After Alexander Zass moved to England, in the USSR his name was almost forgotten - such a change of citizenship was not considered a worthy act and about Silay, despite all his talents, they tried not to speak. Street, gentlemen, Cass was very talented; Promoting a non-standard training system, he achieved truly impressive results.


Alexander Zass is a Russian strongman, a professional wrestler and trainer. Most of all was known under the pseudonyms "Samson", "Iron Samson" and "Amazing Samson". According to some reports, it is considered the first highly pre-revolutionary Russian heavyweight champion.

Alexander was born in 1888 in Vilno, then the former part of the Russian Empire. While very young, he demonstrated uncommon physical abilities; Among other things, Cass trained, "bending live branches." Childhood and youth, the absenteeism passed in the Penza province, in Saransk; There he actively engaged in, developing his impressive natural abilities. The force of the abrasion was unusual including and in relation to its physique and general parameters - so, with a weight of 66 kilograms, Alexander could make the press with the rejection of 80 kilograms.

In 1908, Cass made his debut at the circus arena in Orenburg. The external parameters of the abrasion were still not impressive - its growth was 167.5 centimeters, and more than 75 kilograms strongly did not weigh; However, its own training system helped Alexander to become incredibly strong. The secret of the scope system consisted of several factors; So, Alexander pays great attention to strengthening tendons and traditional work with weights and muscle reduction preferred isometric exercises. Physical strength helped the Cassus to succeed in the circus industry, but the war began to forced him to leave the Circus.

During the First World Cass served in the Russian army, fighting from Austria

cami. During the war, Alexander 4 times came to captivity - and 4 from this captivity ran. I did not forget about the classes of sports Cass even in captivity - as an improvised simulator, the Russian Salo used the rod of his prison chamber. Subsequently, Alexander's prison training experience was often brought as an example of the effectiveness of correctly delivered isometric workouts. At a minimum in one case, Alexander used his uncommon power in his escape - breaking the chain and mowing the rod. In the future, CASS itself quite actively promoted isometric exercises.

So, Alexander fell in captivity in 1914 - while being seriously injured in both feet shrapnel. At that time, the escape turned out to be quite complicated; The Cass endured twice in failure and to find linedly freedom was able to only with the third attempt. Running from the camp, Alexander reached the Hungarian town of Kaposvar (Kaposvár), where he joined the troupe of a fairly famous Schmidt circus. By the way, it was in the circus of Schmidt that the stage name Alexander was used for the first time - "Samson". The Cass troupe circled all Europe and became quite famous.

After the war, Alexander settled in the circus, where he actively demonstrated his abilities. With circus numbers Cass traveled around the world. Rumors have walked that the speeches as a circus silver were only a formal reason for the courts abroad; According to some theories, Alexander Zass was a Russian reconnaissance used circus as a cover. However, the theory of e

that in many respects is rather doubtful - so, in 1924 Cass and at all settled in England on an ongoing basis.

In 1926, Alexander Zass issued his autobiography, "Amazing Samson. Teld to them by himself" ("The Amazing Samson: As Told by Himself").

In 1928, Alexander's spouse, Blanche (Blanche), died; At that time she was just a teenager.

In the 1930s of the 20th century, Alexander Zass still continued to act as a circus silver. Permanent workouts allowed the Cassus to keep themselves in shape; In addition, stronghold attached great importance to theoretical aspects of training - and demonstrated their outstanding understanding.

The list of achievements of Alexander Zassa is the incredible number of impressive demonstrations of force. During the military operations, Cass wore his wounded horse; Later, as a circister, he seriously frustrated this number - and now there are already two lions on his shoulders. He also wore more complex combinations - so, Zass raised the piano, a pianist and a dancer at once. In another room, Cass worked with one piano - lifting it with his teeth alone. Many people remember the number with the gun; Cass did not fulfill the role of a living cannon nucleus in many circus performances - he caught a woman, as such a nucleus speaking. The strength of Alexander was so great that he could bend a 13-centimeter steel rod in the horseshoe and bare palm drove into a 5-centimeter board 13-centimeter nail.

In England, settled there

estten well; The country has become his new home and a kind of starting point for new tour. In the homeland, the absenteeism was remembered less often - the reputation of silica in the country of Soviets, moving to England, the blow backed up rather strong. However, Alexander's authority as a silicon and a specialist in force training could not be recognized. The CASS personally invented the new version of the car dynamometer and created its own cannon variation for a circus room with a living cannon core.

As a strongman, Alexander in the circus is the last time was released in 1954; At that time, Samson was already 66 years old, however, the former grip strongly did not lose to whit. Circus, however, Zass did not leave, even stopped acting as a strongman - he quickly managed to find a new vocation, becoming a very talented trainer. Cass worked with dogs, monkeys, pony and horses; In zoos, he trained elephants and even Lviv - and the latter he wore on the shoulders on the old memory, with the help of a special rocker.

In the 50s, Alexander Zass settled in Hokley, Essex (Hockley, Essex); There he lived in the bungalow along with another number of former circus. In Essex, Alexander lived until his death; He died on September 26, 1962 and was buried at the cemetery of the parish church. Later in Orenburg in honor of the abortion, the statue was erected; The monument made by A. Beshevetnikov was opened before the building of the Orenburg circus. The discovery was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the first speech of an amazing Samson and passed in 2008.

Russia has always been famous for their own hands, but who glorified our country at the beginning of the last century? Such a person can safely call Alexander Zassa. The Russian Bogatyr acted with power numbers in the circus, and during the First World War on his shoulders made a horse in the battlefield under him. Alexander created his own system to strengthen the tendons and development of force.

