Origins of Soviet Close-Quarter Combat
Original Russian Language Article By: Vyacheslav Dmitriev
(Translated by Adrian Chan-Wyles PhD)
Translator’s Note: This is an English translation of the original Russian language article entitled ‘Истоки: Рукопашный бой. Советская история’ which is referenced below. The Russian author is named ‘Vyacheslav Dmitriev’ (Вячеслав ДМИТРИЕВ) and the knowledge he imparts fills a void in the West regarding the development and practice of martial arts in the Soviet Union. The Soviet system was premised upon the scientific development of society in all its aspects, and that included the need for a rational system of unarmed self-defence to augment the weaponry of the Red Army and law enforcement agencies. Modern ‘Systema’ has its roots in the Soviet process of carefully examining many of the world’s martial arts (both Western and Eastern), before selecting the best techniques most likely to work in real combative situations. This knowledge was combined with physical fitness and psychological training to create an all-round and highly effective martial artist. In the wars within which the Soviet Union fought, this ‘new’ integrated martial system was field-tested and underwent further evolutionary developments. According to the author, this is a process still operating within modern Russia. As is evident, the ‘new’ Soviet martial art drew from many well-known systems – but jettisoned redundant and unnecessary baggage decades before Bruce Lee developed his Jeet Kune Do. In the early days of the Soviet Union I see no evidence of the presence of Chinese martial arts. This is odd as modern Systema appears to retain the Taijiquan method of aligning the skeleton, dropping the bodyweight into the ground, moving that bodyweight around and using ‘rebounding’ force to generate massive power, with little or no effort. Unless evidence comes to light to suggest otherwise, it would appear that the Soviets arrived independently at this understanding entirely through the application of the scientific method with regards to self-defence practice.
ACW 17.2.2017
ACW 17.2.2017
From the times of the Russian Revolution and founding of the Soviet State, martial arts developed inaccordance with Socialist ideology. Rejected was the old feudal system favoured by the Czarist regime. In those days, select working class men were recruited into special academies linked to the Czarist army or royal police, and were trained in unarmed combat and bayonet drill, but always from the perspective of protecting and serving the nobility against the ordinary people. However, after the Communist Revolution, the Soviet Government was tasked with developing a ‘new’ way of logically training young men and women, in the ‘science’ of unarmed self-defence, for use by the Red Army, National Police and the newly founded Security Services. The point of this development was to make a clean-break with the previous era of feudalism, and to instil a sense of loyalty to the Soviet State.
In 1919, the Soviet Government developed an official combat training syllabus for the Red Army, which included the manual entitled ‘Guidelines for Bayonet Training’. This was followed in 1923 with the publication of the official Red Army text entitled ‘Red Army Young Conscripts: Physical Training for Workers’ and Peasants’. This text included sections entitled ‘Knife Handling’, and ‘Methods of Unarmed Attack and Defense’, amongst many others. The old Czarist system of martial training had collapsed, and in its place the Soviet State used a combination of various martial arts for ‘cross-training’, such as Western Boxing, Greco-Roman Wrestling, and combat-related Judo and Jiu-jitsu. This led, in the early 1920’s, to the opening of Sports Clubs across the USSR that specialised in the training of unarmed self-defence, as well as the use of bayonets, etc.
