Russian Sambo
Sambo is an acronym for “SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya” or “Self-defense without weapons”, developed in the Soviet Union so that the military and law enforcement would have one uniform system. Russia was going through social and political change in 1918. The government was in turmoil as the communists seized power and pulled out of World War I, but they soon had a civil war to fight, and they needed a new army. The military would be modernized and the new Red Army would have its own martial art. The communists made plenty of mistakes, but they understood that their new army needed good close combat training.
Vasili Oschepkov and Victor Spiridonov would both contribute to the creation of the new martial arts system. Oschepkov was a combat veteran who was an experienced Karate instructor and had earned his second degree black belt from Judo’s founder in Japan. Spiridonov saw action in both the Russo-Japanese war and WWI, and saw first hand how martial arts principals could be applied to actual combat. The two men had also studied boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, and many other martial arts. The two men understood that if you were going to win a fight you had to keep attacking and taking ground and their style reflected their experience.
The government trained people in multiple versions of Sambo giving the military a version similar to the Pre-WWII combat techniques from Judo and Jujutsu found in the west. Sambo is still taught to military personnel, border guards, police officers, and has even seeped into the prison system. The government fearing its citizens might rebel only taught civilians a nonlethal version of Sambo. This decision would come back to haunt the government when citizens weren’t able to defend themselves against Nazi forces when they fought their way through Russia killing soldier and civilian alike.
Since the late 1980’s women have begun competing in sport Sambo and forming their own clubs. The Russian military still continues to teach Sambo, and it even was viewed as a possible option for training United States Army personnel. Many mix martial artists (MMA) have adopted Sambo since it is a mix of other effective martial arts though it would probably be simpler to just learn Judo. Like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) Sambo is a combination of local wrestling and Judo. While Sambo was created by Russians under a Soviet regime it had many outside influences.
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