ROOTSDOJO

Roots Dojo · Denman Island

A practice for the whole of you.

One Systema training program. A shared practice for beginners, experienced martial artists, travellers, and people ready to explore what they are capable of.

Explore the 2027 internship
Roots students training together outdoors

The Systema Roots Development Program

Develop the whole human.

Train to fight. Learn to take a hit, recover your breath, and keep working when you’re tired, afraid, or outmatched. We work with strikes, wrestling, weapons, and close contact. Pressure exposes your habits. Then we get to work.

Your operating system
How you perceive, regulate yourself, move, learn, and adapt. Training begins with the person who arrives, including their experience, habits, strengths, and limitations.
Principles
Breathing, relaxation, movement, and form run through every part of the training, from fighting and exertion to recovery and ordinary life.
Skills
Martial movement, fighting, self-preservation, protecting others, weapons and knife work, health, fitness, and selected practical and field skills.
Attributes
Explore your relationship with fear, ego, courage, patience, humility, and resilience through practice and progressively challenging situations.
Points of reference
Discover where you are now, observe what changes, and identify what to work on next. Your progress is personal; this is not a belt syllabus or a fixed weekly catalogue of techniques.

Training, recovery, and everyday life.

Regular morning and evening classes form the foundation of the internship. Monday–Thursday: 8:00–9:30 a.m. and 7:00–8:30 p.m. Friday: 8:00–9:30 a.m. only. All times are local to Denman Island. Weekends have no regular Systema classes.

Between sessions, make room for recovery, work, cooking, laundry, and life on the island. There is space for personal practice at the dojo, guided by what you discover about your own needs.

See scheduled class times

Same practice. Different lengths of stay.

Make time for Roots.

Beginners and experienced practitioners train together. All visiting students apply first. Food, accommodation, and travel are your responsibility.

All prices are in Canadian dollars (CAD). No tax is currently added.

12 weeks

The full internship

$2,500

January 18–April 11, 2027. Time to settle in, build your practice, and work through what challenges you.

$500 deposit after acceptance; $2,000 due at the start, unless other arrangements are made.

How to join

4 consecutive weeks

4-week training

$1,000

Four consecutive weeks from your start date during the internship, subject to acceptance and space. Train with the same group and the same principles.

Full payment after acceptance secures your stay.

How to join

Weekly stay

A week at Roots

$400

A concentrated introduction or a return to practice. Arrive any day during the internship, subject to acceptance and space.

Full payment after acceptance secures your stay.

How to join

Five-day specialty courses are $800 CAD and include regular Systema sessions during the course. The one-day Great Canadian Self-Defence Course is $200 CAD. Course dates and availability will be announced separately.

Full twelve-week interns may attend specialty courses at no additional charge, subject to space and availability. Weekly and four-week stays cover regular Systema training; specialty courses are booked separately.

Weekly and four-week stays: a full refund with at least 14 days’ notice before your agreed start date. Payments are non-refundable with less notice or after your stay begins. If Roots cancels your stay, you receive a full refund.

Joining Roots

A place starts with an application.

  1. Apply

    Tell us about yourself through the Roots application. The same process applies to full, four-week, and weekly stays.

  2. Receive acceptance

    We review your application and confirm whether Roots is a good fit and space is available.

  3. Secure your place

    Complete your registration forms and disclaimers, then pay the full-program deposit or your shorter stay in full.

For the full internship, registrations and $500 deposits are due by December 3, 2026. We need 8 full-program registrations to proceed and are aiming for 12.

Application information