Newsletter of the American Sambo Association. Vol. 7. No. 5 & 6. September-December, 2009

YEAR END ISSUE! 1) President’s Remarks 2) Sambo in the News: 2009 3) The ASA: Can you see us now? 4) 2009 NAFSC Reuslts 5) Building a Sambo “Fight Finder” 6) Team USA at the Worlds 7) 2009 Photo Gallery 8) “Sambo: The Georgian Connection” By Scott

Anderson

A Word from the President Greetings everyone, Well, another year is in the history books! 2009 has been great for the ASA and Sambo. Our efforts have paid off in great ways thanks to all our members and officers! At the start of 2009, we set a goal of really spreading our ASA seminars and even created a low cost Sambo Seminar Series nationwide! I am glad to say we lived up to this goal. Aaron Fields, Carlos Cummings, and others have really put Sambo on the map with our low cost training opportunities. In addition, the ASA has hosted seminars for many other interested groups. Between our annual Sambo summit camp, the Sambo seminar series, and other hosted seminars,

the ASA has reared its head all over the US! And of course, we can’t forget Gregg Humphreys’ bi-annual ASA travel training trip with Igor Kurinnoy, which was hosted at Spartak in Ukraine this year. In addition, there has been tons of positive press about Sambo out there in the media. I am so proud of all the hard work our members have done in 2009 on behalf of the ASA. For a rundown of all the great media coverage we have received, be sure to visit the press page at our website and our complete 2009 rundown in this issue! I also want to thank Scott Anderson for all his wonderful contributions to this newsletter in 2009. In this issue Scott explores Sambo’s connections to Georgian Wrestling. If you have not joined yet, make sure to join the American Sambo Association Facebook group. In a short time we have gathered nearly 500 members! Let’s keep it growing. I want to personally wish all of you’re a prosperous new year and healthy 2010! See you next year! Sincerely, Stephen Koepfer ASA President

Sambo in the News: A 2009 Wrap Up NY Combat Sambo covered on “MMA Confidential”: http://inasectv.com/view_episode.php?id=126 Reilly Bodycomb interviewed for “Lockflow Lifestyle”: http://lockflow.com/article_view.php?id=5021 NY Combat Sambo covered in “Time Out New York”: http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/spas-sport/79934/five-self-defense-classes Sambo covered in the upcoming documentary “Grappling Kings”: www.grappplingkings.com NY Combat Sambo highlighted on “The Fight Nerd”: http://www.thefightnerd.com/ny-combat-sambo/ Carlos Cummings featured in “Ironfight Magazine”: http://ussambo.com/press_article_cummings.html “NY MMA Examiner” covers the 2009 North American Freestyle Sambo Championships: http://www.examiner.com/x-14354-NY-MMA-Examiner~y2009m10d5-National-tournament-shows-Sambo-not-just-for-Samboists “NY MMA Examiner” looks at Sambo in Long Island: http://www.examiner.com/x-14354-NY-MMA-Examiner~y2009m10d28-Sambo-seminar-coming-to-Long-Island NY Combat Sambo and “The Fight Nerd” product test the Nutty Buddy: http://www.thefightnerd.com/fightnerd-vs-nuttybuddy/ September 2009 issue of “Fight!” magazine covers Sambo: http://www.fightmagazine.com/

“This Week in Combat Sports” interviews Serge Gerlach: http://www.mevio.com/episode/174541/sambo-wrestling NBC News Florida visits Cummings Combat Sambo: (sorry, no link) JiuJitsu Kit Blog interviews Stephen Koepfer: http://jiujitsukit.com/2009/06/sambo-for-jiu-jitsu-students-an-interview-with-the-president-of-the-american-sambo-association/ “Ultimate MMA” Magazine covers the ASA Tough Times Training Program: http://ussambo.com/images/tough_time_ultimate_mma_mag.jpg Alexander Barakov and Stephen Koepfer appear on the Travel Channel’s “Dhani Tackles the Globe”: http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Dhani_Jones Be sure to check out some deleted scenes from Dhani in Russia here: http://www.travelchannel.com/Video_&_Photos/Video_Detail?lineupId=13752318001 Matthew Polly covers Sambo, the World Sambo Championships, and life in Russia for Slate.com: http://www.slate.com/id/2211882/entry/2211884

The ASA: Can You See Us Now? In 2009, the ASA has grown tremendously. Here is where we now have affiliate members and clubs. US Members: California Connecticut Florida Georgia Indiana Iowa Louisiana Michigan

New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Oregon Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington Wisconsin Wyoming International Members: Canada Japan Russia British Virgin Islands