On April 16th, 1923, the Moscow Proletariat Sport Society was founded, more generally known by the name ‘Dynamo’. The self-defence section was under the directorship of Viktor Afanas'yevich Spiridonov. In 1928, he published the book entitled ‘Self-defence Without Weapons’, which conveyed a synthesis of Jiu Jitsu techniques with those of French martial arts. In 1930, the Soviet grappling and wrestling expert named Vasiliy Sergeyevich Oshchepkov was invited to be an instructor, who further assisted the development of the logical integration of Greco-Roman Wrestling, Western Boxing, Bayonet (Fencing) Fighting and all-round body conditioning for the development of strength and endurance. The point of this ‘new’ martial system was to ‘shock’ the opponent with efficient movement, economy of motion, unexpected speed, immense power and the ability to absorb punishment without losing combat effectiveness. This evolutionary development of martial arts in the Soviet Union eventually led to the 1930 publication of the comprehensive martial arts manual entitled ‘The Art of Unarmed Combat’, which presented for the first time in the Soviet Union, a ‘complete’ syllabus for this new ‘integrated’ martial system. This was the work of Soviet Boxing master NN Oznobishin (an expert in both French and English Boxing), who developed a unique combat method that was highly efficient. His manual was originally distributed to the GPU Intelligence Service, where it met with official acclaim. NN Oznobishin assessed the strengths and weaknesses of all known martial arts, and on that analysis used logic and reason to combine all the effective techniques into the world’s first integrated system, which also had a cogent underlying theory for the training of the mind and body.
The ‘new’ Soviet martial system was field tested by the law enforcement agencies, which deployed its techniques amongst their officers. After arresting criminals, a questionnaire was filled-out by the officer’s involved, detailing the situation and circumstances of the arrest, and the effectiveness of the martial arts techniques used. Techniques that were effective under real conditions were retained and developed further, whilst techniques that did not work in real combat were abandoned as inefficient and of no combative worth. In this way, Soviet martial arts were developed further within Civil Society. The next stage was field testing in actual warfare, and this happened during the Japanese War, the Finnish War and the Great Patriotic War. These experiences demonstrated that in highly mechanised modern warfare, the likelihood of mass battles involving unarmed combat was very low indeed, least of all because of the capacity for modern fire-power to destroy hundreds of men before they got anywhere near the enemy lines. A further problem that was observed was that when wearing thick winter combat clothing (during the Finnish War), it was very difficult to move the body correctly and perform intricate martial movements. During the Great Patriot War, martial arts were used in the context of mass combined arms, whereby Soviet infantry would close with the Nazi German invader, and sometimes unarmed combat would occur at close-quarters, with the Red Army prevailing virtually every time. In the case of ambushes or raids behind enemy lines, unarmed combat techniques were also used because of their ‘quiet’ nature. However, it was also noted how ‘cruel’ unarmed martial techniques had to be, when applied to the battlefield by the average soldier, with regards to maiming or killing an opponent. With regards to highly trained Soviet Intelligence Officers and spies, however, things were a little different, as they underwent a very intense martial training programme suited to their psychological and physical strengths. As a consequence, they moved with expert timing and despatched opponents ‘cleanly’ using neck-breaking (and other) techniques. In the case of Soviet Special Forces Units tasked with performing specific missions against the Nazi Germans, generally speaking, their physical and psychological strength has become the thing of legends. Throwing their jackets over barbed wire and running between mines when attacking fortified German positions whilst firing their weapons and throwing grenades as they went – only to close with the enemy with their ammunition exhausted, and forced to resort to the bayonet, or to unarmed combat techniques. Many Soviet soldiers inspired one another with tremendous feats of strength by picking-up heavy pieces of wood, rocks or machinery, and using these things for cover and as bludgeons.
After the end of the Great Patriotic War (1945), the Soviet experiences of fighting on the battlefield were used by K. T. Bulochko as the basis for his book entitled ‘Physical Training for the Special Forces Scout’. He precisely explained his experience of the use of unarmed combat during the Great Patriotic War, and made a record of what worked and did not work during times of great danger and stress. So clear is his narrative, that the lessons he learned are still relevant for battlefields today. K. T. Bulochko was in fact a member of the NKVD, which in 1941 was renamed as a Motorised Rifle Brigade to be used for ‘special’ purposes. This unit took part in numerous heroic actions both in front of, and behind the Nazi German lines, taking prisoners, carrying-out dangerous raids, rescues, sabotage, demolition, assassinations, and intelligence gathering missions. As this unit’s experience was generally all-round and extensive, after the Great Patriotic War, many of its former members became sporting champions in archery, boxing and wrestling, etc, with their military experience serving as the foundation for their sporting excellence.
