For The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Continued Tour Part 10, click here.

January 31st, February 1st, 2016 - Tashkent, Uzbekistan

January 31 Tashkent

Woke early as always, but didn’t do my required 1000 kicks and punches as I did enough last night to hold me for a day. This morning, a new friend here at the hostel named Seyyid introduced me to a friend of his named Anar Budagli who had an interesting Wushu (and other martial arts) history and club.

“Getting there” was easy in this case as Anar is a man who knows his way around Central Asia and certainly Tashkent, and so he ever-so-kindly found his way my hostel shortly after a call from Seyyid.

After initial greetings we talked martial arts and his background is extensive, including his specialty Xing Yi Chuan, studied over a thirteen year period at “Silver River Dao School” in Tashkent. He told me about his master, Zakariadze Boris Vasilevich, a well-known and highly respected master in Tashkent who taught different kinds of yoga including Tantric, and a variety of martial arts including Xing Yi, Karate, Kendo, Combat Sambo, and Burmese Bando Boxing. His master learned his arts in Korea, Myanmar, and from a Japanese master that taught at a large Japanese company here in Tashkent. After 20 years of study Master Vasilevich went on to teach here in Tashkent at his school Silver River Dao School for decades.

“My master taught many philosophies” Anar said, “including of course about Tantian, the harmonic center of body energy, which flows outward like a web through hips and shoulders, elbows and knees through hands and feet, fingers and toes. He also taught that a warrior is a hunter for power; that fighting is not important for it is realization that determines all things – to realize the characteristics of the body/mind whether in Kung Fu, yoga or just ordinary life.”

I asked if his master was still teaching here in Tashkent, and found out he passed away on March 13th, 2013. I asked about how many students his master had. “At any one time maybe 60 or so, but if adding his different level classes together over the years - many thousands.”

Are you teaching now? “Not formally, but I have a circle of friends that practice the various martial arts we have learned together.”

After talking for a while I found out his early life dream was to be an actor; that he’d studied at the most famous theater in Tashkent, but as happens so often pressure to be “responsible” had resulted in his taking a “regular” job. Yet he continues his training, and succeeded at getting his girlfriend of several years to quit her “responsible job” to pursue her dream of becoming a professional photographer.

After sharing some photos on our Facebook pages I asked if he’d mind showing me around the bazaar I’d heard so much about in the city center. He happily agreed and I got the inside tour starting with a short tram ride to the metro (subway) which is one of only two in Central Asia. Unfortunately people are forbidden to take photos, but it is a classical art and history masterpiece of a subway opened in 1977 under the auspices of the Soviet Union. There is an old world classic beauty and elegance, and museum like quality to it that has to be experienced to be believed. Each stop had its own art theme. I was told by another visitor at my hostel that it was actually a military installation which is why no photos are allowed and that it is identical to subways in Kiev and Moscow. In any case, it’s a lot cheaper than the very cheap taxis, and a virtual museum in its own right, though functioning as a very nice, fast and clean mass transit system. Some of the art extolled for example early Soviet cosmonauts (Kosmonavtlar), while others had art portraying great scientific figures in Uzbek history.

Traditional center of old Chorsu Bazar

 

Arriving in the Chorsu Bazaar city center Anar told me that though this wasn’t the geographic center of Tashkent, it was historically the commercial city center. Chorsu he told me means “intersection of four rivers,” making it an ideal location for the ancient traditional market, and no doubt a major Silk Road site once upon a time, though there are few traces of that ancient glory to be seen today. But, the feel is there, the active bustling marketplace at the heart of a world capital, for back in the old Soviet days five Central Asian nations were merged into one called “Turkestan,” and Tashkent was the capital.

We started with lunch in a very traditional food market with divine foods in a semi-outdoor area obviously loved by locals as evidenced by the broad spectrum of ordinary and extraordinary locals eating there. I had chicken, potato and a scrumptious salad washed down with hot fragrant green tea.

The spirit of a traditional market with hundreds of fresh and dried fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts, traditional clothing and so on thrives in the many large domed structures. It was clean, colorful and smelled oh so very, very uniquely Central Asia by virtue of the mix of spices and other food scents.

