Swing a pendulum in hand-to-hand combat. Practical shooting pendulum

It is very difficult to surprise a modern person with anything. However, there are always individuals who are ready to run anywhere and spend any money to obtain “secret knowledge.” Secret hand-to-hand combat techniques Tibetan monks, secret techniques, secret techniques for going to the toilet of the New Zealand counterintelligence - it’s impossible to list everything. And most importantly, this, as a rule, has a very distant relation to reality. But the magic words “secret technique” do their job - immediately there are apologists for the new teaching, who, foaming at the mouth, begin to prove its truth, uniqueness and universality. Was no exception "Pendulum" technique, which is positioned as a unique development of SMERSH and is designed for dodging bullets and super accurate shooting. Let's look at this in a little more detail.

First, the bare facts. The “Pendulum” technique was first mentioned in the fiction novel “In August 44th” by Vladimir Bogomolov. in 1973. The author himself claimed that most of the story is based on real events, since he himself served in the army at that time. military intelligence. But in-depth studies of the biography of citizen Bogomolov, as well as checks of archives and memoirs of contemporaries, cast doubt on these words. So there is an alternative version that Bogomolov has nothing to do with SMERSH and everything he wrote is pure fiction. What is true and what is not is not for us to decide.

In the future about the secret t equipment "Pendulum", developed by SMERSH agents, was written by various authors, among whom are especially famous G. Potapov and S. Ivanov-Kamensky. In almost all cases, the technique was presented as a unique martial art, specially developed for training SMERSH employees during the Great Patriotic War . They say the “Pendulum” allows you to almost evade a point-blank shot, maneuver under crossfire and at the same time effectively hit the enemy. And that later these techniques were classified only thanks to the efforts of the authors, who somehow obtained secret archives and communicated with SMERSH agents who agreed to teach them this unique art. Impressive, isn't it?

Let's talk about the facts again. “Pendulum” technique It is not in service with official special forces of any country in the world. The “Pendulum” technique is not used in the ideological successors of SMERSH - . Currently, all adherents of this unique fighting style are followers of Potapov and other authors. And how many of them are real military officers is a big question.

Now thoughts. A trained soldier is capable of firing up to 5 shots in a couple of seconds from his service weapon. The human reaction speed is within 200 ms in the most favorable case. The flight speed of a bullet from a Makarov pistol is 315 m/s. This means that in the 200 ms that a person needs to react to a shot, the bullet will travel about 60 meters. Is it possible to physically dodge this? No.

Go ahead. The basic principle "Pendulum" technique consists of rocking the body, constantly changing the direction of movement and the position of the limbs with the body, and shifting the center of mass. Is it possible to shoot accurately with such acrobatics? As practice has shown, yes, it is possible. Is it possible to shoot accurately if you are hit by enemy bullets? No.

Then what is the calculation? And the fact that the enemy will be disoriented by your behavior, which will give you precious fractions of seconds to hit him first. It seems logical, but you won’t confuse professional military personnel with such dances. Yes, the movement is difficult to predict, but they are not required to kill you with one shot - a bullet lodged in any part of the body seriously discourages the ability and desire to tumble further. With crossfire, everything is exactly the same, especially considering that your enemy’s reaction speed is no worse than yours and he is really ready to shoot at you to kill.

Go ahead. In addition to the movement itself, "Pendulum" technique there is a description of quickly snatching a weapon and shooting. And this is already much more like the truth. For example, holsters have been developed that reduce the time it takes to prepare a service weapon for firing to a fraction of a second by automatically cocking the safety and reducing the number of hand movements. Methods of shooting from awkward positions, as well as in motion, have also been developed. And this is actually used by modern special forces. Was this a brilliant development by SMERSH? Maybe. Does it help you dodge a bullet? No, but it helps shoot earlier and more accurately.

Could they SMERSH agents in principle, have a special technique that allows them to dodge bullets and shoot with unprecedented accuracy? So, SMERSH was created in 1943, when the military actions of Nazi Germany had ceased to be a crushing offensive, so the enemy was forced to pay more attention sabotage and terrorist activities. Did SMERSH agents have time to develop, master and adapt any secret techniques?

There is a war in the country, the front line is constantly fluctuating, every day and every person counts. German saboteurs are well trained, so personnel turnover is very high. There is simply not enough time for special training for each agent. They are given basic knowledge and they are sent to act, because that is what is required of them in war conditions. Yes, unique shooting skills were present, but was this due to the training or personal characteristics of the agents? More likely the second. After all, no one shouts about the “unique training of Red Army snipers” based only on experience Vasily Zaitsev. The fact that during the years of severe pressure, SMERSH agents were able to effectively eliminate the enemy is the merit not of any special training, but of the extraordinary personal qualities of people who were ready to do anything for the good of their homeland.

So what is the phenomenon? "Pendulum" technique? It's that people WANT to BELIEVE that they have knowledge that will allow them to control dangerous situation and emerge victorious. Yes, there is some logic in the recommended techniques and methods, but this does not make them a panacea. It is much easier to prevent the enemy from approaching at a minimum distance than to effectively swing “pendulums” in front of him. It is much more convenient to force him to act rashly and give away his location than to try to take awkward poses in the crossfire. it is much more effective to “stir up” the situation, knock your opponent off balance than to rock a body that in a second will be stuffed with lead.

Perhaps the real “Pendulum” is precisely the ability to control the situation, to force the enemy to act exactly as the fighter needs? Who knows. Unfortunately, in war there is no single correct tactic that guarantees one hundred percent survival in combat conditions, no matter what the bearers of the “top-secret combat techniques of the world’s top-secret intelligence services” say.

Tell me GRANDMOTHER HAS COME. WE DO NOT NEED HELP.

