Russian All-Round Fighting (RAF) (ru: РуÑ?Ñ?кое боевое многоборье - Russkoye boyevoye mnogoboriye) is a hybrid martial art consisting of various Russian and Soviet fighting systems.
RAF Federation headquarters is based in Saratov, Russia. The Federation holds annual 'Russian Championships', Instructors Seminars and provides for various kinds of martial arts training.
In 2004 the Russian All-Round Fighting federation became officaly registered.
Maxim Shatunov became the first president of the Russian All-Round Fighting Federation, Eduard Srgeev the first Vice President, and Denis Rojkov as first leading Specialist in Sport and Combat Fencing.
In 2005 the Federation has organised the major All-Russian Championship on its second year of work. All-round athletes from many regions of Russia have taken part in the Championship.
*European martial arts - Fighting, combat, wrestling, martial and sport systems and styles; from ancient and medieval times to more recent eras.
*Sambo - Including the combat and sport variations.
*Storm Fighting - A type of NHB, 10 seconds per round at 10 rounds fighting competition.
*Street fighting
*Folk styles - Influenced by folk games, events and competition such as fisticuffs and mass fighting.
Structure
RAF has three main levels:
Sport Level
There are eight competition disciplines in RAF. The athletes have to master all eight disciplines. First comes fighting with the cold steel of the longest range, the Bayonet. Then the Stick Fight. Then the Knife Fight (the main civil self-defense weapon).
These are first three disciplines where three ranges of cold steel actions are being practiced: long, average and short range.
Then the kicks (Kick Fighting) and hand strikes (Fisticuffs) are being as two different disciplines. Another discipline combines hand strikes and kicks (Hand-to-hand Fighting).
The last is the Wrestling, corresponding to the closest range to the adversary.
The final discipline studied is Storm Fighting, combining the hand-to-hand and unarmed wrestling skills.
The competition sequence is as follows:
* Bayonet Fighting
* Stick Fighting
* Knife Fighting
* Wrestling
* Kick Fighting
* Fisticuffs
* Hand-to-hand Fighting
* Storm Fighting.
The competitions are being organized in two days, four disciplines per day. Each person taking part in the competition must compete in all eight disciplines.
The typical tactics of the Russian fisticuffs is to first attack the arms of the adversary, neutralising them with hard blows (or just striking them down), and then striking the head. Grappling is an indivisible part of fisticuffs. Clinching arms and holding the neck, grappling clothes or even pulling hair are widely used for strengthening the blows.
Russian fisticuffs uses punches with the fist, hammer fist, open palm, forearm and elbow.
In RAF Fisticuffs blows are allowed to any part, except under the belt.
Kick Fighting
Kicks do not require preliminary stances. They are mostly physiological and do not require over stretching. They are safe for the joints and ligaments of a kicker. They allow for kicking in a series and are as high as required. They are most eddective in hard shoes.
Thought some would consider it racist or the types of ideas spouted by white nationalists and white supremacists, other's just consider it not being Polit-Correct and clame that those statements were just ment to say that they use the Russian tradition.
It could be argued that such statements are made out of ignorance rather than for ideological reasons.
RAF uses a "Swarga wheel" as its symbol. The same symbol is also used by the ultranationalist and anti-immigrant movement in Russia.
However, the RAF website states:
::The emblem of the RAF Federation is the variant of the Slavic symbol called "Swarga" or "Swarog Wheel". It is an ancient solar symbol, being represented by the eight elements cross rotating clockwise. It is depicted in gold or bright yellow colour.
::It is used to depict the emblem on the red background. In Slavic tradition the red colour is a symbol of beauty and vitality, while the gold colour is the symbol of the Sun. The combination of these colours is the most powerful among all colour combinations.
::Any other interpretations of the symbols of the organisation are considered incorrect and deliberately provocative.
RAF Federation headquarters is based in Saratov, Russia. The Federation holds annual 'Russian Championships', Instructors Seminars and provides for various kinds of martial arts training.
In 2004 the Russian All-Round Fighting federation became officaly registered.
Maxim Shatunov became the first president of the Russian All-Round Fighting Federation, Eduard Srgeev the first Vice President, and Denis Rojkov as first leading Specialist in Sport and Combat Fencing.
In 2005 the Federation has organised the major All-Russian Championship on its second year of work. All-round athletes from many regions of Russia have taken part in the Championship.
*European martial arts - Fighting, combat, wrestling, martial and sport systems and styles; from ancient and medieval times to more recent eras.
