Developed by Viktor Spiridonov and Vasili Oshchepkov in the 1920s, Sambo is now practised for fun and competition in two major formats, Sport Sambo and Combat Sambo. Sambo is a combination of Judo, Jiu Jitsu, and a number of wrestling styles. It combines many different skills and incorporates a variety of moves into three main areas; ground control skills, takedowns, and leg locks..

Sport Sambo focuses on grappling only and contains various throws, takedowns, and submissions that you may find in Judo or Jiu-Jitsu, but the ruleset does not allow any choke holds to be used in competition. Sport Sambo also includes many leg lock and knee bar techniques which are sometimes discouraged to be used in other grappling competitions. One notable aspect of Sambo is the uniform which has a Gi Jacket that is similar to Judo and Jiu-Jitsu, but competitors then only wear shorts underneath the top.

The other format of Sambo, known as Combat Sambo, allows striking, punches, kicks, and knees in its techniques along with all of the grappling, holds, and throws from Sport Sambo. The uniform for Combat Sambo is the same as Sport Sambo, it will also include headgear and gloves for added protection, due to the inclusion of strikes. Due to the striking and grappling techniques that are used, when the competitions for Combat Sambo take place, the matches will often resemble an amateur mixed martial arts competition.

This discipline of MMA has a strong focus on groundwork and combat strengthening. It is a great discipline to learn as it gives you foundations for other Mixed Martial Arts training. Core skills and techniques of Sambo build strong bases for other combat sports and give you overall strength and fitness.

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