Annual Self-Defense Symposium: 5 Powerful Training Priorities

Two-day event planned for September 23–24, 2023, in Takoma Park, Maryland.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TAKOMA PARK, MD, March 25, 2023 — Maryland Systema has announced its annual self-defense symposium, a two-day training event scheduled for September 23–24, 2023, in Takoma Park, Maryland.

The planned event would bring adult students and instructors together to examine awareness, breathing, movement, balance, controlled contact, and decision-making under pressure.

Instruction would include supervised partner exercises, gradual increases in resistance, and opportunities to review common training difficulties. The event was intended for adults with different levels of martial arts and self-defense experience.

“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.”

Annual Self-Defense Symposium to Examine Five Training Priorities

Self-defense situations rarely remain in one arrangement. Distance changes, another person moves unexpectedly, or an obstacle restricts a previously available route.

The planned instruction would examine how participants respond to these changes. Exercises would begin with clear tasks and manageable contact before introducing greater variation.

The annual self-defense symposium would organize this work around five connected priorities: awareness, breathing, balance, movement, and judgment.

Each priority would remain connected to the others. Participants would practice observing their surroundings while moving, maintaining breathing during effort, and reconsidering an action when circumstances changed.

The purpose would be to develop a clearer understanding of the task rather than simply increase speed or force.

1. Awareness of People, Distance, and Exits

The first priority would address recognizing changes before movement becomes restricted.

Participants would examine distance, nearby people, obstacles, and access to exits. Partner exercises would introduce changing positions so students could practice maintaining attention beyond one point of contact.

A participant concentrating on a grip, for example, might overlook where the feet had moved or whether an exit remained available. Slowing the exercise would give the instructor and student time to identify that change.

The annual self-defense symposium would also connect observation with decisions. Depending on the exercise, a useful response could involve creating distance, changing direction, speaking clearly, or leaving.

The aim would be to notice information that affects available options. Training would not encourage participants to assume that every unfamiliar person or uncomfortable interaction presents a threat.

2. Breathing During Effort and Controlled Contact

The second priority would examine breathing as the physical demands of an exercise increased.

Participants would practice while walking, turning, changing levels, moving on the ground, and working against controlled resistance.

An interruption in breathing would provide a reason to examine other reactions. A student might tighten the hands, become rigid, rush, or use additional effort without improving position.

Instructors would help participants identify those habits and adjust the task where necessary.

Breathing would be presented as part of maintaining movement and attention. It would not be described as a guarantee of calm or protection from injury.

The planned work would give participants opportunities to notice their reactions at a manageable pace before adding more demanding changes in pressure, timing, or direction.

3. Balance and Recovery After Disruption

The third priority would focus on maintaining and recovering balance during pushing, pulling, grabbing, and other controlled contact.

Participants would examine how their position changed when another person interrupted movement. Exercises would provide opportunities to recognize leaning, overreaching, fixed footing, and other habits that limit the next action.

Recovery would be part of the work.

An unsuccessful response would not necessarily end the exercise. At an appropriate pace, students could examine how to regain support, restore useful movement, and reassess the situation.

This part of the annual self-defense symposium would emphasize adjustment rather than expecting every first attempt to succeed.

The instructor’s role would be to help participants understand why a response became difficult and what changed when they tried another approach.

4. Movement From Restricted or Unfamiliar Positions

The fourth priority would address movement when open space or a comfortable starting position was unavailable.

Planned subjects included close-range contact, ground movement, and returning to the feet. Exercises could also examine how obstacles and nearby people affect available movement.

The work would progress according to participants’ ability to maintain control. Speed, range, resistance, and contact could be adjusted without removing the purpose of the task.

Students would be encouraged to identify what a movement accomplished. It might create space, improve balance, reduce a restriction, or open a route toward a safer position.

For background on the school’s approach, Maryland Systema’s explanation of the Systema fighting style describes its emphasis on breathing, movement, and adjustment.

The planned instruction would connect these principles with changing partner pressure.

5. Judgment and Responsible Physical Responses

The fifth priority would connect physical practice with decisions about personal safety.

Participants would examine whether an action improved their position, preserved useful options, or created an opportunity to disengage.

The planned subjects also included awareness around weapons, multiple people, and situations involving another person who needed help. These problems would be discussed and practiced with recognition of their risks and limitations.

No exercise would be presented as a guaranteed solution to every encounter.

The annual self-defense symposium would emphasize continued assessment. When the circumstances changed, participants would need to reconsider what they were doing rather than complete a familiar sequence automatically.