Vladimir Bogomolov “Moment of Truth”

Already on this blog, I probably reviewed all the variations - but I remembered that I still missed the description of the most important method of the “Tamantsev Pendulum” described in Vladimir Bogomolov’s book “The Moment of Truth” - from which it all actually began... (By the way, I think I read it as- I remember this book as a child, it was quite mediocre - it was drawn out and little was understood. What I remember most was the adventures of the fascist intelligence officer with a pistol in his sleeve, how he rode a motorcycle, with a girl as an assistant, as far as I remember. that you can’t figure it out right away. Or it was some other book about counterintelligence officers - completely unmemorable works - not like Conan Doyle about Sherlock Holmes, or even Agatha Christie - but here the book was still completely unsuccessful. , not memorable at all.)

But meanwhile, excerpts from Vladimir Bogomolov’s book “The Moment of Truth” about the legendary “Tamantsev Pendulum” - what got people so interested in this book, what kind of supernatural capabilities of its main character.

…. He woke up, hearing the voices of Alekhine and Tamantsev in the clearing, and looked around. Tamantsev approached the fire with a quick, elastic gait, as easily and cheerfully as if he had slept all day somewhere nearby and, having just woken up, hurried to dinner. Andrei thought that Tamantsev, now or after dinner, would definitely train for at least half an hour in forceful detention, in “swinging the pendulum,” in various jumps, feints and dashes, and would work out suples until the third sweat, and Andrei felt his inferiority with particular force... .

….. – There is also a very significant moral aspect here, which some simply do not know about, while others usually forget... But one should know and remember... In the event of a military operation, each of these thousands of those involved must be warned: this is not for you on the front line; even if they shoot at you, even if they kill you, you must take them alive!.. But such a warning is actually an order. Is it possible to demand this from army servicemen or even from border guards from units protecting the rear of the front? – turning to those sitting at the table, Yegorov asked. – I personally think that no, it’s impossible... This can only be demanded from those who know how to swing a pendulum, from cleaners! This is their privilege, their lot...

…. Tamantsev, who was ahead of him, with two revolvers in his hands raised to shoulder level, was already dancing in front of them - “swinging the pendulum,” rapidly moving away from the bushes to the left….

…. In some confusion, he hesitated, and during these seconds I managed to be on the side of the sun from him and, thus, turned on the backlight. To escalate him, to put pressure on his psyche, I immediately “tickled his ears”: I fired a single shot from both revolvers so that the bullets passed close to his head - this is impressive.

To make it difficult for him to aim, I constantly “swinged the pendulum”: I danced with my left shoulder forward, jerking my body from side to side and all the time moving myself - something similar, only simpler, is done by a boxer in the ring. For further psychological impact I held him at gunpoint and fixed him with my gaze, showing with all my appearance that I was about to shoot. ….

…. He fired two bullets at me, didn’t hit me, added another one after a second and missed again. I could teach both him and those who trained him in Germany how to “swing the pendulum”; besides, Pasha’s shots from the side undoubtedly got on his nerves, and the backlight significantly reduced his accuracy.

Nevertheless, he was an experienced, resourceful scab who immediately realized that I was more dangerous than others and that first of all he had to deal with me. And before that, I assessed him correctly: he acted intelligently, confidently, unlike the “lieutenant,” he shot skillfully, without rushing, and if it weren’t for the backlight and my skill in “swinging the pendulum,” he might have already knocked me down. ….

... Everything that Tamantsev did at these moments, he did countless times during more than three years of war. His every movement, both in the “swing of the pendulum” and in the forceful detention, was worked out not only by combat practice, but also by constant training - from the moment he emerged from the bushes, he, without exaggeration, acted with the precision and speed of an automatic machine. Blinov and the radio operator sergeant - both of them tried and now rushed to carry out his order - in comparison with him, they naturally moved more slowly and with their lack of skill and, as it seemed to him, clumsiness, irritated him. ...

The swing of a pendulum is not only movement, it is interpreted more broadly than can be understood here from Tamantsev’s words. It should be defined as “the most rational actions and behavior during short-term fire contacts during forceful detention.” It includes instantly snatching a weapon, and the ability from the very first seconds to use the factor of distraction, the factor of nervousness, and, if possible, backlighting, and an instant, unmistakable reaction to any enemy actions, and proactive rapid movement under fire, and constant deceptive movements ( “feint game”), and sniper accuracy of hitting limbs when shooting in Macedonian style (“disabling limbs”), and continuous psychological pressure until the completion of the forceful arrest. “Swinging the pendulum” achieves the capture alive of a strong, well-armed and actively resisting enemy. Judging by the description, Tamantsev “swings the pendulum” in the most difficult and effective execution – “staggering”.

This is actually all the information from the original source, on which martial arts lovers began to build their “pendulums”. This is what the “Tamantsev Pendulum” really is.

And another excerpt about shooting “Macedonian style”

- It will be useful! As Comrade Christ said: seek and you will find!.. You understand... - Tamantsev unexpectedly hugged Andrei and quickly whispered confidentially: - I will teach you shooting in Macedonian style, forceful detention... You will gain experience, operational acumen will appear - but there will be no price for you! .. Pasha and I will make a real cleaner out of you!.. Wolfhound!.. Yes, you can take any scab with your bare hands!..

The fact that Muscovites knew Tamantsev by sight did not surprise Andrei. He heard that in the spring Tamantsev went to Moscow and showed there his art in shooting in Macedonian style large group officers and generals. He shot so well that the head of the Main Directorate awarded him a personalized weapon - a pistol sent after him with a dedicatory engraving.

In February - May 1943 - senior teacher at the Berlin Abwehr intelligence school. He led seminars: “Basics of camouflage and conspiracy in the Soviet frontline zone”, “Crossing the front line when returning” and “Behavior during interrogations in the NKVD”, taught cadets shooting in Macedonian style. He appeared in classes only in dark glasses and a wig, with a mustache and beard.

47 - Macedonian shooting - shooting on the move from two pistols (or revolvers) at a moving target.

