History of SAMBO

Origins of SAMBO

SAMBO is a martial art developed by Vasiliy Sergeyevich Oshchepkov (1893 – 1938), in the 1920s to improve hand-to-hand fighting abilities of the Soviet military. The word itself is an acronym of a Russian phrase “самозащита без оружия” (transliterated as samozashchita bez oruzhiya), which stands for “self-defense without weapons.”

The sport comprised the most effective indigenous fighting techniques from the various regions of the Soviet Union and merged them with Japanese martial arts methodology (e.g., judo and jujutsu). Its popularity rapidly grew as an athletic endeavor and healthy lifestyle alternative for Soviet youth. By the 1930s, numerous SAMBO clubs began springing up throughout the former USSR.

Sambo History

Two most prominent students of Oshchepkov, Anatoly Arkadyevich Kharlampiyev and Viktor Afanasyevich Spiridonov continued his work by advancing, promoting, and systemizing SAMBO in Soviet Union at the time. In 1938, SAMBO was recognized as an official sport by the All-Union Committee on Physical Culture and Sports – the main Soviet administrative body responsible for the development, organization, and holding of sports and athletic competitions at that time. The first individual tournaments took place in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) in 1939, while team contests began in the late 1940s.

Since that time, SAMBO has found effective application in personal self-defense, professional settings (e.g., by military and security personnel), and athletics. Today, three main formats of SAMBO have gained international recognition: sport sambo, combat sambo (a version that includes strikes, chokes, and weapons’ disarmament maneuvers, while competitors wear headgear and shin pads), and beach sambo.

In the past decade, the sport’s ever-growing popularity has been spearheaded by numerous world-renowned practitioners (or “sambists”), such as Fedor Emelianenko – the consensus top-ranked heavyweight “mixed martial arts” (“MMA”) fighter in the world for over seven years and a 4-time combat SAMBO world champion – and Khabib Nurmagomedov – a 2-time combat SAMBO world champion and the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (“UFC”) lightweight champion.

International Recognition

SAMBO began entering the international arena in the 1950s, during “friendly” team matches between Soviet sambists and European judoka, where sambists achieved noted success. SAMBO’s international debut unwittingly began in the early 1960s with the International Olympic Committee’s inclusion of judo in the program of the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Because SAMBO parallels a number of judo techniques, the Soviet SAMBO Federation was assigned the task of selecting and training judokas for the tourney. This team was, quite naturally, dominated by SAMBO practitioners and achieved remarkable success in pre-Olympic competitions. For example, at their first official international tournament – the 1962 European Judo Championships in Essen, West Germany – the Soviets medaled four times, including a gold for Anzor Kikhadze – a five-time Soviet heavyweight champion in SAMBO. Two years later, at the Olympic Games in Japan – judo’s homeland – the Soviet team medaled four times again (in four different weight categories). The Japanese were so impressed with what happened at the Olympics that a year later they formed their own SAMBO federation. Notably, Kikhadze, who won Olympic bronze in 1964, followed his 1962 gold at the European Judo Championships by again topping the pedestal at this tournament in 1964, 1965, and 1966, while finishing second in 1967 and 1968. His fellow SAMBO members of the Soviet judo team also dominated. For instance, Anzor Kibrotsashvili won gold (in 1962, 1965, and 1966) and silver (from 1967 through 1969) at the European Judo Championships. The Soviet judokas’ cross-training in SAMBO was widely credited for these successes.

In 1966, the international governing body of amateur wrestling – Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (abbreviated as “FILA,” due to the transliteration of its French name Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées) – officially recognized SAMBO as its own discipline in international style of wrestling (along with freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling). FILA also began sanctioning and holding international SAMBO competitions on a regular basis. As a result, the sport flourished. In 1972, the first International Open Sambo Championship took place in Riga, Latvia. A year later, the first World Sambo Championship was held in Tehran, Iran. In 1977, FILA organized the first World Sambo Cup in Oviedo, Spain. Two years later, the first Youth World Sambo Championship and the first Women’s Sambo World Championship took place in Madrid, Spain. In 1983, SAMBO was officially included in the program of the Pan American Games – a major sporting event in the Americas that takes place every four years (in the year before the Summer Olympic Games).

By 1984, due to SAMBO’s growth in popularity, FILA established an independent governing body for the sport – International Federation of Amateur SAMBO (abbreviated as “FIAS,” due to the transliteration of its name Fédération Internationale de SAMBO). On June 13, 1984, FIAS held its first general assembly that was attended by delegates from 56 countries. The following year, FIAS became a member of the Global Association of International Sports Federations – an umbrella organization for all international sports federations and organizers of multi-sports games and sport-related international associations. In 1985, SAMBO was first included as a discipline at the World Games in London, England.

In the early 1990s, SAMBO’s international growth was set back by disagreements within FIAS and political instability in the former Soviet Union. Nonetheless, FIAS continued to endorse and stage international SAMBO tournaments. This resilience ultimately paid off. By the late 1990s, the success of sambists – such as Emelianenko and Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski – in the professional MMA arena spotlighted the sport once again. For this reason, in 2001, combat sambo was officially recognized as a distinct athletic discipline for international competitions.