An interesting but little known fact is that although the imperial Japanese prized their martial traditions highly (as the basis of their fascism), when they met the Soviet soldiers on the battlefield, they were reluctant to partake in unarmed combat, or in battles between Soviet bayonets and their much acclaimed Samurai swords. Generally speaking, even before imperial Japan clashed with the West their troops were comprehensively defeated time and again by the Red Army, both in armed and unarmed combat. After logical analysis, this was believed to because of the ‘modern’ and ‘scientific’ manner in which the Red Army soldiers were trained, when compared to the dogmatic, illogical and antiquated manner in which the Japanese imperial soldiers were trained. The ‘old’ Japanese martial arts had no place on the modern battlefield and were exposed as useless not only by the Soviet Red Army, but later also by the Western armies, that although carrying modern weaponry, did not possess particularly strong systems of unarmed combat. It was observed that when engaged in unarmed combat by Japanese soldiers, the Soviet soldiers were far-better prepared and trained for modern warfare, being much more flexible, relaxed and powerful, striking to the groin or throat with deadly force, when required. By comparison, the Japanese soldiers were very ‘static’ and one-dimensional in their unarmed combat techniques (including using swords). When the Japanese launched their infamous ‘Banzai’ charges, nearly all the young men were cut-down in their approach by machine gun and small arms fire, not to mention artillery fire. When small numbers survived and made it to the Soviet lines, they were expertly disarmed and taken prisoner through the use of the ‘new’ Soviet martial system. Of course, when Soviet patrols inadvertently encountered Japanese forces, often unarmed combat was used to quietly ‘dispatch’ the threat. What was learned in these anti-Japanese battles was how different environments require a specific adaptation of established martial techniques, expertly identified and applied by troops that have undergone detailed training in the past. A good martial grounding developed in peace-time, is essential if a professional army is to effectively come to terms with the ever changing requirements that are part and parcel of the modern battlefield. Therefore, the 1948 Red Army text entitled ‘Manual for Physical Fitness’, in the sectioned entitled ‘Close-Quarter Combat’, omitted the idea of fighting without weaponry on the modern battlefield. As a consequence, in 1952, the Red Army abandoned the use of unarmed combat in its sporting competitions. In 1967, due to the extent of the development of advanced Soviet technology for use on the modern battlefield, bayonet training as a specific skill was also abandoned.
Despite these changes, Soviet unarmed combat continued to be practised throughout the USSR, and remained popular within the Red Army (as its practice was encouraged and never ‘banned’ by the Soviet Authorities). Certainly during the Sino-Soviet Split era (1956-1991), it was often the case that brutal unarmed fights would occur between martial arts experts in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and the Soviet Border Guards (a highly trained ‘elite’ military formation that protected the geographical boundaries of the USSR). These fights often led to permanent injury or sometimes death, many incidences of which are recorded in Major Vitaliy Bubenin’s book entitled ‘Bloody Snow in Damansky’. Major Vitaliy Bubenin was considered a ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’. Due to the tense political situation, the Chinese PLA tried to make the Soviet Border Guards respond with weaponry (to initiate an escalation of armed conflict between the USSR and China). However, instead of this, the Soviet Border Guards responded with unarmed combat, often in impromptu ‘challenge matches’ that usually resulted in bloody draws. However, there were occasions of extended conflict that would evolve into weapon usage (including rockets) which resulted in many deaths on both sides. In the 1960’s – when Sino-Soviet antagonism was at its peak – karate became popular and foreign experts were invited to the USSR to impart their knowledge of this art. This led to many universities offering classes when karate practice was made legal. In fact, just as Bruce Lee was popular in the West, his reputation spread to the USSR, which led to the whole-sale importation of Asian martial arts such as Chinese Gongfu, Viet Vo Dao, Taekwondo, Jiu Jitsu, and Aikido for public consumption. This enthusiasm for the martial arts led to many over-crowded training halls – with everyone wanting to learn the latest ‘secret’ system. Of course, the USSR did not encourage the ‘bourgeois’ and ‘elitist’ ideology that was prevalent in the West regarding what had become the ‘fetish’ of martial arts practice, but instead strove to develop the various martial systems into methods suitable for ordinary people to stay fit and to defend themselves. This is why karate underwent a ‘Russification’, keeping the practical techniques (that had originally arisen in China), but rejecting the associated bourgeois Japanese culture (that was then in the service of the USA). This evolution of karate into a ‘Soviet’ style was guided by A. Shturmin and T. Kas'yanovym, with the latter being a student of A. Kharlampiyeva.