(also quite a mysterious thing, it’s interesting to see, maybe they are somehow related to each other “pendulum” and “shooting in Macedonian style” (and why “in Macedonian style”?). But the most interesting thing in the book is another rather mysterious Tamantsevo exercise, which due to stereotypes, it has completely passed the attention of entire generations of martial arts and it is called suples. And it is probably worth considering in more detail.)

And responses from readers' mail, Vladimir Bogomolov - this is what people thought back in 1974 - 1976 (Comments like this means they were sent by mail). Interestingly, martial arts lovers immediately noted the new technique - and so they wrote directly to the writer to find out. (They didn’t even pay much attention to the fact that this work was nothing more than fiction.) So they were interested in martial arts. And this is not all the reviews, and not all interested people have written. After all, there were much more of them - if they are still arguing about how to do it to this day...

S. Vasiliev (Obninsk)

I learned from your book that during the war, “search operatives” were taught “Russian style.” From the book I read about suples, “swinging the pendulum,” forceful detention, as well as various jumps, feints and dashes, which Tamantsev did during his rest. I would like to know more about this... Nowadays almost everyone is interested in martial arts, but I would like to study the true “Russian style” of hand-to-hand combat.

We must not lose our traditions.

G. Pichugin, student of the Ministry of Internal Affairs school (Tashkent)

I’m standing as an orderly, 3 o’clock in the morning, reading your book again. There is a lot in it that is incomprehensible to me. You describe the life of Art. Lt. Tamantseva, figure - you can’t say anything, but here’s the question: has he never loved a girl in all his time, never drank alcohol? And the second question - is “shooting Macedonian style” carried out with two pistols simultaneously or alternately?.. From now on I will always take the example of Tamantsev. I really want our school to teach “shooting the Macedonian style” and “swinging the pendulum.” Then not a single criminal will escape the chase.

L. Matveev, student of Moscow Power Engineering Institute (Moscow)

I am writing on behalf of the entire sambo section of the institute. The guys are young, good, romantic and very brave warriors... The description of the “swing of the pendulum” caused heated debate, since the exact knowledge of the methods of defense against a pistol interested everyone. We want to learn this.

M. Pantyukhov (Zarinsk)

I admire Tamantsev’s ability to “swing the pendulum.” Although the book says it, it’s not enough. I beg you to tell me more about this; How “when the pendulum was swinging” did Tamantsev’s body, legs, pelvis, head fit together, where were his hands and what movements were they performing at that time?

And the interpretation of “Tamantsev’s Pendulum” in the film “In August 1944” is how the creators of this film understood the idea of ​​a “pendulum”.

And accordingly, you can download Vladimir Bogomolov’s book “The Moment of Truth” using the link from the Mail Ru Cloud. (TXT and PDF formats)

cl words: Miskin, hand-to-hand combat, Russian style, saved, analysis, history, story

The conclusion suggests itself - if it saved and is a plastun system (by the way, really the forerunner of Soviet (and current) military intelligence), then at least this system has been processed and tested by the army. In other words, there can be no talk of any transfer of tradition within the family - i.e. We return again to the versions about the army origin of the rescue.

What do we get in the end? Sergei Cherny, Leonid Petrovich’s great-uncle, from whom Leonid Petrovich actually studied, was most likely an experienced military professional who went through the crucible of the Great Patriotic War, and was most likely saved by one of the army systems of a number of special forces (for example, military intelligence or counterintelligence SMERSH).

What other evidence is there for this, besides my own reasoning, which may be erroneous? For example, the similarity of the training of military intelligence officers from Bulochko’s book, a number of points from the training of partisans (the book “The Partisan’s Companion”, M. - 1942), as well as instructions for conducting classes in hand-to-hand combat during the Second World War with training in rescue. Or, for example, the similarity with some other army systems. > Now let's look at these other systems. For example, let's take a colorful description of SMERSH practices from Bogomolov's no less colorful novel "In August '44, or the Moment of Truth." Yes, we will talk about that very “swing of the pendulum” around which so many copies have already been broken. For example, about shooting “Macedonian style” - i.e. shooting from 2 pistols simultaneously, and while moving. In rescue, there is a whole section devoted to shooting from a pistol and from 2 pistols - and everything happens while moving either towards the enemy, or moving away from the trajectory of his shots to the side, behind cover. Only this is not called “shooting in Macedonian style” or “swinging the pendulum” - but in a completely different way. Although I advise you to pay close attention to the word “goydok” itself - the expression “to swing the pendulum” from Russian into Ukrainian can be translated as “hitati pendulum”, or it can also be translated as “goydati pendulum” (but we will also return to this later).

The skepticism of critics regarding the “swing of the pendulum” lies, again, in a not entirely correct understanding of the conditions under which this technique could be implemented. Of course, if in an open area, and at a great distance from the enemy, you shoot a fan from a submachine gun in front of you, no “pendulum” will ever help. Such a technique could be implemented in conditions where the enemy does not expect the attack itself - either he did not have time to grab the weapon, or he had already been “shot down” by distracting attention different ways. The distance also plays a huge, decisive role - more than 5 meters from the enemy at open space the problem of using the “pendulum” becomes very, very problematic. And in general, when they say “swing the pendulum,” it seems that you can swing it, like a metronome, for as long as you like. This, of course, is complete nonsense! You can actually perform the “Pendulum” by dodging one, or at most two, shots from the enemy - and then extremely quickly changing the trajectory of your movement: and during this time you need to either have time to go behind cover, or have time to shoot the enemy yourself. Those. everything happens literally in a split second - one, two and done. I ask those fantasists who imagine that they can walk under bullets, as if under a spell, for as long as they like, not to disturb them.

