This is an excerpt from a Fortune article written by Hedgeye analyst Matt Hedrick.
It’s no secret to any student of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The man loves Judo.
Putin started practicing Judo when he was 11 years old and Nikita Khrushchev was still at the top of the Soviet totem pole. He holds a black belt in the sport, is an honorary president of the European Judo Union and has even written a book on the subject, “Judo: History, Theory, Practice.” Last year he was ceremoniously awarded a ninth “Dan” (out of 10) in Taekwondo (for comparison’s sake, that’s higher than Chuck Norris’ eight Dan achievement), and recently attended the World Judo Championship in the southern Urals to view the Russian men’s team take second place to Japan.
Oftentimes, when commentators try to size up state actors and their influence on geopolitics, the discussion quickly turns to the metaphor of a “chess game” – and the current Russia vs. Ukraine (and the West) conflict appears no different (witness this week’s cover of The Economist with Putin standing on a giant chessboard).
The metaphor of a chess match misses the mark in Putin’s case. The metaphor of a Judo fighter is more apt in capturing the essence and approach of Putin since he joined the KGB in 1975...
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