Circus career

The circus performances of Alexander, who spoke under the pseudonym Samson, was regularly collected by Achlag. People came from all over the world to look at Russian silica. No one could repeat his strength numbers, and the audience was not just delighted, and sometimes even shocked. Samson could catch the core weighing 90 kg, which flew from a special circus gun. In another room, he moved a truck loaded with coal. Also, many people came to see how Russian Bogatyr lies on the board with a stubborn nails and keeps the stone in a breast of 500 kg.

Alexander Zass was born in 1888, in Saransk. The boy decided to become a Circus Salah when he was another 12 years. While visiting the circus, he was so inspired by the performance of hefty men, which immediately master the dumbbells and something like a bar, using sticks and stones. Alexander did not possess impressive dimensions, his growth was 167 cm. And the weight at the peak of the form reached 75 kg. When in the youthful age of Cass only came to the circus, he weighed only 66 kg, and could already lift 80 kg with one hand.

He did not go around Samson and an ordinary horizontal bar, he pulled up on one hand without any problems, made various flips and various gymnastic elements. During his circus career, Alexander Zass regularly revised his repertoire and introduced new elements and numbers. Samson constantly watched the power tricks of other athletes, and then tried to complicate them and make more spectacular. He dedicated a circus for 60 years, and 40 of them is the powerful numbers.

Training system Alexander Zassa

The Alexander system was directed not only to an increase in force, but also to strengthen the tendons. Training consists of two complexes: isometric exercises with chains and dynamic exercises with a heavy bag. Not having an athletic physique, Cass achieved phenomenal power due to isometric exercises.

During the execution of such exercises, Alexander kept the chain behind his head or before the breast, and tried to stretch it, applying the maximum effort. He could also wind the chain around the chest, and then on the breath, straining the breast muscles, tried to break her.

He was called "Iron Samson." He believed that his power is that he is Russian. Alexander Zass fled from the German captivity, endured the wounded horse on himself from the battlefield, the horseshoes were shown and the chain ripped.

Cass and Rezazadd: Who is stronger?

Alexander Zassa consider the legendary Russian strongman. And in fact, all that he showed on the scene of the circus did not fit in the heads' heads. For example, in one of its rooms, Iron Samson raised a horse with a weight of 500 kilograms. For comparison, the most outstanding result in modern weightlifting belongs to Iranian Hossein Rezazade, which pushed 263.5 kilograms. And this is despite the fact that the weightlifter from Tehran weighs twice the absenteeism. Of course, there is a difference between wearing a horse on the shoulders and raising the rod. However, the scale of the physical possibilities of the Russian circus is still striking the imagination.

Meanwhile, there were a lot of other athletes in the Tsarist Russia, which earned the case of power numbers in circus tour. For example, Evgeny Sandov easily squeezed with one hand 101.5 kilogram. Ivan Zaicin surprised that he wore a ship anchor weighing 409 kilograms. And "Russian Lion" Georg Gakkenshmidt easily diluted aside with two-domed weights.
At that time, each Russian boy dreamed of becoming a circus strongman. By the way, Alexander Zass himself in his memoirs told that the circuscript of Vanya Pud, who raised huge barrels with water, made a great impression on him. It happened at the age of seven, and young Shura - so called it in the family - played the circus silver, trying to raise a wooden tub.

Overcome yourself

In their children's games, Zass was taken over the severity who could not even raise an adult man. The boy did not work out, but Shura did not give up and the last for a long time. In fact, it performed isometric-static exercises, concentrating the muscular voltage force concentrating. The result was not forced to wait. After a while, the future "Iron Samson" easily raised the saddle, although quite recently he had considerable efforts for this. He saw the obvious relationship between desperate attempts to achieve an "impossible" and an increase in force. However, recognized athletes of the time did not see sense in such training, preferring to "download" muscles with dynamic exercises.

We will need decades of scientific research to explain this "Samsonovsky" phenomenon. It turns out that human energy depends on the metabolism in the body, which is carried out in two ways - aerobic and anaerobic. With dynamic variable exercises, for example, when squatting, an aerobic system is stimulated. And with static loads - anaerobic, the one, which is the biochemical basis of power capabilities.

Since Alexander Zass was mainly trained by static methods, he developed unique powerful opportunities in himself, and he himself did not guess. In 1914, being a cavalister of the 180th Window Regiment, he got into the Austrian ambush. He himself was not injured, but his horse was wounded in his leg. Thille thinking, he raised four friends and a half-meter carried to the camp, where the regiment was located.
Having done this, Cass believed in the unique capabilities of his body and by the spirit of the Spirit. Once in captivity, storm, shaken into the shackles, ripped the chain and dispersed the rod of the prison lattice. Later, remembering his escape, Samson admitted that without the concentration of moral forces, it was unlikely to commit it. Later, this property noted the director of the English club Athletes "Cambervel" Mister Pulaum, writing about the Russian Silver, as a "man who uses his mind is no worse than its muscles."

Strength of mind

Nowadays, it is proved that moral forces and in fact significantly increase human energy. In particular, scientists from the American Sports Association experimentally established that the muscular abilities of a person under hypnosis when he was inspired that he had an incredible force, significantly higher than when introducing doping into the blood. The fact is that the muscle contraction force depends on the power of the electrical pulse coming from the brain along the central nervous system. The more intense this impulse, the more calcium ions are released affecting human strength.
Alexander Zass did not know all these scientific hospitals, but believed that the concentration of mental strength increases and physical strengths. And also believed that the "power of the Spirit" in the Russian people is strong.

