Maryland Systema Annual Self-Defense Symposium

Takoma Park, MD — March 25, 2023 —

The Maryland Systema Annual Self-Defense Symposium was announced as a two-day self-defense training event scheduled for September 23–24, 2023, in Takoma Park, Maryland.

The event was designed to bring adult students and instructors together for practical training in awareness, breathing, movement, balance, controlled contact, and decision-making under pressure.

Practical Training for Uncertain Situations

Self-defense situations rarely develop in a predictable sequence. Distance changes, people resist, movement becomes restricted, and decisions must often be made before all the facts are clear.

The planned event would give participants an opportunity to examine how breathing, posture, movement, awareness, and judgment work together when physical pressure increases.

Training subjects were expected to include:

• Recognizing changes in behavior, posture, and distance
• Maintaining awareness of exits, obstacles, and nearby people
• Managing breathing during effort, fatigue, and contact
• Protecting balance while being pushed, pulled, grabbed, or restrained
• Moving at close range without becoming rigid
• Ground movement and returning to the feet
• Awareness around weapons and multiple people
• Protecting another person while preserving mobility
• Using physical force responsibly and stopping when the need ends

Exercises would be introduced through supervised partner work. Resistance, speed, and uncertainty would increase gradually as participants demonstrated better movement, communication, and control.

Additional time was also planned for participants to review common training mistakes and discuss how those habits affect real-world decision-making. Instructors would help students identify unnecessary tension, poor positioning, delayed movement, and narrow attention, then practice simple adjustments that improve control without relying on speed, strength, or memorized sequences alone.

“This self-defense symposium is intended to give adults more time to examine the principles behind practical self-defense,” said Jim Eglin, founder and Chief Instructor of Maryland Systema. “The emphasis is not on memorizing a perfect response. It is on recognizing what is changing, maintaining useful movement, and making sound decisions while pressure increases.”

Training Through Controlled Contact

Partner training provides information that solo practice cannot. Another person adds weight, timing, resistance, changing direction, and physical contact.

Participants would work at an agreed level of pressure and communicate about speed, injuries, physical restrictions, and safety. The purpose would not be to defeat a training partner or turn the event into a competition.

Controlled contact helps reveal habits that cooperative practice may hide. Participants may discover that they hold their breath, raise their shoulders, stare at one point, lean too far, or attempt to use strength before understanding the direction of pressure.

Recognizing these habits gives students an opportunity to adjust their breathing, movement, balance, and position.

Open to Adults With Different Levels of Experience

The self-defense symposium was intended for adults with varying levels of martial arts and self-defense experience. Beginners would be able to work at a manageable pace, while more experienced participants could explore greater resistance, variation, and decision pressure.

Participants would not need a uniform or expensive equipment. Training activities could be adjusted by changing speed, range, resistance, and contact.

Maryland Systema emphasizes that no training event can guarantee personal safety or provide a reliable answer for every threat. The purpose of the program would be to help participants improve awareness, movement, judgment, and control through supervised practice.

About Maryland Systema

Maryland Systema provides practical adult self-defense training based on awareness, breathing, movement, balance, controlled contact, and responsible decision-making.

Founder and Chief Instructor Jim Eglin began training in Systema in 2013 and earned his Full Systema Instructor Certification in 2019 under Vladimir Vasiliev. He renewed his certification in 2022 and 2024. His broader training includes Krav Maga, Judo, Knight Jiu-Jitsu®, and Boxing.

Maryland Systema offers adult group classes in Rockville and Takoma Park, Maryland. Private lessons, workshops, and specialized training are also available throughout the Washington, DC area.

For additional information about our annual self-defense symposium, visit marylandsystema.com.

Press Contact

Jim Eglin
Founder and Chief Instructor
Maryland Systema
301-326-9146