Discipline hub

Sambo

Soviet self-defence system turned sport: judo-style throws, leg locks, and a combat version with strikes.

Origin: Soviet Union (Russia)
Region: Europe
Founded: 1920s–1930s; official sport in the USSR 1938
Category: Grappling

Sambo – an acronym for the Russian “self-defence without weapons” – was developed in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s. Its pioneers, among them Viktor Spiridonov, Vasili Oshchepkov (a Kōdōkan judo black belt) and Anatoly Kharlampiev, combined judo with techniques from the wrestling traditions of the Soviet republics. It became an official sport in 1938, and the International Sambo Federation (FIAS) was founded in 1984.

Character

Sport sambo: Throws, pins and submissions – arm and leg locks are allowed, chokes are not.
Combat sambo: Adds strikes, chokes and headgear; a close cousin of MMA.
Uniform: A jacket (kurtka), shorts and wrestling-style shoes – grips on the jacket, but freedom of movement in the legs.
Leg locks: A sambo specialty that influenced modern no-gi grappling.

Who is it for?

Grapplers who want throws plus submissions, MMA athletes looking for a jacket-based style with strikes, and anyone curious about a very complete system. Clubs are most common in Eastern Europe and Central Asia but exist worldwide.