The Interview of N. Matushin with A. Kadochnokov (“Kung fu” magazine №8 2003)
Aleksey Alekseyevich Kadochnikov – the author of the system of martial arts named “the Kadochnikov Systema” lives and serves at the cantonment near the Krasnodar city. There are a lot of articles, films and TV programs about the Systema. Though there are almost no interviews with Aleksey Alekseyevich Kadochnikov in the press. “The Grandfather”, this is the way his disciples call him, practically doesn’t give interviews and this opportunity to talk to him is really exclusive. We met at the apartment of one of his disciples in South Butovo and were talking for about three hours. At first it was difficult for me to interpret his speech and follow his ideas. Those who heard him might have noticed that Aleksey Alekseyevich Kadochnikov has a peculiar manner of expressing his thoughts. Sometimes they are difficult to interpret. Later I realized the meaning of his utterances. To tell the truth despite their haziness the Grandfather’s ideas are very shrewd and always to the point. They demonstrate his deep understanding of the things he’s doing. I’ve prepared the record of our conversation after shortening and editing it as I had to consider and interpret a lot of moments. And still I tried to preserve the Grandfather’s style and manner of speaking.
– The Abbreviation “KS” is interpreted as “the Kadochnikov Style” and “the Kadochnikov Systema”. So is this a Style or a Systema?
– A system is a functioning unit consisting of many elements – details, mechanisms and so on. A style is a language the system uses to express itself. For example, the army is not an aim but the means to achieve the aim. Thus the Russian hand-to-hand combat is not an end in itself but the way to survive, the private safeguarding technique. We may think that we don’t need this but the reality proves the opposite… We need this even when we talk about such simple things as how to walk over the ground covered with snow or how to fall and not to get injured. We need to reduce the risk to get injured and this knowledge helps us to do this. This is the Basic safety, Civil defense and Emergency situations.
– Aleksey Alekseyevich, what is the gist of your Systema?
– Its purpose is to help a man to survive. And it doesn’t mean just to teach him the Russian hand-to-hand combat or how to act in a combat situation. My understanding of the notion “combat situation” is much wider than just a fight with an opponent. It is the situation where combat skills should be applied.
There is a book “Survival in the area of an armed conflict” written by Boris Kudrjashov. He is a colonel in the Russian Air Force. We are friends and I helped him to write his book – I gave him the material he needed. Our country is so large; it covers many latitudes and longitudes. People in our country live in various climate conditions and they should be capable to survive in tundra, taiga, desert… They should know how to find their bearings in all kind of environment. The book includes such material as: how to find food and preserve it, how to choose the suitable clothes. You need to learn how apply knowledge you got at school, university, while working.
– Speaking about the Russian hand-to-hand combat and martial arts the regular question arises: who do we fight, who is the enemy?
– This should be a starting point! First of all these are things that ruin us: smoking, alcohol, drugs, stress, armed conflict situations. These are our enemies. How to fight them? This is what this book is about. You should know how to find one’s bearings and direction, how to get warm, what clothes to wear not to overheat or become too cold, to feel comfortable and look well, how to overcome different obstacles. This information is part of Basic safety and Civil defense courses.
– You said that there are three aspects of the Russian hand-to-hand combat: sport, police and army…
– The sport type of the Russian hand-to-hand combat takes place at special areas. Specialists control the process, tracking the sportsmen’s state of health and trying to protect them from traumas. This is meant for entertainment, available to people of all ages. The combat type is absolutely different its purpose is to terminate the enemy.
– You’ve also mentioned the police aspect of the Russian hand-to-hand combat…
– The police type is meant to keep order inside the country… The police should be guided by law and law in its turn implies humane attitude to a person. The task of the police is to capture a man, try to convince or persuade him. They use force only as a last resort… The army uses the entire arsenal to destroy the opponent. The police follow the criminal code and the public prosecutor’s supervision.
– What is the peculiarity of the army type of the Russian hand-to-hand combat?
– The army training is a combination of all elements. Everything can happen at war. Moreover there is shooting at war: it is very dangerous time. The army combat structure protects the state frontiers from the invaders. The limits of using force are set only by the orders of Commanders in Chief. Military men follow the order of the Minister of Defence when defending our country and people from invasions. In the army type of the Russian hand-to-hand combat there is no such notions as “win” or “lose” like it is in sport type. Let’s take figure skaters. The dozen of judges assess their artistry, technique, outfit and other moments. In the martial arts of sport type they judge who wins and who loses. It is difficult to decide who wins in a combat situation. The sides meet and fight but it is unclear who did what… In is necessary to choose a weapon, tactics and strategy…What is an actual combat? For instance: a man who is a dead shot started shooting in a combat situation and exposed himself. He’s lost as he can’t get away now… Being an expert shot doesn’t mean being a good soldier who can masterly fulfill the given task. Everything should be done properly when we talk about the combat situation… Sport type is one thing; police type is the other and army type of the hand-to-hand combat is absolutely different thing.
– Does your Systema include all three components: sport, army and police?
– We can consult them all. Moreover we can teach everyone: a swimmer, a submariner, a pilot. Actually this is what we really do. It all depends upon the given task… For example: a person who secures a shop should have certain skills, a man who secures power plant should have other skills and a person who secures a filling station should have different skills. They require different levels of training. And a military man should have the whole complex of skills.
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