The martial arts of ancient Russia were forged in the fires of adversity, over an unforgiving landscape of extreme geography and climates. A continuous onslaught of foreign invaders laid siege to their borders from the 6th century onward and sparked a martial arts evolution. From these firsthand encounters, the earliest Russian masters knew that combat was a state of chaos that carried with it an infinite number of challenges and opportunities. The The most effective way to prepare a warrior to survive this adversity was to cultivate their adaptibility, creativity and autonomy. Since there was no way to predict how an enemy might attack, there could be no one technique or single form that could guarantee survival.

Reinforcing this emphasis on adaptability was the absence of a formal army to protect the people. As civilian warriors, fighters of this era required an art that was quick and easy to learn on top of their daily obligations as farmers, hunters and merchants. As a result, emphasis was placed on natural body movements that could be learned quickly. The goal of training was always to improve the way the body moved, improving health and general well-being in the process, while mastering the art of fighting.

The next greatest evolution occurred in 1917 when the new Communist government publicly forbade the practice of all traditional martial arts, in the hopes of further destroying the roots of nationalism. Despite their efforts however, the government could not deny the sheer effectiveness of their indigenous combat styles. Secretly, they worked to merge the various cultural traditions into a single concetrated hybrid. In the end, this enhanced version of their national arts was reserved exclusively for the most elite tiers of the Voiska Spetsialnogo Naznachenia (Special Forces) or “Spetsnaz” troops. It was in this arena of real-world application that the full power of the ancient Russian combat traditions remained alive and continued to grow.

In the modern era, this art was first revealed outside of Russia by Master Vladimir Vasiliev. A 10-year veteran of Russia’s most elite Special Forces Unit and former instructor for Special Forces, KGB, SWAT and law enforcement Agencies, Master Vasiliev sent shockwaves throughout the martial world with his phenomenal skill and generous teaching style and has launched a global awakening to the awesome potential of this once secret art.



RUSSIAN SYSTEMA DVD'S BY KEVIN SECOURS