The founder of sambo is Vasily Oshchepkov. This athlete has been engaged in martial arts for a long time, and he learned their basics in China itself from the most experienced masters. The monument to Vasily Oshchepkov is located in Vladivostok.
What is SAMBO
Sambo is a type of martial arts that combines several areas of martial arts. Most of the elements used are borrowed from American freestyle wrestling, French and English boxing, and Greco-Roman fighting. In a broad sense, sambo is a combination of Western techniques with judo and ju-jutsu.
There are two types of SAMBO - sports and combat.
Who is Vasily Oshchepkov
Vasily Oshchepkov studied martial arts in China for a long time. It was this athlete who brought judo to the USSR. He introduced the art of eastern combat into the training of the military in the army, promoted it among students and used it as a basic element in training workers whose activities were directly related to protection and security.
Vasily Oshchepkov supplemented classical judo with techniques from other martial arts. In addition to the technique of European combat, traditional Japanese rituals were absent in the new type of martial arts, the uniform of the fighters was modified and some additional elements were replaced. For example, instead of tatami, they began to use a soft carpet.
Quite often, the name of another Soviet athlete, V. A. Spiridonov, is associated with sambo. However, despite the common cause - the development of improved self-defense programs, the Spiridonov and Oshchepkov schools are so-called competitors.
Vasily Oshchepkov's contribution to Soviet sports
The creator of sambo, Vasily Oshchepkov, was popular not only in Russia. The Russian athlete impressed the Japanese with his abilities and achievements. The fact is that in less than one year the judoka was able to get the 2nd dan from the hands of the most famous Kodakan teacher. In the Japanese press, Vasily Oshchepkov was called a "Russian bear."
After returning to Moscow, the athlete was able to captivate a huge number of fans of martial arts with the arts of wushu, judo and sambo in a short time. At the moment, only in the Primorsky Territory there are almost three thousand professional sambists.
As a gratitude to the great athlete, a monument to Vasily Oshchepkov was erected several years ago in the Olympian sports complex located in Vladivostok. The grand opening was timed to coincide with the 120th anniversary of one of the most famous sambists.
It is noteworthy that initially sambo appeared in the USSR as an amateur club for fans of martial arts. At the moment, this martial art is not only one of the most popular, but also one of the international sports.