The objective would be to protect people, preserve mobility, and recognize when further physical action was unnecessary.

Supervised Partner Work and Progressive Resistance

Partner training provides timing, weight, contact, and changing direction that solo practice cannot reproduce.

The planned exercises would begin with an agreed task and level of pressure. Participants would communicate about pace, injuries, physical restrictions, and the need to pause or stop.

Resistance and variation would increase gradually as students demonstrated better movement, communication, and control.

Changing one demand at a time would make the learning easier to examine. A change in direction presents a different problem from an increase in force. Introducing both immediately can make it harder to identify why a response failed.

The annual self-defense symposium would give participants time to repeat exercises after receiving feedback. The purpose would be to investigate the problem while preserving a respectful, controlled learning environment.

Partner work would not be treated as a contest to establish who was stronger or more experienced.

Reviewing Common Training Mistakes

Additional time was planned for students and instructors to review habits that interfere with movement and decision-making.

These included unnecessary tension, poor positioning, delayed movement, and attention fixed too narrowly on one part of the task.

Participants would be encouraged to describe what happened during an exercise. A specific observation would provide more direction than simply labeling an attempt successful or unsuccessful.

Examples could include noticing that breathing stopped before contact, that the feet remained fixed during a pull, or that an available opening went unnoticed.

The next attempt would give the student an opportunity to test an adjustment.

This review process would support the broader purpose of the annual self-defense symposium: helping adults understand how awareness, breathing, balance, and movement interact when another person changes the problem.

Open to Adults With Different Experience Levels

The event was intended for beginners and adults with previous martial arts or self-defense experience.

Beginners would work at a manageable pace while learning the purpose of each exercise. More experienced participants could explore additional resistance, less predictable movement, and greater demands on attention.

Previous experience would not remove the need to establish control within an unfamiliar task.

Participants from other martial arts backgrounds would have opportunities to examine how their existing habits responded to the exercises. Maryland Systema’s discussion of how Systema can complement Krav Maga training provides one example of this emphasis on additional practice.

The planned event would allow different starting points while maintaining common expectations for communication, control, and respect between partners.

Participation and Training Expectations

Participants would not need a uniform or expensive equipment. Comfortable clothing suitable for movement would allow students to take part without a large equipment commitment.

Exercises could be adjusted through speed, range, resistance, contact, and starting position.

Students would be expected to communicate about physical limitations that affected participation. They would also be able to request clarification or a slower pace when necessary.

The annual self-defense symposium was intended to provide concentrated practice and feedback, not a promise of immediate proficiency.

A two-day event can introduce useful questions and give participants time to explore them. Continued instruction and regular practice provide further opportunities to revisit those questions with different partners and changing conditions.

Maryland Systema emphasized that no training event could guarantee personal safety or provide one reliable response to every threat.

Event Information

Event: Maryland Systema Annual Self-Defense Symposium
Planned dates: September 23–24, 2023
Announced location: Takoma Park, Maryland
Format: Two days of supervised adult self-defense practice
Intended participants: Adult beginners and experienced students
Training emphasis: Awareness, breathing, movement, balance, controlled contact, and judgment

The planned dates and general location formed part of the March 25, 2023 announcement. This release does not confirm that the event subsequently took place.

Continued Learning Beyond the Event

The planned symposium would give participants an opportunity to identify specific areas for further practice.

A student might recognize a tendency to hold the breath during contact, lose balance while pulling, or continue an action after it stopped helping. Instructor feedback would help turn those observations into questions to revisit.

The value of the annual self-defense symposium would depend partly on that continued learning. Repeating a movement without understanding its purpose offers less direction than examining what changed and why an adjustment helped.

Participants would be encouraged to leave with a clearer understanding of their own responses and the limits of what they had practiced. Those observations could then guide further classes, private instruction, or supervised partner work.

The intended outcome was useful direction for ongoing development rather than the expectation of mastering every subject in one weekend.

For additional guidance on communication and personal space, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety offers a resource on dealing with negative interactions. It explains how clear language, appropriate distance, recognizing when to end an interaction, and seeking assistance can support safer decisions. These topics complement the awareness and judgment emphasized in Maryland Systema’s annual self-defense symposium announcement.

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. 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 instruction are also available throughout the Washington, DC area.

For additional information, visit Maryland Systema.

Press Contact

Jim Eglin
Founder and Chief Instructor
Maryland Systema
Phone: 301-326-9146
Email: jim@marylandsystema.com