My guest today is John Giduck, a lifelong martial artist, author, and scholar with an incredible background that bridges academics, athletics, and international martial arts training.
John holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Penn State, a law degree from the University of Denver, and a Master’s Degree in Russian and Soviet Studies from the University of Colorado, which included time studying culture and language at St. Petersburg State University in Russia. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in Middle East Studies from King’s College in London.
Beyond the classroom, John is a champion weightlifter, having won numerous state and regional titles and competing in seven National Weightlifting Championships.
For more than 25 years, he traveled extensively in the Soviet Union and trained with several Russian special operations units, where he became a certified Russian hand-to-hand combat instructor and earned a Black Belt in Russian SAMBO. He also holds black belts in Japanese Gio Ryu Kenpo Karate and a military special operations Karate system. In 2007, his lifetime contributions to the martial arts were recognized when he was inducted into the USA Martial Arts International Hall of Fame.
John is also the author of several books, including:
“1500 Years of Fighting: The Complete Book of Russian, Ukrainian and Soviet Martial Arts from Cossacks to Spetsnaz and Beyond.”
Please welcome my guest today – John Giduck.