory exclusion). Techniques, no matter how well-practiced, cannot be executed due to muscle rigidity caused by excessive sympathetic arousal. This demonstrates that pure technical drilling can never bridge the chasm of physiological collapse.
The subsequent replacement for LINE, MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program), marked military combat's entry into a new dimension that highly integrates both physiology and psychology. It no longer focuses purely on killing techniques but instead shifts the training emphasis to stress management and character development.
The idea is that combat should not be merely an opposition of muscles but a dynamic management of breathing, relaxation, and bodily mechanics. Through adversarial training under extreme fatigue, soldiers are forced to maintain tactical awareness even when physically spent. This stress-testing of physiological systems reveals a truth: only the movements that can still be performed when on the brink of physiological collapse are true life-saving instincts. That is to say, when a soldier has been fighting continuously for days, is severely sleep-deprived, and is carrying heavy loads, the body enters a mode of physiological collapse. At this point, fine motor skills rapidly degrade, and the body can only rely on gross motor movements that are large in scope and have a high tolerance for error.
In contrast, Systema training does not provide standard answers. Instead, it requires practitioners to master breathing rhythms to calm the nervous system, maintain muscle relaxation to prevent fear-induced rigidity, and utilize natural body mechanics to retain mobility under any circumstance.
The exercise of being struck in the solar plexus while standing, sitting, or lying down is not intended to train the ability to withstand impact (impact conditioning). Rather, it helps the practitioner find how to restore body functionality through breathing when struck, to experience the body's reactions when discomfort arises from being hit, and how to use body mechanics to mitigate the impact of the blow. This is not a one-way exercise. The person delivering the strike does not do so with the intention of harming the other; instead, they strike while observing the other's capacity to receive the blow. Generally, the body of the person receiving the strike will generate tension at the point of impact to resist the blow. The person striking must explore how to deliver the hit without causing this naturally occurring tension to manifest. Often, when we see Systema masters deliver a strike, it may appear externally as though it lacks great force, yet the opponent's reaction is significant—precisely because of this exploratory form of practice.
Lying on the ground with several people piled on top and wriggling free is a similar exploratory drill. When lying on the ground with several people on top of you, the first thing felt is difficulty breathing. Following this, narrowed vision, quieter external sounds, and body stiffness are all challenges the practitioner needs to solve. Using brute force to escape is, of course, an option, but this approach consumes immense physical energy. This exercise is actually very similar to a full-body sport like tug-of-war: it looks simple but is extremely demanding on physical stamina. How to escape while conserving stamina is the main subject of exploration in this drill. There is no standard answer, but breathing, relaxation, and awareness remain the key points.
The training intensity of the Systema we practice now is not on the same magnitude as a military version—for instance, training under conditions of prolonged sleep deprivation or in extremely harsh training environments. However, the various forms of impact conditioning and adversarial drills in Systema are, in essence, designed to help practitioners, when in a state of discomfort, rediscover the freedom of breathing, relaxation, and movement.