In 2014, FIAS signed agreements with FILA and the International Judo Federation to cooperatively promote their respective sports. The most recent World Sambo Championship – in Cheongju, South Korea – was attended by more than 500 athletes from 80 different countries. At present, SAMBO is practiced by approximately 4.5 million athletes in 120 different countries. For its part, FIAS is comprised of 90 country-members, as it sanctions multiple international SAMBO tournaments across the world, including world championships, continental championships, the “World Cup,” and various “open” tournaments (including at the World Combat Games and the Summer Universiades).

Olympic Recognition

SAMBO in the United States

In the United States, the rise of SAMBO began in the early 1970s and was spearheaded by the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States (“AAU”) – an organization dedicated to the development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs in the United States. These efforts were led by Joseph Scalzo – AAU’s then-president – and Russ Weiner, whose enthusiasm for “sambo wrestling” earned him the nickname “Mr. Sambo.” In 1972, AAU formally started promoting SAMBO and sanctioning national competitions for the sport, designated as “sombo wrestling.” In 1973, the United States fielded its first national SAMBO team. The same year, Burke “Buck” Deadrich – a five-times U.S. freestyle wrestling champion as a heavyweight – won a bronze medal at a SAMBO event that took place at the 1973 World Wrestling Championship in Tehran, Iran.

Two years later, in 1975, the first United States National Sambo Championship was held in Mesa, Arizona. The same year, Weiner took part in the 1975 World Sambo Championships in Moscow. In 1977 and 1979, Bob Anderson – a noted American freestyle wrestler – won gold medals in SAMBO at a tournament held in conjunction with the Pan American Games. In 1980, the AAU hosted the first SAMBO championship for women in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1981, Greg Gibson won gold at the SAMBO World Cup. The following year, he became the first American to win a gold medal in the World Sambo Championships in Paris, France. In 1983, Becky Scott became the first American woman to win gold at the World Sambo Championships, where other U.S. female participants medaled as well. At the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela, the U.S. women’s team also won the team championship. After Mr. Gibson’s incredible performance in 1982, several American sambists came very close to capturing the title, but settled for silver – Michael Gatling in 1983 and 1984, Burke Clinton in 1988 and 1993, Dr. Ron Tripp in 1988 and 1989, Morris Johnson in 1990, Steve Nelson in 1991, Mark Densberger in 1991, Dr. Sandy North in 1992, Givi Shubitidze in 2004.

In 1984, the United States Sombo Federation (“USSA”) was founded to promote the sport in the United States, organize SAMBO tournaments, and recruit and prepare American sambists for international competition. USSA was to serve as a “national governing body” (“NGB”) for the sport of SAMBO in the United States, and later, in 1984, became one of the founding members of FIAS. In 1989, the World SAMBO Championships were held in West Orange, New Jersey. The following year, USSA (with AAU’s assistance) sent a 53-member American team to the Sambo World Championships held in Moscow, USSR, that included 28 athletes in various weight categories, 4 coaches, 9 officials, as well as support staff.

SAMBO’s popularity in the United States waned with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s due to the sport’s recent exposure to American audiences (unlike other martial arts) and a lack of a developed “club” system. In 1993, due to financial and administrative differences, FIAS split into two organizations, each sanctioning its own competitions. In the United States, USSA lost its NGB designation, as a number of “splinter” groups separated from FIAS altogether. In an effort to stabilize the sport’s governance, FILA re-assumed sanctioning authority over SAMBO in 2005 for a period of three years. Ultimately, after a long-standing legal battle, FIAS regained full international control over the sport, and as described above, has again been recognized to be the sole governing body of SAMBO in the world by the IOC.

In 2011 Leonid (Lenny) Polyakov together with Mikhail Kozitskiy, both immigrants to the United States from Ukraine, created and organized a new federation in the United States – USA Sambo Inc. Lenny Polyakov immigrated to the United States in the late 1970s from Ukraine and later earned his doctorate degree in a new country. Starting from mid-1980s, Dr. Polyakov went from being a Chairman of New Jersey State Sambo Wrestling Association and Head Coach of the East Coast Sambo Team to head coach of the national USSA, which at the time was renamed to American Amateur Sambo Federation. He was also chosen as the head of the US delegation at several world championships, including the one held in Moscow in 1990 which was the largest event at that time. From 1993 to 2005 Leonid held the office of the President of the American Amateur Sambo Federation and concurrently was a Vice President of FIAS. From 2013 until retirement in 2019 Lenny served as a Secretary General of USA Sambo as well as Secretary General of FEPAS (Federacion Panamericana de Sambo).

USA SAMBO INC.

