Fighters and wars: the Russian Union of Martial Arts sent about 100 volunteers to the NVO zone

The martial arts forum “Clash of Champions 14: School vs. School” was held in Moscow on Friday, December 2. In the ring of the Luzhniki sports complex, 8 athletes of different types of martial arts clashed in a fight. But the participants in the fighting games this evening were not the main stars. All the attention of the audience was riveted to the special guests. About 100 volunteers – masters of sports of the RSBI immediately after the event went for training in order to become participants in the military operations of the Northern Military District.

Thousands of people gathered to watch the now traditional Martial Arts Forum. The “School vs. School” project is a national sporting event, whose participants compete in various styles and directions of martial arts. Under bright spotlights, 8 athletes met in the ring. Spectators enjoyed fights according to the rules of army hand-to-hand combat, vestibule karate, grappling, kudo, hand-to-hand combat, sambo, Thai boxing and wushu. As a result of the fights, two fighters from the Republic of Dagestan reached the final: Ali Aliyev from Makhachkala (Thai boxing) and Shamil Musaev from Kizlyar. Both are in the 80 kg weight category, both are 28 years old, both are champions of Russia and Masters of Sports of Russia of international class. But the representative of the Wushu direction, Shamil Musaev, managed to keep the victory.

But not only for the sake of spectacular fights, those present gathered that evening. Among the honored spectators were those who gave their lives to the sport, and today they go to help the whole country. Immediately after the event, almost 100 eminent fighters are sent from the RSBI to the front.

“Thank you to the fighters, real masters, who showed us their art and will to win today. A real fighter is able to protect himself, a martial artist is able to use his art in order to protect those who need help and protection. But the highest mission is the opportunity to stand up for your people and your country, Russia. Thank you very much for this guys. Victory will be ours!” said Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation and co-chairman of the RSBI.

“The RSBI has been in existence for 17 years. For the 14th time we are gathering in this hall to find out who is the strongest of the athletes, which school, which of the coaches. But today is not an ordinary tournament and the time is unusual. Today it is not enough to go to the mat or to the ring to prove that you are a fighter. The real fighters today are those who shed blood for our Motherland, those who defend it. RSBI cannot and should not remain aloof, a detachment of volunteers has been formed, there are about 100 of them. They are all with us in the hall. These are masters of sports of international class, honored masters, first-class athletes. Immediately after the competition, they will go to training, and then to the war zone. And I want to bow to them. I want to thank them for making this decision. To say that we are there, we will help in any way we can. Victory to you and return home,” Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President in the Far Eastern Federal District and Co-Chairman of the RSBI Yuri Trutnev spoke.

Throughout the evening, the audience was shown not only videos about martial arts, the fighters of which will fight in 3 rounds of three minutes each, but also appeals from volunteers. So, Ramil Gabbasov (Champion of Russia, Champion of South Africa, Master of Martial Arts, Master of Sports of the Russian Federation, World Record Holder in atemishiwari, Executive Director of the RSBI), who will become the commander of the squad, spoke about his motivation to become a volunteer.

“We all know the history of the Second World War, which literally touched every family. When Nazism went to enslave the Soviet Union, at the cost of 27 million lives, a great Victory was won. And today, Nazism is raising its head, and the West is helping it in this. I decided for myself to volunteer to stand next to my brothers. We are Russians, the grandchildren of a Russian soldier, and we will not give up this memory,” Gabbasov said.

Sergei Plekhanov, who in 2001 took 3rd place in the absolute category at the World Championships, in 2002 won the K1 kickboxing champion of Japan, and in 2003 became the silver medalist of the Kyokushin Absolute World Championship, where he was the first Russian who made it to final of these competitions, also shared his opinion.

“The time has come to give more for your Motherland than you can. This is the essence of the concept of “patriotism” for me. I am very proud that my great-grandfather and grandfather defended their homeland, for me they are real heroes. I believe that it is necessary to know and honor the history of Russia. We were attacked, threatened and always wanted to enslave, but this never worked and never will. I know that the family will be very bored and worried, like my young students. I have someone to protect. Victory is when the people of my country will live and sleep peacefully,” Plekhanov said.

“I have always felt the deepest respect for the people who defended our country. People who put their interests below the interests of the Fatherland. When I was an active athlete, I had the feeling that I primarily compete for Russia. I am asked if there is a feeling of fear. Any sane person has it. But we, as athletes, have learned to translate fear into a state of combat readiness. I am sure that everyone will cope with this and the Victory will be ours,” added Sergey Uvitsky, Master of Sports of Russia of international class in karate kyokushin, European Champion, silver medalist of the Japanese Championship and the Absolute European Championship.

In total, the detachment consists of 98 volunteers. They will be trained at the military center in Gudermes. Combat coordination will be conducted by special forces instructors who have experience in participating in hostilities.

Recall that the project of the RSBI “Battle of Champions” is an annual sporting event, the purpose of which is to promote martial arts and martial arts in Russia and abroad. The project has two directions. “School against school” is a national sports event, within the framework of which there are competitions between different styles and directions of martial arts and combat sports in accordance with universal international rules. Russian Team vs World Team is an international sporting event where the strongest Russian athletes face off against the best athletes in the world.