Combat hopak helps raise new generation of Ukrainians

By Masha TOMAK, photos by Kostiantyn HRYSHYN, The Day

“When in the time of Cossackdom foreign envoys saw the Cossacks dance in the Sich, they were  stunned: what they saw looked like a dance, and yet it exhibited so much power and strength. The  Cossacks practiced this dance with their weapons every day as a way of military training,” said  Volodymyr Sherstiuk, president of the Kyiv Combat Hopak Federation, referring to the beginnings of the  ancient Ukrainian martial art. “Ancient historians called it a combat dance. Every empire of the time  wanted to have Zaporozhian Cossacks in its army.”

Today the adherents of this art want to have it taught at the state level. In 2003 a program was  developed for the Ministry of Education and Science under the title “On Introducing the Military-Patriotic  Game Sokil (Dzura) in Education Institutions for Children and Youth.” It was lobbied by the Council of  Ukrainian Cossacks attached to the President of Ukraine. According to Shertsiuk, this program is  already approved, but the Ministry of Education is reluctant to implement it, while “we as the Kyiv  Combat Hopak Federation can take upon ourselves certain duties with regard to its implementation in  Kyiv schools.”

The Kyiv Combat Hopak Federation was formed in 1998. Today it has branches all over Kyiv oblast, in  particular in Irpin, Brovary, Vyshhorod, Bila Tserkva, and Boryspil, while branches of the International  Federation were set up in each oblast of Ukraine.

“There are people in Ukraine who are interested in the hopak,” says Sherstiuk. “Parents see how their  children get stronger spiritually, physically, and mentally. The technique of the combat hopak makes a person think very fast, stimulating the mind and memory. The all-around development involves spiritual  growth, coming to know various things about Ukraine, and drawing closer to the Ukrainian land and  language. Incidentally, the Russian-speaking children who come to our workouts for three months get  used to Ukrainian. After six months they speak Ukrainian in workouts.

“The first stage is to master your own body, then your thoughts.  Spiritual growth begins from signing a  Cossack song at the beginning of a workout and then we shout the slogan “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to  heroes!” This is followed by prayer, i.e., certain meditation when a person focuses on the workout and  casts off irrelevant thoughts. At the end of a workout we go through the same ritual in the reverse order  and hold a short, 10-15-minute lecture on Cossacks-otamans, colonels, or other notable Ukrainians.

What matters in tournaments is, above all, physical condition and endurance. According to our  observations, even the smallest “fighters” take their losses in a worthy and calm manner. It is absolutely  clear that by developing themselves, their minds, and energy, they are developing Ukraine.

Looking at these little Cossacks, you get a distinct feeling that this is the healthy generation that  everyone has been waiting for so long. It turns out that it is very near — in sharovary (traditional  pantaloons) and with its physical, emotional, and moral health, and the distinct forelocks. These young  people are good sports, even at the age of four. And there are surely geared toward victories.

Source: The Day, Issue #41, Tuesday, 23 December 2008