Love named Betty

Entering a job in the English Circus, Alexander Zass developed a unique circus number in which the assistant was a pianist Betty Tilbery. The room was that Silar Paril under the circus dome and kept the rope in his teeth, which was suspended with a platform with a piano and a music girl.
Soon the love broke out between them, continuing ten years. However, Zass liked other women and started fleeting novels. "You cannot fix you, we will just be friends," once told him Betty and married a clown of Sid. And "Russian Samson" never gained his family. His sister Hope he wrote in letters that infinitely alone.

Russian Samson

In sports stories. Alexander Zass

"A large biceps is not a criterion of power just like a big belly is not a sign of good digestion"

Alexander Zass

Results in modern sport rapidly grow. Often, the achievements of a decade ago cause a skeptical grin from a modern fan. But the results of the circus athletes of the beginning of the 20th century deserve respect even in our days.

For example, Bogatyr Nikolai Vakhturov, a native of Nizhny Novgorod, amused the audience with the original trick: he moved a two-domed gircher through the railway carriage.

The spectators of Peter Krylov were a huge success in the audience. "King of Girus", as the audience called him, raised two double-domed weights 86 times in the position of the "soldier stand": without rejecting the housing and without breaking the heels from the floor. Left hand wings lifted 114.6 kg. Divorced hands to the side, holding in every 41 kg.

Giant Grigory Katchev, who had a height of 213 cm, was poured onto the back of 12 double-domed weights (384 kg) and with such a weight "strolled" by the arena.


Monument to Alexander Cassu in Orenburg

A few decades from the circus posters of many countries did not have the name of the Russian athlete Alexander Zass, who spent under the pseudonym Samson. The repertoire of his power numbers was surprising:

he wore a horse or a piano with a pianist and a dancer located on the lid; I caught my hands a 90-kilogram kernel, which was shot from a circular gun from a distance of 8 meters;

he took off from the floor and kept a metal beam in the teeth with the assistants sitting at its ends;

take the shin of one leg in the rope loop fixed under the dome, held a platform with a piano and a pianist in his teeth;

lying naked back on a blackboard, covered with nails, held a stone on the chest weighing 500 kilograms, according to which those who wanted to beat sledgehamons from the public;


in the famous attraction "Man-projectile", he caught his hands an assistant that took out a circular cannon from the tank and describing a 12-meter trajectory over the arena.

A rare boy in the USSR did not hold in his hands the book "The Mystery of Iron Samson", written by the nephew of the abroad Yuri Shaposhnikov. About how in the First World War, the Russian warmer took the wounded horse on his shoulders from the battlefield, as he ripped the chain and bent the metal rods, about the system developed by him and until now, the system of isometric exercises used by athletes, many people know. He performed with similar power numbers in Russian circuses before the beginning of the First World War.

Cass was born in 1888 in the city of Vilna in a large labor family. Children's and youthful years have passed in Saransk. Once, Alexander visited the Father in the circus. He looked at riders, acrobats, trained dogs with admiration. But he especially liked the mighty stronghold, bursting chains, bent the horseshoes. At the end of his speech, the artist, as at that time was accepted, appealed to the public, inviting those who wishing to repeat some of his tricks. Several brave fell on the playpen, but none of them could neither bend the horseshoe nor tear off the ball with a very thick vulture. Under the laugh of the audience, the coup returned to their places. There were no more people.

And suddenly, the father of Alexander, Ivan Petrovich Zass, rose from his place and, having grown through the barrier, went to the arena. Alexander knew that his father was very strong. Sometimes he demonstrated his power before the guests. Usually, holding hands behind the wheel of a brush, harboring the top of the horses, he kept her in place, while the fun guests drove horses. But he did not see other examples. And her stronghold stretched the father of the horseshoe. And, to the surprise of his public and athlete himself, Horseshoe in the hands of the father Alexandra began to be blown up. Then Ivan Petrovich touched a huge barge from the peel and, straightening the torso, raised her above his knees. The public applauded, screamed Bravo! Silacha was confused and nervous. Then he called to himself a uniformist. He escaped behind the scenes and brought the silver ruble. Slaya raised his hand with the ruble and said:

But this is for the feat! And on drinking.

The father took the ruble, then hesitated in his pocket, pulled out a row and, putting a ruble to her, handed the athle, saying:

I do not drink! But you take, but drink only tea!

Since then, Alexander fell ill with a circus. And now the little Alexander with incredible perseverance began to train. She tried to repeat what he saw in the circus. Osill the sun on the horizontal bar, a big turn, began to perform the flights from one horizontal bar to another, did a fuel back not only on the floor, but also on the horse, he pulled up several times on one hand. But all these classes were unsystematic. He wanted to become a real circus artist, and most of all - strong. Alexander convinced the Father to write a book on physical development from Moscow. And soon the book was famous at that time athlete Evgenia Sandova "Power and how to deal strong."

He began to engage in Sandov's system - his idol. But soon felt that some exercises with dumbbells could not develop the power that was needed by professional strongy. He appeals for help from the famous Athlete Peter Krylov and Dmitriev-Morro, who were not remembered by the request of the young man, and soon Cass received guidelines from these athletes. Wings recommended exercises with weights, and Dmitriev - with a barbell.

