Sambo (martial arts)
International Federation
of Amateur Sambo |
|
| Also known as | Sombo (in English-speaking countries) |
|---|---|
| Focus | Eclectic |
| Country of origin |
 Soviet Union
|
| Famous practitioners | Fedor Emelianenko, Alexander Pushnitsa, Oleg Taktarov, Nick Diaz, Vitaly Minakov, Volk Han, Andrei Kopylov, Chris Dolman, Gokor Chivichyan, Oleg Stepanov, Genrikh Shults, David Rudman, Andrei Arlovski, Blagoi Ivanov, Alexander Emelianenko, Vladimir Putin, Khaltmaa Battulga, Sergei Kharitonov, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Rasul Mirzaev, Amir Sadollah, Rustam Khabilov, Dean Lister, Islam Makhachev, Ali Bagautinov, Omari Akhmedov |
| Parenthood | Judo, Jujutsu, Russian boxing, Savate, Kurash, Alysh, Greco-Roman wrestling |
| Olympic sport | No |
| Official website | sambo-fias |
Sambo (Russian: са́мбо; IPA: [ˈsambə]; САМозащита Без Оружия) is a Soviet martial art and combat sport. The word "SAMBO" is an acronym for SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya, which literally translates as "self-defense without weapons". Sambo is relatively modern since its development began in the early 1920s by the Soviet Red Army to improve their hand-to-hand combat abilities. It was intended to be a merger of the most effective techniques of other martial arts.
The pioneers of sambo were Viktor Spiridonov and Vasili Oshchepkov. Oshchepkov died in prison as a result of the Great Purge after being accused of being a Japanese spy. Oshchepkov spent several years living in Japan and training in judo under its founder Jigoro Kano.
Spiridonov and Oshchepkov independently developed two different styles, which eventually cross-pollinated and became what is known as sambo. Compared to Oshchepkov's system, called "Free wrestling" in Russia (known in the West as Catch as Catch Can wrestling or simply Catch wrestling), Spiridonov's style was softer and less strength-dependent. This was in large part due to injuries Spiridonov sustained during World War I.
Anatoly Kharlampiev, a student of Vasili Oshchepkov, is also considered a founder of sambo. In 1938, it was recognized as an official sport by the USSR All-Union Sports Committee.
There are multiple competitive sport variations of sambo (though sambo techniques and principles can be applied to many other combat sports). Below are the main formats that are recognized by FIAS.
Sambo's early development stemmed from the independent efforts of Vasili Oshchepkov and Viktor Spiridonov, to integrate the techniques of Catch wrestling, Judo, Jujutsu, and other foreign martial arts into native Turkic wrestling styles. Oschepkov taught judo to elite Red Army forces at the Central Red Army House. 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 it). His reliance on movement over strength was in part based on the fact that he received a bayonet wound during World War I 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 formulative efforts by their students and military staff. While Oschepkov and Spiridonov did have occasion to collaborate, their efforts were not completely united.
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