Putin may be a very different person if the coach fails to convince his parents to allow him to practice martial arts, the Russian president revealed.

"At one point my parents were opposed to me exercising. They thought it would distract me from my studies at school," President Vladimir Putin said in the documentary of the Russian national television channel on martial arts coach. Anatoly Rakhlin.

Putin attended the Rakhlin martial arts academy in 1963 at the age of 11 and became the sambo champion in the city of Leningrad, today Saint Petersburg, 10 years later. Sambo is an unarmed martial art developed for the Soviet armed forces.

"They were very suspicious of Sambo, saying it was like fighting on the street. Parents told me 'you don't need to do it'," recalls the Kremlin boss. However, Rakhlin coach discovered Putin's potential and decided not to let students leave the martial arts path. He tried to arrange a time to meet Putin's parents.

"He talked to my parents and convinced them that sport would not only help me maintain my health and support my studies, but would also help me in later life. They agreed," Putin said. .

The Russian president also talked about how his master selected his students. "His slogan is 'having a personality will work'. He often rejects people who can pull the bar the most times, but choose those who do their best. They are determined to complete the exercise. Although limbs, body trembling, "the owner of the Kremlin said.

Putin affirmed his coach, Rakhlin, helped him stay away from the evils of the streets, saying he could have become a very different person if he hadn't practiced martial arts. "He changed my mind and life when I brought the opportunity to pursue the martial arts path. The coach really changed my fate," the Russian president said.

In addition to training Putin, Rakhlin also trained more than 100 top athletes for the Soviet Union and Russia within 50 years. He was the head coach of Russia's women's judo team and helped them win three European championships, as well as vice president of the Russian Judo Federation. Rakhlin died in 2013 at the age of 75.

The Russian President on November 27 visited the judo furnace that trained him in Saint Petersburg on the 50th anniversary of its founding. "Club members have won many prestigious awards, including the Olympic gold medal. However, the most important thing is to maintain the training of young people like Anatoly Rakhlin did," Putin said.