Part I
We are representing to the attention of our readers the conversation of our reporter Viltoria Sokolova with Aleksandr Ivanovich Retunskih, the instructor and teacher in Moscow “School of Survival”. He is one of the most gifted disciples of Aleksey Alekseyevich Kadochnikov – the legendary person who managed to get together and enrich with his personal experience the traditions of the Russian martial art. These traditions originated in ancient times and remained whole despite all the historical cataclysms. The Russian martial art was passed from fathers to sons like some priceless heritage. Having no special name it always easily fitted into the lifestyle of our ancestors.
The self-defence technique was only the part of the Russian martial art that knew every man who could defend himself and the ones he was responsible for. “The hand-to-hand combat” is an invisible weapon that can’t be revealed until a person used it and can’t be taken away as far as he is alive,” – often repeats Aleksey Alekseyevich Kadochnikov, the patriarch of the Russia hand-to-hand combat and the Russian martial art. Due to journalists he was nicknamed “the Russian ninja”.
Actually this comparison comes natural. The similarity of Aleksey Alekseyevich Kadochnikov and ninjadzu is in deep knowledge of the laws of nature, human body and psychic; in skills of optimal behavior in emergency situations, good knowledge how to use all kinds of firearms and cold arms. The cold arms can be substituted by any object at hand: a stool, an umbrella, a pen, a coin, a glass, a book…
But I can’t agree more with my colleagues: a mortal weapon of “the invisible people” was purely a clan weapon and served to those high and mighty.
Aleksey Alekseyevich Kadochnikov and his disciples have totally different position: their aim is to revive and perfect traditions of the Russian hand-to-hand combat that now and before were considered as the most powerful martial art in the world; bring back to the nation the Russian martial art it has lost long ago.
– Aleksandr Ivanovich, how the national traditions of the Russian martial art have continued to this day?
– It happened so that we live in the situation of high danger: the criminal situation is acute now, the relationships between people has changed – modern social conditions make us aggressive and provoke a lot of stressful situations, ecological disasters also complicate our lives.
It all makes us think of the ways to protect our health, psychic and even human’s lives. That’s why lately “the School of Survival” became so popular among the people in our country.
The Russian martial art and particularly the Russian hand-to-hand combat was almost forgotten during the last decades.
Before the Revolution it was cultivated in the military environment. In military schools future officers were taught how to survive in any most difficult situations: when it is hot or cold, in the forest and in the mountains; how not to die from hunger and thirst, find one’s bearings on the new ground and help an injured or sick person – in other words how to find the way out of any even hopeless situation; how to be able to hold your own in any fight and when you are suddenly attacked using all kinds of weapons or barehanded.
In ancient times the Russian martial art terrified our enemies. Our ancestors were strong in the close combat and defeated the enemy even when according to all the canons of the military science it was impossible to win. When it comes to the close combat invaders in panic ran away from the battlefield.
From ancient times the Russian hand-to-hand combat is regarded as the most powerful martial art. @After the Revolution the Russian martial art polished for ages, was hidden in secret schools where subversives were trained. In the spirit of that time it was decided to create a new type of martial art for the rest of our nation. We shall excuse those people who were working out the new system of self-defence without using firearms, that they didn’t use the experience of the Russian nation. At that time you would have to pay for the promotion of Russian culture with your life. When creating sambo Oschepkov and Harlamov took as a basis the Eastern technique.
Though the traditions of the Russian martial art were not lost entirely: they kept circulating among people passing from generation to generation. During the Great Patriotic War soldiers still used the Russian martial art beating off several enemies at once.
After the war the traditions of the Russian hand-to-hand combat started to disappear and we were close to losing the Russian martial art. Eastern martial arts started to spread in the army and in gyms. The prohibition of their practicing only worsened the situation. Lately when all kinds of Eastern martial arts came out of hiding and started to prosper and popularize people began to revive the Russian martial art. Though the echo of former ideology still influences people’s minds: some of them declare that such peace-loving nation as the Russians never had the martial art of their own.
Polemics here are pointless – our military history proves the existence in our country the Russian martial art – the most powerful weapon. At all times Russian warriors could defend their nation from different misfortunes.
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