And in order not to be too unfounded, I advise you to turn to the books by A. Potapov “Pistol shooting techniques. Practice of SMERSH” and S. Ivanov-Katansky “Pendulum Step” - many options for behavior in this situation are illustrated there. Some of the options for “swinging the pendulum” are designed to snatch a weapon and defeat the enemy, dodging his shot. Others are designed to evade an enemy's shot and approach him closely to disarm him or defeat him at point-blank range. I would like to emphasize right away that all these options from the indicated authors are absolutely working and real, but not exhaustive. For example, over many years I have collected other options for “swinging the pendulum”, which were introduced to me either by former military personnel, or by the children (grandchildren) of former military personnel and the military skills passed on in their family. True, with reference or to grandfather military intelligence officer during the Second World War, or for service in special forces.

And I’ll emphasize right away that there is no goydka in these books, although there are remotely similar options. The most interesting fact is that none of the options in the books of Potapov and Ivanov-Katansky fit the description of “swinging the pendulum sideways”, when Tamantsev was “dancing” in the “pendulum”! But when, before my eyes, Leonid Petrovich with 2 dummy pistols began to move in a goydka, I understood exactly how that same “wolfhound” Tamantsev “danced.” At least it fits Bogomolov’s description completely! And in general, there are very, very many parallels with spas - although the author of the novel “The Moment of Truth” did not describe, for example, working with a knife or unarmed techniques that take place in spas.

Let us now consider another system, around which many myths are also piled up - the St. Petersburg stapler. Although the head of this direction himself, Andrei Vadimovich Gruntovsky, strongly disavows this name, preferring to call his direction simply Russian fist fight. The name skobar was replicated by journalists and given with the light hand of the ethnographer Mekhnetsov, who saw in the plastic movements of Andrei Gruntovsky and his students many elements of the skobar, folk tune and dance to it in a number of northwestern regions of Russia. Andrei Vadimovich himself has repeatedly indicated that he was taught this technique by his father, Vadim Iosifovich Gruntovsky, who, in turn, studied this technique at the SHAR (Army Intelligence School) in 1953. at the training center in Brovary near Kyiv. Among the topics, the cadets went through hand-to-hand combat based on striking techniques, knife fighting, disarming techniques, methods of movement and shooting from firearms. According to Vadim Iosifovich’s recollections, instructors only called wrestling and disarming techniques using arm locks “jiu-jitsu”, calling everything else only hand-to-hand combat, thereby emphasizing its difference from jiu-jitsu. By the way, “pendulum” or “leap” is one of the terms used in this school. Perhaps, emphasizing the name “jiu-jitsu”, the instructors wanted to emphasize the police nature of these techniques. While the rest of the equipment was aimed at guaranteed destruction of the enemy, even superior in number - i.e. the military nature of the system is obvious (the task was to DESTROY - not ARREST). Moreover, I understand that this fact will cause outright indignation among part of the Ukrainian audience - but this technique was taught to members of special forces, whose task was to fight, in the vocabulary of that time, with “Bandera gangs”, i.e. with OUN-UPA detachments. This is not a very pretty page of history - but you can’t erase the words from the song. Although I have no information about the participation of Vadim Iosifovich in such operations - he simply did not have time to participate in them, because autumn 1953 the training center was closed and disbanded.

In terms of the nature of the training, the design of the training and the technique itself and the manner of movement, the techniques of the army reconnaissance and rescue schools are not identical - but very close. In other words, these are related - although not analogous - systems. I had the honor to see this for myself, having met in practice and with the ironmonger.

In my search for the roots of spas, I also several times came across some rumors about some other training centers for army hand-to-hand combat systems, in addition to training in Brovary. A real find for me was the meeting with Vladimir Ivanovich Sh-ov in the same 2005. (I don’t give the full name of this person due to a number of moral circumstances - but I can personally testify to him real existence maybe several people from among those who did rescue with me). Vladimir Ivanovich lived a difficult life; in the early 70s he served in a special unit subordinate to the GRU of the USSR Ministry of Defense. The task that his unit performed was to secretly approach enemy targets and install radio beacons on them - for subsequent direction finding and destruction of them either by landing troops (the scope of activity of airborne assault battalions), or by launching a missile and bomb attack on them. Therefore, camouflage and secretive approach to enemy targets came to the fore. Entering into hand-to-hand combat was tantamount to failure of the operation. For the same reason, there was no technique for removing sentries - the disappearance of a sentry or the discovery of his corpse signaled to the enemy that an enemy RDG (reconnaissance and sabotage group) was in his area of ​​responsibility. But nevertheless, they were also taught an interesting version of army hand-to-hand combat - the main task, once a member of the group was discovered and entered into hand-to-hand combat, was to strike the enemy with a blow, first of all depriving him of the ability to scream - so as not to raise the alarm. It was ideal if the enemy was destroyed with the same blow. Therefore, the knife came to the fore. If this condition was not met, the blow was delivered with an unarmed hand to vulnerable areas, depriving the enemy of the opportunity to scream - and only then did he achieve it. In this case, the operation was a failure, but the opportunity remained to escape persecution and maintain the size of the group. Many of the techniques in this system coincide with spas - my friends also had the opportunity to verify this and can also testify.

This technique is similar to the spas and skobar by similar plasticity of movements, similar structure and similar training methods. And although Vladimir Ivanovich did not demonstrate goydok, many of his movements resemble goydok very, very strongly. At the same time, Vladimir Ivanovich emphasized that they were given an “incomplete” version - although their instructors of the “more complete” version taught another unit, whose specialization was precisely the destruction of enemy RDGs!

There are just a lot of coincidences with the rescue. For example, the same place for training was called a “training ground”, and tendons, for example, were called “zhizki” in both places. Similar weapon simulators and training conditions were used. Moreover, even a number of stories that Vladimir Ivanovich remembered and heard from his instructors were almost a complete analogue of save! For example, Leonid Petrovich talked about the origin of the hopak dance - they say, the Cossacks, who knew how to ride a horse, coming to the villages to stay and participating in evening parties, in order to somehow show their youth in front of the village boys, in the dance they often performed movements used in equestrian combat - dismounting from a horse, jumping on it and pushing the enemy’s horse. Vladimir Ivanovich told an almost similar story - I would like to note that this story has not yet been published anywhere (to avoid the so-called secondary effect of folklore).

