Sambo is a Russian martial art also known as Sombo or Cambo. It is a modern combat sport and self-defense art that has been officially recognized as a sport since 1938. The word Sambo stands for SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya, which means self-defense without weapons. The sport has its roots in Chinese Shuaijiao, Japanese Judo, and traditional wrestling styles such as Armenian Koch.
The founders of this martial art are Vasili Oshchepkov and Viktor Spiridonov. They independently developed two different styles, both with the same name. Spiridonov’s style was a soft, aikido-like style. Anatoly Kharlampiev, a student of Spiridonov, is officially considered the founder of the sport.
Sambo styles
- Sport Sambo: stylistically similar to amateur wrestling or judo
- Self-defense Sambo: stylistically similar to jiujitsu
- Combat Sambo: developed for the military
- Special Sambo: developed for the commandos
- Freestyle Sambo: style developed by the American Sambo Association
Uniforms and ranks
A practitioner of this Russian martial art normally wears a red or blue jacket, a belt, and trousers in the same color. They also wear sambovki, special shoes. The uniform is not linked to a specific rank. In Russia, there is a ranking system connected to fought competitions. Some schools now use colored belts to indicate differences. The point system used in Russia is known as the Unified Sports Classification System. The athlete with the highest score is called the Master of Sport.