*Sambo - Including the combat and sport variations.
*Storm Fighting - A type of NHB, 10 seconds per round at 10 rounds fighting competition.
*Street fighting
*Folk styles - Influenced by folk games, events and competition such as fisticuffs and mass fighting.
Structure
RAF has three main levels:
Sport Level
There are eight competition disciplines in RAF. The athletes have to master all eight disciplines. First comes fighting with the cold steel of the longest range, the Bayonet. Then the Stick Fight. Then the Knife Fight (the main civil self-defense weapon).
These are first three disciplines where three ranges of cold steel actions are being practiced: long, average and short range.
Then the kicks (Kick Fighting) and hand strikes (Fisticuffs) are being as two different disciplines. Another discipline combines hand strikes and kicks (Hand-to-hand Fighting).
The last is the Wrestling, corresponding to the closest range to the adversary.
The final discipline studied is Storm Fighting, combining the hand-to-hand and unarmed wrestling skills.
The competition sequence is as follows:
* Bayonet Fighting
* Stick Fighting
* Knife Fighting
* Wrestling
* Kick Fighting
* Fisticuffs
* Hand-to-hand Fighting
* Storm Fighting.
The competitions are being organized in two days, four disciplines per day. Each person taking part in the competition must compete in all eight disciplines.
The typical tactics of the Russian fisticuffs is to first attack the arms of the adversary, neutralising them with hard blows (or just striking them down), and then striking the head. Grappling is an indivisible part of fisticuffs. Clinching arms and holding the neck, grappling clothes or even pulling hair are widely used for strengthening the blows.
Russian fisticuffs uses punches with the fist, hammer fist, open palm, forearm and elbow.
In RAF Fisticuffs blows are allowed to any part, except under the belt.
Kick Fighting
Kicks do not require preliminary stances. They are mostly physiological and do not require over stretching. They are safe for the joints and ligaments of a kicker. They allow for kicking in a series and are as high as required. They are most eddective in hard shoes.
Thought some would consider it racist or the types of ideas spouted by white nationalists and white supremacists, other's just consider it not being Polit-Correct and clame that those statements were just ment to say that they use the Russian tradition.
It could be argued that such statements are made out of ignorance rather than for ideological reasons.
RAF uses a "Swarga wheel" as its symbol. The same symbol is also used by the ultranationalist and anti-immigrant movement in Russia.
However, the RAF website states:
::The emblem of the RAF Federation is the variant of the Slavic symbol called "Swarga" or "Swarog Wheel". It is an ancient solar symbol, being represented by the eight elements cross rotating clockwise. It is depicted in gold or bright yellow colour.
::It is used to depict the emblem on the red background. In Slavic tradition the red colour is a symbol of beauty and vitality, while the gold colour is the symbol of the Sun. The combination of these colours is the most powerful among all colour combinations.
::Any other interpretations of the symbols of the organisation are considered incorrect and deliberately provocative.
Rebecca Mary Dillon-Robinson (born 24 June 1991), sometimes professionally credited as Becca or Becky Robinson, is an English and model and occasional actress. She has appeared in fashion campaigns for Tommy Hilfiger and Zara.
Biography
Early life and Background
Robinson was born in Sussex, England. She is distantly related to Diana, Princess of Wales as they are both illegitimate descendants of King Charles I. Several sources also claim that she is a descendant of Oliver Cromwell. Robinson had attended boarding school since the age of 13. She began modelling as a child, first appearing in numerous charity events. It was not until 2001 that she was officially discovered by a Premier Model Management scout in London, when she was 11. She was casted to be in the Gap Kids Autumn/Winter 2001 campaign and had been modelling and pursuing an acting career ever since.
Model
Robinson has modelled for several magazines aimed at a teenage audience, including Elle Girl, Cosmo Girl and Teen Vogue. In 2005 she modelled for the Spanish high street chain Zara. Reportedly she had also attended casting calls for notorious Jack Wills fashion shoots.
In 2006 she gained small notoriety when she modelled for cult fashion designer Giles Deacon in London Fashion Week. Elle Girl described her as a "up-and-coming teenage sensation".
Acting
Robinson had developed an interest in the entertainment world after modelling for several magazines, brands and campaigns, including Tommy Hilfiger, a family friend. She then decided to seriously take up acting.
Robinson had an uncredited role in the 2002 film Love Actually where she played one of the children in a Christmas community show scene.
She also appeared in the 2006 film John Tucker Must Die uncredited.
