I can't really speak for Systema, and there are certainly some people in aikido who focus on mystic nonsense.

But the base underlying principles are sound. I've been taken apart by a 73 year old man literally half my size. I've also trained with other people in various jujutsus, and both of us have found something to learn from the other.

I don't really think it's self-deception. Maybe for some people, it is, but I'm under no illusion about how well I'd do against one of the UFC guys.

Besides, people seem to think that Aikido practitioners are somehow restricted to the demonstrated techniques. IMO, those are merely teaching aids, the "finger pointing at the stars", if you like

Ultimately, debating martial arts on the internet is even more pointless than debating with creationists. You really need to experience each art to understand it. If it isn't for you, that's fine; find something else that is.

It is true that MMA is not the be-all end-all of martial arts,and in fact "two persons of equivalent weight competing willingly on neutral ground" is quite far removed from "actual trouble" (key words: "two", "willingly").

That being said, two things:
1) There have been 'no-hold-barred' fights / underground duels recorded since at least the 1920s, some of them very violent and bone-splitting (famously: Kimura Vs Gracie), and 'soft' aikido-style systems never won anything.

2) More importantly, systema does claim a number of things, including being a martial art in the military sense, and being the product of an elite military force, to which it was reserved (i.e. it was secret). It also claims to have semi-mystical roots dating from the middle ages, and bonker stuff like 'paralyzing soft punch' and 'healing punch' (this is claimed by its actual founder - you can look it up). Of course none of those claims have been substantiated.

So systema is either:
- An elite martial art with Fist-Of-The-North-Star like powers, yet no one heard of it before or beside (not pre-USSR historians, not recognized Russian martial artists, and not actual Russian elite military officers), and was/is super-secret, yet can be somehow taught to anyone.

Or:
- Stuff made up by two guys out of the army.

You decide.

If your goal is "studying" and "bettering yourself", shouldn't that involve something that's honest with its claims?

I agree with Velocity5, it is, indeed, self-deception.

Your video, What Systema looks like once you've reached a certain level, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

Yup, I should of known it was going to go this way.

This post wasn't to say Systema = superior MA.
Evidently if you're counting on competing in the octagon you're going to go with grappling/BJJ + Kick-boxing/MuayThai etc. but the UFC & Co are a very small part of life.

That being said, having practiced a similar art to Systema, I can guarantee that when you train with an experienced and balanced partner there's no compliance if you're serious about your training. It's actually a team work where you point out your opponent's openings and mistakes and gradually go faster and harder. And then there's a limit to what you can spar without risking serious injury : that's when you slow it down.

In the end, again, it's about what works for you and what you need as a person in your private and/or professional life.

And this is why I don't bother with these debates any more.

I don't care what you think you know about Aikido or Systema or Wing Chun or Tai Chi or whatever else you want to hate on.

It's not all about "proving" yourself in an MMA match or "on the street" or whatever other made up scenario you care to concoct.

If you are a better person for having studied your art.... that's all there is to it.

Yep, Aikido is a lot like that too.

It's really easy to look at an Aikido demo or class and think that it's all choreographed and one person is just being compliant. Then you try it and realise that the "compliant" person is just trying to avoid having their joints smashed.

Try the same movement with a beginner and they'll get badly hurt, and it will look clumsy and inelegant.

That said, I don't even worry about it any more. Self defence is not the only reason to train in a martial art.

Systema interests me in the way they absorb power. I don't know enough about it to say if these guys are good or not, but their movements are certainly interesting.

Systema - I like a good hybrid martial art.

I saw things from Aikido, Karate, Wing Tsun, and they even had multiple attackers.

But some of the things I saw, looked like bullshit. Especially those pressure points, or what ever the hell it was. The disarms where very good.

The punch they were showing was very good, there is nothing special about it only the target area they choose. The abscess right below the bottom of the sternum. That's not something you practice on friends, because it can cause damage to organs.

Every ones body is different, and some people may not react the same way as others do to pressure points or pain.

Take the chance to work with some one who has strange flexibility.

systema, the scientology of martial arts?

Russia Systema?

Are you serious? If they used that those kids would be dead.

What I just saw there, in the US would have been three counts of assault, aggravated assault (for kicking the guy on the ground) and attempted murder(for not helping the guy on the ground).

In the US a security guard after hurting some one is immediately attempt apply first response. So if a guard shoots you, in the US, and then starts first aid on you, that person is doing their jobs. If they fail to, they may very well go to jail for it.

As for martial arts? I saw none in their, all I saw was some bullshit brawling. Martial Artists usually don't get into shit like this, unless you mean that MMA sports stuff.

I didn't even see any Russia Systema in there.

HOWEVER: What was that kid thinking punching the guard ... lol