Crime doesn't pay. But Vladimir Vasiliev is making a fair living teaching others how to respond against criminal violence.
His Richmond Hill defense academy, called simply Russian Martial Art, is the only one in Canada and the United States that teaches "The System" employed by the former Soviet Union's elite Special Forces.
Vasiliev, a 10-year veteran of Spetsnaz, as the covert-operations SWAT team is called in Russian, opened his school in November 1993, three years after immigrating to Canada.
"In traditional (karate and judo) schools you learn how to stand first, and you go through kata: the movement patterns. You just drill them and memorize them. Here there's none of that," explains the 37-year-old native of Tver, 200 kilometers northeast of Moscow.
"From the very first class, you learn real street-defense situations: how to protect yourself from an attack with a knife, from choke holds."
The System is based on intuitive reactions: what your brain tells you when the adrenalin is pumping at full force. Students master defense against all forms of attack, including kicks, punches, chokes and holds. Students practice overcoming multiple attackers simultaneously, and learn to fight sitting, lying down and blindfolded.
As part of that street-smart, no-holds-barred philosophy, Vasiliev dispenses with fancy uniforms and colorful belts. On a recent day, a few dozen men ranging from their teens to late 30s were exercising in his dojun casually dressed in track suits or khaki pants and T-shirts.
The gym, located in a cinderblock industrial building, has simple rubber mats on the floor. There are no floor to ceiling mirrors in which to admire one's physique. Flags of Canada, Czarist Russia, and the post-Communist regime are the only decorations. The gym has a change room, but no showers. This is no place for poseurs.
"You progress a lot more quickly this way," explains Vasiliev. "You can protect yourself after three months if you're serious about it. After a year you become fantastic, really good, the equivalent of a black belt in karate."
Though derived from a 1000-year-old Cossack fighting technique, The System as Vasiliev learned it, was designed for the Red Army. "There they have no time to waste."
Russian Martial Arts currently has 200 part-time students ranging in age from 15 to 65. Some attend daily, but most exercise a few times a week. Almost all are male. Vasiliev's colleague, Igor Korol, a former Soviet Union judo champion, teaches children's classes. The modified kinder-System does not involve knife fighting.
All students sign a release. But aside from a few black eyes, Vasiliev says, his school has never had accidents.
As part of his training in Russia to be a bodyguard, Vasiliev learned to do instant psychological assessments. Based on a person's body language, appearance and gait, he says, he can readily tell if a candidate is who he purports to be. Vasiliev refuses to instruct criminals or undesirables.
Not surprisingly, The System has attracted a number of recruits from police forces and the Canadian army.
"You learn to defend yourself against any possible weapon, even chairs," says Metro Police officer Rob Berezowski.
Salespeople also find the training helpful, Vasiliev notes. It promotes self-awareness and divergent thinking, skills that allow you to influence people.
Vasiliev also encourages his students to practice the Russian folk-health system of daily dousings with ice-cold water, preferably outside, although that's not an integral part of The System. The dousings strengthen the body's immune system, improve sleep and even make your hair grow better, Vasiliev says. It's all part of learning The System. "You not only acquire greater power as a fighter, but also as a person."
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