In post-1991 Russia, following the collapse of the USSR, the distinctly ‘Soviet’ style of martial arts live-on and are favoured by the contemporary Special Forces. In fact, when such soldiers retire, they often dedicate their lives to teaching young people the knowledge and wisdom they have acquired over a lifetime of training and military service. However, with the switch from Socialism to capitalism, the situation in modern Russia has become confusing and muddled, as some individuals try to ‘sell’ their martial knowledge (often incomplete) to the highest bidder. Behind the scenes, however, the progressive Soviet attitude still exists with an emphasis of an onward evolutionary process for combat techniques that takes into account the prevailing conditions.
©opyright: Adrian Chan-Wyles (ShiDaDao) 2017.
Original Russian Language Article: http://www.bratishka.ru/archiv/2010/6/2010_6_14.php
After the end of the Great Patriotic War (1945), the Soviet experiences of fighting on the battlefield were used by K. T. Bulochko as the basis for his book entitled ‘Physical Training for the Special Forces Scout’. He precisely explained his experience of the use of unarmed combat during the Great Patriotic War, and made a record of what worked and did not work during times of great danger and stress. So clear is his narrative, that the lessons he learned are still relevant for battlefields today. K. T. Bulochko was in fact a member of the NKVD, which in 1941 was renamed as a Motorised Rifle Brigade to be used for ‘special’ purposes. This unit took part in numerous heroic actions both in front of, and behind the Nazi German lines, taking prisoners, carrying-out dangerous raids, rescues, sabotage, demolition, assassinations, and intelligence gathering missions. As this unit’s experience was generally all-round and extensive, after the Great Patriotic War, many of its former members became sporting champions in archery, boxing and wrestling, etc, with their military experience serving as the foundation for their sporting excellence.
An interesting but little known fact is that although the imperial Japanese prized their martial traditions highly (as the basis of their fascism), when they met the Soviet soldiers on the battlefield, they were reluctant to partake in unarmed combat, or in battles between Soviet bayonets and their much acclaimed Samurai swords. Generally speaking, even before imperial Japan clashed with the West their troops were comprehensively defeated time and again by the Red Army, both in armed and unarmed combat. After logical analysis, this was believed to because of the ‘modern’ and ‘scientific’ manner in which the Red Army soldiers were trained, when compared to the dogmatic, illogical and antiquated manner in which the Japanese imperial soldiers were trained. The ‘old’ Japanese martial arts had no place on the modern battlefield and were exposed as useless not only by the Soviet Red Army, but later also by the Western armies, that although carrying modern weaponry, did not possess particularly strong systems of unarmed combat. It was observed that when engaged in unarmed combat by Japanese soldiers, the Soviet soldiers were far-better prepared and trained for modern warfare, being much more flexible, relaxed and powerful, striking to the groin or throat with deadly force, when required. By comparison, the Japanese soldiers were very ‘static’ and one-dimensional in their unarmed combat techniques (including using swords). When the Japanese launched their infamous ‘Banzai’ charges, nearly all the young men were cut-down in their approach by machine gun and small arms fire, not to mention artillery fire. When small numbers survived and made it to the Soviet lines, they were expertly disarmed and taken prisoner through the use of the ‘new’ Soviet martial system. Of course, when Soviet patrols inadvertently encountered Japanese forces, often unarmed combat was used to quietly ‘dispatch’ the threat. What was learned in these anti-Japanese battles was how different environments require a specific adaptation of established martial techniques, expertly identified and applied by troops that have undergone detailed training in the past. A good martial grounding developed in peace-time, is essential if a professional army is to effectively come to terms with the ever changing requirements that are part and parcel of the modern battlefield. Therefore, the 1948 Red Army text entitled ‘Manual for Physical Fitness’, in the sectioned entitled ‘Close-Quarter Combat’, omitted the idea of fighting without weaponry on the modern battlefield. As a consequence, in 1952, the Red Army abandoned the use of unarmed combat in its sporting competitions. In 1967, due to the extent of the development of advanced Soviet technology for use on the modern battlefield, bayonet training as a specific skill was also abandoned.
