| Sambo is an acronym for SAMozashchita Bez | | | | worked to forge a new state and military, but even |
| Oruzhiya or Self-defense without weapons martial art | | | | they understood if they were to win the civil war |
| developed in the Soviet Union during the early half of | | | | they needed good close combat training. The |
| the twentieth century. | | | | problem was there was no common martial art |
| This martial arts form is practiced as a sport and also | | | | throughout Russia unlike in Japan, where Judo was |
| as training for combat. Sambo was born out of the | | | | practiced throughout the country. |
| need for one standard sport combative for the | | | | Russia had literally dozens of native martial arts and |
| military rather then the many diverse regional styles. | | | | wrestling styles and had been exposed to many |
| Rather then being invented, Sambo is really a | | | | more from invaders like the Vikings, Tatars and |
| collection of techniques from many different styles | | | | Genghis Khan's warriors over the centuries. The new |
| making practitioners of Sambo the original mixed | | | | army needed one standard close combat system |
| martial artists. | | | | that could be taught to its many new recruits. |
| In 1918 Russia was going through social and political | | | | Working independently Vasili Oschepkov and Victor |
| change. The government was in turmoil as the | | | | Spiridonov developed a new martial arts system that |
| communists seized power from the Czar, and pulled | | | | would become Sambo. During the war Oschepkov |
| out of World War I. Civil war soon broke out as the | | | | taught Judo and Karate to the Red Army. He had |
| many factions opposed to the new communist | | | | trained under Judo's founder Kano and had earned his |
| regime took up arms. | | | | second degree black belt. Spiridonov was a veteran |
| Among those resisting this new threat was a small | | | | of both the Russo-Japanese war and WWI, and |
| but hard fighting contingent of American soldiers who | | | | shared what he learned about real world self defense |
| were the first to be in combat against communist | | | | training. He saw first hand how the Japanese applied |
| forces. Sadly history has forgotten these brave men | | | | the martial arts principals of constant attack and |
| who fought to keep a nation free from repression. | | | | always taking ground applied to actual warfare. Both |
| The communist leader Lenin quickly assembled the | | | | men also studied boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, and |
| Red Army to oppose the force of the White Army | | | | many other fighting styles. Unfortunately, Vasili |
| which included every faction opposed to the | | | | Oschepkov was killed by his Soviet masters because |
| communists in Russia. The Russian Army had done | | | | he refused to say that the martial art was entirely |
| poorly in WWI and other conflicts and was outdated | | | | created in Russia. |
| in all areas when compared with its enemies. Under | | | | Very similar to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) in that Sambo is |
| Leon Trotsky the new army took shape as weapons | | | | a combination of local style wrestling and Japanese |
| systems were updated, new troops drafted, and | | | | Judo, the military's version of Sambo is only combat |
| veterans brought back into service. | | | | effective because it borrows heavily from proven |
| The communists made many mistakes as they | | | | combat techniques of the Samurai. |