Author: S.Vlasov
Excerpt from the book “Green ghosts. The Kadochnikov group of 1984”
Moving and overcoming obstacles
Moving
The efficiency of a fighter’s actions and group in general largely depends on moving skills which should be proper according to the conditions and circumstances. Because moving is one of the elements of the multipurpose solution of combat mission.
The base is a fighter’s individual training – moving in a stance or when ground fighting and alteration of different methods in these positions (rolling from back to belly, side rolls and moving, turnover and back moving, on the bellies, running, jumping, falling, etc.), passing the special obstacle course at different times of day, seasons of the year and in different climatic conditions and, at the same time, without losing your ability to orientate and efficiency of watching the enemy.
Solving a complex optimization task, choosing this or that combat method (“Trefoil”, “Ring of colon”, “Rabbit track”, “Rhombus”, “Snake”, “Wedge”, etc.) and making a realignment of its structural elements timely, a commander provides a reliable connection between elements of combat units and receives necessary operational and reliable information. It helps to take the right decisions to minimize risk, to improve the group’s survivability and complete the combat task.
In favorable circumstances a fighter or a whole group always seek to use any technical and other kinds of facilities, when moving in particular.
Alexey Kadochnikov taught us methods of moving one by one and in a group as well, day and night. He showed us how to move noiselessly in different conditions: forest, asphalt, scree, pebble, glass, etc.
How to place your legs and feet in different situations. How to walk in the tracks, etc.
How to be guided by the lumen of tree crowns during the night in the forest (as night sky is always lighter than forest thicket).
I remember one case. During one of the training outings Alexey Alexeevich passed the command to one of the guys.
A moonless starry night, on an unfamiliar forest path, suddenly this guy, who was in the vanguard, commanded… “Stop, to the right, go deeper into the woods”. We stopped and turned but didn’t manage to go deeper. An “impassible” blackthorn was growing along the edge of the road. All our attempts were made in vain. Our “rich experience” obviously wasn’t enough for that technical action.
Seeing our helplessness, Alekseevich briefly and in a “plain language” explained us a principle of decomposition of force (about which he constantly reminded us) and having oriented his AK along his major axis and pressed it to his chest, he just “screwed” in that wall like a “corkscrew”. And again each of us was taught another object lesson.
Alekseevich’ unpredictability continued to impress me. During one of our trainings we organized a “hot pursuit” and managed, at least we thought so, to drive him out to an inconvenient place – a cliff. Alekseevich, in my eyes, without reducing the pace, just having pulled his AK off his shoulder, rushed down. My heart skipped a bit. Running closer to edge, I just saw as he was flying somewhere below, and only occasionally his sweaty faded coat was flitting between trees.
Sliding on his legs as if he was skiing, he skillfully maneuvered sitting astride the machine gun. He put it between his legs and holding its barrel directed the movements.
Alekseevich was preparing every fighter and commander of any group for knowing basic principles of moving organization (including physiological, physical and tactical peculiarities and settlements, etc.), mastering different methods of moving and overcoming obstacles, and at the same time, providing camouflage and combat readiness.
If you want to learn more about overcoming obstacles using Kadochnikov System, check out our “Lower acrobatics” training here.
Overcoming obstacles
Obstacles have natural (swamps, rivers, lakes, etc.) and anthropogenic (buildings, communications, etc.) origin. The basic rule for overcoming them is to conduct a preliminary exploration to decide on the best route and means of its passing.
And besides you should always keep in mind that if you choose “obvious” and easily passable routes there is always a high possibility of getting into a trap, ambush, etc. That’s why you need special training and equipment to pass routes with obstacles.
To overcome them efficiently singly or in a group you need to know their physical and other kinds of characteristics (density, buoyancy, toughness, etc.) which influence on the methods of overcoming, up to disruption in order to break through the wall.
I remember the case when one summer we reached a big irrigation ditch and Alekseevich immediately showed and organized its crossing. Two fighters were crawling, the third was swimming between them, and the fourth used him as a support for his machine gun and was keeping the shore at a gunpoint.
Overcoming minefields
Some members of the group participated in the special program on minefields training.
That program included the following elements:
- Explosives and blasting agents (BA)
- Methods of producing improvised explosives
- Storage, accounting and transport (carrying – transportation) of explosives and BA
- Charges and their producing
- Explosives and BA of foreign armies
- Undermining in natural environments
- Undermining in a man-made environments
- Ways of setting homemade mines and landmines (stretching, etc.)
- Destruction and deactivation of certain kinds of mines
- Means of mine detection and disposal
- Masking and unmasking mines and landmines
Mined obstacles (MO) are often set in combination with non-explosive ones (barbed wire entanglements, logjams, ditches, dragon’s teeth, the “Czech hedgehog”, etc.).
Overcoming of barbed wire entanglements
Barbed wire entanglements are mostly used to fence round the facilities. They are also used as antipersonnel obstacles in engineering equipping of defensive lines (regions, strong points, positions). There are different types of barbed wire entanglements. In addition, they can be intensified by mining.
To overcome barbed wire entanglements passageways are made, mats and ramps are thrown over, etc.
Electrified barbed wire entanglements are detected and overcome with the help of special equipment or means at hand, as well as digging under.
It may seem that our group doesn’t need this kind of training which is necessary only for the Army Special Forces. But one day an alarm broke out. There was a hostage-taking in one of the institutions. And that was the case. According to the developed plan we had to penetrate into the zone climbing over the razor wire.
Tactical Assault climbing
Tactical Assault climbing – is a complex of means and methods which allow you to solve service and combat tasks in remote places and facilities, and in the way your enemy doesn’t expect you to attack.
As some of us had good mountaineering experience, the beginners were taught by our personal example. Practically we learned how to move on the mountain slopes, cliffs, steep walls, scree, etc. We learned how to use and prepare special equipment. Halyards, hooks, clamps, shackles, etc. An individual harness was made for each of us in advance by one factory.
A lot of attention was paid to train skills in tying knots of different kind: for attaching halyards, brake units, etc. As the knot itself, along with the wheel, fire, etc., naturally has come into use in human life long ago, nowadays we can count about 700 kinds of knots, and there were 500 kinds of them in a seamanship by the period when the sailing fleet flourished, not taking into account knops, musings, different braiding, etc.
For practical purposes we used about 10 types of knots, but we brought its tying to perfection (by touch, in the dark, with one hand).
We worked out special methods of solving combat tasks:
- emergency descent
- penetration into apertures (windows), etc.
- overturns
- pendulums
- turnover (turnover with pendulum)
- etc.
All special tactical exercises were performed with a weapon. The result of the exercises was that fear of heights and fear in general was significantly blunted. Frequently there was a certain euphoria. The confidence in catcher was so great that I just, as the saying goes, caught a buzz when I was flying down the cliff. The organism adjusted quickly and all necessary actions were done accurately and consciously
If you want to learn more about overcoming obstacles using Kadochnikov System, check out our “Lower acrobatics” training here.