He squeezed two-domed weights at the same time and alternately ("mill"), blinding them upside down, juggled. With a barbell performed mainly bench press, push and bench because of the head. With its own weight, 66 kg, the young Cass twisted (beastly with the deviation of the body) with the right hand 80 kg. But most of all he was attracted by the power tricks, which he saw in the circus. And he visited the circus constantly. His sports props began to replenish with horseshoes, chains, metal rods, nails.

And then he realized that multiple attempts to perform a trick - break the chain or bend a thick metal rod - bring tangible results in the development of physical force. In essence, it was widely known now isometric exercises. Thus, the purely empirical path (based on experience), Alexander Zass came to the conviction that athletic power can be developed, combining dynamic exercises with isometric. Later he published his isometric system and this brochure produced sensation.

The circus career of Alexander Zassa began in 1908 in Orenburg, in the circus of Andrzhievsky touring there. Once in the circus, Cass one time worked as an assistant to the legendary trainer Anatoly Durov, then at Athlete Mikhail Kuchkina, and he often spoke to his assistant: "Someone, Sasha, you will become famous solo, I have not seen anyone who would be so strong As you, having such a small height and weight. " In general, the Cass around the sixty years worked in a circus and almost forty of them - with athletic numbers.

In 1914, worked world war.

During the war, he served in the Russian army in the 180th Window Regiment, which in peacetime was stationed in Saransk. In 1914, Cass received heavy injured shrapnel in both legs and captured to the Austrians. After two unsuccessful attempts of escape, he managed to leave the camp with the third attempt. Once in the city of Kaposvar in the south of Hungary, he entered the troupe touring the Schmidt Circus there, known throughout Europe. It was on the posters of this circus for the first time he was named Samson. Subsequently, I got acquainted with the Italian Circus Impresario Pasiolini and on a long-term contract with him was under the name of Samson. He toured in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, England, Ireland. Since 1924, he constantly lived in England, from where he went to tour in different countries. In England, he was awarded the title "the strongest man of the earth."

In 1925, the book "Amazing Samson was published in London. It is told to them by himself, "in which he narrated about the peripets of his fate. Cass published descriptions of several physical development systems. He invented a brush dynamometer, designed and made a gun for the attraction "Man-projectile". He knew several European languages.

The last public speech as a strongman took place in 1954, when the artist was 66 years old. Subsequently, he worked as a trainer, he had several horses, ponies, dogs, monkeys. He also trained elephants and lions in the zoo, and on speeches wearing two lions at once on a special rocker. A. I. Zass died in 1962. He was buried near London in the small town of Hokley, where his house was.

Video with the speech of Alexander Zassa.

Shortly after the birth of Alexander Zassu, left the vilensers and moved around Tula, and when the boy was four years old, the family moved to Saransk. The reason for changing the place was to get the father of the post of Claud. Despite the fact that the landlord of the estates that Ivan Petrovich managed were located between Saransky and Penza, Zassa lived mainly in the city itself. It is curious that the city house itself, and bank accounts were decorated not on the head of the family, but to the mother, which was a very purposeful and volitional woman. It is known that she even ran down and passed in elections to the Saransk City Duma. Ivan Petrovich, skillfully leading the economy, attracted to work and all his children. Later, Alexander Ivanovich recalled: "My childhood was held in the fields, for our family was essentially peasant. Food and drinking was in the uncertainty, and, nevertheless, we needed a lot to work for everything that we had. "


The children's years, Alexander, on his own admission, were not particularly interesting and consisted mainly of hard work. When he grew, his father began to send him to the distant rides on the horses with the big cash, which he had to put in the bank to the expense of the owner of the estates. In the future, the father wanted to give Alexander a technical education and dreamed of seeing his son to the driver of the locomotive.

The Cass himself did not have the slightest desire to manage locomotives. Driving in different cities and villages, he had the opportunity to see quite a lot of stray troupe and clutch circus, which Russia was famous in those days. The life of the circuschi seemed to him the most beautiful in the world. However, even a hint of such thoughts, Alexander could not afford - the Father was very strict and for disobedience he could ruthlessly flop.

Once Ivan Petrovich took the Son to sell horses with him to the fair. In the evening, after a successful deal, they went to the presentation of a stray circus, located nearby. The spectacle seen to the depths of the soul struck the boy: to the music, screams and laughter, people batted in the air, horses danced, juggles balancing with different objects. But he especially liked Salo, with ease of heavy weighting weights, bursting chains and folding iron rods around her neck. Many viewers, including the father of Alexander, following the invitation of the lead, got up from the places and tried to repeat these tricks without much success. Returning to the Story Dvor, the Father and the Son dined and went to bed. But the dream did not go to Alexander, slipping out of the room, he rushed to the circus tent and, paying from his pocket money the required amount, entered the idea of \u200b\u200bonce again.

He returned home only in the morning of the next day. Father, having learned about the absence of a son, picked up the shepherd Knut and revealed him. The rest of the day and all night Alexander spent in a separate room without food and sleep, tormented by fever. Early in the morning he was given a little bread and told to work immediately. In the evening, my father told his son that he sends him for a year to the long southern village of Podpom. There, a twelve teenager had to help the shepherds graze a huge flock - almost 400 cows, 200 camels and over 300 horses. From morning to night, he was in the saddle under the burning sun and watched the animals do not fight, did not differ and did not climb out in other people's own possessions.