DECODING THE EXECUTION
Once upon a time, about 35 years ago, the writer V. Bogomolov, in his novel “The Moment of Truth,” mentioned a method of dodging someone else’s shot called the “pendulum.” Since then, this same “pendulum” has haunted athletes, military personnel and special forces personnel. Detailed instructions no one saw anything about the pendulum or Macedonian grip shooting. There is nothing left in the archives. The old-timers are politely silent on this matter with a stony smile.

Gradually, the opinion developed that the “pendulum” was a myth or a secret complex of some kind of combat movements based on bioenergetic techniques.
The author is forced to disappoint skeptics - the writer Bogomolov did not lie and the pendulum really exists. Moreover, the officer’s pendulum is as simple as a soldier’s footcloth. So simple that Bogomolov, who clearly knew how to do all this, did not consider it necessary to describe its technology in detail. And the novel was created as literary work, and not as a combat instruction.
Like any writer, Bogomolov mentioned the main provisions of the pendulum in passing, creating the necessary intrigue, but what he mentioned was true. The interpretation of the “pendulum” technology presented in this material was carried out at the request of numerous and persistent requests from employees law enforcement and anti-terrorist special forces.
In order to understand how this is done, it is necessary to return to the article “High-speed pistol shooting” (BIP No. 4, 2008), as well as to the article “Aggressive stripping” (BIP No. 1, 2002). These materials present a technique for tactical pistol shooting using the so-called “conditional method”. At the same time, it is revealed that positive quality this method - when shooting from a pistol placed on its side, the trigger pull is practically unimportant. The spread from the trigger pull will be up and down, along the vertical of the height silhouette. Accordingly, with a quick release of the trigger and a fast, even jerky movement of the trigger finger on the trigger, the bullets will “diverge” vertically. In any case, the enemy will be hit, if not at the aiming point, then above or below it, if not in the chest, then in the shoulder or thigh. He will be hit - in this case, the one who shoots first will be right.
Firing a pistol using the “conventional method” is a purely tactical method of combat work. The “conditional method” allows you to shoot comfortably and quickly in a confined space, sitting at a table or sitting in a car.

photo 1
From a pistol placed on its side, they shoot “behind the right corner” so as not to expose themselves to an oncoming bullet (photo 1).
This point has already been described several times in the literature.

photo 2
Actually, once upon a time it all started with the fact that someone discovered how easily, conveniently and quickly the trigger of a revolver placed on its side could be cocked with the thumb of the left hand (photo 2).

photo 3

photo 4

photo 5

Now do an experiment. Hold the gun as shown in photos 3 - 5, raising left shoulder, pressing your left elbow to your ribs and turning your left side (left shoulder) towards the target. Those who have previously practiced boxing will habitually accept this stance, since it almost replicates the boxing stance. But it's not that. Take aim at the target, aiming with either your right or your left eye, whichever is convenient for you.

photo 6
In this position, take a step forward with whichever foot is more comfortable, that is, to the side in front of the target (photo 6). You will discover an interesting balance phenomenon: - the target will remain at gunpoint. Take a step back along the front of the target - the target will again remain at gunpoint. It is this balance phenomenon that forms the basis of the pistol shooting pendulum.
After a few minutes of such training, begin to take wider steps, then practice making small jumps forward and backward, then increase the amplitude of these jumps. The target will remain at gunpoint. Naturally, when jumping, the front sight will move up and down, but, as mentioned earlier, when working on a vertical oblong target, this does not matter. Of course, in order for the fly to jump up and down less, you need to make sure that your “stern”, that is, the pelvic area, “walks” at the same level.

photo 7
All of the above is the basic “key” for an active mint. When working with a Macedonian grip with two weapons, the arms are slightly extended, the right shoulder is raised as much as possible, and the shoulder girdle is tightened (photo 7). Otherwise the production remains the same. Bogomolov did not lie: “...with revolvers in his hands raised to shoulder level......danced with his left shoulder forward, jerkily moving his body from side to side, and all the time moving himself - something similar, only simpler, is done by a boxer in the ring” .
Another one opens here interesting point- if you hold a revolver (pistol) in the generally accepted triangle, then while moving it will be almost impossible to catch the target with the front sight.

photo 8
And two revolvers, held by a Macedonian grip in the same triangle (photo 8), behave very calmly and controlled when moving.
The author is once again forced to disappoint fans of military exotica - the above described method of shooting while moving was not invented in the SMERSH system or even in Russia. It appeared in Austria-Hungary, was developed by some junior officer of Magyar origin, and at the end of the 19th century spread quite quickly throughout Europe. At that time, it turned out to be simple, requiring almost no training, incredibly destructive and providing increased combat survivability to those who used it. Among the Western European nobility, who professed nobility in a duel, this shooting technique was immediately declared vulgar. Moreover, in the pendulum, increased shooting accuracy was achieved through peasant sweatshop training.
What the aristocrats rejected took root in the intelligence services. In 1898, in the same Austria-Hungary, a very good, easy-to-use, eight-shot double-action revolver of the Gasser kal system appeared, which became very popular. 8 mm. This weapon had a handle angle close to 90°, for ease of holding in a “conventional way.” The same can be said about the handle of the well-known Nagan revolver.

