It's hard to imagine a modern society without international connections. Just ten years ago, at the peak of popularity was the study of English, now the palm is given to the Asian group. Especially the Chinese language. No wonder the cooperation between Russia and China is one of the most promising. Over time, orientalists began to appear. In other words, those who have devoted their lives to the study of Asian countries. One of them is Alexey Maslov. He is known for his scholarly writings on China as well as being one of the world's most celebrated fighters.
Childhood and youth
Many famous people find their life's work in childhood. Alexey Maslov was no exception. In the 70s, his parents worked in Mongolia. Little Lesha met the Chinese Li Minqin. At that time, the Chinese worked as a wushu teacher, and he had only five students. Leshabecame the sixth and first Russian in the group. Classes were held in Spartan conditions.
While the boy's parents worked as doctors and were busy with their own affairs, their son stubbornly ran to practice wushu. Training took place in the attic of the house, where bales of hay were stored. By winter, only Lesha remained from the group of children. The paradox of the situation was that the Chinese did not know Russian, but the boy did not know Chinese. They spoke with gestures and quite successfully. Winter was the hardest. In Mongolia, severe cold, and the air temperature often dropped to minus forty degrees.
Usually training went like this: Lee sat next to a cauldron of burning coals. And Lyosha stood, blown by all the winds, frozen, and repeated the same movement for the hundredth time, achieving ideality and perfection. Did they know that this strange boy would become one of the greatest fighters in the future? Hardly.
Alexey Maslov arrived in the capital
When it was time to enter the university, the boy's parents returned to Moscow and continued to work as doctors. The boy himself wanted to continue practicing wushu, but he did not have the opportunity. At that time there were no coaches in the country. Therefore, Lesha begins to practice karate. In parallel with this, he enters the Institute of Asia and Africa of Moscow State University at the Faculty of History. There he brilliantly studies, graduates and writes the fundamental scientific work "The Heavenly Path of Martial Arts". Thanks to the roy alties from the publication of the work, he fulfills his dream - a trip to China, which we will discuss below. Maslov's famous books are "China and the Chinese. What guidebooks are silent about", "Watching the Chinese. Hidden Rules of Behavior", "Secret Codes of Martial Arts of Japan", "Encyclopedia of Oriental Martial Arts" in two volumes, "Mysteries, Secrets and Codes of the Mayan Civilization" and many, many others.
Celestial Empire
Once in the long-awaited country, Alex was amazed. In his subsequent books, he repeatedly pointed out how different Asian and Western cultures are. According to him, China is a radically different civilization with the most stable foundation. No joke, five thousand years of existence!
Tolerance to many religions was noted by Alexey Maslov. Books reflected only part of his ideas. It is difficult to imagine another country where there would be exactly the same degree of population density. Because of this, tolerance is a must, otherwise the nation would destroy itself. Hence a large number of traditions, rituals, special humor.
Initially, Alexey Maslov did not plan to stay in China for a long time and continue studying wushu. But over time, he realized that one cannot fully understand the spiritual life of the country without practicing martial arts. Therefore, he began to look for a suitable monastery for his studies. In China, a big role is given not only to the physical execution of the movement, but to the spiritual fulfillment of the personality.
Results
Alexey Maslov is known for his double life. His photo is not found anywhere, he is not a very public person. He clearly separates his two parts of life. In one of them he is a lecturer anda research assistant, in the other - a warrior who has reached a high level in martial arts. He leads an active life, works and continues to improve. And according to the teachings of the monks, he is trying to achieve the goal of his life.
