Today, especially for FIGHT-FILMS.INFO, I will talk with stuntman, regional action film actor and Boa Man - Alexei Kalashnikov. Alexey, good afternoon!
Hello, dear Uranus! I am glad that we met and that I am being interviewed by a far-sighted and diversely literate person!
First, tell us about your training and what you can do?
Brown belt (2nd kyu) in Shotokan karate, winner of district, city and regional competitions in Shotokan karate and all-style karate, CMS in Shotokan karate, yellow belt (2nd degree, Amarelo-graduado ) in capoeira Arte de Gingar, 13 years of karate training and 10 years of capoeira, 24 years of personal stretching practice, the fruitful fruit of my personal methods and developments.
At the age of 7 he began training in Shotokan karate; at the age of 16, in parallel with karate, he began training in capoeira Arte de Gingar; at the beginning of 2005, he was certified in capoeira by a master from Brazil, Mestre Bandeira.
My training is diverse and universal, it includes martial arts and not a lot of acrobatics, but first of all, I have excellent control of my body in terms of flexibility, of the people who have at least some connection to cinema and stunt work, there are very few who are able to repeat what I do it, if at all they are capable - so far I have not seen such, if there are any, show me, I’ll see, I always trust only my eyes, either I saw it live or on video (not editing).
The traditional question is what brought you to the world of martial arts: the desire to be like movie characters or the need for self-defense? Tell us also about your stretching, which you demonstrate in each of your works.
Films with Van Damme and only then self-defense contributed to martial arts training.
I acquired my stretch marks back in my distant childhood, and it all started with Jean-Claude Van Damme, who influenced my turbulent childhood and continues to inspire me to this day. At the age of 6, having seen the films “Kickboxer” and “Bloodsport” for the first time on TV, Jean-Claude Van Damme became my idol, I adored these films and could endlessly watch them and tried to do kicks like him, some kicks I wasn't doing too bad with my legs anymore.
At the same age, 6 years old, in kindergarten, I first sat on the transverse split, and at 13 years old, during karate, I sat on the longitudinal split. My karate teacher was very tough, strict, of the old Soviet school, he told us that a real karateka must have a perfect stretch, sit on all 3 splits and be able to kick in the head, even when you are standing tightly, chest to chest , to your opponent. For my teacher, stretching and general physical training were paramount.
One fine day, during training, during warm-up and stretching, he walked past me, and we were doing the longitudinal splits, he saw that I couldn’t do it and said: “You’ve been training for so many years and you still can’t sit on it if the next lesson, if you don’t sit at least on the 1st longitudinal split, you will move to the junior group,” when he came home, with tears and snot, he sat on the longitudinal split the day before and showed it to him at the next training session. My teacher left a very priority attitude towards stretching in my head for the rest of my life, which also greatly influenced my development both as an athlete and as a person, for which I am very grateful to him.
Have you ever used your fighting skills in a real situation?
Of course, more than once - mostly during school years.
And you rarely have to fight in life.
I am not a conflict person by nature, I don’t and never have looked for conflict situations, but in life anything has happened, if I was somehow offended, the 1st time I will remain silent, gritting my teeth, but the 2nd time, there will be no mercy, I can and immediately respond with force.
How did you become a stuntman? What brought you into the world of stunts?
It all started with Jackie Chan, when I first saw his films as a child. There were no stunt schools or courses in Nizhny Novgorod, I knew that in Moscow there was an Association of Russian Stuntmen - that the head there was Alexander Inshakov; and thought about one day going to Moscow and joining the association. When I started doing capoeira, there was a guy in the group with me, Evgeniy Gavrilov - the first person in Nizhny Novgorod to begin cultivating and developing parkour, and quite successfully at that (In the past, he had 1 years of experience in a circus studio, a smart acrobat; Fedorov By the way, he’s also jumping, be healthy, I’ve seen him in action - Fedorov is something in acrobatics, well, he’s been a circus performer since childhood - what can we talk about, his technique is top class! He talked about cinema and the stuntwoman - and I became interested, caught fire, it was even unexpected that finally there was a stunt section in the city, under the leadership of the permanent Dmitry Shadrin and that’s how I got into the team, Evgeniy brought me into this business and through him I met Dmitry Shadrin, on whose team I was and still am - as they say: dreams come true.