Despite these changes, Soviet unarmed combat continued to be practised throughout the USSR, and remained popular within the Red Army (as its practice was encouraged and never ‘banned’ by the Soviet Authorities). Certainly during the Sino-Soviet Split era (1956-1991), it was often the case that brutal unarmed fights would occur between martial arts experts in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and the Soviet Border Guards (a highly trained ‘elite’ military formation that protected the geographical boundaries of the USSR). These fights often led to permanent injury or sometimes death, many incidences of which are recorded in Major Vitaliy Bubenin’s book entitled ‘Bloody Snow in Damansky’. Major Vitaliy Bubenin was considered a ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’. Due to the tense political situation, the Chinese PLA tried to make the Soviet Border Guards respond with weaponry (to initiate an escalation of armed conflict between the USSR and China). However, instead of this, the Soviet Border Guards responded with unarmed combat, often in impromptu ‘challenge matches’ that usually resulted in bloody draws. However, there were occasions of extended conflict that would evolve into weapon usage (including rockets) which resulted in many deaths on both sides. In the 1960’s – when Sino-Soviet antagonism was at its peak – karate became popular and foreign experts were invited to the USSR to impart their knowledge of this art. This led to many universities offering classes when karate practice was made legal. In fact, just as Bruce Lee was popular in the West, his reputation spread to the USSR, which led to the whole-sale importation of Asian martial arts such as Chinese Gongfu, Viet Vo Dao, Taekwondo, Jiu Jitsu, and Aikido for public consumption. This enthusiasm for the martial arts led to many over-crowded training halls – with everyone wanting to learn the latest ‘secret’ system. Of course, the USSR did not encourage the ‘bourgeois’ and ‘elitist’ ideology that was prevalent in the West regarding what had become the ‘fetish’ of martial arts practice, but instead strove to develop the various martial systems into methods suitable for ordinary people to stay fit and to defend themselves. This is why karate underwent a ‘Russification’, keeping the practical techniques (that had originally arisen in China), but rejecting the associated bourgeois Japanese culture (that was then in the service of the USA). This evolution of karate into a ‘Soviet’ style was guided by A. Shturmin and T. Kas'yanovym, with the latter being a student of A. Kharlampiyeva.
In post-1991 Russia, following the collapse of the USSR, the distinctly ‘Soviet’ style of martial arts live-on and are favoured by the contemporary Special Forces. In fact, when such soldiers retire, they often dedicate their lives to teaching young people the knowledge and wisdom they have acquired over a lifetime of training and military service. However, with the switch from Socialism to capitalism, the situation in modern Russia has become confusing and muddled, as some individuals try to ‘sell’ their martial knowledge (often incomplete) to the highest bidder. Behind the scenes, however, the progressive Soviet attitude still exists with an emphasis of an onward evolutionary process for combat techniques that takes into account the prevailing conditions.
©opyright: Adrian Chan-Wyles (ShiDaDao) 2017.
Original Russian Language Article: http://www.bratishka.ru/archiv/2010/6/2010_6_14.php