Excellent instructors and excellent material! Kwan and Art are masters of their craft as well as very kind and generous with their knowledge. I come away from each class humbled and amazed by their skill and by the variety and layers of the training. I feel that every area of my life has benefited from the training, far beyond the martial arts aspects.I highly recommend Systema Seattle for anyone interested in Systema, anyone interested in martial arts in general, and anyone interested in increasing the variety of their current training or health regimen.

Cannot recommend highly enough. Systema makes life better in too many ways to count, and Kwan Lee is a rare master of the form--generous, kind, and able to communicate with great effectiveness to students of all ability levels. Go!

Russian Martial Systema has always been a refreshing and holistic therapy for me ever since I started as a skeptic over 10 years ago as a macho college student.I grew up with martial arts and dancing. But this is more than a physical activity. This is a holistic paradigm at addressing yourself through breathing and applying them in combative scenarios and fighting. The beneficial stress you may experience in any given class is challenging and creative; Ive always found genuine look at myself on how to become a better person after every session.The people are also gratifying to work with; young, old, cultures, ethnicities, spiritual/religious background, combative experience, injuries, dis/abilities is so diverse and it makes for enriching martial you can train by yourself or with a partner. I could write on but do yourself a favor and try systema out a couple of times to get a robust experience........Some common FAQs1. No belts/ uniforms or linear form of progressing through. All you need is spirit willing to come and be present with what is going on.2. There are no pads. Work is done person to person. You get the opportunity to work with all types of people(emphasis on ALL). And that makes for gratifying experience to connect/hit people you might not normally encounter in gyms.3. Young people are encouraged with permission and waiver.4. Women are more than welcome to train.5. All people are welcome6. This is not a 90 min MMA cardio and pound class. On the other hand this training benefits all forms of activities(emphasis in ALL) and will challenge you. I guarantee it.7. relaxation and breathing principles are the foundation of self awareness and they are tested under duress. I.e. combative application.8. This training is an aid to becoming a better and hopefully good person for yourself and yours. Theres no commitment to any ideology associated with this training: religious, spiritual, or political. therefore, this training may have its place for lifetime, or a season and that is okay.9.No experience necessary

If your looking for a close quarters combat system that is effective and natural then Seattle Systema is for you. Improve your ability to defend yourself and build on your physical, psychological and spiritual strengths. I couldnt be happier 🙂🙏🏿✌🏿

All my life I’ve been into sports, martial arts and fitness. I was always torn between the weight room (to increase my strength) and martial arts studio (to improve my technique). As I was getting busier with family and work, I realized that one of these two had to be given up due to the time constraints. However, every athlete will tell you that technique without body conditioning has very limited practical application. So my goal was to bind the two together in one place. Wishful thinking? Not anymore! Finally, after many years of search, we have this unique blend of your traditional strength training gym and functional self-defense school – Balanced Path. Balanced Path training allowed me to improve on all 4 fronts: (1) conditioning my body, (2) improving my technique, (3) understanding recovery and (4) perfecting my diet!1. I tried out their 30 minute long High Intensity Interval Training (the “HIIT”) programs - Pathfinder I and II for two weeks. Results were astonishing! I finally was able to break my 200 lbs. goal. In 2 weeks I went down from 210 lbs. to 198 lbs.! I’ve been at it for over 2 years to no avail, while Balanced Path HIIT training shredded those stubborn pounds in 2 weeks! Ta-ta!2. I was taking HIIT classes back to back right before the Systema martial arts training (self-defense module of Balanced Path). This has yielded very noticeable results as well. Often I compensate lack of technique with raw muscle power and then just push through the exercise with tension and strength. In Systema however, we train to work with minimal tension to achieve maximum results. After HIIT classes, I was so exhausted that I simply had no choice but to work smart, not hard. The result – smoother, more relaxed work and deeper understanding of my own limitations.3. What sets Balanced Path apart from every other gym is that there is wholesome approach to recovery before, during and after the exercise. This concept was introduced to HIIT training by one of the top Systema instructors in the world - Kwan Lee and reinforced by HIIT and Systema instructors Art and Baron. Once you get “gassed” and out of breath, all your muscles and all your tricks are useless – you simply can’t think, even less – move. What their Breathwerx class teaches you is how to prepare yourself for upcoming exertion, to maintain yourself during the exercise and to recover immediately after your work is done.4. Finally, the forth cornerstone of Balanced Path is DIET! This is the most challenging aspect of training for me. I don’t have time to count my calories and cook well-balanced meals. So what do I do? I eat out and totally destroy my budget. Well, Balanced Path takes care of that as well. They will figure out an ultimate meal plan suited for your lifestyle and fitness goals (yes, yes of course it’s organic, non-GMO, minimally processed foods). Moreover, Balanced Path proprietary phone app will evaluate your nutrient intake, will tell you where you may be deficient and how to remedy it. But why stop there? It will even generate a grocery shopping list tied to your detailed meal plan! Oh boy, where was it during my college years?!?!?Indeed, Balanced Path is the first of its kind sustainable and intuitive fitness and self-defense studio in the Pacific Northwest. It stands strong on 4 whales of athletic greatness – (1) physical strength, (2) intuitive and rational technique, (3) sustainable and replenishing breath, and (4) well balanced, easy to follow diet.