Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art combat system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was formed from Kodokan judo ground fighting fundamentals that were taught by a number of individuals including Takeo Yano, Mitsuyo Maeda, and Soshihiro Satake.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu eventually came to be its own art through the experiments, practices, and adaptation of Judo through Carlos and Helio Gracie as well as other instructors and years later is still being utilized by nearly every mixed martial artist on every level.
However; there is a primary ground fighting system more prominent than Jiu-Jitsu in Russia…Sambo.
Sambo is a Soviet martial art and combat sport which is actually an acronym that stands for SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya which literally is translated as self-defense without weapons. Sambo is a relatively modern martial art with its development beginning in the early 1920s by the Soviet Red Army to improve their hand-to-hand combat abilities and was intended to be a merger of the most effective techniques of other martial arts.
An interesting fact is that the pioneers of Sambo were Viktor Spiridonov and Vasili Oschepkov, however; Oschepkov, who spent several years living in Japan and training Judo under its founder, Jigoro Kano, died in prison after being accused of being a Japanese spy.
In the video below, we see future UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, a Sambo expert, as he faces Russia’s first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Leonid Gatovskiy, in a grappling contest. It is interesting to note that not only is Nurmagomedov undefeated in mixed martial arts competitions but that he is also known as one of the world’s premier ground fighting experts.
So how will Khabib fair against Russia’s very first Jiu-Jitsu black belt? Check out the video below to find out…
This bout was of particular significance because it was the last time Khabib lost a formal competition.
Author Jacob C. Stevens is a lifelong athlete and cerebral martial arts enthusiast who is also skilled in the art of linguistic manipulation; his published work, Afterthoughts and Handgrenades, can be found here…
