What is Homo Ludens

Homo Ludens is the integral martial arts methodology which is based upon my experience with Russian martial arts throughout the many years.

I have constantly worked for twelve years with Vladimir Vasiliev, and I was his first assistant in one period of my life, while living in Canada. During that time I begun traveling all over the world to teach the Russian systema to different clubs.

While traveling and teaching seminars all over the Europe, North America, Asia, Australia etc. , I met many famous martial arts instructors. That are some of the influences that contributed to gradually shape my approach to martial arts. The main influence was appearance of MMA in the early 90’s, which begins axis of contemporary fighting. (I was an eyewitness of some famous “unique” martial arts system’s instructors taking the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes and incorporating that knowledge into their own system, claiming later that it is theirs creation). I took a part in the first Gracie seminar in Toronto, in early 90’s and it was a major revelation to me.

Other influences came from self defense systems of izraelian origin.

In 2008. there was a split between me and official Russian systema mainstream, and forming of a specific methodology that doesn’t have fixed frames (system without system) , but is based on principles that have a role of parameters of approach which is in a constant dynamical change.

For an example, a “what if” principle (In everyday situation, people who are into martial arts are being constantly tested while talking to their friends “ it all sounds like as it would have a sense, but WHAT IF I would do this or that…”) which means that we will deliberately ask questions and test possibilities within the martial arts framework, during our trainings.

Principle of testing, which is always full contact (every type of work must have a principle of reality in it’s foundation, which means that it has to be tested with full resistance).

Principle of anarchy(I am only one amongst the others and I am not a kind of a test-proof fake authority).