She was originally casted to be in a minor role in the 2006 film Nanny McPhee but had gotten dropped by producers who felt that Robinson was too old for the character.
Personal Life
Robinson is said to be extremely fond of travelling. In 2007 Bliss magazine reported that she had travelled to Kenya and Uganda for a month trekking, camping and visiting orphans. The magazine had wrongly reported previously that she was visiting Africa for a fashion shoot with Giles Deacon.
Robinson is good friends with Estonian model Tiiu Kuik.
Biography
Early life and Background
Robinson was born in Sussex, England. She is distantly related to Diana, Princess of Wales as they are both illegitimate descendants of King Charles I. Several sources also claim that she is a descendant of Oliver Cromwell. Robinson had attended boarding school since the age of 13. She began modelling as a child, first appearing in numerous charity events. It was not until 2001 that she was officially discovered by a Premier Model Management scout in London, when she was 11. She was casted to be in the Gap Kids Autumn/Winter 2001 campaign and had been modelling and pursuing an acting career ever since.
Model
Robinson has modelled for several magazines aimed at a teenage audience, including Elle Girl, Cosmo Girl and Teen Vogue. In 2005 she modelled for the Spanish high street chain Zara. Reportedly she had also attended casting calls for notorious Jack Wills fashion shoots.
In 2006 she gained small notoriety when she modelled for cult fashion designer Giles Deacon in London Fashion Week. Elle Girl described her as a "up-and-coming teenage sensation".
Acting
Robinson had developed an interest in the entertainment world after modelling for several magazines, brands and campaigns, including Tommy Hilfiger, a family friend. She then decided to seriously take up acting.
Robinson had an uncredited role in the 2002 film Love Actually where she played one of the children in a Christmas community show scene.
She also appeared in the 2006 film John Tucker Must Die uncredited.
She was originally casted to be in a minor role in the 2006 film Nanny McPhee but had gotten dropped by producers who felt that Robinson was too old for the character.
Personal Life
Robinson is said to be extremely fond of travelling. In 2007 Bliss magazine reported that she had travelled to Kenya and Uganda for a month trekking, camping and visiting orphans. The magazine had wrongly reported previously that she was visiting Africa for a fashion shoot with Giles Deacon.
Robinson is good friends with Estonian model Tiiu Kuik.
Sabacc, or jhabacc, was a popular card game that was often played for high stakes.
Perhaps the most famous sabacc game was the championship round of the Cloud City Sabacc Tournament in which Lando Calrissian lost the Millennium Falcon to Han Solo. Calrissian also won the rights to Cloud City and the title of Baron Administrator in a game of sabacc.
When played professionally the game was overseen by a dealer, either organic as in Coruscant's Outlander Club where four-armed Kiughfid dealers passed out the cards and took up money for the house, or as in other locales where Automated Sabacc dealer droids oversaw proceedings.
The claimed to have invented sabacc as a means of training one's spiritual development.
Rules
The game of sabacc used a deck of seventy six cards featuring sixty numbered cards divided into four suits, and two copies of eight special cards. Each player was passed four cards which made up their hand at the beginning of the game. The suit and value of the cards would shift to different values at random, unless they were placed in the neutral field in the center of the table.
The object of the game was to create a hand holding the value of twenty three, known as Pure Sabacc, or minus twenty three which would be trumped by a positive twenty three. Negative numbers could be created through the use of the special cards which all, with the exception of the Idiot card, represented a negative number.
At the end of their turn a player had to discard all but two of their cards. A new round began and new cards were dealt. A player won the game by either calling their hand when they had twenty three, or minus twenty three, or if their hand was below twenty three or above minus twenty three, but closer to either number than their opponent's. Anything over twenty three and under minus twenty three was a bust. A pure zero was also a bust.
Many private games and professional establishments played sabacc using "house rules". House rules used a selection of special modifications to the rules for example often stating that a player could place at most two cards in the neutral field where they were unaffected by shifting, or that an Idiot's Array, consisting of The Idiot, any two and any three would beat anything, even Pure Sabacc, and would win the sabacc pot. Another common house rule was that the bet amount was paid into the sabacc pot on bust, zero, or loss on call.
There were several styles of sabacc play, including Bespin Standard, Empress Teta Preferred, Cloud City Casino, and Corellian Gambit. Each system had slightly different rules. There was also a version (Centran Sabacc) where fives were wild. Other variations included Random Sabacc, in which the house rules were changed at random intervals, and Force Sabacc, which used an altered deck with Light side of the Force and Dark side of the Force themed suits.
