Sambo (martial art)

Sambo (са́мбо, ˈsambə) is a martial art with Soviet origins, an internationally practiced combat sport, and a recognized style of amateur wrestling included by UWW in the World Wrestling Championships along with Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling. It originated in the Russian SFSR in the Soviet Union. The word sambo is an acronym of samozashchita bez oruzhiya (самозащита без оружия), which literally translates to 'self-defence without weapons'. Sambo is relatively modern since its development began in the early 1920s by the Soviet NKVD and Red Army to improve hand-to-hand combat abilities of their servicemen. It was intended to merge the most effective techniques of other martial arts. The pioneers of sambo were Viktor Spiridonov and Vasili Oshchepkov. Oshchepkov spent several years living in Japan and training in Judo under its founder Kano Jigoro. Oshchepkov died in prison as a result of the Great Purge after being accused of being a Japanese spy, and judo was banned in the USSR for decades until the 1964 Olympics, where Sambists won four bronze medals. 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 brutal. It was also less strength-dependent, which in large part was 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. This type of Sambo was introduced by the American Sambo Association in 2004. Its purpose was to encourage non-Sambo practitioners such as Judo and Jiu-Jitsu to participate in Sambo.