Systema Academy Matt Hill

02/09/2026

Great to catch up with Rosin’s and chat about the upcoming seminar in Dublin.

17/08/2026

A Wild Knight at the Academy...

One day and one night in the woods.

Everybody had an amazing time.

Rucksacks on, out past the sheep and into the trees. Tarps up, a go at all the different weapons, and three of them as high up a tree as they'd go.

Every pair lit their own fire. Then bread twisted round a stick, the kettle on the tripod, and lots of chats and staring into the fire long after dark.

The night stalk seems to have been the favourite. Moving in on a man sat in the dark with just a torch and his senses to see who could get the closest.

I felt deeply grateful and humbled to share in it with them all, and thank you to the parents who came and gave their children a night outside.

We'll run another one. Message me if you'd like to know when.

11/08/2026

The photos from this year's Summer Camp are in.

Five days in the woods at the Academy. Sleeping under tarps, up with the light, training morning and night. People came in from across the UK and from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Bulgaria, all ages, some who've trained for years and a few who'd never done a day of Systema.

Our theme was Exploring Internal Power. Power that comes through you rather than from you. Less tension, more power.

Combat work, stick and knife, breath walks & awareness walks in nature, daily health session, moving unnoticed at night, fire lighting, the sauna every evening, and food round the fire.

What stayed with me was how everybody looked on the Sunday morning. Refreshed, easy, unhurried.

Pete wrote this to the group a few days after:

"I really enjoyed the camp and meeting everyone. I forgot how exhausting it feels afterwards. Exhausting because of what we did but also such a release of tension from my body. I always underestimate the emotional impact the camp has on me. Feeling tired but very very grateful."

Two more camps here at Montecello before the year is out.

WILD CAMPING NIGHT, 15 to 16 August. A night out with your children, aged 7 and up. Family class first thing, then shelter building and fire lighting, handling a knife and an axe safely, climbing, and stalking games in the woods. Dinner round the fire and stories after dark. They come home calmer, more capable and quietly pleased with themselves. Everything is provided except a waterproof and the children. £150 for one parent and one child, £60 for each extra child. It's this weekend, so let me know quickly if you fancy it: https://systema-academy-matt-hill.kit.com/e8ceebe21b

FIRESIDE RETREAT, 12 to 13 September. Our Christian men's retreat, which I run with my good friend Jason Whiley. A small group of men, a fire, honest conversation about faith, life and purpose, a simple meal cooked outside and a night in the woods. £150 for the two days. Numbers are limited, so message me if you'd like a place.

All my very best, and I hope to see you in the woods.

Matt.

31/07/2026

31/07/2026

Systema classes across Cambridge, Stevenage and Wrestlingworth. Breath-led training for health, resilience and practical self-defence.

30/07/2026

When did you last spend a whole night outdoors with your children?
The idea came from a remark in the family class, one of the dads asking the question.
So on Saturday 15 August we are running a Wild Camping Night here at the Academy, out on the farm. One day and one night on the land for parents and children together.
Tarp shelters up in the morning. Then the skills: climbing, axe throwing, shooting a bow, handling a knife properly, lighting a fire from scratch. Stalking through the trees after dark, which is the oldest game there is.
Then dinner round the fire, stories, stars, and a child falling asleep outdoors with you beside them.
Everything is provided except a waterproof and the children. £150 for one parent and one child.
Numbers are limited. Details and booking here: https://systema-academy-matt-hill.kit.com/e8ceebe21b

25/06/2026

You will never hear me complain about the heat. I guess that's why I settled on jungles as my adventure arena.

But in heat like we've seen across Europe lately, the trees are a great place to be. A wood is slightly drier when it's wet, slightly cooler when it's hot, and slightly warmer when it's cold. Venture under the canopy on a day like today and you feel it within a few paces. The temperature drops, the light softens, the air moves differently. The wood is doing what it has always done, taking the edge off.

That's the thing about woods. They ask nothing and give almost everything: shade in the heat, shelter in the rain, cover in the cold, ease when there's stress. We lived in them, moved through them, and were shaped by them. The Japanese call it forest bathing, and there's good science behind it now, but you don't need the research to feel it. You feel it on the first walk in, when the noise in your head drops a level and you can hear the birds again.

It's also the best place I know to train, which is why I take people into the woods at all times of the year. This July we will be Exploring Internal Power at our Summer Camp at Montecello. You will notice that everything the trees give, they give by taking something away: the heat, the damp, the noise in your head, the pressure out of your system. The power we are after works the same way. Not something you force, but what's left once the tension and the bracing fall away.

You don't need to be fit, or experienced, or sure that you belong. You only need to be willing to step in under the trees for a few days, in the cool and the quiet, and see what is still there.

22-26 July 2026, at the Academy in Wiltshire. All levels welcome.

Full details and booking: https://tinyurl.com/23xxywn5

All my very best, and I hope to see you in the woods.

Matt.

09/06/2026

This week the Online Systema Academy passed its 300th Solo Health Session.

It started during the pandemic and is now a deep Systema library: more than 725 classes, all searchable, all yours to train at your own pace.

Solo Health Sessions: now 300 strong: breath holds and ladders, ground movement, mobility, deep relaxation, healing for the back, knees and shoulders, pain management, ball and stick work, and benchmarking sessions to test your progress

Partner Work: now at 225: strikes, kicks, knife and stick work, ground wrestling, escapes, takedowns, and working calmly against more than one person

Plus Beginners, Principles, Health and Combat tracks, Living Systema, Short Intense Sessions, Self-Care Massage, Live Q&As, and the Over 60s "Turn Back the Clock" series

No syllabus, no pressure. Pick the class you need today, ten minutes or an hour, beginner or seasoned. There is even a functional assessment so you can benchmark yourself and measure how far you have come.

Try the whole Academy free for 30 days, money-back guarantee, cancel any time:

https://hillmattc.clickfunnels.com/free-test-drive-online-systema-academy

05/06/2026

Systema Seminar coming up in Germany next weekend, great town, great group, great host and great country:

Focus, Precision and Speed in Realistic Defense Scenarios