wear shorts or a wresting singlet, wrestling shoes, and a tight-fitting jacket
known as a kurtka.The kurtka is tighter fitting than the traditional jûdôgi.
In addition, the kurtka has epaulets or shoulder cuffs for grasping. Sambo
practitioners also wear a belt that can be grasped by competitors and used
for throws. The kurtka has rings to hold the belt in place, which is intended
to simulate actual street clothing.
A sambo match is two periods of three minutes each with a one-minute
rest interval between the two periods. The goal of the competitors is a total
victory. This occurs in one of three ways: after a throw when the thrown
lands on his back and the thrower remains standing, when the opponent
taps the mat twice after being locked into a submission hold, and when one
competitor has twelve points over the opponent’s total. Failing total victory,
the competitor with the most points wins. It is important to note that sambo
matches are won by the awarding of points; there are no pins or throws that
can directly end a match, as in most other wrestling systems.
Sambists have four methods to gain points in a match. The first is by
throwing the opponent. Points are awarded by examining the final posi-
tions of both the thrower and the thrown after the throw is completed. The
second is by a takedown. The attacking sambist must unbalance the oppo-
nent and take him to the mat, similar to Greco-Roman and freestyle
wrestling. The third method is by a hold. The attacking sambist must hold
the opponent’s back toward the mat in a danger position of less than ninety
degrees, with both chests in contact, to score. The fourth method is by a
submission hold. Submission, or torture, holds are pressure holds exerted
against the arms or legs. Examples include arm bars, leg locks, joint locks,
and ankle locks. Note that there are no choke holds in sport sambo. A
women’s division was added in 1987 to Soviet sambo competition.
Sambo has a belt ranking system that is similar to some Asian martial
arts, but its legitimacy is a subject of controversy. Some organizations rec-
ognize this system, while others do not. Belts begin with first degree, a
white belt, and go up to eleventh degree, which is gold with an FILA em-
blem and honor band. Practitioners are awarded rankings exclusively
based on competition. The first three belts are awarded at the regional
level. Fourth and fifth degrees are awarded by regional coaches with ap-
proval from a country’s national sambo federation. Sixth and seventh de-
grees are awarded to national champions. Eighth degree belts are awarded
to champions who place third in an international event. Ninth degree rank-
ings are for those who place second in an international event, and tenth de-
gree is for those who place first. The eleventh degree is reserved for sam-
bists with formidable competitive records or for those judged as
“international masters” of sambo. Sambo coaches can be awarded belts
based on the records of their students.512 Sambo