Which martial art, in your opinion, is most suitable for real-life conditions, and which for cinematic ones?
In a real situation, a lot depends on a particular person and how he can apply the skills acquired from martial arts, I am generally a karateka - first of all and only then a capoeirist. Combat sambo, Muay Thai, ARB - it seems to me that this is the best thing for the street; any martial arts can help out in a real situation, I think so.
The good old classics are more suitable for cinema, I think - which cannot be taken away, they are more aesthetically pleasing - for example, Van Damme in his early films, Gary Daniels, Daniel Bernhard - clear, beautiful technique, just right for cinema, wushu-taekwondo.
In the movies, professional athletes don’t look very good, with their primitive technique - the same kickers or Muay Thai - there are plenty of examples, professional athletes in the ring; in cinema, for example, karate technique is not suitable for cinema - it looks very dirty, in cinema many of the blows need to be lengthened - then they will look as beautiful as possible in the frame. Let's say, a karate mae-geri to the body - if you hit him in the karate style, as they are taught in the section - it looks very bad in the frame, if you lengthen it, then it will be sweet, in order for the blow to look good in the frame, they should be long and sweeping in amplitude , and not short ones - again, Van Damme’s films will help, look at what long and beautiful blows mean. You enjoy the long blow, its whole appearance; short karate ones - Chuck Norris - he has no taste in technique, this is how he hits, this is the karate version - yes, it’s powerful, but there is no delight, pleasure and aesthetics.
Let's say I want to become a stuntman or trickster. What should you be prepared for first and foremost?
If you want to become a stuntman, then you need to be prepared, first of all, for various injuries and be psychologically savvy, consciously taking risks to achieve the best result. If we talk about tricking, then there will be injuries here too. In general, both activities are somewhat in touch with each other and can act in harmony.
Tell us about your collaboration with Alexander Kondratenko (Nizhny Novgorod director, the most famous work is “Yellow Cloud - author’s note) and about your work in his films - after all, it was from there that you got into television.
I met Alexander Kondratenko (film pseudonym “Condor”) in 2008, during these years I worked with Dmitry Shadrin on the film “+20 minus 35 degrees, precipitation 100%” and I received a call, they said that they were impressed with the work in the short film “13- I am Dacha" (Dir. Dmitry Fedorov) and would like me to take part in the film "Yellow Cloud" (Dir. Alexander Kondaratenko), they said your partner in the plot will be Dmitry Fedorov, you will work together and beat the main character, in “Yellow Cloud” the entire scene of the fight: Me and Fedorov vs Kondratenko was staged by Fedorov and I, and the fight: Me vs Kondratenko was staged by us together!!! I consulted with Dmitry Shadrin and my teammates and agreed to my participation in the film, I helped Kondratenko with 2 more films, in which I also acted as a stunt actor and was also a stunt director, I helped Kondratenko stage “Extra " and "Happy Victory Day", by the way, in "Happy Victory Day" - Kondratenko, due to personal motives, acted very incorrectly and incompetently, I am not listed in the credits at all. When there is a conflict, he likes to cut an actor out either from the film or from the credits; for example, in the film “Yellow Cloud” the actor playing a hacker is the main role, but the credits do not include everything on the Internet and beyond. Everyone asked, “What’s the hacker’s name?” - and the actor’s name is Andrey Vishnev - who has become a good cameraman and directs his films, and also collaborates very well with Dmitry Shadrin.
But if we talk and compare absolutely all the filmmakers in Nizhny, the best is Dmitry Shadrin: when it comes to pictures, sound mixing, gorgeous editing, beautiful ballet fights and stunts filmed amazingly and staged deliciously - in this regard, Shadrin is the best specialist.
You said that Van Damme is an example for you. Why him?
It’s not like that with everyone, Van Damme is not the only one of those who are the sources of my inspiration, he is one of the inspirers.
And so today, in the world, Mukhtar Gusengadzhiev for me is number one in absolutely everything, even as a person who communicated with him, a versatile person and successful in all industries, and another characteristic feature of him, rare for today, he absolutely It’s impossible for you to lie and thoughts like that don’t arise when communicating with him, he sees a person so subtly and clearly - you can really feel it very strongly, it’s really like an x-ray pierces you all the way through, he has such a look and eyes - from the video it’s It’s not noticeable, but the lively energy in personal communication is very noticeable.
