Morozov and Perepelyuk in Philadelphia: “We Have Made People Want to Sign Up for SAMBO Classes!”

Masters of sports Ivan Morozov and Alexander Perepelyuk have arrived to Philadelphia, US, to present SAMBO at the famous Hero Thrill Show, and to give workshops for the cadets of the Philadelphia Police Academy and local SAMBO wrestlers. The guys have answered our request and agreed to keep us updated on their adventures in the US through a trip diary. Here is the first day by the FIAS presentation team.

The arrival to the US was appointed on the day prior to our presentation at the Hero Thrill Show. We took a direct flight Moscow ? New York, and after a nine and a half hour journey safely landed at the John F. Kennedy International Airport. Then, there was an hour and a half trip by train, and finally we reached Philadelphia. The welcome accorded to us in the city was very hearty, the one of our sort, the one in the spirit of SAMBO. There was a busy day ahead of us, so we wished a good night to Philadelphia and a good morning to Moscow, and went to sleep.

At 4 o’clock Saturday morning on September 21, we are already up and running, though the jet lag caused by an 8-hour time difference hasn’t given us a chance for a good sleep. This is a big day for us, as well as 60 thousand people from Philadelphia and guests from all over the world ? we are all here for the Hero Thrill Show. This spectacular event is not just an entertainment, as its mission is to raise the money for the families of the Philadelphia police officers and firefighters killed or severely disabled in the line of duty. 

So, today the Hero Trill Show features exciting and spectacular drills and performances by the Philadelphia Police Teams and Fire Brigades. The participants demonstrate perfectly coordinated team work and brilliantly combine their daily routine and the elements of the breathtaking stunts.

Now it is the turn of SAMBO. It is not a secret that SAMBO is the martial art most suitable for the practice of policemen and firefighters. This has become the main idea behind the presentation. We have tried to show the field of application of SAMBO and the current demand for it among the defense agencies. The presentation has been started by the young SAMBO wrestlers from the Yawara Force SAMBO Club trained under the guidance of Mikhail Kozitsky and Vasil Dimitrov, and continued by their adult SAMBO colleagues. Then, here comes our part of the show.

We have tuned our presentation to demonstrate two aspects of SAMBO: its beauty and its applied character. It seems it have really worked out very well, as after the performances many of the people from the audience were approaching Mikhail Kozitsky, saying “I want to take SAMBO classes”, or “I want to sign up my children for SAMBO”. Actually, this is exactly the feedback we wanted to receive. We have also had a talk with the USA SAMBO Inc Federation James J. Binns, the chairman of the Hero Thrill Show. He has turned out to be a very open-minded person, with his heart and soul for SAMBO.

Now, we are looking forward for the workshops with the cadets of the Philadelphia Police Academy and SAMBO wrestlers from the local clubs. We will see how the Americans will spend this Sunday and inform you on every interesting detail. Make sure you stay with us, and be updated on the latest news from Philadelphia!

Yours, Ivan Morozov and Alexander Perepelyuk
www.sambo.sport