National Judo South Training Center in Sochi, Russia, January 8, 2016.
A pre-match warm-up is in full swing.
At this time, a man dressed in a white judo suit with a black belt tied around his waist and a slightly shy walk walked onto the judo mat.
Looking closely, the man's belt had 8 bars - judo eight dan.
The belt caught the attention of his partner, the female judo athlete Bruzina, who was secretly thankful to have been coached by the eight-dan judo.
In the battle, she quickly cut in, twisted her waist and crotch, and threw the opponent down in a clean and neat movement.
However, due to her overly focused training, she was unable to see that the man training opposite was none other than Russia's president, Putin!
But Putin did not blame her for this, but praised the professionalism of Russian judo athletes, after all, all-out is the real respect for the opponent.
In fact, this is not the first time that Putin has trained with judo athletes, in Putin's life, judo seems to have become an indispensable part, and he seems to be able to see the shadow of judo when he is playing games with other countries...
Figure 1 Putin presents awards to judo athletes
Putin once said: "Judo is an art of living that has changed the trajectory of my life." ”
So how did Putin get into contact with the sport of judo? And how did you turn the sport into the "art of living"?
Sincerely in themselves, the teenager will eventually enter the right path
On November 27, 2019, Putin publicly recalled his judo teacher Anatoly Lakhrin in an interview with Russia's Izvestia newspaper, and recalled his exposure to judo.
Figure 2 Lahlin (left) Putin (right)
At first, the young Putin was not a teenager obsessed with judo, and if he insisted on having anything to do with martial arts at that time, it was probably that he often fought in the streets.
Long-term wandering on the streets made Putin develop a cynical personality at that time, bullying classmates at school and returning home arrogant and rude.
At one point, his father even wanted to give up on him.
Indeed, if this momentum continues, Putin may indeed become a street hooligan outright.
But just then, the first "nobleman" in Putin's life appeared, and he was Anatoly Lahlin, Putin's judo initiation teacher.
Perhaps he has taken a fancy to Putin's boundless energy, or perhaps he has seen Putin's judo talent.
In order to get Putin to participate in judo training, he not only had to persuade Putin, who was stubborn at the time, but also to win over Putin's parents.
Because in the eyes of Putin's parents, the son's personality is now so grumpy, if he practices a martial art like judo, wouldn't it be even more lawless?
But, to their surprise, Lachlin's explanation gradually dispelled their doubts, saying that in the movement, putin's anger could be eliminated and helped him concentrate on better learning.
Finally, at Rachlin's strong invitation, Putin began his first judo training.
Figure 3 Young Putin
Although he participated in the training, this does not mean that Putin has reined in his stubborn character.
In the initial training, he still went his own way, fiercely attacking his partners, often causing injuries to the members of the same team.
Until one day, Lahlin called Putin alone to talk.
When Putin had just stood in front of Lahlin, he had not yet had time to ask him what he had called. Raherin then asked, "Do you just want to be cool as a samurai, or do you want to be a real samurai?" ”
This sentence directly stunned Putin, because he had not thought of such a profound thing in his mind, he just wanted to go with the flow.
However, the teacher's words hit him at once, and he wanted to become a real samurai? What is a samurai? Aren't it the samurai who can fight?
So he told Lahlin of his doubts.
In this regard, Lahlin explained that he did not know what a real samurai was, it was only an ultimate goal, everyone was constantly approaching it, and if you want to become a real samurai, then the first step is to be honest with yourself and meet yourself truthfully.
This remark is obviously a great shock to Putin.
From then on, he began to examine his own life, to examine his own heart, and gradually he finally found that his former self was trapped in inner self-deception and misled.
What I really want to pursue is true strength. Since then, Putin's whole person has undergone a qualitative transformation.
Not only was he polite and disciplined in his dojo training, but he also made great progress in his studies, and he was admitted to the Law School of Leningrad University with excellent results.
Figure 4 Putin
In fact, not only warriors, everyone should be honest with themselves, because people will lie and deceive, not only to others, but also to themselves.
And Putin is lucky, in his lost moments, a good teacher pointed out to him the way of honesty.
Later, when Putin recalled his mentor Lakhrin, he publicly stated that "I love him, in fact he pulled me back from the street..."
In fact, Putin also inherited the educational attitude of the teacher Lachlin, that is, not abandoning or giving up on any young person.