And in terms of cinematic action, Van Damme is my favorite.
But, since the question was asked specifically about Van Damme, it means at the moment, I’ll say specifically about him.
Because Van Damme is to this day the personification of grace, aesthetics and a certain charm - he is the first person to show in a movie the split between 1 chairs, and the helicopter kick (Crown spinner in a split jump), the plastic technique of the legs - according to Today in the world of cinema-fight, there is no fighter whose blows would be as pure, graceful and as aesthetically pleasing - as Van Damme did.
Mukhtar Gusengadzhiev and Jean-Claude Van Damme are my inspirations and examples, thanks to their inspiration, today I am what I have become.
Tell us in more detail about Mukhtar Gusengadzhiev and about your acquaintance.
Mukhtar Gusengadzhiev - Guinness Book of Records holder, Most Flexible Man on the Planet, Cirque Du Soleil artist, gave plastic lessons to Demi Moore, Pamela Anderson and Madonna, film actor.
I accidentally came across his video on YouTube, in the evening in April 2013, I saw a familiar face, I had previously seen a photo of him with Van Damme, they performed together in Switzerland, in Basel, in 2010 at the martial arts festival Budo Gala 2010, but I didn’t I knew then who he was and when I watched his performance, I was very impressed and inspired by the way he controlled his body, it was something. And a light came on for me, over the evening I collected everything I could about him and there under the video there was a link to his website, I went to it and there was an announcement that on April 21, 2013 he had a seminar in Moscow, it costs so much, in 4 I had to leave the day before, I collected as much money as I had - okay, at least I didn’t have time to spend it all, I borrowed and reborrowed the rest and collected the amount and went, in general, Mukhtar gave me a lot in terms of motivation, etc., and the fire that he has in me lit - it still burns and will not go out, I think so it should be, but I have not had teachers throughout my life - in terms of working with the body, stretching and flexibility, all that I achieve is all through my hard work, myself, without teachers, books and other things, my teacher, the most valuable and most important one, is practice and my internal motivation, which has become much stronger than it was.
Many people, looking at you, will envy your shape. To be honest, I’m surprised too. Tell us about your daily routine and nutrition.
There are people who have much better bodies. I don’t consider myself a jock, I have a slim, athletic body, sculpted, dry, and what is equally important for me, it is flexible and plastic - which is what I need to work with the body, stretching and flexibility.
In the mode, nothing special - regular training: rocking and stretching-flexibility, with elements of martial arts and acrobatics, rocking 3 times a week for 1.5-2 hours (Exclusively with low weights, 4 approaches to all exercises and in all exercises 25-30 repetitions), and six days a week stretching-flexibility, 2 hours.
On nutrition:
I mostly eat plant foods, vegetables and fruits and that’s it.
Not a fan of meat, dairy products, cottage cheese and eggs, over time I realized that I can easily do without these products and they have no special significance for me, I don’t see the need for them. There are very rare cases when I don’t eat a lot of meat, I literally eat a couple of pieces and that’s it, when we go out with a group to relax in nature, but generally I try not to eat meat.
Meat affects the elasticity of muscle fibers and tendons, it greatly affects flexibility, the ligaments become stiff.
More:
I do not eat:
White bread, loaves and buns and pies. I don’t eat all types of pasta and everything connected with them, I don’t eat potatoes and mayonnaise, ketchup, all types of sauces (cheese, etc.); cheese (it contains a lot of fat), sweets and chocolates, donuts, pies and buns - I don’t eat anything sweet. I don’t eat dumplings, sausages and frankfurters, I don’t eat bananas - they are very high in calories by the way; cutlets and all types of semi-finished products. I don’t visit McDonald’s and other fast food eateries, I don’t eat all sorts of crackers and chips and Snickers, etc., Coca-Cola, etc. I don’t drink, I don’t eat pancakes either, I use a minimum of sugar and salt, salt is harmful - salts are deposited and this will affect me in old age, I don’t drink milk, I don’t drink beer or any fried food.