Designed in 1926 6.35mm. Korovin’s pistol (see below “Forgotten Weapons of the GPU”) has a very specific handle shape. It somehow “sits” very poorly in the hand when the pistol is positioned vertically and fits like a glove in the palm of the hand when shooting in a conventional way. With the pendulum-like movement described above, this pistol is somehow very well attached to the target with the front sight. As old-timers said, this sample and Korovin’s subsequent developments were mechanically balanced to work in a pendulum.
It cannot be said that in those days the “pendulum” was swung by all and sundry. The German Parabellum, the Austrian Steer and many other commercial models with handles with a large slope were not suitable for working in a pendulum. But the gunsmith designers of those times tried to produce pistols suitable for both traditional precision shooting and pendulum shooting. Thus, the Soviet TT performed very well in the pendulum, even despite the very strong ammunition. The German Mauser Nikl, Mauser HSc, Česká Zbroevka, Spanish Star, etc. worked well in the pendulum.
However, let's return to the technique of performing the pendulum. From Bogomolov: “….a boxer in the ring does the same thing, only simpler.” What a boxer does in the ring is to “dive” left and right. It's the same in the pendulum, only with shooting. When diving to the right, the boxer makes a straight left punch.

photo 9
When working with a Macedonian grip, the shooter pushes forward when ducking to the right left hand and shoots in a conventional way, capturing the target with the left eye (photo 9).

photo 10
When diving to the left, do the same thing, but only with your right hand, aim with your right eye, capturing the target either on the front sight or on the right side bar of the bolt (photo 10).
Of course, the jerk to the side during such dives is made much further and sharper than in a boxing match, because a hot bullet is not a fist in a glove. The reverse jerk is also done sharply. This will be possible due to the elastic deformation of the muscles and ligaments serving the hip, knee and ankle joints, as well as the fact that at the moment the action begins, the extensor muscles work noticeably faster and stronger.

photo 11

photo 12

Practice making such forward and reverse jerks with the body tilted in the final phase of diving, “towards the landing” and with a sharp extension when pushing off to jerk into reverse side(photo 11 – 12). Push to the side, not up. Use the acquired inertia for maximum jumping movement in the opposite direction. Actually, this type of work from side to side with body tilts is called “pendulum”.
To make all of the above more effective, learn to do it at the lowest possible level on springy, bent legs - the lower, the better. Of course, do not forget to visually control the targeted acquisition of the target. When your legs hurt from unusual loads, a moment of firm confidence will come - you will feel that you are able to control events.
But that is not all. The starting push for a sharp move to the side occurs first with support on the heel, with the immediate subsequent “switching on” of the toe of the pushing leg. To do this, turn on calf muscle and foot muscles. With a sharp jumping move to the side, using the foot, you can gain another 30-40 centimeters of jumping distance. This is called a “staggering pendulum.”

photo 13
Naturally, with such a repulsion, the person “lands” on the other leg with the heel turned outward (photo 13). This will allow a trained fighter to gain an additional 20 centimeters when pushing back and engaging the foot. That is why when working in the pendulum it is necessary to have strong, pumped up legs.

photo 14
One way or another, when working “staggered,” a repeating pattern is formed with the heels placed outward (photo 14). Its value lies in the fact that it significantly facilitates and speeds up the transfer of fire from target to target. And this transfer can be done at a large angle.

photo 15

photo 16

If an employee is doing all this with one pistol, it is necessary to practice quickly transferring the weapon from hand to hand to shoot at the appropriate angle, as shown in photos 15–16. After a couple of days of training, the weapon will habitually “fly” from palm to palm.
There is a way to work in the pendulum without diving, but only by turning your left shoulder towards the opponent.

photo 17
When stepping to the side, sharply move the pelvic area forward, lowering the level (photo 17). Having fixed it in space (do not push it back under any circumstances),

photo 18
When stepping with the next leg, sharply bend the body at the waist (photo 18), use the forward leg as a push leg to jump back. This also needs to be done at the lower level. The above technique is used when the enemy is going to shoot from the hip at the middle level in order to remove the stomach and “stern” from the line of someone else’s shot, and when it is necessary to protect the head from a hot bullet. Trained shooters make such bends and sharp straightenings “one after the other” very quickly, with a large amplitude and in alternating movements back and forth, that is, to the right and left along the front of the enemy. Moreover, they represent a “flickering” target that can only be hit by chance. Even more trained shooters do all this at a very low level, with wide strides and soft placement of the feet, first on the heel and rolling to the toe, and vice versa, from the toe to the heel when moving in the opposite direction.
This cannot be done without proper preparation. It is for training the above that the so-called suples is developed. We read from Bogomolov: “Suples - flexibility of the body. Produced by special training exercises, helping to increase the mobility of the spine and the elasticity of the intervertebral cartilaginous discs, the entire articular-ligamentous apparatus and the muscular system.” Explanation: in the word “suples,” freestyle wrestlers recognize the name of a wrestling technique, namely, to press the opponent to oneself, sharply bend back and throw him over oneself (over the back).

photo 19
To practice this technique, wrestlers stand “on the bridge” (photo 19).

photo 20
Circus performers and those who train the shooting pendulum practice exiting the bridge into a standing position in one movement, without intermediate supports (photo 20)

photo 21
followed by bending over and taking a wide step forward (photo 21). By the way, a well-trained suplex can hardly be overestimated when using a pistol as a strike weapon (see the article by Vladimir Nechvoglod “When the cartridges ran out”, “BIP”, 2008, No. 4) and in general in hand-to-hand combat.
The term “counter pendulum” is sometimes found in the literature. In order to understand its essence, practice with a partner in a single sparring duel - when your partner makes, say, a move to your left, move to the right - your target will remain at gunpoint.
Of course, all movements to the right and left of the enemy must be done with different amplitudes, so that a more or less experienced shooter will catch you at the extreme point of movement.

photo 22

photo 23

Bogomolov mentions: “….constant deceptive movements - a feint game.” This is again the same thing a boxer does in the ring. In our case, after leaving, tilt to the right (photo 22 - 23)

photo 24

photo 25

the body does not unbend, but is moved along the bottom with a jerk in the opposite direction (photo 24 - 25)

photo 26

photo 27

with a subsequent rise (photo 26–27) or with a roll over the back or shoulder at the lower level - there are different options. In the pendulum version, this is done with an increased amplitude up and down to the right and left. With pumped up legs, this jerk can be done by jumping in the opposite direction without straightening the body. These are ordinary boxing tricks.