Once, while participating in a TV show, a Russian child innocently asked Putin: "I like to sleep, so can I be president if I like to sleep?" ”
Hearing this, Putin did not encourage the child to work hard, to be self-disciplined, to be diligent, as others did. Instead, he humorously said, "As long as you want to be, you can be." And there's nothing wrong with liking to sleep, it means you're going to be a healthy president! ”
Just a few words, while making people laugh, they also show Putin's vision and angle of breaking through common sense!
And in the final analysis, these are the true meanings of life that he has learned from judo...
Stabilize the center of gravity and take advantage of the situation to suppress the opponent
In fact, judo not only pushed Putin on the right path, but also exerted a profound influence on the policies he implemented after he became the president of Russia.
On March 27, 2000, Putin became the third President of the Russian Federation.
However, what the previous president, Yeltsin, handed him was a mess, when there were US and European wolves peeping on the outside, and oligarchs on the inside.
The presidency looks glamorous, but in fact it is more like a hot potato.
But Putin is not Yeltsin after all, as a professional judo athlete, he knows very well that in the process of fighting against opponents, he must first stabilize himself, and then take advantage of the momentum to exert force, so that he can do more with less.
Figure 5 Putin
The same is true of a country, and the role of the state in the international arena is like that of an individual on the field.
The two must first stabilize their own center of gravity when they compete in judo, so the country should first resolve internal contradictions and improve its own strength, and then compete with other countries.
Putin knows that although Russia has not lost its potential to become a great country, it is now economically poor and difficult to maintain a state of competition with Western countries.
So in the early days of his presidency, just like his choice on the judo field, he chose the strategy of "Taoguang and Obscurity" in diplomacy, and did not dispute with the United States and Europe on international issues.
Such a strategy allows the United States and Europe to gradually shift their guard against and hostility toward Russia, thus giving Putin enough time to rectify the country's internal affairs.
Putin's first step is to root out Russia's oligarchs. At that time, Russia, energy, economy and other oligarchs grasped a large number of strategic resources of the country, so they also enjoyed a great right to speak.
During the Yeltsin administration, there were even incidents of "seven oligarchs" interfering in politics. In this environment, Putin's power as president is greatly limited.
In order to reshape Russia's political environment and improve the lives of ordinary people, Putin ordered the oligarchs to be kept out of the political circle and to hand over the state resources they possessed.
For the first time, Russia's government agencies felt stiffened in the face of such a powerful president, and in June 2000, the Russian General Prosecutor's Office arrested Gusinsky, who controlled the Russian media, in the name of embezzling state property.
Gusinsky's downfall made the rest of the oligarchs fearful, and for a time they all showed favor to Putin, but at this time a "thorn" appeared - Khodorkovsky.
Figure 6 Khodorkovsky (right)
On February 19, 2003, when Putin attended the congress of the Russian Union of Industrial Entrepreneurs in the Kremlin, Khodorkovsky threw out an illustrated presentation that clearly demonstrated the corruption of the Russian government.
You know, the conference at that time was fully televised. At that moment, people all over Russia watched Putin's reaction.
Putin, however, did not react.
For Putin, hitting an opponent when he is in good health is a big taboo in judo confrontation. Professional judo athletes are not in a hurry to attack their opponents, but should take the position, find the flaws of the opponent, and then win in one fell swoop.
So he just watched Khodorkovsky finish quietly, like an audience watching a clown's performance, and like a cheetah staring at a jumping gazelle.
Finally, Putin waited for the flaw he wanted. At the time, Khodorkovsky mentioned that a senior official close to Mr. Putin had received a huge kickback in a russian oil transaction.
At this time, Putin intervened, and he first responded to the corruption problem of the Russian government without hesitation, saying that he would continue to crack down on this loophole.
Immediately after that, his words turned sharply.
“... Some companies, such as Yukos, have huge surpluses of oil reserves, how do they get these reserves? These should also be incorporated into our discussions about corruption. And we've talked about your tax evasion. ”
With that, he looked at Khodorkovsky with a smile on his face and added, "Now I've passed the ball to you." ”
Figure 7 Putin
Putin's hand just right to take advantage of the situation to suppress Khodorkovsky's "position", and through television, to show the people the image of a president who dares to be tough and oligarchic.
After the meeting, Putin's popular support soared, and the Russian government launched an investigation into the Yukos case.
