Sambo is a martial art with Soviet origins, practiced worldwide. It is a combat sport and a recognized style of amateur wrestling governed by the UWW in the World Wrestling Championships, along with Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling. Sambo originated in the Russian SFSR of the Soviet Union during the 1920s.
Sambo is a martial art and combat sport developed and used by the Soviet Red Army in the early 1920s to improve their hand-to-hand combat abilities. Soviet martial arts expert Vasili Oshchepkov is credited as one of the founding fathers. Viktor Spiridonov, a military officer with background in several different styles of wrestling spanning across the Soviet Union, is also considered an important founding member of sambo. The pioneers of sambo were Viktor Spiridonov and Vasili Oshchepkov.
Both men were trained military officers with backgrounds in several styles of combat wrestling that were prevalent in different regions of the Russian Empire (later the Soviet Union) and abroad. Both were trained military men with access to frequent state-sponsored travel opportunities where they were able to experience various local wrestling styles and add new techniques to their arsenal. Anatoly Kharlampiev, a student of Vasili Oshchepkov, is also considered a founder of sambo. On 16th of November 1938, it was recognized as an official sport when the USSR All-Union Sports Committee issued resolution no.
Similar to wrestling, a sambo practitioner normally wears either a red or a blue competition outfit. The sambo uniform does not reflect rank or competitive rating. Also similar to the wrestling ranking system used in Russia, a competitive rating system is used (rather than the belt colour ranking system used in judo and gendai jujutsu).
The competition colors (red and blue), shoes and circular ring have direct lineages from the internationally-popular style of catch wrestling. The kurtka (Russian: куртка), also called a sambovka (Russian: самбовка), is similar to the keikogi in style and function, although it is tighter fitting and has epaulettes and belt loops as well as shoulder straps, wrestling-style shorts, and special protective shoes called bortsovki that match the uniform's colour.
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Various sport organizations distribute these ranks for high levels of competition achievement or in some cases coaching merits. People who have earned these ranks are known as 'Masters of Sport.' Institutions that grant a sambo 'Master of Sport' in Russia include FIAS, FKE, and the International Combat Sambo Federation.
Example of a Sambo Uniform
There are multiple competitive sport variations of sambo (though sambo techniques and principles can be applied to many other combat sports).
Sport Sambo
Sport sambo or Sambo wrestling (Russian: Борьбa Самбо, romanized: Borba Sambo, lit. 'Sambo Wrestling') is stylistically similar to pre-World War I catch wrestling and judo; and in a lot of ways influenced by them in rules and protocols. The competition uniforms (called "kurtka") mimic clothing that was used in wrestling tournaments popular amongst the peasantry of the Caucasus region in the Soviet Union, with a few added elements from judo wrestling outfits prevalent at the time. Sambo also allows various types of leg locks while not allowing chokeholds, akin to rulesets that were widely used in pre-World War I catch wrestling tournaments.
Combat Sambo
Pro MMA Fighter vs Pro Sambo Fighter (Breakdown)
Combat sambo (Russian: боевое самбо, romanized: boyevoye sambo) is used and was developed for the military, resembling modern mixed martial arts, including forms of striking and wrestling. Combat sambo allows regular punches, kicks, elbows, and knees, as well as soccer kicks, headbutts and groin strikes, in addition to throws, holds, chokes and locks, except for a standing or flying wristbar. The chief distinction from sambo wrestling is that striking techniques are fully allowed. In terms of aliveness, combat sambo surpasses ARB by design, though both were designed for combat situations only.
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Competitors wear jackets as in sport sambo, but also hand protection and sometimes shin protection and headgear. The first FIAS World Combat Sambo Championships were held in 2001. The World Combat Sambo Federation, based in Russia, also sanctions international combat sambo events. Combat sambo is designed to tackle certain tasks. The effectiveness of this martial art is determined by its structure, namely by three components: boxing, sambo, and adapters. Adapters of combat sambo were developed by the academician G. S. Popov. The task of adapters is to ensure the safe transition from middle distance to close one, as well as the consistent usage of sambo and boxing techniques. Women participated in combat sambo for the first time in an official tournament in the Paris Grand Prix 2015.
Other Types of Sambo
This type of sambo was introduced by the American Sambo Association in 2004. Its purpose was to encourage practitioners of non-sambo martial arts such as judo and jiu-jitsu to participate in sambo. This was developed in 2003 as a form of sambo without competing in the traditional uniform of kurtka (jacket), shorts and boots. Competitors wear only fight shorts and gloves. One competitor wears blue and the other red, the same as traditional sambo. Matches are held on a traditional wrestling mat, not in a cage or ring like normal MMA fights. This kind of sambo is about defending oneself. In it, practitioners are taught to guard against weapons. Most of the moves that are taught include using the attacker's aggression against them, which is similar to what is done in both jiu-jitsu and aikido. This type of sambo was made for Army Special Forces and other rapid response forces. It is only designed for the particular group that uses it.
History of Sambo
Vasili Oschepkov was one of the first foreigners to learn judo in Japan and had earned his Nidan (second-degree black belt, out of then five) from judo's founder, Kano Jigoro. Spiridonov's background involved indigenous martial arts from various Soviet regions as well as an interest in Japanese jujutsu (though he never formally trained in it). His reliance on movement over strength was in part because during World War I, he received a bayonet wound which left his left arm lame. Both Oschepkov and Spiridonov independently hoped that Soviet military hand-to-hand combat techniques could be improved with an infusion of the techniques distilled from other foreign martial arts.
