A medical system comprising: a manipulator assembly having a plurality of links extending between a distal end and a proximal base, the manipulator assembly being configured for moving the distal end relative to the proximal base, wherein the plurality of links are interconnected by a plurality of joints (J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8) and wherein one or more joint state sensors are provided for sensing the joint state of one or more of the joints (J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8); an input for receiving a movement command to effect a desired movement of the distal end; and a processor coupled to the input and to the manipulator assembly, the processor being configured to: determine movements of the manipulator assembly in response to the movement command so as to move the distal end with the desired movement, characterized in that the processor is further configured to: inhibit movement of one or more joints of the plurality of joints (J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8) in response to an external force applied on the manipulator assembly when one or more sensed joint states of the plurality of joints (J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8) are below a threshold so as to maintain a first configuration of at least a portion of the manipulator assembly, and allow movement of the one or more joints in response to the external force applied on the manipulator assembly when the one or more sensed joint states of the plurality of joints (J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8) exceed the threshold so as to facilitate manual reconfiguration of the at least the portion of the manipulator assembly to a second configuration different from the first configuration. a manipulator assembly having a plurality of links extending between a distal end and a proximal base, the manipulator assembly being configured for moving the distal end relative to the proximal base, wherein the plurality of links are interconnected by a plurality of joints (J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8) and wherein one or more joint state sensors are provided for sensing the joint state of one or more of the joints (J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8); an input for receiving a movement command to effect a desired movement of the distal end; and a processor coupled to the input and to the manipulator assembly, the processor being configured to: determine movements of the manipulator assembly in response to the movement command so as to move the distal end with the desired movement, characterized in that the processor is further configured to: inhibit movement of one or more joints of the plurality of joints (J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8) in response to an external force applied on the manipulator assembly when one or more sensed joint states of the plurality of joints (J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8) are below a threshold so as to maintain a first configuration of at least a portion of the manipulator assembly, and allow movement of the one or more joints in response to the external force applied on the manipulator assembly when the one or more sensed joint states of the plurality of joints (J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8) exceed the threshold so as to facilitate manual reconfiguration of the at least the portion of the manipulator assembly to a second configuration different from the first configuration. inhibit movement of one or more joints of the plurality of joints (J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8) in response to an external force applied on the manipulator assembly when one or more sensed joint states of the plurality of joints (J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8) are below a threshold so as to maintain a first configuration of at least a portion of the manipulator assembly, and allow movement of the one or more joints in response to the external force applied on the manipulator assembly when the one or more sensed joint states of the plurality of joints (J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8) exceed the threshold so as to facilitate manual reconfiguration of the at least the portion of the manipulator assembly to a second configuration different from the first configuration.