All the time spent away from home, Alexander did not stop thinking about the circus and his wonderful life. He learned perfectly to shoot - more than once and not two shepherds had to beat off the wolves. Opports with animals also gave a lot to the future circus actor. He tried to teach horses with the same tricks that he noted at the riders in the circus, improved in horseback riding and voltizing. Soon the boyfriend began to feel on the back of the horse as confident as on earth. However, which was particularly surprised by the shepherds and that Alexander himself considered his main victory - his friendship with watchdogs. He managed to find a common language with six huge, ferocious and ruthless wolfhides, which then accompanied him everywhere.

After returning to Saransk Zass began to collect magazines and various instructions "to improve the figure and development of force". Reading them, he tried to figure out the wisdom of sports and circus terminology, learned the athletic exercises, learned about the famous wrestlers, gymnasts and strongholds. Alexander's favorite hero was the outstanding athlete of the nineteenth century Yevgeny Sandov.

Early Cash Day now started with gymnastics and jogging. Two minutes he spent at the backyard at home devoting them to perform various exercises. He had no dumbbells and Giru, and the guy tied to wooden sticks of various weights. In addition, he dragged cobblestones, trying to hold them only with his fingers, made jogging with a calf or a foal on his shoulders. Cass trained and with thick branches of trees - tried to bend them without stopped with one hands. Later he made two horizontal bar for flights from one crossbar to another.

As a reward for stubborn work, the first successes came - Alexander felt as she was growing and was poured by his body. He learned to "twist the sun" on the crossbar, pull up on one hand, catching 8-kilogram stones, abandoned from the podoodka board. Injuries occurred. Once he failed to hold the stone shell and fell with a broken clavicle. Locking a month with a hand on the bandy, he began all over again.


Many years later, already becoming the famous, circus athlete on the basis of its children's experiments will create a whole system of training, the basic principles of which will receive recognition worldwide. These are so-called isometric exercises. Their characteristic feature is the tension of the muscles without abbreviations, without movement in the joints. Alexander Zass argued that it was not enough to manage only the traditional methods of muscle development, namely the reduction in the muscles under load. Externally vain attempts to voltage tendons and muscles, for example, when flexing the steel rod, are very useful for the development of force. Time fully confirmed its point of view.

Becoming older, Cass turned for help to famous athletes that era - Peter Krylov, Dmitriev, Anokhin. All of them reviewed the letters of the young man, and sent him their guidelines. Training in their exercise systems, Alexander Ivanovich even more developed his abilities. None of his peers could make the same thing he did. With a weight of 66 kilograms, the young man confidently twisted 80 kilograms with his right hand, juggled with 30 kilogram weights. Rumors about his extraordinary strength quickly spread through the surrounding villages and villages. He began to call on various roults and festivities, where people were not averse to me to remember with him by force. However, with all its prominent abilities, Alexander Ivanovich Ros is surprisingly calm and not a fucking man, in the summer he was engaged in the affairs of his father, and in the winter I visited the school.

The fracture in his fate came in the summer of 1908. Despite the timing protests of Alexander, Zass Sr. sent a twentieth guy to Orenburg to a local engine depot to learn to the Kochnoard, or, if lucky, on the driver's assistant. And in early October, the Orenburg newspapers announced the arrival in the city of the "first-class circus of Andrzhievsky with her huge troupe." Alexander, of course, came to look at the idea. After a couple of days later, the courage of the Cass appeared before the director, who told about how this life attracted him. Dmitry Andreyuk, namely, in fact, Andrzhievsky, he himself was an excellent trainer and a wrestler, spoke with athletic numbers. To the huge surprise of Alexander, he said: "Do you want to work in a circus? Well, well, you can go to us for a handyman. You will help where it will be necessary. But life is hard here, do not doubt. You will work in many hours, and it can happen so that you have to starve. Think carefully. " However, Alexander did not hesitate.

The first time the young circus was really difficult. In addition to various "black" labor, it seems to clean the animal or cleaning a playman, he helped during the speeches at the Avtuta Kurakin. Over time, Kurakkin was attached to the young man - she taught him a different wisdom of circus crucibles, trained in balancing with severe objects. And a few months later, Alexander received his own, a small number - demonstrating the power, he tried a huge stone through his head in his hand. He wrote his relatives that he diligently practiced on a locomotive driver. It was only a lie partially - Cass really put in hard work circus all his soul.

For half a year, Circus-Shapito Annezhievsky was worked in Orenburg and the nearby settlements, and as soon as the fees began to fall, the troupe was dragged into the path. Cassus was to make a difficult decision - to go to Father in Saransk and report his choice of life or already openly continue the circus career. Andrzhievsky, having learned about it, ordered Cassus return home, repent and trust the grace of his father. On all requests of the young man to take it with them, he answered with refusal.

However, the Cass went home at all. He sat down to the train to Tashkent, and immediately went to the city immediately went to the circus of the famous entrepreneur Yupatov. About Philippe Afanasyevich he heard a lot. Yupates kept his circus in Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara, part of his troupe included the most famous "stars", each of them in his genre was an unsurpassed specialist.

The presentation of the Tashkent troupe produced a great impression on the absence. After the circus of Andrzhievsky, the rooms performed were hit by unique technique, brilliant invention and cleanliness. When the performance is over, the young man went to the Manege inspector for conversation. I introduced an artist of the circus of the Andzhevsky, he explained his desire to get a job to Jupatov very simply: "I want to earn more." In half an hour, he was already invited for negotiations to the director of the circus, which, barely looked at the absenteeism, announced that he was ready to take him to handle it with the condition of making the "pledge of integrity" in 200 rubles. Alexandra did not have such money, and he was given a week to get them.