Eat:
Not a lot of rye bread - but I eat it extremely rarely, boiled rice and beans, buckwheat, millet, oatmeal, barley, vegetables and fruits, salad only seasoned with a small amount of vegetable oil, 1-2 tbsp. spoons of oil, sometimes I don’t add oil at all and always soy sauce - I add it to all dishes. Berries, boiled sea cabbage and Chinese cabbage, I eat everything boiled in general, vegetables and fruits - zucchini, eggplant, celery, pineapple, kiwi, tangerines and oranges, walnuts and raisins, apricots, cherries, strawberries and wild strawberries, plums, apples, tomatoes and cucumbers, dried apricots, lemon and lime.
Then let's get back to stretching)) Tell us for our readers how to quickly achieve stretching like yours, and as an example, a couple of exercises?
I’ll immediately disappoint millions of those who know me, they won’t achieve my stretch marks, I’m a purposeful person. Trying to try to get closer to my level - it’s possible, but you’ll have to plow, specifically plow, but no one will plow - I’m responsible for my words, our society is not used to doing something even for ourselves, it would be different - then everything will be fine in the world they would sit on the splits and bend in every possible way and generally look very beautiful, attractive, but most of the world - there is no desire to emulate them.
1st mistake people make is WHEN WILL I RECEIVE? Often people make a mistake - they haven’t taken a step yet, and they’re already asking When will I have the splits? Have you seen the ads “Splits in 10 lessons” or something like that? - this is bullshit, advertising. You won’t be able to achieve it quickly; everything takes time. The main problem is that they don’t have enough patience, they want everything at once, instant results, but that doesn’t happen; when they build a house, they lay a foundation - so that it would stand stronger and longer - they didn’t lay it, a hurricane blew, the house was demolished. It’s the same in stretching: first the foundation, the base and then further, further, further! People sometimes train for years to achieve their goal, but here many want everything quickly at once, this is a step back, to nowhere. If you think “I can’t, etc.”, then you will never be able to and you will definitely get injured.We empower what we believe in! And you need to do not some favorite and only one exercise, but all the exercises because... the whole complex, each exercise targets different ligaments and muscles. Stretching and Flexibility - These are inseparable things, they are one whole, you will focus only on one exercise, for example, the splits and always hammer only that and nothing else, neglecting other exercises and flexibility exercises - you will be enslaved in development. I have personally seen people sitting on not bad transverse and longitudinal splits - but at the same time they cannot kick at all, if you think that you sit on the splits and you will immediately get automatic kicks - this is not so.
It is necessary to start stretching with a thorough warm-up, warm-up exercises - which gradually turn into increasingly deeper ones, my personal principle, which I personally adhere to and teach others this way - this is from simple to complex, until it is performed efficiently and perfectly, the most mega-simple exercise, there can be no talk of anything more! I also work in the field of fitness - an instructor in body contouring, and in my classes I meet different people of different ages and I am amazed at how wooden most of them are - for their age, this is bad, over time this automatically results in a lot of health problems, these are all kinds of salt deposits, lumbar and cervical osteochondrosis, the occurrence of arthritis and arthrosis, many 20-year-olds sometimes find it difficult to do the simplest thing.
Many people know everything about the exercises, you won’t hear anything surprising - come to my classes and there you will get to know yourself from a completely different perspective, try and improve yourself, stretching and flexibility is a direct way to get to know yourself, you want to get to know yourself, get to know yourself in fact, your body, your capabilities, how clumsy you are as infants - even as an adult, practice flexibility, you will discover a lot about yourself and about yourself and will not cease to be surprised over and over again. For home exercises, I can give you a couple of exercises: one of them is a forward fold (sitting on the floor, bending forward with your outstretched legs, toes pointing towards you - your goal is to reach your toes with your forehead, strive for this, and at the initial stage , achieve a full perfect tilt with a straight back, lie with your stomach on your hips); butterfly - until your knees are on the floor and your legs are to the sides and leaning forward.
Find yourself a good teacher - a specialist in his field and study regularly and don’t be lazy. To achieve results, you must exercise at home, and not just with a trainer - in the gym, when you are under supervision. No money for a fitness club? Ok - download any complex on the Internet - many people have the Internet, and start taking at least some steps towards your dream - don’t give up on your dream - otherwise the dream will give up on you, it won’t come true until you start doing something , it is not she who should come, but you who should go to her - then only she will come to meet you.
