The word Sambo is actually an acronym for “SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya” or “Self-defense without weapons” It was developed by the Red Army in the early half of the twentieth century. It was created so that the military would have one standard hand to hand combat fighting system. Unlike Japan where Judo was practiced throughout the country, Russia had no common martial arts system and soldiers trained in whatever fighting style was common in their area. Working independently, Vasili Oschepkov and Victor Spiridonov developed a new martial arts system by taking proven techniques and adapting them for their needs which lead to the creation of Sambo.

The Russian Army had done poorly in World War I and other conflicts and many considered the army a backwards disorganized mess. Communist leader Lenin put Leon Trotsky in charge of updating the army and getting it ready to spread the cause of communism around the globe. New weapons systems were brought in, training was improved and a draft was instituted. One could argue that Russia’s new leadership wasn’t much better than the leadership that was removed from power, but it clearly understood the need for good close combat training.

The task of developing new standard close combat system that could be taught to the new army fell to Vasili Oschepkov and Victor Spiridonov. Oschepkov was an experiences martial artist who had trained at the Kodokan in Japan. He even earned his second degree black belt from Judo’s founder Kano Jigoro. During WWI he taught soldiers combat Judo and Karate. Spiridonov was a combat veteran who had served in both the Russo-Japanese war and WWI. He had plenty of practical experience when it came to martial arts. He saw first hand how the Japanese applied the martial arts principals of constant attack and always taking ground in actual warfare and the importance of martial arts in developing a combat mindset. In addition, both men had studied boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling and many other fighting styles.

Since Sambo was created by the Soviet State as a result there were several styles that were developed (no use in teaching civilians deadly killing methods). This resulted in several different versions of Sambo. The style of Sambo taught to military personnel and law enforcement agencies is very similar to Judo, but instead of chokes, leg locks are used because it is difficult to get a choke during winter combat thanks to heavy clothing.  Then there is sport Sambo. All the deadly moves have been removed for safety reasons.
Then there was a self defense form of Sambo which was taught to Soviet citizens, but it was purposely made weak so the people wouldn’t have an effective style if they rebelled. However, this move would have direr consequences when the Nazis invaded.

The military's version of Sambo is the only combat effective version of the three, because it borrows heavily from Pre-WWII combat techniques found in Judo and Jujutsu. In fact   Oschepkov was executed when he refused to say the system was developed completely by Soviet minds alone. His defiance would cost him his life, but he would remain loyal to his martial arts instructor Kano. His death and the deaths of many important military personnel due to Stalin’s pre-WWII purges would deprive the Russians of leaders and trainers when they needed them the most.

Later on, Sambo was not only taught to military personnel, but border guards, police officers and even prisoners. During World War II thousands of prisoners volunteered to fight the Nazis in exchange for their freedom. In a classic cold war urn of events, they were trained, put into combat and instead of being set free, returned to prison. This sparked a bloody underground war began between thieves and murders in prisons all over the country.

Sambo isn’t perfect, but it accomplished its original by giving people with diverse backgrounds a common martial arts system. Today the Russian military still includes Sambo as part of its training for recruits. Sambo was even practiced by Russia’s leader Vladmir Putin as a young man (he currently practices Judo and has the rank of 6th dan). Matt Larsen who established the United States Army’s combatives school once considered adopting Sambo for use by American troops, but instead created a style similar to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The most popular version of Sambo is the sport Sambo. It has grown in popularity with both men and women. Many mix martial artists (MMA) have adopted Sambo since it is a mix of other effective martial arts like Judo and Jujutsu.

Like most martial arts Sambo has it roots in time honored martial arts and then adapted to local geographic and social conditions. Today Sambo has an identity of its own, but it still holds the same principles of its roots.