As the war continues in Ukraine, underground nuclear bunkers from the 1960s are being used to host martial arts tournaments just a stone throw’s away from Russian occupying forces. A hand-to-hand combat tournament took place just last weekend in the town of Kryvyi Rih.
Kryvyi Rih is a town in the south of war-ravaged Ukraine. With Russian forces pushed back to just an hour away from the town by the Ukrainian counter-offensive, and lights flickering on and off as the Russians attempt to disrupt Ukraine’s power grid ahead of the cold winter months, a martial arts tournament brings a sense of normalcy to the small town.
The martial arts tournament, featuring a form of hand-to-hand combat similar to Japanese Ju-Jitsu, took place in a soviet era underground nuclear bunker. The tournament provides not just entertainment and competition, but a much-needed physical outlet for the kids who have been stuck at home following online classes.
The bunker hosts many other events, like pop concerts and comedy shows, with the town’s deputy mayor Sergiy Miliutin claiming that many Ukrainian stars have come to perform at the bunker, providing the small steel-producing town with a bit of entertainment and relief. The martial arts tournament was the first sports event in Kryvyi Rih since the start of the war.
Despite the ever more frequent air raid sirens warning of Russian attacks, life at the underground bunker seems normal, with the martial arts tournament in full effect. Kids with headgear, gloves, and Gis are trading shots, takedowns, and grappling on the ground, all in the quest of winning a medal and standing on the small bunker podium. Their parents, looking exhausted and barely standing were cheering them from the sidelines.
“Psychologically, it is important for the children to see that the grown-ups have not forgotten about them,” coach Anatoliy Voloshyn, the person in charge of the event, told AFP. “They haven’t been to school in months. They needed to feel like they matter again.”
“Everyone is very cheerful down here,” Voloshyn said. “It’s as if there were no war.”
Deputy mayor Sergiy Miliutin says that people are used to the sounds of sirens after the first few months,and the martial arts tournament was a welcome distraction, However, he asks for people to stay vigilant as the war is not over yet.
“We keep constantly reminding people — please, please, please, don’t relax,” said Miliutin.
