Kadochnikov System

International Association

Stage I. Preparation of the body

Special methods
of lower acrobatics to master the
movement skills of a fighter

www.KadochnikovSystem.com

Stage I. Preparation of the body

Special methods of lower acrobatics to master the
movement skills of a fighter

General principles
Its impossible to build a house on sand, as well as to build
a process of mastering personal safety technique without an
understanding of basic movements and notions and without being
able to control them perfectly. Accurate learning and confident
mastering of the basic elements of the effective self-defense in
the Kadochnikoff System are absolute and obligatory conditions
of successful training.
The training process is based on the obligatory and conscious
cooperation with the trainee. That is possible only if the person
understands why and how a certain basic element is performed.
Its important for the trainee himself to see the difference between
theory and ability. The first is a constituent part of the latter, but
both notions cant substitute each other.
The lower acrobatics is a section that includes the skills in
movements at the lower level, ways of controlling the body, rolls,
sliding, rolls over and other elements.
Apart from the basic elements, there are a lot of preparation and
lead-in exercises, which make the understanding of movement
and the step-by-step forming of proper movement skills much
easier.

On the one hand, its a section, which includes the techniques

of safe break-falls, rolls over, rolls, crawling, sliding and a lot of
other points.
On the other hand, if we regard the actions, united in the
section The lower acrobatics, from the functional point of
view, well see that it is a whole complex of movement skills
which are applied to move away from the line of attack supposed
by an opponent, to shorten distance to the opponent, to perform
some maneuver, trick or secret approaching to the rival, to make
blows, to pick a weapon or other object up for throwing, or to
protect yourself from possible injures in case of various falls.
The third important aspect is the impact of movement skills,
described in the section The lower acrobatics, on the general
coordination abilities, on the stability of the vestibular apparatus
and on the ability of more complex perception of the surrounding
space.
The rational sequence of the training process consists of the
following steps: rolling and falling, sliding, rolling over and
creeping.

The practical mastering methods

Its advisable to begin with mastering the technique of rolls
because it seems to be familiar from your school program,
so it doesnt make you strained physically when you have to
learn something new. Moreover, the technique of rolls can train
your vestibular apparatus in short terms and quite effectively.
That helps you to do more complicated exercises easily. While
mastering the rolls, we usually resort to a number of preparation
and intermediate exercises, which favour the development of the
proper technique right from the beginning.

A roll forward from a knee.

For example, before mastering rolls from the upright position,

we usually do the same thing from the sitting position or from a
knee.
The number of lead-in and intermediate exercises is
uncountable. The main thing is to come eventually to the proper
movement.
The mastering of break-falls requires the same thoroughness.
The main requirement here is to perform them silently, softly and
safely (different kinds of break-falls are essential elements of
self-defense) and after performing, to take a position that enables
you to react to further actions. The attention should be paid to
avoiding irrational, needless contraction of muscles, which dont
take part in the movement directly. The basic secret of falling is
to move the center of gravity before the beginning of the falling
phase as low as possible.
Crawling and noiseless movement make few difficulties when
the technique of these movements is mastered.
Its possible to make different combinations of these basic
elements. For example, you may fall on your chest from the
upright position, to turn on your back, to roll backward over a
shoulder, then over the other one, fall on your side and so on.
The main requirement in using such combinations: the exercise,
which follows the previous one, must be soft and logical, it mustnt
destroy the general mechanics of consecutive movements; it
should be the continuation of the concluding phase of the previous
exercise. It imparts the skill of controlling ones body, of feeling
the rhythm and inertia of the movement. It also helps to develop
the vestibular apparatus and the perception of space.
As the skill of performing the elements of the lower acrobatics
becomes sound, these elements may be brought from the basic

A roll forward from the upright position

part of the training (where we deal with the technical actions

and elements which require explanation and training) to the
warming-up. As warming-up exercises, the elements of the lower
acrobatics play a double role they warm up the muscles and
help to keep the motor skill of the necessary level.
Moreover, its necessary to master and to perfect skills of the
lower acrobatics when they are performed not only from static
positions, but also during movement: in picking a weapon and
other objects up, in overcoming obstacles. The obstacles may be
of different forms depending on the place where training takes
place and technical means that are used. The obstacle may be
made of sports equipment (vaulting horse, buck, banks, bars,
mats, etc.), if the training is held in a gymnastic hall, or a standard
obstacle course may be used.