At this point, the oligarchs are all endangering themselves, bowing to Putin and obeying his arrangements. Russia's past decline has also pressed the pause button in Putin's hands.
Strike later, always strategy first
Of course, the influence of judo is not only in domestic policy, but also in Putin's game with other great powers.
On November 21, 2013, under the control of Western forces, a "pro-EU demonstration movement" broke out in Ukraine.
The movement appears to be just a demand by the Ukrainian people to fall to the Western bloc and increase economic income.
Figure 8 Color Revolution under Ukraine
However, the spearhead behind it is directed at Russia, which wants to provoke relations between Russia and Ukraine and encircle Russia geographically.
The situation at this time is the same as when Putin faced Khodorkovsky. The only difference is that the whole world is now waiting to see Putin's jokes.
Because at this time, Russia was hosting an international event, the Sochi Winter Olympics.
This Winter Olympics not only reflects the economic strength of the entire country, but even the face of the entire Country of Russia, so Russia cannot have any riots during the Winter Olympics.
Years of judo life have made putin clear that the first hand is not necessarily effective, and the late strike can often be successful.
Since the domestic situation needs to be stable today, it is better to wait for the development of things, and from a strategic point of view, take the other side's "position" in one fell swoop.
So Putin still did not react, and he even ordered Russia's top brass to keep his mouth shut.
On February 22, 2014, the day before the Winter Olympics, Ukraine's pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, was overthrown, and Ukraine completely turned to the West.
This event is extremely significant for Putin, because after the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO expanded rapidly eastward, and now only Ukraine and Belarus are left with the buffer zone between them and Russia.
Figure 9 Color Revolution under Ukraine
If Ukraine turns to the West, Russia can be said to be a country with a big opening.
Of course, there is a more important point, which is the port located on the island of Crimea. Once Yanukovych's agreement is abrogated, Ukraine will reclaim the right to use the port, and Russia's Black Sea Fleet will not be able to dock.
Therefore, after the closing ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics, Putin began to study the international situation and the situation of the enemy and us day and night.
Finally he found the "stronghold" in his heart, the island of Crimea.
Putin sees his interests in Ukraine as a buffer zone and the black sea fleet's ports second. But if you want to protect your own interests without escalating the conflict, you can only make a fuss on the island of Crimea.
For this island, Russia has almost a natural advantage.
The island, which historically belonged to Russia, was only given to Ukraine by Khrushchev during the Soviet period. Today, most of the people living on the island are still Russians.
On February 27, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea refused to recognize the new Ukrainian government while proposing a referendum to join Russia.
On 28 February, a group of uneffected paratroopers blocked the domestic flight terminal at the Crimean capital airport.
On March 16, Crimea held a referendum on joining Russia, in which 95% of the people agreed to join Russia, and on the 18th, they quickly signed the agreement on accession to Russia.
Figure 10 Signing of the Agreement on Accession to Russia
In fact, all this was carried out at the behest of Putin.
Faced with the imminent seizure of his "position" by his opponent, Putin did not panic and abandon the domestic situation and intervene in Ukraine.
Instead, he uses his usual strategy to first stabilize his own center of gravity, then wait for the other party to make a mistake, and at the same time analyze the opponent's "position". When everything is ready, take the other person down in one fell swoop.
Figure 11 Putin
The energy is well used, since he has common prosperity, these eight words of softness seem to have been immersed in the bone marrow of Putin, and in his every move, it will reflect the shadow of judo balance to varying degrees.
Years of judo practice have tempered Putin's astonishing will and endurance, enabling Russia under his leadership to respond calmly and with ease in dealing with the treacherous and volatile international situation.
However, the practice of martial arts always decreases with the aging of the body, and the development of the country changes with the change of leadership.
Putin's "judo politics" can make Russia, which has become a decadent trend, still occupy the status of a great power, so after Putin, where will his beloved Russia go?
Resources:
Former Russian President Vladimir Putin's judo complex. Sports
Putin's "judo diplomacy"
Putin learned judo just not to be bullied. Social Sciences Vol. 1. Zhao Liangmei
Iron Fist To Rule the World of Chaos Judo Flat World Putin and New Russia. Zhu Daqiu, Zhou Li
Governing a big country is like playing judo. Purple Light Pavilion Digest
Putin's political judo. The art of leadership
Putin and his judo coach. Colorful characters