SAMBO League May Be Established in the USA

American sambists plan to launch SAMBO League in their country. The League season will consist of two open tournaments (winter and summer) featuring competitions in both sport and combat SAMBO. The first test event of this type, the Winter Championships, was held in Dallas (Texas) in February this year.

At the presentation tournament, fights in sport and combat SAMBO among men and women took place. According to the National SAMBO Federation “USA Sambo Inc.”, it was at the Winter Championships that combat SAMBO competitions among women were held for the first time in the USA. The organizer and ideological inspirer of the tournament and the Sambo League is a former member of the national team Julian Sanchez supported by the USA Sambo Inc. The refereeing at the tournament was provided by the head coach of the US team Robert Clark and one of the leading US sambists Johnson Jajoute.

‘I really liked the idea of establishing the SAMBO League, Julian did an excellent job. Some fights highly impressed me. When the opponents are about the same level, they seem to test each other during the bout. I am sure that the SAMBO League has great prospect for the future development. Perhaps today it was the best SAMBO tournament in the USA which I happened to watch,’ said Johnson Jajoute.

As part of the Winter Championships, members of the USA Sambo Inc. also gave a workshop for its participants. At the event, the rules, strategy and techniques of sport and combat SAMBO were discussed. According to the organizers, staging seminars will become a regular practice at the US SAMBO League tournaments.

‘This will enable us to improve the quality of SAMBO knowledge in the United States. We do not force athletes to learn the rules in theory, instead we provide a real-life opportunity to understand why they can earn points and what they will lose them for. We designed the seminar in such a way as to demonstrate the SAMBO techniques and to focus on what points can be scored for a particular combination of techniques. When athletes who come to SAMBO from other martial arts understand all the subtleties of the sport and can prove themselves at the national level, the road to international competitions will open to them,’ said Robert Clark.

According to him, a full-fledged start of the SAMBO League is scheduled for 2021. There will be a multi-stage team tournament in Dallas that the athletes from all over the country can join. To participate in it, it is not necessary to come as a complete team, for teams can be formed on the spot. One of the primary goals of the League is to attract representatives of various martial arts to SAMBO.

As the organizers explain, the season will consist of two open competitions that will feature fights in both sport and combat SAMBO. The annual Winter Championships are scheduled for February, the Summer Championships, for June. The competitions will be held in several rounds, from qualifications to the finals. Besides, the organizers plan to hold individual competitions in strength, speed, and agility.