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Steven Seagal at the RUSSIA EXPO: "Martial arts are a path to self-improvement and helping your country"

Steven Seagal at the RUSSIA EXPO: "Martial arts are a path to self-improvement and helping your country"
Photo: Sergey Baranov/Press office of the RUSSIA EXPO
02.06.2024

On June 2, Pavilion No. 57 "Education/Decade of Science and Technology" in the lecture hall of the "Knowledge" Society hosted a panel session titled "Social Mission and Development Strategy of Traditional Martial Arts" as part of the "Aikido Gathers Friends" festival. Participants discussed the social mission of Eastern martial arts and the role of mentorship in the development of martial arts.

"Martial arts are more than just an art. They are a path of development that leads us to become morally purer and physically better prepared. It is a path that leads you to become stronger and able to help yourself and your world, your country," emphasized actor, special representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for humanitarian relations with the USA, and aikido master Steven Seagal.

He noted that he had lived in Japan for a long time and learned a wise proverb there — "It's better to find your true teacher than to spend ten years studying with different instructors." "A teacher is a master, a guru, a mentor. You can use any word, but the essence is the importance and significance of a teacher and mentor for the one who trains," said Steven Seagal, speaking at the panel session.

Photo: Sergey Baranov/Press office of the RUSSIA EXPO

Sergei Burlakov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sport and President of the Para-Karate Federation, explained that the specificity of a mentor in martial arts lies in the phrase "do as I do," rather than "do as I say."

"My greatest achievement, I believe, is the ability to wake up every day and go to bed at night feeling like a real man, confirming my status as a man through deeds and actions. And the most important thing on this path is to live up to the trust placed in you," concluded Sergei Burlakov.

Viktor Sosnovsky, First Deputy Executive Director of the National Aikido Council of Russia, emphasized that interest in Eastern martial arts in Russia is enormous — about five million people practice them. He also congratulated the festival's distinguished guest on a recent award: "I would like to congratulate Steven Frederic Seagal on the state award of the Russian Federation — the Order of Friendship, which was presented to him by our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin the day before yesterday. Thank you for the communications, the connections, and the humanitarian cooperation that is developing with Steven's participation. We are very pleased to see you at our event."

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