Brazilian Coaches Passed FIAS Certification during the National SAMBO Week

From March 22 to March 27, the Brazilian city of Socorro (São Paulo state) hosted the “SAMBO Week”, which included a number of sporting events. The Brazilian Amateur Sambo Confederation organized a training camp in sports, combat and beach sambo, as well as a national referee seminar. An important event also was the FIAS Coaching Seminar led by FIAS Coach of the 2nd Master Degree Mikhail Kozitsky from the USA.

16 specialists from different regions of the country took part in the coaching seminar. For three days they mastered the theory and practice of teaching SAMBO in detail from morning until late at night.

“Considering the fact that the seminar was held in a small town, this was the perfect place to work. The training arena was literally a stone's throw from the hotel, there were no distractions around, so the training went on in the morning, afternoon, and evening. And even in the breaks between classes, together with the participants, we discussed the nuances of training, wrestling techniques and even the nutritional habits of athletes,” Mikhail Kozitsky said.

According to him, the students showed great interest in the subject of psychological preparation of sambists for competitions. Without it, all sports results achieved earlier in training may be useless.

“I want to emphasize the diligence with which each participant approached the classes. All specialists were aimed at obtaining high-quality knowledge for the successful passing of the final exam and subsequent work,” added Kozitsky.

He also noted the great contribution made to the training of the seminar participants by his assistant at this event, the Brazilian specialist Vagner Pinheiro. Thanks to the experience of working in his own SAMBO club and the knowledge gained while studying SAMBO in different countries, he was able to convey extensive information about the subjects he specializes in: Combat SAMBO and physical training.

The exam following the results of the seminar was held in a mixed format: online and offline. Mikhail Kozitsky was present in the hall and supervised the final test. In parallel with this, the second examiner, the head of the FIAS technical commission Sergey Tabakov, assessed the participants of the seminar remotely during an online video conference.

“It was an interesting experience, for the first time we conducted this exam in such a format. The organizers prepared well and provided all the necessary equipment, ensuring the full effect of presence. Thanks to the interaction with Mikhail Kozitsky, who was in the arena, we were able to comprehensively assess the knowledge of the seminar participants in the exam. I think we will be able to apply this successful work experience in the future,” Sergey Tabakov noted.

Participants who successfully pass the exam will receive FIAS Coach of the 1st Master Degree certificates, which will allow them to take exams from athletes themselves and issue belt patches, in accordance with the FIAS Regulations on Certification of SAMBO Athletes, Coaches and Accreditation of SAMBO Clubs.

“It is important for us that the participants of the seminar represent different regions of the country, so SAMBO will continue its spread and development in Brazil. This is the first such experience of training coaches, which seemed very successful to us, so in the future we plan to hold such seminars more,” said the President of the Brazilian Amateur Sambo Confederation, Carlos Maia.

According to him, in May Brazil will already host a national SAMBO championship, which will become a qualifying for participation in the Pan American Championships. And in August, the federation plans to hold a major international SAMBO tournament in Brazil.