Thread: Sambo

Has anybody trained in this?

The founders of Sambo sifted deliberately through all of the world’s martial arts to augment their military’s hand-to-hand combat system. One of these men, Vasili Oshchepkov, taught judo and karate to elite Red Army forces at the Central Red Army House. He had earned his nidan (second degree black belt out of then five only) from judo’s founder, Jigoro Kano, and used some of the Osensei’s philosophy in formulating the early development of the new Russian art.

Sambo, however, was born of native Russian and other regional styles of grappling and combative wrestling bolstered with the most useful and adaptable concepts and techniques from the rest of the world.

It sounds quite good, and there

I didn't. Perhaps it would be good to know that the word самбо derives from самооборона без оружия (self-defence without weapons).

my friend did it until a car hit him and fractured his arm. i might start it if i have the free time when i go back to moscow.
from what i hear, its a very effective ground fighting martial art and worth a look if you could find a decent club.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambo_%28martial_art%29

I have never actually seen Sambo but I have asked about it from time to time, in the martial arts world. It seems that the versions of Sambo vary greatly in stye.

Usually I hear that Sambo is a grappling syle of fighting, in which I have no use for, but there are supposedly styles that resemble Aikido. This, to me, does not make much sense as Aikido is NOTHING like a grappling art! So I can't see how the two martial arts could be related.

Personally I stay away from any martial art form presented as a "sport". If there truely is a Sambo that is combat/defense related, then I guess that it would be as good as the next but I prefer to stand up and fight and when I do go to the ground it would only be AFTER I have theoretically, at least broken my opponents elbow and shoulder. That's what I like about Aikido and Hapkido. Lots of arm/rist locks and throws and very brutal if needed.

I'm not an expert, but I always thought sambo style was very close to judo.

There are two major branches of Sambo - sports (grappling) Sambo and Combat Sambo (Boyevoye Sambo). The latter is just like any other practical hand-to-hand combat system and involves punches, elbows, kicks, grappling, knife/gun/club disarms, etc. Practical moves (not allowed in the sports version) like knee to groin, punches to the throat, eye pokes, hair grabs, etc. are used.

Originally Posted by DDT

I have never actually seen Sambo but I have asked about it from time to time, in the martial arts world. It seems that the versions of Sambo vary greatly in stye.

Usually I hear that Sambo is a grappling syle of fighting, in which I have no use for, but there are supposedly styles that resemble Aikido. This, to me, does not make much sense as Aikido is NOTHING like a grappling art! So I can't see how the two martial arts could be related.

Personally I stay away from any martial art form presented as a "sport". If there truely is a Sambo that is combat/defense related, then I guess that it would be as good as the next but I prefer to stand up and fight and when I do go to the ground it would only be AFTER I have theoretically, at least broken my opponents elbow and shoulder. That's what I like about Aikido and Hapkido. Lots of arm/rist locks and throws and very brutal if needed.

1) There is a Russian martial art called Systema (also I believe ROSS split from this). Systema has similarities to Aikido, but also utilises strikes - there are a few videos on You Tube - I'll post the link when I'm home, if you like.

2)

Personally I stay away from any martial art form presented as a "sport".

I take the opposite view, to an extent. Boxing, Sambo and Judo are combat sports (as opposed to martial arts), all are very effective IMHO. I'd say Aikido and Hapkido are pretty useless, unless properly mastered (Ueshiba - the founder of Aikido was pretty handy, but he was a ball-tearer in his youth). If a boxer met an Aikidoka for a straightner, ceteris paribus, my money'd be on the former everytime.

I did karate for five years, got my brown belt, and thought I was quite handy. At Uni I went along to my local boxing club thinking I'd be dead good...I got smashed all around the ring - the uppercuts and hooks were something I hadn't experienced much, though we were taught a defence against them, the speed, combinations and faints were too much for me.

My local sambo club is also a MMA - with the striking and grappling of Sambo, mixed with western boxing and freestyle wrestling. There are nights of MMA and nights of sport sambo (the instructor is a Master of Sport, and former Russian army champion). I'm definitely going to give it a try...just wondered what experience of it others had.

but DDT with arts like aikido you need to have at least 10 years under your belt to be any good what so ever!! plus most street fights are extreamly scrappy and end up on the deck within seconds.

Originally Posted by Lt. Columbo

but DDT with arts like aikido you need to have at least 10 years under your belt to be any good what so ever!! plus most street fights are extreamly scrappy and end up on the deck within seconds.

That is true! It takes years to master Aikido. (Which I have not) That is why I take other martial arts alongside it. Hapkido is a nice compliment to Aikido. The story is that Hapkido came from Aikido. Although it still takes almost as long to get to black belt in Hapkido, it gives you a quicker proficiancy for real life defense. Keep in mind that most of the time a martial art practitioner is attacked, he will be attacked by the "unskilled" ie drunks in a bar or parking lot or some "tweeker " and not a fellow martial artsier.

I think that it is a mistake to judge the effectiveness in real life on the street combat of a particular martial art form, from watching sports competitions between two styles. Only when two people are fighting for real can (which includes eye gouges, throat punches, chokes and elbow, arm, finger and thumb breaks and attacks to the heart, all of which are standard practice in Hapkido) can you tell if someone is a proficient fighter or not. You can't use those in a sport!
And as I have been told a thousand times, "In a real fight you will fall back on your training." So train for "real", not competition.

Btw, Not all Aikido training is equal. Some of it is far too new agey and soft for my likes.