I think it’s still better to go to the gym - they’ll want to pursue their dreams, they’ll find money for the gym and equipment. But let's get back to capoeira. Many people believe that this sport is useless in real combat, only for movies and nothing more. What is it really like?
As I already said, at the age of 16, in parallel with karate, I started training in capoeira Arte de Gingar. At the beginning of 2005, I was certified in capoeira by a master from Brazil, Mestre Bandeira, this was the first capoeira seminar in Nizhny Novgorod, since 2008 seminars have been held annually and a master from Brazil has flown in; they invited different masters, held seminars, and certified them - that is, you could pass the exam and get a belt.
In Arte de Gingar the master of style is Mestre Bandeira; then, at this seminar, I immediately received the 2nd belt (yellow), like Mark Dacascos in “Only the Strongest” - well, that is, he has a yellow belt in the film, so I have a yellow one, first I received 1- 2st belt - green and immediately began to be certified for the 2nd, from my city only me and one other person immediately passed the 2nd! Mestre himself chose us from the whole group so that we would receive the 2nd belt, he could have immediately certified us for the 1nd, but the rules of capoeira are as follows: first you must undergo a batizada (baptism) and receive the 10st belt (the Belt is called Cordau), even if initially they mark all your skills for the 1th and other belts, you must first get the 1st. The belt gradation is different in different schools of capoeira; the only common thing that remains is the mandatory presence in the cordão system of the colors of the national Brazilian flag (white, green, yellow and blue). In Arte de Gingar, the 2st belt is green, the 3nd yellow, the 4rd blue, as soon as you get blue, you must recruit students and teach them, then the XNUMXth yellow-green and if you don’t have students, at least one - you will not be certified for yellow-green, that is, you received blue - you are obliged to recruit students, this is how it is at Arte de Gingar.
In general, my personal opinion, in capoeira, a belt doesn’t say anything and doesn’t really mean anything, it just shows what level you are at, and a person can be a capoeirist without a belt at all, but do things that don’t belted capoeiristas - I personally saw such guys, one of them was Alexander Meller - long before the first capoeira schools appeared in Nizhny, he had already begun to cultivate and show it, he did not have any belt or rank in capoeira, but he did things that many homegrown capoeiristas have never dreamed of.
In Brazil in the 20s - 30s, capoeira was generally banned and was used in street gangs for attacks and other things, solving problems between groups, only machete knives were tied to the feet and fought, my master told me that they still have it in Brazil Full contact capoeira competitions are held - Bandeira took part in many competitions. In real life, I have never had the opportunity to fight a capoeirista) Even use capoeirista strikes - but Shotokan has helped me out more than once in my life, the street completely breaks all types of jumps and other tricks - a jump-screw kick will work for finishing off drunks and junkies, and on a normal one: catches him and sends him to rest.
Before the interview, you said that you use your skills to work in fitness. Tell us in more detail what kind of work this is and how interesting and difficult it is?
Yes, I also work in fitness, promoting to the masses my unique author’s program ALEX`STRETCH BODY - for the development of the human body. Body plastic instructor and everything connected with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opoa3nK0vj0
I help people discover and develop their potential, make themselves better, and go beyond their capabilities. This is very interesting, considering the fact that I’ve been doing this for as long as I’ve been living and I like it and I simply can’t live any other way, I would still do stretching and flexibility. The influence of Van Damme, my karate coach, otherwise it’s not interesting to live - I’m a fan, a devoted fan of my business.
How difficult is it? Teaching other people is already difficult in itself, besides everything else you also need to be a very good specialist in your field - there is no other way, I think so, a simple example: You come to a bookstore and see a book on yoga, you take it from the shelf, look, open the book, leaf through and see the drawings there - there is an author of the book, but there is no author inside the book - this proves that the author does not know how to do these tricks and what such a “Teacher” can teach, nothing, he is worthless, I only trust practitioners - their own eyes, not theorists!
You may ask, why am I even developing my body and its capabilities? Personally, ideal stretching and good flexibility allow me to:
Easily, quickly, high and effectively deliver various, spectacular kicks. Perform complex tricks, often based on splits!
FREE to practice acrobatics, where the splits help a lot!