After a few hours of sightseeing and a little shopping he saw me off in a taxi back to my hostel.

Later in the evening I walked to a nearby restaurant Anzor Café and I gotta say they had the best beef kabab I’ve ever tasted. Kabab in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan is called Shashlik. It’s simply outta this world! Another most popular national dish in Uzbekistan is called Plov, which is spiced rice with beef or chicken. Again, super delicious!

Tomorrow I’m going to visit the International Caravanserai of Culture in Tashkent – Center for the Study of the Silk Road.

Interesting day and many thanks to Anar for sharing some part of his martial journey in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and the many wonders of the ancient turned modern bazaar in the cultural and gravitational center (Tantian) at this modern crossroad of the ancient Silk Road.

Tashkent Anar and The Old Market

 

 

February 1st, 2016

Before closing this second visit to Tashkent I’d like to mention a few things about the Academy of Art of Uzbekistan, International Caravanserai of Culture, basically a marvelous Silk Road research center sponsored by philanthropist Ikuo Hirayana, the interesting people I met there and the fascinating work they do.

True, upstairs there’s only a relatively small library and almost everything is in Russian, Uzbek and other languages, none of which I can read or understand. But, after talking with a couple of ladies working there I was introduced to the very gracious Farrukh Usmanov, Director of the Academy. He asked me specifically what I was looking for and I decided ancient maps of the Silk Road would be best, since I knew I couldn’t appreciate any of the fine books, though I could at least fondly appreciate a fine ancient map. He in turn asked the ladies working there to look through some of the books he suggested for maps, and indeed they found some, which I photographed.

Not long after, Mr. Farrukh asked me if I’d like to meet Mr. Sheyko Konstanteen Alexandrovich, Chief Curator and Archeologist in charge of many digs around Uzbekistan. Well! That’s not the kind of question anyone has to ask me twice, so I jumped at the opportunity. I and my new friend of the morning, Mirzahid, a 5th Dan in Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo who helped with translations, went downstairs to find a small museum and Professor Konstanteen’s office. He gave us a tour of the small museum, explaining various things about how the artifacts changed with the rise and fall of several civilizations, and then led us into his office.

Tashkent Mirzahid International Caravan WTF headquarters

 

We spent the next hour looking at photos of the various archeological digs around Uzbekistan on his computer. It was a tour through time and many ancient cultures, but also an inside look into the science of archeology. He said they have about six major “digs” a year with only about six or seven archeologists assigned to each.

Needless to say a huge amount remains to be excavated and restored. On one hand, based on my own observations I can confidently say Uzbekistan has done a better job than most Central Asian nations at excavating, restoring and preserving its ancient history, but on the other hand less than 5% of what there is to find has been found and restored. A lot more needs to be done – and this is critical work because Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were the homes of many ancient Silk Road civilizations that began developing right at the very beginning of human civilization. Termez is a site Professor Konstanteen was especially excited about, and I can understand why, as it was an ancient city sacred to Buddhists and Muslims alike, and also a stopping point for early Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang who made a 17-year journey to India in order to bring back the sutras of the Greater Vehicle for the Chinese emperor.

Turkmenistan — Dayahatyn Caravansai

 

All too soon we had to leave. I can only hope some foreign university archeology professors read this and can form cooperative relationships with the excellent teams of Professor Konstantin at the research center there in Tashkent, as there is so much more of humanity’s early civilizations yet to be discovered.

Search though I did, I didn’t find any more Wushu along this Silk Road journey until I reached Ashgabat, the capital city of Turkmenistan where I met with Master Yazmyrat Annamyradov, President of National Wushu Federation of Turkmenistan.

Finally, I hope we all can learn from the rise and fall of so many civilizations, and the Kung Fu philosophies transmitted to Anar from his Shifu Zakariadze Boris Vasilevich regarding “realization” at Silver River Dao School. “For it is realization that determines all things – to realize the characteristics of the body/mind whether in Kung Fu, yoga or just ordinary life.”

For The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 12, click here.