Name: Calm on Contact: Systema Foundational Elements & Striking
Start: 2026-11-07T09:00:00+11:00
End: 2026-11-07T16:00:00+11:00
Location: Narrandjeri Stadium

A one-day Systema seminar in two parts. Scott McQueen lays the foundations: alignment, movement, distance, timing, position and tension, plus breathing and health work you can take home. Cristian Isbasescu then tests it under impact. You'll deliver strikes and learn to take them calmly. All levels welcome.

"Only if a man can guarantee that he will never be hit in a fight, that he can see everything coming and that he can perfectly avoid all the time — only such a man doesn't need this training."
Vladimir Vasiliev, Strikes: Soul Meets Body

Contact is where training stops being theoretical. The moment someone reaches you, your alignment either holds or collapses, your breathing either continues or stops, and your body either meets the work or braces against it. This seminar is about arriving at that moment already calm — and staying that way.

The day is built in two halves that depend on each other. Scott lays the platform. Cristian tests it under impact.

Part One · with Scott McQueen

Foundational Elements

Every skill in Systema rests on a small number of physical fundamentals, and most problems under pressure trace back to one of them. We'll work through natural and optimal alignment, movement, distance, timing, position, and tension calibration — learning to carry only the tension a task actually requires, and to recognise the distance at which your body feels calm and responds quickly rather than reaching or crowding.

The session closes with health practices you can take home: the breathing and conditioning work that makes the rest sustainable over decades rather than seasons.

Part Two · with Cristian Isbasescu

Calm on Contact: Striking

Striking is an enormous subject, and this session will meet the room where it is — the aim is to raise everyone's level from wherever they start, not to run a fixed syllabus.

We'll work both directions, because they're inseparable. If you are ever in a situation where you need to use strikes, your opponent will be striking you too. That must not come as a surprise, physically or psychologically.

We'll spend real time on receiving: preparing body and psyche for contact, keeping impact from penetrating, using breathing, movement, position and tension control to reduce what lands, releasing a strike's effects afterward, and helping a partner recover. And we'll work on delivery: generating power without tension, finding positions that stay comfortable for you and uncomfortable for your opponent, and striking from whatever position you're actually in.

Suitable for all levels of experience. Newer students will spend more time on the fundamentals of structure and breathing; experienced students will find plenty of depth in the contact work. Both instructors will scale the material to who's in the room.

Your instructors

Scott & Cristian

Scott McQueen

Scott McQueen has trained in martial arts for over 30 years and has been certified to teach Systema since 2004 by the late Colonel Mikhail Ryabko, founder of Systema, and Vladimir Vasiliev, Director and Chief Instructor of Systema Headquarters in Toronto. He has trained extensively at both headquarters in Moscow and Toronto, and has founded and taught at Systema schools in Tokyo, London, New York, Singapore, and Seattle. He co-founded Systema Japan in 2004 and ran Systema Downtown Bellevue.

His teaching leans heavily on what he learned directly from Mikhail and Vladimir, and on making sure students understand the reasoning behind every drill, not just its shape.

Cristian Isbasescu

Cristian Isbasescu has trained in martial arts for over 30 years and discovered Vladimir Vasiliev in 2010. He has been very fortunate to train with Vladimir Vasiliev and to meet Mikhail Ryabko on a few occasions, and approached his training through his experience in the military and the security field, and growing up in Eastern Europe in the 90s.

This gave him a different understanding of what Systema has to offer in real-life situations.

The details

On the day

When

Saturday 7 November 2026, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, with a one-hour lunch break.

Where

Narrandjeri Stadium, 281 Darebin Road, Thornbury VIC 3071. Enter from Darebin Road opposite Bunnings and turn left at the roundabout. The stadium sits behind the Darebin International Sports Centre. Open in Google Maps

Getting there

Parking on site. Tram 86 runs along High Street, and the closest train station is Croxton on the Mernda line.

What to bring

Comfortable clothes you can move and fall in, water, and something to eat for the lunch break. No uniforms or special gear.

Who it's for

Everyone, from complete beginners to experienced martial artists. The material is scaled to the room.

Questions

Email rmasystemamelbourne@gmail.com and we'll answer.