Moscow hosts major Martial Arts fest

Moscow was the place to be for martial arts lovers this weekend, as the city played host to a global battle. Russia vs. The Rest of the World in various sports was how it was billed.

The Luzhniki Small Sports Hall, where the event took place, usually hosts hockey matches. But the local club could only dream of the sort of crowds who flocked to see this festival of martial arts.

While the country has a strong tradition in the likes of sambo, wrestling and boxing the same can't be said of Jiu-Jitsu and Viet Vo Dao.

But this is changing, and Roman Nesterenko, who took part in the event for Kyokushinkai, which is a type of full contact karate, was impressed by the turn-out.

”It was really nice today to compete in front of so many spectators. This means the public is interested in martial arts and the sport is starting to develop in Russia. Putting on such a show for non-Olympic sports helps people to learn about these disciplines and get more kids involved,” said Nesterenko.

All in all, 12 disciplines were presented at Luzhniki, both non-contact and full-contact.

To learn more about the event watch the video!