A
film based on the book (seen on the left) "Judo with Vladimir Putin" co-authored by
Vladimir Putin and his first judo coach Anatoly Rakhlin has been recently shot
in St. Petersburg. The question is: What kind of a judoist is Putin?
Komsomolskaya Pravda put this question to Putin’s first and only coach.
A short boy enrolled in a usual martial arts club in the outskirts of Leningrad
(now Saint Petersburg) in 1965. The boy was called Vladimir Putin. He was 13 at
the time. There was nothing special about the boy. “He was like, a regular judo
student back then. It’s pure coincidence that he got enrolled in my group. He
just turned up in our modest-looking gym. He wasn’t seeking out anything special
at the time,” said Anatoly Rakhlin, Putin’s first judo teacher.
Putin began sambo (a Soviet martial art developed for the Red Army and the NKVD)
before switching to judo. That is when Putin’s talent for martial arts began to
show. “He was known for his extraordinary endurance. And he was pretty
unpredictable when fighting. He’d win a fight by using some sudden throw against
his opponent,” Rakhlin said. “He was good at
throwing his opponents both left
and right though judoists usually hurl their opponents to one side only. All in
all, he was a rather emotional type of wrestler, compared to the guys who mostly
rely on their physical force,” Rakhlin added.
At the beginning, Putin’s parents were a bit suspicious of their son’s avid
interest in judo. One of the passages in Putin’s autobiography, First Person,
mentions the situation: “My parents first thought that I was gaining some
negative experience, which would be used in a backstreet fight or something of
the kind. They apparently thought that my judo classes would get me into trouble
in the end. That is why they had a few misgivings about my judo club. Once they
met my coach, who started visiting our house quite regularly, their attitude
changed.”
Rakhlin
met the parents of the future Russian president and explained to them that judo
classes meant no harm. Rakhlin managed to convince them that a young man could
only benefit from the martial art; he would become a healthier man by practicing
judo. As a result, Vladimir Putin got the green light to carry on with his
favorite sport. However, Putin’s mother never attended any of the tournaments in
which Vladimir took part. His father dropped by the club on a couple of
occasions. No matter the end result of a fight, Vladimir has always fought to
the end, his coach said.
Putin opposed a Master of Sports in Judo (Soviet and Russian sport title) during
one of the fights at the club. At the start, Putin was getting the upper hand.
At on point his opponent suddenly performed a counter technique and scored a
clean win. Putin was very much disappointed at the defeat. Two weeks later, the
lot fell on Putin to oppose the same man again. It was clear Putin was fully
determined to fight tooth and nail that time. Putin quickly won the fight by
throwing his opponent twice within seconds.
In 1976, Putin won the senior championship of Leningrad. Two years later, he won
the title of Master of Sports in Judo and Sambo. He had been awarded a coveted
black belt by the time he reached 18. Incidentally, Rakhlin is confident that
Putin could have been a successful professional athlete. “He was a hardworking
judo student who had great potential,” Rakhlin said.
Anatoly Rakhlin was in charge of Russia’s national judo team a few years ago.
His team won the European championship. These days he is a vice president of
the Russian Judo Federation. He is responsible for the development of this kind
of martial arts. He also oversees the training of young athletes and coaches.
Rakhlin often has to tackle a variety of problems arising from red tape. He
explains to self-important officials why sports should be given special
attention.
“We need to take advantage of the fact that the Russian president studied judo
and I was his
coach. There’s nothing wrong about it. I always mention the
circumstance when meeting with local authorities in some Russian region. An
official just doesn’t care which of the sports should be developed. We need to
do our best to involve as many kids as possible in doing sports. That’s the way
to distract them from criminal activity and illicit drugs. Those officials start
to behave differently once they get the idea that they’re talking to a coach of
President Putin,” Rakhlin said.
Rakhlin can call Putin any time and discuss a thing or two. However, he says
that he never overindulges in talking on issues related to judo when it comes to
his “direct line” to the Russian president. “We have his good will, his express
attitude toward sports. That’s enough. For instance, President Putin helped us
launch repairs at the judo club located on Kondratievsky Avenue in St.
Petersburg. That’s the very club where he studied judo years ago. Needless to
say, I’d never bother him with some trifling matter,” Rakhlin said.
Review of "Judo with Vladimir Putin" printed in German Judo Magazin
February 2004 and written by David Finch based on translated material supplied
by Tatiana Nossova of the Russian Judo Magazine.
Many
people will say that to be a politician you must know how to be bold, u-turn,
retreat, advance, yield, strangle, attack, arm-twist, lie and deceive. But these
were qualities possessed by President Vladimir Putin before he entered politics.