Already the next morning he wrote a letter to his father in which he reported that he found promising work with a good salary. He wrote that a large enterprise suggested that he would have learned, however, it demands to make 200 rubles as evidence of decency. Four days from his father, together with congratulations, the necessary amount of money came, and Cass became a full participant in Yupatov's ideas.


Initially, he fell as an assistant to the legendary trainer Anatoly Duru. After six months of work in his team, Alexandra unexpectedly transferred to the place of cashier. The salary at this place was more, and Cass even managed to return the debt to the Father, now not particularly far away in the essence of the "profitable" work of the Son. And soon he was returned to the playpen, but not to Durov, but in the troupe of Ridernikov-Djigitov. As soon as Alexander was mastered in this friendly and cheerful company, he was transferred to air gymnasts. So Filipp Athanasyevich brought up young circus. To reveal their true tendency, and also to have a replacement if necessary, he "missed" them through many specialty. In the Gymnasts of the Cass, despite the fact that the work came to him in the soul, he stayed for a long time and was sent to a group of fighters headed by a 140-kilogram giant Sergey Nikolaevsky.

After some time, after numerous discussions, the plan of independent speeches by Alexander, not related to wrestler fights, was born. Power exercises were based on the basis, in which Cass was especially good - the break of the chains with an effort of the chest and hands, the bending of iron roths. These tricks were complemented by less difficult numbers, but also very spectacular. For example, demonstrating the strength of the breast muscles, Alexander lay down on his back, and on his chest he was located a platform, which accommodate up to ten people. And Alexander could successfully hold the platform in his teeth on which two heavier fighters were sitting.

The people on the ideas of Yupatov Valil shaft, and the fees were excellent. However, the happiness of circus is short-lived. In one dark August night, the circus animals caught fire. Perhaps it was not without competitors, but it was not possible to find out. The damage from the fire was catastrophic - most animals burned down, the property died. There were nothing to pay artists, and the troupe was broken. Jigita-rider went to the Caucasus, Durov went to St. Petersburg, and Alexander Zass, together with the six fighters, came to Central Asia. On the way, the athleters earned themselves to feed on performances, and the central area of \u200b\u200bthe village served at best, and more often - the street or driving road. So the exists and weakened strongholds got to Ashgabat, where they settled to work in the circus-shapito of some Hoisseva.

With the advent of the Yupatov artists, Circus Hoisseva became mostly circus wrestling, since on their background, all other genres lost. Speaking in various cities and villages as a private fighter, Alexander continued to train hard. The day began with a three-kilometer jogging, then exercises were exercised with the rupture of chains and with iron rods - he was bent on his knee, wondered by a spiral, tied the knot. A lot of time he paid the development of spinal and breast muscles. Having finished the morning training session, Zass rested, and the second time trained in the evening. During these activities, the athlete practiced in horseback riding with a voltizing, worked out the balance, developed the power of the jaws and neck, raising 170-kilogram steel beams from the ground.

Such classes helped him to gain a large muscle mass, which was needed not so much to perform various tricks, as for obtaining a "commodity" species, since the abrasion in the arena was not seriously perceived seriously. Indeed, in the era, when in world athletics the embodiment of physical relics was considered 150-, 170 kilogram hedgehogs, low and thin Cassus with its 168 centimeters of growth and 75 kilograms of weight on their background had to be hard. Later, Alexander Ivanovich will write that "a large biceps cannot be considered a criterion forces similarly to the fact that a big belly is not a sign of good digestion." He argued that "A large man does not have to be strong, and modest addition is weak, and all the power lies in the tendons, it is necessary to train them."

During the touring trip, the Circus Hoisseva has finally found the agenda, which orders to come to military service. Recomposed people called on the place of birth, and Alexander had to go to Wicked, where he was from. There he was taken by forehead and determined to serve in the 12th Turkestan Infantry Regiment, located on the Persian border. During the three-year service, he worked as a gymnastic instructor, and also continued to deal with the struggle and horse riding. Upon her end, Zass went to Simbirsk (Ulyanovsk), where he was offered the place of the coach of female athletes, and after some time she moved closer to his family to the city of Krasnoslobodsk, where, together with his father, acquired a cinema. However, he did not have the case, and he was forced to turn to the power athletics again. Cass began to perform with solo rooms, and parallel developed new unique power tricks. From a number of circles, the first proposals were received on the work, but the First World War began here.


Mobilization hurriedly passed, and Cass found himself in the 180th Window Punchy Regiment, which was at the beginning of the war to be overwhelmed from Saransk to Lublin. Alexander Ivanovich was enrolled in regimental reconnaissance and as part of a small group made equestrian raids on the enemy reasons. Pedant and an ardent "register" in a peaceful life, on the front it turned into a harsh and dear warrior. It is known that bravery manifested in hostilities is increased in rank. There is also a legend about how the stallion Zassa stallion was injured during the next routine. The athlete did not throw an animal in trouble, waiting for the night, he wrapped his horse on his shoulders and came out with him to our trenches.

At the front, Alexander Ivanovich fought for a long time - during the next battle near him, a projectile broke out, taped with a shrapnel of both legs of the Russian hero. He woke up in the Austrian hospital. There he was operated on, but the first surgery turned out to be unsuccessful, and soon Alexander Ivanovich suffered a second and third. Wounds did not want to heal as it should, and the doctors warned an athlete that he may have to part with his legs. The CASS provided to itself used some of the principles of their passive exercises. He continued to hardly do every day until all fears lose their feet disappeared completely. The full recovery did not come immediately. At first, Alexander Ivanovich learned to move on the crutches, helped to care for other prisoners. And when he was able to move without crutches, it was translated into the camp for prisoners of war.