2009 North American Freestyle Sambo Championships Results Participating Clubs/Teams: Team Renegade (Levittown, NY) NY Combat Sambo (New York, NY) Top Control/Team Gigueto (Hamburg, NJ) Maurice Allen Judo (Gaithersburg, MD) Brewster Judo (Derby, CT) Rosati Martial Arts (Ronkonkoma, NY) Cobra Wrestling Academy (Buffalo, NY) Razzaro BJJ (Indianapolis, IN) 96kg (5 man bracket, round robin) Gold - Chris Rosati (Rosati) Silver - Carlos Del Valle (Rosati) Bronze - Bill Nobile (Renegade) 84kg (5 man bracket, round robin) Gold - Jeremy Piaser (Renegade) Silver - Preston Gagg (Gigueto) Bronze - Steve Yokay (Maurice Allen) 74kg (5 man bracket, round robin) Gold - Tyga Maclin (NY Combat Sambo) Silver - Brian Dipentima (Renegade) Bronze - Vincent Beurrier (NY Combat Sambo)

Fastest Submissions (under 1 minute) 28 seconds - Jeremy Piaser def Steven Yokay via armbar 29 seconds - Jeremy Piaser def Preston Gagg via kneebar 30 seconds - Steven Yokay def Wilfred Verbauwen via arm triangle 34 seconds - Jeremy Piaser def Wilfred Verbauwen via triangle choke 36 seconds - Tyga Maclin def Mike Chesbro via achilles lock 44 seconds - Vincent Beurrier def Eric Semler via armbar 45 seconds - Tyga Maclin def Eric Semler via achilles lock 49 seconds - Brian Dipentima def Vincent Beurrier via shoulder lock Stats: 31 matches total 7 wins via points 4 wins via default/injury 5 wins via choke 6 wins via armbar 2 wins via kneebar 2 wins via shoulder locks 5 wins via foot locks Childrens exhibition matches: The following youth from Rosati Martial Arts presented excellent exhibition matches (no winners were declared): Paul Jaeckel (9yrs old), James McDermott (8yrs old), Nate Rosati (7yrs old), and David Pralgo (9 yrs old) Referees: Stephen Koepfer, Reilly Bodycomb, Vladislav Koulikov

Event Staff: Dennis Bethea, Ross Schneiderman, Gil Castillo, Tom Kagan EMT: Jeremy Graber

Building a Sambo “Fight Finder” We at the ASA are attempting to build a database of domestic Sambo tournaments and players. As Sambo grows in the US & Canada, we consistently get inquiries regarding old tournaments, past athletes, etc. It is our goal to create a searchable database on our website. We are asking all our readers to forward us any official results they may have from Sambo events held here in the US and Canada, as well as any important places by North Americans at world or international Sambo events. To date, we have collected: Pre FIAS split: 1973 Worlds (FILA) 1974 Worlds (FILA) 1975 Worlds (FILA) 1978 AAU Kansas City Open Tournament (gold medalists only) 1979 Worlds (FILA) 1979 YMCA Championships 1980 Worlds (FILA) 1980 AAU Women's Nationals 1981 AAU Women's Nationals 1982 Worlds (FILA) 1982 AAU Women's Nationals 1983 AAU Nationals (gold medalists only) 1993 "World University Games" (Partial results) - not an official Universidade event - Buffalo, NY. Post FIAS split: 1995 FIAS West World Games 1996 USSA/AAU Nationals 1997 ASF Nationals (Gold Medalists only)

1997 AAU Grand Nationals 1997 USSA Nationals 1997 USSA Youth and Masters 1998 AAU Grand Nationals 1998 AAU/USSA Nationals 1999 AAU/USSA Grand Nationals 1999 AAU/USSA/Pan Am Championships 1999 FIAS (West) World Cup 2000 FIAS (West) World Open 2000 USSA/AAU Grand Nationals 2000 FIAS (West) World Cup 2001 USSA/FIAS (West) World Open 2004 USSA/FIAS (West) World Open/Pan Am/Nationals While I have not yet found complete results, I found found a listing of US athletes who have placed in the worlds from 1973, 1975, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984 (FILA), 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 (FIAS), 1994 (FIAS West), 1999 (FIAS West). We pretty much have everything from 2004 forward (FIAS & FILA Worlds and ASA events)

2009 ASA Sambo Seminar Reviews “I just wanted to say thanks again and that you guys exceeded all expectations that I had. I can't wait to train with you all again. I think the 2009 ASA Sambo Summit was the best single martial arts training experience of my life. You guys gave so much and have helped me and all the guys at ECS so much. Someday ECS will be a great Sambo School. I think we are on the right track. I am so happy that ECS has found its home in the ASA. The ASA is exactly what I have been searching for, for a long time. Until next time, be safe, be strong, train hard.” Grant R. Gilliam Eclectic Combat Systems "Stephen Koepfer taught a great seminar for us! I really liked his approach to teaching. I'm going to incorporate a bunch of his learning techniques into our curriculum. His knowledge of leg locks was very

insightful. I also loved his approach to grip fighting, takedowns, and transitions to submissions. I feel like we just scratched the surface of his knowledge. Everyone enjoyed the seminar. Stephen is a really good instructor. It was an honor to learn from him!" Jimmy Cerra BJJ Purple Belt Head instructor, Team Balance Pittsburgh

