"be like...I don't know how to say...jello?"

notes from Systema! and stuff.
-it was hella muggy. Moist, if you will. Park + humid = itchy.
-there were more Russkies than Amurricans...one was supercute, though
-passing a knife from hand to hand while doing pushups (without tossing or rolling the knife) is incredibly challenging
-getting stabbed by a blunted metal knife still hurts a lot. I'm not dead or bleeding copiously, but yeesh.
-achieving that relaxed and sensitive state needed for being able to turn with a slashing blade, or sense one getting drawn in closequarters in failing twilight, requires being nigh meditative while fighting. This is going to take some practise.
-bigger "sticks" (ie, large clubs) are preferred to little kali sticks (which apparently don't hurt enough to be proper incentive to move). Metal pipes are popular in Russia.
-it's frustrating being with other students who rely on previous martial arts experience, rather than doing the non-technique drills, when I'm expending noticeable energy trying to unlearn bad habits (yes, you used to be a ninja. I used to be the opposite of a ninja. moving on. actually that person wasn't so bad it was more the tkd person.)
-the other frustrating thing is a general lack of instruction; yeah, I get that it's like creative writing, and you really can't tell someone how to improvise, but the lack of instruction I mean...actually, it's not the teacher, when working with him, his instruction is great (if confusing in a koan-way), it's just working with others and the wild inconsistency in what they do at times (not in skill, just...hitting hard, hitting soft, trying to hit vs trying to show, moving feet vs not moving feet...)