Cheating
As with any kind of gambling the high stakes nature of sabacc often led to cheating. Besides various basic sleight of hand palming tricks, many cheats used a cheater, a small handheld device that could be secretly used to manipulate the game cards and neutral field to give the user an unfair advantage in the game. Another means involved a skifter, a rigged card that was unobtrusively substituted for a normal one in the deck. On some planets cheating at sabacc could mean death.
Deck List
*Coins, Flasks, Sabres, Staves:
:1-11
:Commander (12)
:Mistress (13)
:Master (14)
:Ace (15)
*Face Cards:
:Queen of Air and Darkness (-2)
:Endurance (-8)
:Balance (-11)
:Demise (-13)
:Moderation (-14)
:The Evil One (-15)
:The Star (-17)
:The Idiot (0)
Besides the standard cards listed above, some decks of sabacc also included other types of cards, these non-standard cards included:
:The Destroyed Starship
:The Satellite
:The Wheel
:Chance
:Hazard
:The Universe
:Legate (ranked card with value of 11, but trumps ordinary 11)
Behind the scenes
*Sabacc likely had its origins in the second draft of the script of the The Empire Strikes Back, when Han Solo mentions that his friend Lando Calrissian won Cloud City in a "sabacca game."
*The Face Cards in the sabacc deck bear a definite resemblance to several of the Major Arcana cards in the tarot deck, most likely the Rider-Waite deck, given that the value of Endurance is 8, (Strength in the Rider-Waite deck,) and Balance (Justice) is 11. Each Face Card's value seems to match up with the number of its Major Arcana equivalent. In addition, the number of cards in a sabacc deck (76) is similar to that of a tarot deck (78); if one uses the Centran Sabacc deck, used in the Lando Calrissian novels which contain the first named sabacc cards, then it is equal. Further similarities can be found in the belief held by some in the Star Wars universe that sabacc cards can be used to tell fortunes, as Lando Calrissian does in Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu - just as some people use tarot cards in real life.
*In the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic duology, sabacc's predecessor, pazaak makes an appearance, though it is not essential to play it in order to progress in either game.
*Sabacc is usually regarded as the Star Wars galaxy's equivalent to poker, while pazaak could be seen as similar to blackjack.
Perhaps the most famous sabacc game was the championship round of the Cloud City Sabacc Tournament in which Lando Calrissian lost the Millennium Falcon to Han Solo. Calrissian also won the rights to Cloud City and the title of Baron Administrator in a game of sabacc.
When played professionally the game was overseen by a dealer, either organic as in Coruscant's Outlander Club where four-armed Kiughfid dealers passed out the cards and took up money for the house, or as in other locales where Automated Sabacc dealer droids oversaw proceedings.
The claimed to have invented sabacc as a means of training one's spiritual development.
Rules
The game of sabacc used a deck of seventy six cards featuring sixty numbered cards divided into four suits, and two copies of eight special cards. Each player was passed four cards which made up their hand at the beginning of the game. The suit and value of the cards would shift to different values at random, unless they were placed in the neutral field in the center of the table.
The object of the game was to create a hand holding the value of twenty three, known as Pure Sabacc, or minus twenty three which would be trumped by a positive twenty three. Negative numbers could be created through the use of the special cards which all, with the exception of the Idiot card, represented a negative number.
At the end of their turn a player had to discard all but two of their cards. A new round began and new cards were dealt. A player won the game by either calling their hand when they had twenty three, or minus twenty three, or if their hand was below twenty three or above minus twenty three, but closer to either number than their opponent's. Anything over twenty three and under minus twenty three was a bust. A pure zero was also a bust.
Many private games and professional establishments played sabacc using "house rules". House rules used a selection of special modifications to the rules for example often stating that a player could place at most two cards in the neutral field where they were unaffected by shifting, or that an Idiot's Array, consisting of The Idiot, any two and any three would beat anything, even Pure Sabacc, and would win the sabacc pot. Another common house rule was that the bet amount was paid into the sabacc pot on bust, zero, or loss on call.
There were several styles of sabacc play, including Bespin Standard, Empress Teta Preferred, Cloud City Casino, and Corellian Gambit. Each system had slightly different rules. There was also a version (Centran Sabacc) where fives were wild. Other variations included Random Sabacc, in which the house rules were changed at random intervals, and Force Sabacc, which used an altered deck with Light side of the Force and Dark side of the Force themed suits.