USA SAMBO informally evolved in 2011 from a group of SAMBO enthusiasts, who wanted to make sure that the sport persevered and continued to develop in the United States. With this goal in mind, they voluntarily began hosting SAMBO seminars, exhibitions, and training sessions for the general public. Utilizing the name USA SAMBO, they began recruiting and training Americans for SAMBO tournaments. This progressed into USA SAMBO becoming involved in organizing SAMBO tournaments and inviting sambists from other countries to participate and take part in joint training sessions. FIAS became aware of their efforts, and impressed with these undertakings, appointed USA SAMBO as the official governing body of SAMBO in the United States in 2013.

Since that time, USA SAMBO has trained and selected members for the U.S. National Sambo Team that took part in tournaments sanctioned by FIAS in the United States and abroad, including:

2013 Cadets European Open Sambo Championship, in Riga, Latvia

2013 Junior and Youth Sambo World Championship, in Thessaloniki, Greece
2014 Sambo World Cup, in Moscow, Russia
2014 Junior and Youth Sambo World Championship, in Seoul, Korea
2014 Pan American Sambo Championship, in Trinidad and Tobago
2014 “Mr. Olympia” Sambo Open International Tournament, in Las Vegas, Nevada
2014 World Masters Sambo Championship, in Nea Moudania/Chalkidiki, Greece
2014 Sambo World Championship, in Narita, Japan
2014 USA Sambo National Championship, in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania
2015 RISE International Sambo Tournament, in Langhorne, Pennsylvania
2015 USA Sambo National Championship, in San Antonio, Texas
2015 Pan American Championships, in Managua, Nicaragua
2015 Junior and Youth Sambo World Championship, in Riga, Latvia
2015 Masters Sambo World Championship, in Ashdod, Israel
2015 Sambo World Championship, in Casablanca, Morocco
2016 World Sambo Cup, in Moscow, Russia
2016 USA Sambo Championship, in Joliet, Illinois
2016 Unity Sambo Open, in Las Vegas, Nevada
2016 Sambo Masters World Cup, in Porec, Croatia
2016 Sambo World Championship, in Sofia, Bulgaria
2016 Pan American Sambo Championships, in Asucion, Paraguay
2016 Sambo “President’s Cup,” in Edinburgh, England
2016 Junior and Youth Sambo World Championship, in Limassol, Cyprus
2017 Pan American Sambo Championship, in Buga, Colombia
2017 USA Sambo National Championship, in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania
2017 Sambo World Cup, in Moscow, Russia
2017 Sambo World Championship, in Sochi, Russia
2017 Sambo President’s Cup, in London, Great Britain
2018 USA Sambo National Championship, in Madison, New Jersey
2018 Sambo World Championship, in Bucharest, Romania
2019 USA Sambo National Championship, in Newtown, Pennsylvania
2019 Sambo World Championship, in Cheongju, South Korea
2020 USA National and New York Open Sambo Championship in Brooklyn, New York
2020 Sambo Youth, Junior and Senior World Championship in Novi Sad, Serbia
2020 World Masters Sambo Championships in Minsk, Belarus
2021 USA National and US Open Sambo Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina
2021 Pan American Sambo Championships, in Villavicencio, Colombia
2021 “President’s Cup,” in Saint Petersburg, Russia
2021 Sambo World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
2022 USA National and US Open Sambo Championship in Arlington, Texas
2022 Beach Sambo World Championship in Bat Yam, Israel
2022 Pan American Sambo Championship, in Alajuela, Costa Rica
2022 Cadet, Junior and Youth Sambo World Championship in Yerevan, Armenia
2022 Sambo World Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

These events included competitions for both men and women, with USA SAMBO being intimately involved in organizing American athletes’ attendance and participation. During this time, a number of American sambists affiliated with USA SAMBO secured high marks in international SAMBO rankings, including:

Nina Cutro-Kelly – 3-time World bronze medalist, as well as the gold, silver, and bronze medalist at the World Cup;
John Jane – winner of the European Cadets Open Championship and a bronze medalist at the Senior World Cup;
Mariah Holguin – Junior Cadet World Championship bronze medalist;
Patrick Sabatini – World Cup Silver medalist, President Cup Champion and Best athlete in combat sambo;
Johnson Jajoute – two-time Pan-Am champion, two-time President’s Cup bronze medalist, who placed as the fifth best sambists in the world in combat sambo on two occasions;
Kakhramonov Saidyokub – bronze medalist at the 2019 World Championship.
Davit Arakelyan – silver medalist at the 2022 Beach Sambo World Championship

USA SAMBO has also continued conducting periodic educational seminars and providing instructions concerning all aspect of SAMBO (i.e., officiating, coaching, and training) to the general public. In this regard, USA SAMBO has affiliated with training locations in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Texas, Florida and California, where these sessions have been held. Moreover, five individuals involved with USA SAMBO serve on FIAS’ administrative commissions, including:

Robert Clark (Development Commission)
Mikhail Kozitskiy (Technical Commission)
Nina Cutro-Kelly (Athletes’ Commission)
Arkady Rayz (Legal Commission)
Dr. George Helmrich (Medical and Anti-Doping Commission)

To promote SAMBO in the United States, “USA SAMBO” developed a formal logo and maintains a social media presence at www.usasambo.com, as well as on its affiliate Facebook page.