In this "institution" everything was different. Fed badly, forced a lot to work - from morning to evening, the prisoners were busy on the construction of roads and temporary hospitals for the wounded on both parties, continuing to arrive in reasonable quantities. In this camp, Cass spent about a year. The place was well guarded, the barracks were surrounded by barbed wire. Together with another prisoner on the name of Ashaev, Alexander Ivanovich began to prepare for run. With great difficulty, friends managed to get the scheme of railway tracks without roads and a small, almost a toy compass. They also managed to save a little provision. Barbed wire became the last barrier to escape, the bells and tin robbed with hundreds. Straightening brains in search of the exit, the captives very soon concluded that they had the way for wire only one - to make a subcople. The moonless nights of Cass and Ashayev were riveted with LAZ, and when he was finished, made escape.

To the dawn, tired and exhausted they succeeded to the forest and hurried under the shadow of the trees. There was no chase. The purpose of the fugitives was to get to the Carpathians, where, in their opinion, advanced posts of the Russian army were located. However, these plans were not destined to come true, they hit the eyes of the field gendarmerie on the sixth day. They tried to escape, but they caught up and, brutally beat, taken to the nearest goal. After the interrogation of Zassa and Ashayev, they were not shot to their surprise, and sent back to the camp. There, the fugitives appeared before the Military Court, who made them relatively "soft" decision - sentenced to a thirty-day single conclusion on bread and water. At the end of the punishment of the captives again returned to old duties, but they were transferred to another, more protected part of the camp. Here, Alexander Ivanovich stayed a few more months, and then in connection with the lack of male strength, he was sent to Central Hungary in one estate engaged in the breeding of horses. Life here was not an example easier, and already after a couple of months, using the security of the guards, Cass and the Cossack by the name of Yamesh left this place. This time, the Russian athlete was prepared much better, had a reliable card and a compass, enough money. On freedom, they stayed two and a half months, until near the Romanian city of Oranda did not catch them patrol. Friends were placed in a city prison, and when it was revealed that this was the second Escape Alexander, he was planted in a dark underground caasemate for six weeks. After that, it was translated into an ordinary chamber and engaged in performing small prison work. And then he was transferred to street work that Alexander Ivanovich pushed to another attempt to escape. This time, he did not try to break into the Russian parts already scientific experience. Cass got to the Romanian town of Colozel, where the famous Circus Herra Schmidt was located and asked for a meeting with the owner.

Alexander Ivanovich frankly told the director of the troupe about his troubles, as well as about activities in Russian circuses. Fortunately, there were no power athletes in the Schmidt program or fighters. Stories Zassa about the tricks that he could show, convinced the owner. Schmidt was satisfied with the first performances of the Russian hero, who was, to the Word, in his far from the best form, helped him buy new clothes and paid a huge advance. However, the luck of Alexander Ivanovich was not destined to continue. Circus posters that announce the appearance of a "strong person on the planet" attracted the attention of local military commandant. Interested in why such a well done does not serve in the Austrian army, he arrived in the Circus, and by the evening of the same day found out that Cass is a Russian prisoner of war. Taking into account that Alexander Ivanovich did not kill anyone during his shoots and did not crude, the military tribunal was limited to the conclusion of him in the fortress until the end of the war. The scopa was placed in the crude and cold basement, the air and the light in which the tiny window penetrated, located at an altitude of six meters and leaving on the water with water. The legs and hands were sought in the shackles that were filmed only twice a day during feeding.

Escape seemed impossible, but the Russian warrior does not fell in spirit. Taking yourself in hand, he began to train. He stubbornly engaged in his hands and feet - did goose steps, the deflection, squats, strained the muscles, kept them "included", relaxed. And so many times a day. Sounded humility and submission somewhat changed the conditions of its content. Three months later, Cassus was allowed a daily half-hour walk through the territory of the fortress, and after a while, knowing about his circus past, they were offered to take care of local dogs. Alexander Ivanovich agreed, having freed himself from foot shackles and having received some freedom for hands. It turned out to him quite enough. After some time, the Russian strongman successfully committed his next, the last escape.

He successfully reached Budapest, where he set up a port loader. At this work, CASS stays for quite a long time, gradually restoring their strength. And when the Beketovo Circus arrived in the city, he turned there, thinking to get a place athlete or a fighter. But the Circus director who experienced financial difficulties refused to give him, however, a letter of recommendation for the famous fighter of Tea Janos, who had his own troupe. This good-natured Hungarian reacted to Alexander Ivanovich. After listening to the history of the Russian hero, and experienced in the duel, he took him to his team. Three years after that, Zass performed in the troupe of the fighters of Tea Yanosha, alternating fights on the carpet with the numbers with dogs. He visited Italy, Switzerland, Serbia. It did not return to Soviet Russia, considering that he, as a soldier of the royal army, is closed there forever. At the beginning of the twenties, the tired of the struggle, the athlete moved to the circus of his old familiar Schmidt, where he began to speak with athletic tricks, which subsequently brought him world glory. At the suggestion of the director, he took his scenic name Samson, under which the European public and knew his long decades.

In 1923, Zass received an unexpected proposal to work in Paris. He signed a contract, but long in the capital of France did not delay. A year later, at the invitation of the head of the British variety of Oswald, he went to England, where he lived until the end of his life. It is curious that those who met the famous silver at the London Station "Victoria" representatives of the table first did not pay any attention to an invisible squat man who does not know a word in English. However, soon photos of Russian athlete took the first pages of local newspapers. He visited Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh ... His glory grew, and speeches caused fantastic interest.


