Vlad Vasiliev.

[arnisador]

Was hand-to-hand combat his area of expertise while in the Soviet armed service, or is it just one of many areas he was tarined in and could teach? Was ha a H2H combat instructor in the Soviet Union?

I'm not questioning his credentials--it just seems as though this is only one of many skills a special forces person would want to have, and not necessarily the most important one, so I wonder why he focuses on it.

 

[RobP]

He was trained and qualified in may areas afaik, including diving, survival skills, etc, etc

He was "in" for 10 years, which included spec ops plus being a trainer.

I guess he focusses on it now becuase that is his main area of experties, plus it helps in all the other areas, both mentally and physically.

 

[Jay Bell]

Taken from the Systema Guidebook:

About Vladimir Vasiliev

Vladimir Vasiliev spent 10 years with a Special Operations Unit (SOU)-the Russian Army Special Forces. During his decade with SOU he became a master of the Russian Martial Art, the fighting system that made the Soviet Union's elite soldiers the most feared in the world.

The unit Vladimir served in was even more exclusive than our Navy SEALS. Very few in the Soviet military even knew of the training Vladimir and the others in his unit received due to intensive government secrecy about the unit. Even fewer were allowed training in these techniques.

In Soviet Russia, military service was compulsory. You had to do your time with the Soviet Army. Most went into the Regular Army where their martial arts training consisted of training in "Sambo", a martial art based on traditional Oriental styles emphasizing jujutsu or kick boxing.

Others, the healthiest and most promising, were placed into Special Forces units. The best of the best were placed into elite special operations units. At first, Russian authorities experimented with different fighting systems from around the world to see which was most effective. The unit Vladimir trained in specialized in the ancient Russian martial arts.

This system was found to be superior to every other system tried by the Russian Special Forces. Not only could it be practiced with a remarkably lethal effeciency, it was also incredibly multi-functional. It provided results far beyond the others in any situation in a much shorter period of time.

The Russians were also concerned about training soldiers in a way that they could resist psychological stress. As in the Vietnam War, many soldiers returned emotionally crippled or had psychological problems when serving in places like Afghanistan and Chechnya.

One of the main goals of the training in Vladimir's unit was to prepare the operators to endure any military operation and stay sane and functional. The Russian Army wanted to train an elite group that could be called on at any time to go anywhere and, in a moment, gear up to maximum fighting readiness. The training was almost inhuman, certainly beyond anything our SEALS or Delta Force undergoes. But the result was a soldier the likes of which the world had never seen before.

Even when these people became civilians, they were so skilled and tough that the Soviet government would call them back into action to secretly participate in a mission. It must have been strange for the friends and co-workers of these people. They'd be doing their regular job in Russian society and then, suddenly, they wouldn't be seen for several days. When they returned from some incredible mission, nobody would know where they'd been. Nor could they talk about what they'd done. They simply went back to work as if nothing had happened.

The people in these special units were so well-trained and efficient that the Russian Army couldn't afford to let them go. Even when they were out of the Army, they were on call. Vladimir was one of these people.

His special area of expertise was hand-to-hand combat based on techniques acquired from the Russian Martial Art. His specialty was fighting unarmed against opponents with weapons, sometimes going single-handed against 6 attackers at once.

Vladimir was in many actions and battles, most of which are still considered classified by the Russian government. Some were special combat missions behind enemy lines. In other operations he'd act in much the same way a SWAT team member does in our country. He also served as a bodyguard for high ranking individuals. His experiance ran the gamut from military to civilian applications.

Ultimately, other SPETSNAZ operatives, KGB men, policital bodyguards, elite paratroopers, metropolitan SWAT teams and others in need of hand-to-hand expertise came to Vladimir for training.

There's an old saying that says, "Those who can't do, teach". Vladimir was an exception to this. He was not only a master of the Russian Arts. He also had the ability to pass the mastery on to others.

Much of the essence of Vladimir's training and the nature of the Russian Martial Art is located in its unique phsychological and psychic emphasis.

Key to this training is Vladimir's overall philosophy to combat, summed up as follows:

"Fighting skill should evolve into an unconquerable weapon that can't be seen until used nor taken away while its practitioner is alive."

 

[GouRonin]

The company that is pushing Vlad's tapes in the US sure went all out in this month's issue of black belt.

Anyone else see this?

 

[Jay Bell]

I heard it was like a 3 pages spread or something?

too bad

 

[GouRonin]

With this kind of coverage we're never gonna see him anymore. As it was before he was in demand but now it seems that the more people know about him the more they want him.

 

[Roland]

not that I need more advertising in my life, lol.

 

[GouRonin]

I spoke with Vlad the other day regarding the ad. He laughed and said they say things with the intent to sell. He assures me that he will always be there to teach. Whew!

That same class we were working and man did he label me with a shot while I was in bad body posture. I was angling away from one strike and he went to hit my chest with another which I deftly avoided until I realized he was just countouring down my body with the fist. Man! I was just helping him to hit me in a better spot! The fist his just below the sternum on a 45 degree angle and I felt the force of the strike travel through my stomach area and believe it or not to my @ss.

Dear sweet jesus...I thought for a moment I had just cr@pped lightning. Ow....ow...ow...ow!

What a nasty lesson to learn about breaking my posture and sacrificing it for mobility. I was trying to get fancy when I had a perfectly good escape route in another direction. I still have yet to watch the video. I hope it's on there but damn, I am almost afraid to see what I look like if the actual view of it looks as painful as it was. I swear I felt as if there was a line of lightning running from the strike on my front to my @ss and was burning and frying everything inbetween.

The guy I was working with said the strike was so visually stunning with the effect it had on me it looked like my feet had just been planted about 2 feet into solid ground. This is an excellent example of why you need an instructor there to teach systema. Not only would I not have learned this lesson via pain but I would have been out of luck as how to deal with this pain had Vlad not been there.

Not only can he dish it out. He can show you how to do it too. How to deal with it. He's just the most complete teacher I have ever worked with.

 

[Klondike93]

My instructor has re-defined hitting for me. The guy is maybe 150 pounds but hits harder than anyone I've ever been hit by and I've fought some full-contact fighters too.

He hit me with what he calls the jiggler, he hits you and your liver jiggles

Gou, does Vlad do a thing at the end of a class some times where he just hits you each strike getting harder until you cave?



:asian:

 

[Roland]

Sometimes with the stick too!

Martin Wheeler likes to hit us too, it is great.

But, then again, I may be a bit weird!

 

[Klondike93]

Earlier this year my instructor went to a seminar in Florida that Vlad was doing and came back with this huge bruise on his stomach.

Of course I had to ask about it :shrug: and he could only show me how he got it. He took a escrima stick out, told me to hold my arms over my head and breathe normally (yeah right).
Then "wham" hits me with the stick in the abdomen He said Vlad did this to him about 10 straight times to demonstrate breathing away the pain.

The warped thing is I'd do it again too.


:asian:

 

[Rich_]

I've been caught with the same sort of overhand driving punch as GouRonin there - it's nasty. There are no real muscles to support the whole of your guts being pushed through the gaps in your skeleton!

And at the same time, very handy for taller guys like me that can come over arms and drop a long way. Save it, learn it, and use it when you need to...

 

[Jay Bell]

Yes...that shot hurts very well Even distributing the energy...there's still a brutal shock