Break-falls
A fall is one of the basic and, one may say, one of the most
important elements of self-defense. These elements at the initial
stage of training should be made from the basic stance, but then
they must be performed from any position to avoid forming the
constant dependence between the proper movement and the only
starting position.
Theres a possible difficulty at the initial stage of mastering
these skills. Its the instinctive fear of falling, especially on a
hard surface.
A break-fall while sliding with the legs forward
Such a psychological obstacle leads to the tension of muscles
and to the possible injuries. The easiest way to overcome such
tension is to do an exercise slowly, moving the center of gravity
as low as possible.

A break-fall while sliding with the legs forward

Such a psychological obstacle leads to the tension of muscles

and to the possible injuries. The easiest way to overcome such
tension is to do an exercise slowly, moving the center of gravity
as low as possible.
The easiest kind of actions from this section is falling on the
chest. Standing in the basic stance, lower the pelvis as low as
possible, then cast your legs back (but dont join them) and
land on your arms which are brought forward and bent at the
elbows. Pull your elbows to the sides. Your arms should cushion
the fall because of the elastic properties of the strained muscles.
The contact between your arms and the surface begins with the
tips of your fingers; then you use your fingers and hands. The
process finishes by touching the surface with the inner part of
your forearms.
Thus you effectively damp the energy of falling and cushion it
softly and slowly.

Crawling
In comparison with other elements of the lower acrobatics,
crawling seems to be simple and innocent childs play, but we
shouldnt underestimate the developing and educational potential
of this section. Crawling on ones stomach and back forms an
important skill of space orientation in conditions of unusual
world seeing. Moreover, crawling takes much energy, and its
inclusion in the training process helps to make this process more
physically demanding.
In the technical sense, these movements are quite simple:
crawling on the stomach is done from the lying position, your
arms dont take part in the action; they must be behind your back.
Its not only the leg that takes part in the movement by pushing
the body, but the body itself too. Then the cycle repeats on the
other side too.

Crawling on ones stomach

Crawling on ones back is performed when your arms are in

a position as if they carry a weapon. Here, as in the crawling on
ones stomach, we use the work of the whole body, not only the
work of your legs, which push the body forward. The movement
is cyclic and is preformed symmetrically the left and the right
leg in turn, using all the muscles of the body.
Its important to perform all the exercises without fixing your
sight on your arms or legs, which are involved in some active
action. All the exercises must be mastered to such a level, that
you could do them without visual control over the movements of
your body. The switching of your attention from the environment
to your body in the course of fighting may be fatal. Those
movements that require visual control are considered to be
mastered insufficiently.

Building exercises
The efficiency of building exercises is based on their rationality
and on resemblance of basic elements. The more energy used in
the technique of building exercises parallel with perfecting of
fragments and elements of basic movements, the more effective
the training time is used, and the shorter the time for developing a
certain skill is, the more effective the training is. There is no sense
to use a great number of developing exercises. The main criteria
of choosing a building exercise is the purpose of covering all the
training functions and all the muscle groups with the chosen set
of exercises.

An exercise Crocodile

An exercise A curved step

Test questions and tasks

1. What are the exercises of lower acrobatics designed for?








2. Give an example of several elements from the lower
acrobatics which can be used for approaching your opponent or
moving away from him.




3. Identify several general requirements while mastering
break-falls.






4. From what position do we begin to master the technique of
performing rolls?


5. What is the function of exercises of the lower acrobatics as
warming-up exercises?





6. What is an important skill formed during the performance
of crawling exercises?





7. On what should your eyes be fixed during the performance
of exercises from the lower acrobatics?




8. Is it necessary to have the visual control over the movements
during the performance of exercises from the lower acrobatics?




9. Master the technique of performing back and forward rolls
from the sitting position and from the knee

10. Master the technique of performing back and forward rolls

from the upright position.
11. Master the technique of performing general types of
break-falls. (Dont forget about the main secret in mastering this
technique move the center of gravity before the beginning of
the falling phase as lower as possible).
12. Master the technique of crawling.
13. Master the technique of performing the complex exercise
The Star.
14. Make up yourself several combinations from the basic
elements.
15. Make up your own program for warming-up from the
exercises of the lower acrobatics.