photo 28

photo 29

The pendulum is not static - the “conditional” position (photo 28) can be instantly transformed into a position for high-speed shooting. To do this, just stretch out your arms and take this position.
The mysterious term “pendulum against pendulum” or “counter pendulum” is also simply deciphered. If, for example, the enemy moves to your left, move to your right - with your pistol placed on its side, the target will remain in sight.
If you just stand straight, at the moment of unexpected danger, simply bend your legs with both knees in one direction, while simultaneously turning on your heels,

photo 30

photo 31

And sharply bend the body in the same direction (photo 30-31). After this starting movement, everything will go by itself. From the previously described pendulum techniques, the necessary combinations will begin to form along the way - just like in the ring. Especially if you play paintball with pistol-type markers, or if you are in a protective suit, mask and helmet, they are “treated” with rubber bullets from traumatic weapons. After you get a dozen hits in the side with paintballs - and this is very painful - you will begin to succeed very quickly and effectively. In any case, try to move to your left if the enemy is shooting from right hand- it will be inconvenient for him to turn to his right. From Bogomolov: “….quickly moved to the left...”.
As you can see, all this is not difficult, but it can only be achieved after a certain amount of practice. We read from Bogomolov: “Tamantsev, now or after dinner, will train for at least half an hour..... in swinging the pendulum, in various jumps, feints and dashes, he will work out suples until the third sweat.” Nowadays, of course, for this you need to stop drinking, smoke and have to quit excess weight. The question is: how much should you train? Answer: until it starts to work out and you stop getting hit in the side with paintballs.
The shooting pendulum technique was once widely practiced in many countries (including Germany) and therefore was never classified. The question arises - where did all this go? Answer: - all this and much more in the USSR began to quickly disappear from practice after 1937. Combat technologies are transferred by living people and are forgotten very quickly. Combat instructions, having served the circular period, are destroyed according to the act. As a rule, there is no one to draw up new instructions. This is the answer to the age-old question: “Where did the bloody experience go?”
The same thing happened with the “pendulum” - they began to forget it at the end of the 30s. By that time, many carriers of operational combat techniques had been shot, the rest “kept their heads down.” In the USSR intelligence services, by the beginning of the war, the emphasis was on knocking out information, and not on specific “physical training.” The place of the Korovin pistol was taken by the German Walter PPK.
Naturally, when the pressure comes, they try to restore combat technologies as best they can. From Bogomolov: “... in the spring (1944) Tamantsev went to Moscow and showed there his art in Macedonian shooting to a large group of officers and generals.” The generals realized it a little too late. By the way, according to rumors, the fate of a real employee, the prototype of Tamantsev, after the war was terrible.
In the fifties, work in the pendulum, offhand shooting and much more at the Leningrad Military Institute of Physical Education named after. Lesgaft trained members of OSODMIL (formation of voluntary assistance to the police). In peripheral bodies, in particular in the criminal investigation department, the pendulum was trained back in the sixties. Then he was forgotten everywhere.
Of course, during real combat contact there arises the need to extreme point using the pendulum, do a combat somersault or roll, getting to your feet. There are other spatial movements in a pendulum. But more about this, perhaps, in the next issues of the magazine. The author is very pleased with the emergence of sports pendulum clubs in Russia and considers this activity healthy and useful for law enforcement officers.

Alexey Potapov
Magazine " Martial arts Planets"

The public first learned about pendulum movements from Bogomolov’s book “In August 1944,” which very well described the moment when the “wolfhound” Tamantsev, nicknamed “Skorokhvat,” used such movements in a gunfight.

And although it was mainly about pendulum movements and tilts of the body, from about that time there was an interest in this type of movement in martial arts and in what opportunities they could provide. I say “type of movements” for the reason that there are other types of them.

For example, wave, circular or rectilinear, which are perfectly used in hand-to-hand combat, and sometimes even the fighting style is “entirely” based on them, for example, “Wave Combat” by Fedin, and some wushu styles, for example, are entirely built on linear movements, brought by many thousands of movements to such perfection that they are simply terribly mesmerizing, which attracts many thousands of fans into their ranks! And all thanks to the fact that some enthusiast dude spent several decades polishing the kata to the filigree of movements!

After the publication of this book, due to the paucity of information, many various kinds legends attributed to the “pendulum”, which, according to rumors, can provide almost invulnerability. At the same time, a “fly in the ointment” was added about the huge development time, something like “You need to work hard for many years every day, and if you miss even one workout, you need to start all over again.” That is, a hint that no matter how much you train, if you miss even a day, your entire skill will be “zeroed,” even if you worked there for at least nine years out of ten.

Such a cunning “requirement-condition” immediately discouraged any desire to master them. In fact, who wants to sweat for many years and be afraid of losing everything, even if only because of a missed week due to, for example, the same illness? And the fact that training, even if “not by much, will be interrupted” due to some force majeure circumstances, is understandable to the absolute majority. Who would like to live in anxiety all the time, afraid of losing everything?

But whatever the timing, there is a certain rational grain in the constant and long-term training of this kind of movements, and the reason here is that in the well-known psychophysical phenomenon, when on the basis of it they try to develop a self-sufficient fighting style, called “ " Pendulum movements are very difficult to apply due to the specifics of the movements themselves, since they are rhythmic and always occur in the same plane at the speed “full zero-maximum-full zero”.

Anyone who experimented in training, trying to avoid attacks in this way, immediately understood their disadvantage: accelerating the body, stopping and again gaining speed - this is what prevents its successful use in a high-speed duel. Moreover, if your partner does not play along, but really works conscientiously! As soon as you reach speed, you immediately have to drop it in order to switch to opposite direction. And the fact that the change of direction occurs in one plane greatly complicates various kinds of tricks like “rounding movements.”

Let's say a person's task is to avoid flying lead weighing 9.6 grams. As you know, you can “get away” from it in two ways. One, semi-mystical, is associated with powerful stress, during which time seems to slow down and a person, if he is not “dumb” and if he has a good motor base, then he manages to step aside, even when the bullet is already flying into it. This kind of phenomenon is known, and similar cases have been described in hundreds, if not thousands, and there are also quite a few films like “The Matrix”.