GO in films and take on many more diverse roles! Gutta-percha allows you to stand out among those for whom it is not available (spectacular stretching and unique flexibility are always in the spotlight)!
FREE to practice choreography and dancing in a variety of styles, especially those where stretching is as necessary as air!
Perform all sorts of interesting gymnastic elements, where good stretching and flexibility are also extremely necessary!
Act more effectively in extreme situations!
AVOID very serious injuries (and long-term rehabilitation) that would be simply inevitable without good stretching and flexibility (slipped, raised your leg high, etc.)!
Giving a good EXAMPLE TO IMITATE young people, family and friends! Bright and talented people ALWAYS attract the attention of others!
Always be HEALTHY and in excellent physical shape!
Make a very worthy IMPRESSION on the right people (work, career, sports, the opposite sex, etc.)!
Be slimmer and fitter, and ultimately more attractive to the opposite sex!Be truly proud of YOURSELF, because a developed flexible body that you know how to control is a truly worthy goal, which only strong and strong-willed individuals with a strong character achieve!
Do you think there is a future in combat cinema in Russia and the CIS? And what needs to be done to make this future a full-fledged reality?
There is a future. To make a high-quality picture and promote it (this is for individuals with their team), unite, attract sponsors and do things, everything is real - I once had people in my ears - even close ones: they say, it’s unrealistic to turn your body 180 degrees while sitting and this in front of you, hold your legs with your hands - so what? I do it and I do it again, both sitting and standing. If it didn’t work out for someone, it doesn’t mean that it’s all unreal - everything is real in our so perversely imperfect world.
So everything is real. But it won’t just drop from the sky right away, even with a movie. You’ll have to rustle, do something further, don’t stop, and sooner or later everything will happen! Just like with stretching, you need to be patient.
Well, today we got to know the truly amazing Man-Boa Constrictor Alex Kalashnikov better) Thank you so much for answering the questions, I personally and on behalf of our entire site wish you success, both creative and personal; I wish you roles in a big movie. See you again!
See you soon, success to your site and new interesting interviews with outstanding personalities!
So people, let's not start a fight here. Kalash, of course, sometimes needs to control himself, but I didn’t interview him in order to remind him who he hurt there. The guy already has experience in martial arts in films and moves himself in life.
We had disagreements with the same Shadrin - but I don’t demand that his interview be deleted.
Well, I don’t know, I don’t know... it seemed to me that every second fight in our public is started by Mr-Alex Kalashnikov. )))
barsug,
I agree. He’s a real boor! He’s pretending to be someone he doesn’t know...... and it’s not a matter of who is cool and where behind the keyboard or in life. You just always need to be a person everywhere and stoop to such baseness as insulting a person by making an example of something that someone is not pumped up, does not do the splits, etc. - this is very low on his part!! Only an idiot, humiliating others, can praise himself
Sergei,
Not every person is endowed with such wisdom, it is so NEEDED for life.
And if without philosophy, then I’ll say it straight - sometimes on the Internet you will meet such outright debiloids that you can either stand or fall. In whom it is neither in the head nor in the heart, and of course the instinct of attack is triggered.
But the most important thing is that despite many difficulties in life, this man with sparkling eyes is sincerely doing what he loves. Personally, I haven’t seen anyone like this for a long time. Basically 150% zombies whining for a living, going to and from work by the hour like prisoners, relaxing on Sunday, and going to the sea once a year.
Jaidev, there are too many “dEbiloids” surrounding him, if that’s the case. And it’s quite unpleasant to be among them. Either he/you are choosing the wrong society, or, after all, as in the joke... "...if the third husband in a row hits you in the face, then maybe it’s not the husbands, but the face..." Maybe such an asocial super- stars to hang out somewhere in a separate place, where their achievements will be valued, and flexibility will be regarded as permission to have the final opinion on any topic...
barsug,
This means that in reality he will not be the first to get into a fight. And we're all cool behind the keyboard.
barsug,
In fact, in real life he is a completely opposite person than online. And everyone who knows him personally can confirm this. But in the virtual space there are many incompetent people with whom Alex is not yet able to get out of battles, as Bruce said, “A fight without a fight.” The experience that is gained over the years still comes. I used to be a total creep. Things are different now.
Oh..DIFFERENTLY. Interesting said.