Cheating
As with any kind of gambling the high stakes nature of sabacc often led to cheating. Besides various basic sleight of hand palming tricks, many cheats used a cheater, a small handheld device that could be secretly used to manipulate the game cards and neutral field to give the user an unfair advantage in the game. Another means involved a skifter, a rigged card that was unobtrusively substituted for a normal one in the deck. On some planets cheating at sabacc could mean death.
Deck List
*Coins, Flasks, Sabres, Staves:
:1-11
:Commander (12)
:Mistress (13)
:Master (14)
:Ace (15)
*Face Cards:
:Queen of Air and Darkness (-2)
:Endurance (-8)
:Balance (-11)
:Demise (-13)
:Moderation (-14)
:The Evil One (-15)
:The Star (-17)
:The Idiot (0)
Besides the standard cards listed above, some decks of sabacc also included other types of cards, these non-standard cards included:
:The Destroyed Starship
:The Satellite
:The Wheel
:Chance
:Hazard
:The Universe
:Legate (ranked card with value of 11, but trumps ordinary 11)
Behind the scenes
*Sabacc likely had its origins in the second draft of the script of the The Empire Strikes Back, when Han Solo mentions that his friend Lando Calrissian won Cloud City in a "sabacca game."
*The Face Cards in the sabacc deck bear a definite resemblance to several of the Major Arcana cards in the tarot deck, most likely the Rider-Waite deck, given that the value of Endurance is 8, (Strength in the Rider-Waite deck,) and Balance (Justice) is 11. Each Face Card's value seems to match up with the number of its Major Arcana equivalent. In addition, the number of cards in a sabacc deck (76) is similar to that of a tarot deck (78); if one uses the Centran Sabacc deck, used in the Lando Calrissian novels which contain the first named sabacc cards, then it is equal. Further similarities can be found in the belief held by some in the Star Wars universe that sabacc cards can be used to tell fortunes, as Lando Calrissian does in Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu - just as some people use tarot cards in real life.
*In the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic duology, sabacc's predecessor, pazaak makes an appearance, though it is not essential to play it in order to progress in either game.
*Sabacc is usually regarded as the Star Wars galaxy's equivalent to poker, while pazaak could be seen as similar to blackjack.
Theo Obrastoff is an American preacher, songwriter and recording artist.
Obrastoff's musical ground breaking took place shortly after the death of his son Andrew from Cystic Fibrosis. One of Andrew's final wishes was to meet his musical hero, Terry Scott Taylor, of the bands Daniel Amos, Lost Dogs and Swirling Eddies. Taylor granted young Andrew's wish by meeting with him in the hospital. Taylor later agreed to work with Obrastoff on a CD tribute to Andrew entitled Come as a Child or Not at All, which benefits Cystic Fibrosis Research. The album was also preceded by an EP, Suffer the Children. Both CDs included rare and unreleased tracks by all of Taylor's bands, Randy Stonehill, Jeff Elbel, Riki Michele, Derri Daugherty, Michael Roe, Aaron Sprinkle and others. Around that same time, Obrastoff authored the book The Father Loves The Son which dealt with the death of his son and losing a loved one to Cystic Fibrosis.
Taylor remembers "...I got a call one day from a person, the secretary of a church in Seattle, I believe it was, saying, 'There is a Theo Obrastoff who is trying to get a hold of you. He had me call because he doesn't want to bother you. I got your number from so-and-so. His son Andy is in a children's hospital in Seattle and he is dying of cystic fibrosis. He's had a couple of lung transplants through his short life, and he's been in the hospital many times, but this is it and he wants to see you before he dies.' I was flabbergasted by that, so arrangements were made and I flew up and I saw him, and sang some songs for him. After Andy passed away, his father Theo called me and said, 'What if we did some sort of project to get the word out about cystic fibrosis?' I thought it was a great idea. Some money was raised to put together a project, 18 songs on it, release date is probably at Cornerstone this year... The Lost Dogs are on there, of course, and Rikki Michelle from Adam Again, among others." Obrastoff also founded Andy's Angels' Records, an independent record label created to release Obrastoff's own music and other projects. In 2001, Obrastoff created Snow Globe Studios in Edmonds, Washington.
Discography
* Come As A Child Or Not At All, 2003 Compilation memorial produced with Terry Scott Taylor
* Like an Orange to a Child (CAACONAA II)
* Americana
* EP 3-6 AM
* The Final Christmas Show CD
* Advent
* Retro-Fit
Bibliography
* The Father Loves The Son
* Two Tales for the Telling
* You May Quote Me