How did karate appear in the USSR?
Martial arts became popular in the USSR in the 1960s and 70s, when young people became massively interested in karate. Martial art penetrated into the Union gradually: foreign athletes brought some techniques, Asian students showed some techniques, and some Soviet youth copied action heroes.
The first people who legally taught karate in the USSR were Tetsuo Sato, Hashimoto, Ako Tauluev, Alexander Podshchekoldin, Vladimir Kovalev. In 1977, the Central Karate School even appeared, the competition for which was 200 people per place. A year later, the USSR Karate Federation appeared, and in 1980 the first national championship was held in Tashkent.
Why did the authorities begin to imprison sensei?
The number of people practicing karate in the USSR grew to 6 million people when the sport was suddenly banned. In the fall of 1981, a clause on “Illegal karate training” was added to Article 219 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR.
- For learning karate techniques you could be imprisoned for 2 years and receive a fine of up to 300 rubles.
- If a coach took money from students, the fine increased to 500 rubles.
- If the material benefit could be considered “substantial”, and the coach had already been prosecuted for similar things, he could be imprisoned for 5 years with confiscation of property.
To demonstrate the seriousness of their intentions, the authorities held a show trial of wushu trainer Valery Gusev. No one was interested in the fact that Chinese gymnastics has nothing to do with karate. Gusev was not only charged with teaching martial arts, he was also accused of trying to create an organization whose goal was to overthrow the Soviet regime. As a result, Valery went to prison for five years and was released in 1988.
![](http://southampton.top/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1a5ded5a7ba8f82d71e3b147922559a7_cropped_666x571.jpg)
Why was karate banned?
What was the reason for the ban on karate in the USSR? One of the versions is the outflow of athletes from other sports. Karate became so popular that everyone did it — even the guys from boxing and judo. Since these are Olympic sports, the departure of athletes undermined the prestige of the country and could affect the results of the team.
Another alarming symptom was the cult of the sensei, which is traditional in martial arts. The life of young people was controlled by the state, and foreign philosophy could develop dissent in them. The authorities were afraid that the sensei would begin to supply fighters for crime or create cells with the aim of changing the system.