Cass really was unique, common sense refused to believe in the rooms he performed. To demonstrate a giant load on the shoulders, he built a special tower. Being upstairs, he kept hanging platforms with people on his shoulders. At one of the photos of Cass holds thirteen people on his shoulders, among whom Winston Churchill is captured. Another unique number "Man-projectile" CASS developed from the trick showing other solubs. They caught a ni-tailed core fired from the gun, but the Russian warrior chose a shell in the ninety kilogram. Then, together with the loafers and the blacksmiths, he developed a particularly powerful gun capable of throwing out this core so that it slid along a given trajectory over the arena. By the way, the technical classes of Alexander Zassa in the future brought him a considerable benefit. Many years later, he developed a brush dynamometer - first as a competitive device, and then as a training. He was a little successful speeches with the nucleus catching, Zass knew well than to conquer the audience. After a long reflection and calculations, a miracle gun was created, shooting not with cold metal, but girls. Flying eight meters on stage, they invariably fell into the hands of Athlete.

Working by the jack, Alexander Ivanovich easily disappeared trucks on the one hand. He at all had a thrust for cars - then in one, then in the other city of England he loved to arrange the "road show". Slaya went to the ground, and on him - on her lower back and on his feet - they drove cars stuffed with passengers. On the general public Cass also practiced stretching horses. At the same time, he held back two horses, taking place in different directions.

After the future karates, the Cassused concrete slabs were crushed by fists, and an intricate pattern was flexing from iron beams than at the gate of the Westminster Abbey. The traditional numbers of Alexander Ivanovich were: clogging the hands of huge nails in a thick board, flying under a circus dome with a 220-kilogram beam in the teeth, break along the scene shifted on the shoulders of a 300-kilogram horse. Many famous British athletes have been unsuccessfully tried to repeat the stunts of the absenteeism. And another Russian Bogatyr aroused anyone who was ready to knock him down his shock in his belly. Professionals participated in this more than once. There is a photo where the world champion in heavyweight-heavy weight Canadian Tomi Burns is trying to blame the Russian hero.

In 1925, Cass met the Betty dancer - she became a member of his number one. The athlete hung under the circus dome down his head and kept the rope in his teeth, on which the platform was suspended with a girl playing on the piano. After a short time, they began to live together. In 1975, 68-year-old Betty will say: "He was the only man I loved truly." But Alexander Ivanovich always enjoyed popularity and reciprocate. Betty forgated him a lot, and only ten years of living in 1935, they decided to break the relationship and stay friends. Later she married the best friend of the absenteeism - clown and circus rider Sid Tilbury.

With the beginning of the Second World War, Alexander Zassa, and not refused by Russian citizenship, there were problems. In order not to get into the number of internized, he stopped public power views and engaged in the training of Lviv, elephants and chimpanzees in Cheszsngton and Painton zoos, and also gave numerous interviews, talking about working with animals. As soon as the war ended, the joint speeches of Alexander and Betty resumed. For a long year, she, a blame above the Manege, Muzitsy, while during the presentation in 1952 at the Liverpool stadium did not burst the loop, to which the Cass was suspended. The whole design along with the athlete, fragile woman and piano collapsed down. Alexander Ivanovich was separated only by a fracture of the clavicle, but Betty damaged the spine. Two years spending on the hospital bed, she was able to not only stand up on his feet, but also return to the circus as a rider. However, the second misfortune happened soon - her horse dropped her. Since then, Betty has forever ended with a disabled carriage.

Shortly before the war, Alexander participated in filmmakers in the small town of Hawkley, located forty minutes from London. Here he saw on Plamberou Avenue a plot that he really liked. In 1951, Cass, LED and Betty acquired this house on three. Alexander Ivanovich lived in it by the departures, in the interruptions between the tour. In 1954, Cass worked as the chief administrator of the "New California Circus" in the Wokurniem, and also performed with his famous Scottish ponies and dogs. On August 23 of the same year, the BBC television company organized the last public acting athlete with power tricks. And although he has already been 66 years old, the rooms shown were impressed. After that, Cass continued to work tirelessly, but already as a trainer. However, as entertainment, he liked to include power numbers in his programs. For example, at the seventieth age, he in a special rocker wore two lions in the arena.

In the summer of 1960, Alexander Ivanovich received a letter from Moscow from his sister of hope. There is a correspondence between them. In the messages of Zass asked if he could come and visit his relatives, stay in Russia, to get a coach or teacher on physical education there. And in 1961, when the Soviet circus came to tour to London, the athlete met with Vladimir Durov, the grandson of the legendary Anatolia Leonidovich, who he worked in adolescent.



Monument to Cassu in Orenburg

In the summer of 1962, a fire happened in the Bass's house-van. 74-year-old Alexander Ivanovich bravely rushed to fire to save his animals. At the same time, he received serious head burns, damaged his eyes. These injuries pulled him greatly. He felt that he had long left in this world, and gave Betty detailed instructions about his own funeral. One of the main wishes was the time of the burial - "in the morning, when the sun begins to shine." It was at that time that the circus artists were shot from the scene and went to the road. Alexander Ivanovich died on September 26, 1962 in the hospital of Rocheford, where he was taken on the day before in the evening with a heart attack. He was buried in Hokley in accordance with his wishes.

Based on the book by A.S. Drabkin "Mystery of Iron Samson" and athlete memoirs "Amazing Samson. Told them themselves ... and not only "