Maryland Systema Introduces Age-Adjusted Self-Defense and Movement Training for Older Adults

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rockville, MD — March 25, 2023 — Maryland Systema announced Systema for Older Adults, an age-adjusted training option focused on practical self-defense, balance, mobility, breathing, awareness, and safer movement.

The program is intended for older adults who want to remain physically active while learning personal-safety skills at a manageable pace. Exercises can be adjusted according to each participant’s mobility, fitness level, previous experience, and physical limitations.

Practical Training at an Appropriate Pace

Older adults enter self-defense training with different goals and physical histories. Some remain highly active, while others are returning to regular exercise after a long break or managing previous injuries.

Maryland Systema adjusts exercises by changing their speed, range, resistance, physical contact, and complexity. Participants are not expected to move at the same pace or perform exercises beyond their current ability.

Training may include:

• Breathing during walking and physical effort
• Maintaining balance while changing direction
• Improving posture and body awareness
• Moving safely between standing and lower positions
• Using a wall or chair for support when appropriate
• Protecting balance during light pushing or pulling
• Recognizing hazards, obstacles, and available exits
• Establishing clear boundaries and creating distance
• Moving from the floor and returning to standing
• Responding to controlled grabs or crowding

The goal is not athletic performance. It is to help participants move with greater awareness and maintain useful options when conditions change.

Balance and Recovery

Balance in self-defense involves more than standing still. A person may need to turn, step around an obstacle, recover after being bumped, or regain stability while moving on an uneven surface.

Maryland Systema uses controlled exercises to help participants notice how posture, breathing, foot placement, and unnecessary tension affect balance.

Participants may practice small changes in direction, controlled level changes, and ways to recover when their position is disrupted. The work begins slowly, with support available when needed.

Maryland Systema does not claim that martial arts training can prevent every fall. The exercises are intended to support general movement practice and should not replace medical care, physical therapy, or a professionally prescribed fall-prevention program.

Ground Movement and Returning to the Feet

A fall or unexpected loss of balance can leave a person in a difficult position. Systema training may include carefully supervised ways to sit, turn, move on the floor, protect vulnerable areas, and return to standing.

Participants are encouraged to use available support and remain within a comfortable range. No one is required to perform floor exercises that are inappropriate for their physical condition.

The objective is to improve familiarity with lower positions without forcing movement or treating discomfort as a sign of progress.

Personal Safety for Older Adults

Older adults may face personal-safety concerns involving unwanted contact, intimidation, financial exploitation, or someone attempting to control their movement.

Physical ability is only one part of personal safety. Maryland Systema also addresses:

• Recognizing changes in another person’s behavior
• Maintaining appropriate distance
• Communicating boundaries directly
• Moving toward other people or a safer area
• Keeping access to exits
• Using obstacles and barriers
• Calling for assistance
• Avoiding unnecessary physical confrontation

When physical contact cannot be avoided, participants learn basic principles for protecting balance, continuing to breathe, and moving their whole body rather than struggling only at the point where they are being held.

Breathing and Managing Physical Effort

People often hold their breath and become rigid when they feel unsteady, tired, or physically pressured. This can make movement more difficult.

Systema uses breathing as a practical way to pace effort and recognize unnecessary tension. Participants practice keeping their breath active while walking, turning, changing levels, and completing light partner exercises.

Breathing does not eliminate danger or guarantee calmness. It provides feedback about effort and helps participants avoid adding avoidable tension to a difficult movement.

A Respectful Adult Training Environment

Maryland Systema provides adult training for people with different levels of fitness and martial arts experience.

Participants should inform the instructor about injuries, balance concerns, mobility restrictions, or other relevant conditions before beginning. Exercises can be modified, and participants may stop at any time.

Anyone with a medical condition or concern about beginning physical activity should consult a qualified health professional. Maryland Systema training is not medical treatment, rehabilitation, or physical therapy.

“Older adults should be able to explore self-defense and movement without being pushed into exercises that ignore their current abilities,” said Jim Eglin, founder and Chief Instructor of Maryland Systema. “The emphasis is on awareness, controlled progress, and learning how breathing, posture, balance, and movement work together.”

About Maryland Systema

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

Training includes positioning, boundaries, strikes, grabs, restraint, ground movement, weapons awareness, multiple-person situations, and protecting others. Exercises progress gradually so adults can work at an appropriate level of speed, resistance, and contact.

Maryland Systema offers regular group classes in Rockville and Takoma Park, Maryland. Private lessons and age-adjusted instruction are also available throughout the Washington, DC area.

For information about training for older adults, visit marylandsystema.com or contact:

Press Contact

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