The other method is more primitive and is based on the fact that a person, as it were, dodges a shot in advance, but not “in advance,” otherwise the enemy will simply move the weapon and adjust the shot, and then, when the shot has almost occurred, that is, directly at that the moment when the enemy practically no longer controls his movements, since his brain gave the order to his muscles to shoot and the impulse to pull the trigger has already rushed along the nerves from the brain to forefinger. It is this moment that is difficult to control in terms of “correction” for an evading target, and the defender, due to the training he has undergone, instantly determines the intended trajectory of the shot and dodges to the side. This slope is the first phase of the pendulum.

“First” for the reason that you need to dodge again - it’s unlikely that the enemy has only one bullet. And, accordingly, it is necessary to perform the slope in the other direction, otherwise it will already be some kind of skewed defense by constantly moving to the side, and not a super-beam ““. And this is where problems begin and they are of the following kind. After the slope, you must stop completely, that is, reduce the speed to almost zero. And the second problem is to switch to a new direction.

And so every time.

This is the reason for long-term training, because it is necessary to successfully solve these two negative points, which is very difficult if the slopes are performed by the body while accelerating with the legs. It is, after all, more massive than the same hands, and therefore more inert. Accordingly, it is much more difficult to control it than, for example, with your hands.

And only after devoting a sufficient amount of time, a person will understand that he needs to move a little away from the canonical pendulum, performed in one plane. That it is better not to completely extinguish the acceleration of the body, but to redirect it to the desired plane, as if rounding off the movement and transferring it to where it is needed. That movements can be assisted not only by pushing off the ground with your feet, but also by using the same invisible zones of inertia, thanks to which you can push off, as it were, from an invisible support (in Senchukov’s book, such knots were mentioned) and, accordingly, quickly and unexpectedly leave the shooting line . This is where you will sweat many times before you learn all this, but still, in terms of time, this is not ten years of continuous practice, which many people fear.

No one will constantly dodge shots, unless it is a suicide bomber assigned to the wall. The person will either try to take cover behind some object or launch a counterattack. If a person, “swinging the pendulum,” begins to approach the shooter, then with this action he will involuntarily begin to help the enemy, rapidly lowering the angle of fire, thereby making it easier for the enemy to shoot “at a jumping target,” since the distance to the target is getting closer and closer.

And, if we take a mathematical basis, then the realities are such that the entire invulnerability of SMERSH, NKVD, and ordinary citizens who practice these movements for use in battle is equal to approximately five percent of one hundred, if not less. Of course, it is necessary to use every chance to survive, but invulnerability clearly did not even spend the night here.

So, pendulum movements in hand-to-hand combat are not as “great and powerful” as many people try to imagine, deceiving themselves and imposing this idea on others. But what in various kinds special training they are used with great success, helping to develop the necessary skills for the same hand-to-hand combat, this is already a fact. “Pendulum movements” (more precisely, here we need to talk about the principle of “Pendulum movements”, since the principle implies an idea, having understood which a person understands what is required of him and begins to develop it more fully and productively, realizing his inner potential, learning physical capabilities and developing intuition, but nevertheless working within the framework of the required principle) can be successfully used to manage one’s own psychophysiology, activate and manage energy, develop sensitivity, enter the “fury of battle” and in hundreds of other cases.

The capabilities of the “pendulum” are very extensive, but they are not infinite, as many people like to claim, attributing some kind of power to them. Moreover, it even came to the point that the authorship of this type of movement began to be attributed exclusively to Slavic sorcerers and warriors. Accordingly, they are present exclusively in Russian mystical movements and martial arts and nowhere else, but all these statements are “nonsense.”

They are found everywhere and the main reason is not combat effectiveness, but a powerful healing effect, normalization physical condition and managing the work of the psyche and, because of this, have been practiced for many thousands of years by all peoples of the world and are components of many health complexes, for example. With its practice, the energy is activated, and quite quickly, and “living flexibility” increases, and the ligaments become elastic, and the vitality and dozens more different kinds of effects, for example, in the general anti-aging effect.

Of course, they require practice, and not mental speculation, although they also “have great benefits.” Plus, training is for fun, and not in the form of self-rape. How can you feel better by torturing yourself? After all, there is no necessary mood, which means that the person does not work in the necessary psycho-emotional state, which means that the body does not secrete the necessary substances, resulting in the absence of a positive effect. You should always remember this and prepare yourself accordingly before training, for which there are many tricks.

And there are more than a few health-improving complexes, however, mainly based on one movement and their execution is very pleasant for a person, which is instantly felt, even if performed in a passive version, for example, rocking in a rocking chair. You can also roll from toe to toe and back. A very nice thing. Or sitting, swing your body in a vertical plane, passing exactly through the middle of the body back and forth. As for the benefits, here, among other things, the “small celestial circle” is pumped - the anterior ... and posterior median meridians. It may even get to the point that they, these channels, become activated as if on their own! By the way, animals, for example, a bear, often perform the same movements.

Pendulum movements are the essence of “RHYTHM”, and it is one of the basis, by the way, of hypnotic techniques and, in particular, self-hypnosis, which will be the subject of a separate publication. If I don’t forget...) And the rhythm, depending on its intensity, either calms or activates. Here, by the way, is the key to battle rage. Rhythmic accelerating movements, swaying of the body, coupled with some kind of “hooting”, as is often shown in various documentaries, dedicated to the customs of wild tribes, activates rabies. Tying the activated state to a gesture (for example, clenching fists) will allow you to immediately fall into the desired state.

So... This kind of movement is more intended for the variant of mutual firefight, that is, if two people “shower each other with lead fire.” These movements are not very suitable for other types of combat, unless we consider ducking the body from fist attacks as a special case of these same movements. But in psychotraining they are a powerful tool for manipulating one’s state, which will be discussed later.