Mixed martial arts (MMA) have a specialty worth mentioning and studying: Sambo. Of Russian origin, this hybrid and versatile discipline combines combat techniques of various martial arts, and is very popular in this country. Not surprisingly, it has been a national sport since 1938: its (literal) meaning is "self-defense without weapons", and its objective is to quickly confront, through a hand-to-hand fight, the attack of an armed opponent. 

The history behind Sambo

It is worth going back to the origins of Sambo. To do this, we will embark on a journey to the Russian Revolution of October 1917 (the Red October), where Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin asked his team of experts to create a method of combat that would serve as a hallmark for the Red Army, Soviet police and elite units.

Lenin's team got down to work and traveled through Mongolia, China and Japan, where they studied the best fighting styles in the world with the purpose of integrating them with the traditional techniques of the vast Russian steppe. And like that, Sambo was born: a fusion of oriental combat techniques (Jiu Jitsu, Kung Fu, Karate, Judo, Taekwondo) with those native to Armenia, Uzbekistan, Georgia or Moldova. Over the years, elements of boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, Muay Thai, Kickboxing and Taekwondo have been incorporated.

Sambo styles 

Sambo stands out for its wide permissiveness, where practically all types of blows with legs, fists, knees and elbows are covered; in the melee demolitions, projections, strangulations, dislocations and all kinds of submissions are allowed.

In Sambo Fight, although all kinds of leg locks are contemplated, strangulations are not allowed. The Combat Sambo is much more permissive and faithful to the original, and Self-Defense Sambo is a variant also designed to face unarmed opponents.

Currently, it is part of the four modes of competition wrestling, along with Judo, Olympic wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Equipment to practice Sambo 

The material needed for Sambo is brief and concise: it consists of a jacket (Kurtka), which unlike other kimonos, allows the introduction of the belt inside, and thus prevents the jacket from coming off during combat; also a pair shorts of the same color of the jacket, and some shoes (Sambovki).

In addition, in Combat Sambo protections are required for the mouth, tibia and groin, as well as mixed martial arts gloves and a helmet. The uniform, unlike other martial arts, does not vary depending on the degree of mastery. 

It should be noted that this style of combat has been popular for relatively few years, due to the opacity of the regime of the Soviet Union: once its fall was consummated, secrecy gave way to the spread of Sambo, which has provided an enormously rich element to the world of mixed martial arts.

Some fighters that you might know come from Sambo 

Sambo is a discipline that has provided great fighters to the MMA circuit and this is something logical since being a mixed discipline which covers both the hitting work and the projections and the ground work, it is normal that an expert in Sambo can easily pass to the MMA competition.

Below we have a list with some of the best MMA fighters that have Sambo as a base discipline:

• Oleg Taktarov: he was one of the most recognised fighters in early UFC events. After retiring and taking advantage of his popularity he became an actor in Hollywood, and as was logical with that look of a Russian hard guy, the most normal thing is to see him with the role of Russian villain in action movies.
• Sergei Kharitonov: he excelled at Pride FC and even today he continues to fight in Bellator.
• Megumi Fujii: Known by the nickname Megu Megu and retired in 2013 accumulating an impressive record of 26 wins and only 3 losses, fighting regularly in Japan and also in Bellator.
• Andrei Arlovski: this Belarusian fighter became UFC heavyweight champion and to this day he continues to fight in UFC.
• Fedor Emelianenko: considered by many the best heavyweight in the history of MMA, Fedor was a fighter feared and respected by all thanks to his aggressiveness and coldness when it came to fighting and who came to accumulate a partial record of 31 victories and only one defeat, beating all the top fighters of the time in his weight
• Khabib Nurmagomedov: he just retired with a perfect 29-0 record and has never been beaten a round. Wiping out all his opponents and people like Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier or Edson Barboza, the Dagestan fighter and nicknamed "The Eagle" is probably and along with Fedor, the greatest exponent of Sambo in MMA.

As you may have noticed, most of them are Russian since this sport was invented there, and also from Eastern European countries, where Sambo is a very popular sport due to its proximity to Russia.

Therefore considering that the two considered by many as the best fighters in the history of MMA, Fedor Emelianenko and Khabib Nurmagomedov come from Sambo, this sport is an excellent choice if you are looking to become a complete martial artist.

We hope you liked the article and were able to learn more about this amazing Russian martial art.