They came from his position as the Soviet Union’s KGB boss in Dresden during the
Cold-war of the eighties often, no doubt, crossing to West Germany with a false
identity. This, and his professorship of judo.
Later, when democracy reached Russia, Putin headed the KGB’s domestic successor,
the Federal Security Service and then, shortly afterwards, became Prime Minister
to the u-turned former communist official, President Boris Yeltsin.
So any book that reveals a little of the psychology of such a powerful man and
the possible influence of judo on his decisions is worthy of attention - by a
judoman. For only a true judoman or woman will know that judo, unlike any other
sport, is as much about life as it is about sport.
The book is dedicated to Anatoly Rakhlin, trainer and sensei to Russian
President Vladimir Putin. Both were born and brought up in St Petersburg
– the old Leningrad in Putin’s KGB days. Rakhlin lives on Vassilievsky Island,
famous for its eight Lines or avenues and numbered one to eight rather like the
streets and avenues of New York. The author uses the eight Lines to divide the
book into sections with references to Vladimir Putin (Poutin in non-cyrillic
Russian) mainly commencing at the Fifth Line.
The book starts with the early life of Anatoly Rakhlin and from the fifth
chapter describes some of the history of Putin’s judo life and how Rakhlin
assisted him from his first appearance at his gym; “I don’t know what Poutin was
before he came to do Sambo and Judo. When Volodya (Russian spelling of Vladimir)
came to my gym in January 1965, I saw a boy who simply wanted to become
stronger. He wanted a real man’s occupation. I did not question him as to why he
was there. A trainer should teach and only then will he know what the pupil
seeks. I refused nobody, it was not in my rules to arrange selection by strength
or physique. First, we have a lot of weight categories in judo. Secondly, I’m
not a prophet and could never tell if there would be any good results from this
or that man. It would be really good if he could manage to defend himself, and
it would be still better if he could become an Olympic Champion.”
The Sixth Line, or chapter, refers to the development of women’s judo at
Rakhlins club. Understandably, it ignores references to the Moscow newspapers
that had been full of stories about Russian women confessing to having erotic
dreams about Mr Putin. But, by the Seventh Line the story returned to Putin and
how Rakhlin accompanied him on his September 2000 official visit to Japan where
Putin was ceremoniously awarded his 6th dan at the Kodokan.
The Eighth and final Line includes references to 53 year old Putin but is mainly
about Rakhlin’s philosophy on life. In all, the book is full of unique stories
and pictures about their lives and their relationship. It is perhaps unfortunate
that the book does not dwell a little more on Putin, his philosophy and his
judo. If it was ‘good results’ that Anatoly Rakhlin wanted from his pupils then,
in this case, he may not have produced an Olympic champion but he certainly
helped make a world leader.
To read this book you will need to understand Cyrillic Russian.In 2004 it was
available from Publishing House CK, 8/1 Gagarina Str., Arkhangelst, 163045,
Russia. A4 soft back format and 135 pages.
Reviewer
David Finch, 13th January, 2004
Translation summary
Tatiana Nossova, December 2003
A
film based on the book (seen on the left) "Judo with Vladimir Putin" co-authored by
Vladimir Putin and his first judo coach Anatoly Rakhlin has been recently shot
in St. Petersburg. The question is: What kind of a judoist is Putin?
Komsomolskaya Pravda put this question to Putin’s first and only coach.
said Anatoly Rakhlin, Putin’s first judo teacher.
throwing his opponents both left
and right though judoists usually hurl their opponents to one side only. All in
all, he was a rather emotional type of wrestler, compared to the guys who mostly
rely on their physical force,” Rakhlin added.
Rakhlin
met the parents of the future Russian president and explained to them that judo
classes meant no harm. Rakhlin managed to convince them that a young man could
only benefit from the martial art; he would become a healthier man by practicing
judo. As a result, Vladimir Putin got the green light to carry on with his
favorite sport. However, Putin’s mother never attended any of the tournaments in
which Vladimir took part. His father dropped by the club on a couple of
occasions. No matter the end result of a fight, Vladimir has always fought to
the end, his coach said. 
at the club. At the start, Putin was getting the upper hand.
At on point his opponent suddenly performed a counter technique and scored a
clean win. Putin was very much disappointed at the defeat. Two weeks later, the
lot fell on Putin to oppose the same man again. It was clear Putin was fully
determined to fight tooth and nail that time. Putin quickly won the fight by
throwing his opponent twice within seconds.