Contrary to common lore, Oschepkov and Spiridonov did not cooperate on the development of their hand-to-hand systems. Rather, their independent notions of hand-to-hand combat merged through cross-training between students and formulating efforts by their students and military staff. In 1918, Lenin created Vsevobuch (General Military Training) under the leadership of N. I. Podvoyskiy to train the Red Army. The task of developing and organizing Red Army military hand-to-hand combat training fell to K. Spiridonov was a combat veteran of World War I and one of the first wrestling and self-defence instructors hired for Dynamo. His background included free wrestling (i.e. catch wrestling), Graeco-Roman wrestling, many Turkic folk wrestling styles, and Japanese jujutsu.
In 1923, Oschepkov and Spiridinov collaborated (independently) with a team of other experts on a grant from the Soviet government to improve the Red Army's hand-to-hand combat system. Spiridonov had envisioned integrating the most practical aspects of the world's fighting systems into one comprehensive style that could adapt to any threat. Oschepkov had observed Kano Jigoro's distillation of tenjin shin'yō-ryū, kitō-ryū and fusen-ryū jujutsu into judo, and he had developed the insight required to evaluate and integrate combative techniques into a new system. Their developments were supplemented by Anatoly Kharlampiyev and I. V. Vasiliev who also travelled the globe to study the native fighting arts of the world. Kharlampiyev is often called the "father of sambo". This may be more legend than fact, since he only had the longevity and political connections to remain with the art while the new system was named "sambo".
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Spiridonov was the first to begin referring to the new system with a name similar to 'sambo'. He eventually developed a softer style called samoz that could be used by smaller, weaker practitioners or even wounded soldiers and secret agents. Spiridonov's inspiration to develop samoz stemmed from his World War I bayonet injury, which greatly restricted his left arm and thus his ability to practise wrestling.
The first World Cup was contested in 1969. Olympic Wrestling Committee, had predicted in 1975, that the Russians would introduce sambo wrestling in the 1980 Olympics programme in Moscow. In 1975 the first United States National Sambo Championships were held in Mesa, Arizona, in 1977. It was contested along with G.R. But as a result of political complications of the 1980 Olympic boycott which arose after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, sambo was at first reduced to a demonstration sport at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, USSR. But later, because of the sport's strong association with the Soviet Union, it was removed from demonstration sport status. It is true that youth sambo was demonstrated in the Games' opening ceremonies; however, sambo was never formally recognized as a demonstration sport.
In 1968, FILA accepted sambo as the third style of international wrestling. In 1985, the sambo community formed its own organization, Federation International Amateur Sambo (FIAS). In 1993, FIAS split into two organizations, both of which used the same name and logo, and the two groups were often referred to as FIAS "East" (under Russian control) and FIAS "West" (under US and Western European control). This split mirrored the last days of Cold War politics of the time as well as the recent break-up of the Soviet Union.
In 2014 FIAS and FILA signed a cooperative agreement. While this does not place sambo back on UWW's recognized list, it does move towards unity and prevents future 'turf wars' regarding the sport's promotion. A similar agreement was signed by FIAS and the International Judo Federation in 2014 as well. Both FIAS and the World Combat Sambo Federation host international combat sambo competition. The American Sambo Association has continued to host freestyle sambo tournaments in the US and Canada since 2004.
Rumours rising in 2012 stating that sambo will be included as a demonstration sport in the 2016 Olympics are therefore not supported by any facts, and thus sambo is still a very long way from maturing into an Olympic sport, notwithstanding the effort that is being put into the matter. Indeed, given the intention of the Olympic Committee to remove classic wrestling from the Olympic roster, there are rumours that sambo is highly unlikely to ever make it to the Olympics. However, sambo has been included in the 27th Annual Summer Universiade for the first time in history.
FIAS submitted an application to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to consider sambo for the 2020 Games and has devoted 2010-2013 to creating a sambo commission in the International Sports Press Association (AIPS).
United States National Sambo Championships
United States National Sambo Championships, known initially as the National AAU Sambo Wrestling Championships, are the annual championships held in the United States. The national sambo competition also was held along with Graeco-Roman and freestyle events at the 1987 and 1988 AAU/USA Grand National Wrestling Championships on July 1, 1987, and July 6, 1988, respectively, both held at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana. The next year it was contested at the 1989 AAU/Carrier Grand National Wrestling Championships on July 5 at Metra in Billings, Montana. 1990 AAU Grand National Wrestling Championships also hosted a national sambo competition at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana, on July 10.
1992 AAU Grand National edition hosted a national sambo competition in July in Amarillo, Texas. 1994 AAU Grand National Wrestling Championships also hosted a national sambo competition at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Michigan, on July 13. 1995 AAU Grand National edition hosted a national sambo competition in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
| Year | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | United States National Sambo Championships | Mesa, Arizona |
| 1987 | AAU/USA Grand National Wrestling Championships | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 1988 | AAU/USA Grand National Wrestling Championships | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 1989 | AAU/Carrier Grand National Wrestling Championships | Billings, Montana |
| 1990 | AAU Grand National Wrestling Championships | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 1992 | AAU Grand National | Amarillo, Texas |
| 1994 | AAU Grand National Wrestling Championships | Battle Creek, Michigan |
| 1995 | AAU Grand National | Tulsa, Oklahoma |