"I attended a sambo seminar given by Stephen Koepfer at Team Balance Pittsburgh. As a BJJ practitioner who puts a lot of focus on leg attacks, I was very much looking forward to it. Originally only supposed to be a three hour seminar, Steve extended it to four hours. During this time he showed a variety of throws, set-ups from standing and ground, and attacks that ranged from the obvious leg focused ones to chokes and arm locks as well. The most important aspect in my opinion of the afternoon was Steve’s take on foot positioning when attacking your opponent’s leg; this was the first time I had seen someone put so much emphasis on arguably the most important detail when doing leg locks. I highly recommend attending a “Sambo Steve” seminar to any grappler regardless of discipline. Steve is extremely knowledgeable, shows great detail when instructing, is very attentive when observing others practice technique, personable, and overall a very cool individual. I am just extremely bummed out he isn’t located closer to Morgantown, WV. Thanks again, Steve." Gregg Stawarz BJJ Purple Belt under Phil Davis Head Instructor of Ground Zero Fighting Systems

"Going into the seminar, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, other than instruction on leglocks. What I ended up getting was two and a half hours of extremely personalized and practical instruction. Mr. Koepfer came off immediately as friendly and interested in the material he was teaching, and this showed in his teaching style. The materials he showed were all unique (to me at least), interconnected, and above all, useful. Never did

anything he showed throughout the seminar come off of as a novelty or impractical. I would highly recommended Stephen Koepfer to anyone interested in sambo or no gi grappling. The materials covered will not be forgotten or discarded." Chris Montenegro BJJ Practitioner, NYC

Congrats to Team USA at the Sambo World Championships This year four athletes competed in the FIAS World Championships (2 in the men’s division and 2 in the Master’s division). A big congrats to Michael Ruesch & Zezva Ebalashvili who stepped up at the Men’s Worlds in Thessaloniki, Greece in November. At the World Masters in Lithuania, Dr. Sandy North and Michael Ostrowski represented the US, both bringing home silver medals (and a bit of controversy). Sandy sent a quick review for our newsletter: “In brief, the trip went very well. I was received at the airport in Vilnius by two young guys from the Lithuanian Sambo Federation and brought straight to the venue, which was a police headquarters/gym where we registered and paid for our license stamp and hotel. Everything was well organized, as Jack Kogan was there to facilitate our arrival. The hotel was just a few blocks away from the venue, less than a 10 minute walk. There was also a large shopping mall with restaurants and a supermarket located less than 10 minutes from the hotel. The weigh in was well run and the venue for the gym consisted of two mats. Mike had one opponent and I had two opponents in my division. Mike fought well however lost to a stronger Russian opponent. I won my first match against the Moldovian opponent by greater than 12 points to end the match. I lost the final match to the Russian by a very controversial decision.

Firstly, the match ended after 3 minutes when the match was supposed to be a full 4 minutes. At the end of the 3 minutes my opponent had a passive warning and the score was 1:1 with the Russian having one controversial activity point. After a lengthy protest they gave me a choice to take a shared gold medal with the Russian, however the Russian would be the gold medalist on record. The organizing committee didn't want to put us out for a final one minute that they shorted us, since it has never been done. I chose to fight the final minute since only a true gold medal was important to me. In the final minute the Russian completely stalled and as I did all the attacking, the Russian was never penalized. If you go to You-Tube, and look up my name, you will see the comments from Martin Clark from England, as well as the final minute of my match, and you can decide who won. Since this Russian won the world Championship 5 times prior to this contest, I don't think that I was going to win on this day.” -Sandy North Martin Clarke’s video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcUuhhfHuYI

2009 Photo Gallery

North American Freestyle Sambo Championships. Photo by: Tami Silvestri

North American Freestyle Sambo Championships. Gold: Jeremy Piaser; Silver: Preston Gagg; Bronze: Steve Yokay

2009 Sambo Summit Camp, Austin, Texas – Day 1

2009 Sambo Summit Camp, Austin, Texas – Day 2

2009 Children’s Sambo Tournament – SK Absolute, Tokyo, Japan

2009 Children’s Sambo Tournament – SK Absolute, Tokyo, Japan

Kazu Watanabe of Kiguchi Dojo, Japan, (pictured with Stephen Koepfer) spends a week training at NY Combat Sambo.

Stephen Koepfer with Dhani Jones training at the Suvorov Military Academy – St. Petersburg, Russia.

Team American Sambo at the 2009 Grappler’s Quest Pro Team Challenge.

Sambo: The Georgian Connection Written by Scott Anderson Edited by Stephen Koepfer The ethnographer, E. Pokpobsky in 1887 so described the Georgian wrestling style:

“The rules for Georgian wrestling are exact, and it can be said, even delicately; that physical strength is not as dear to them in wrestling as are dexterity and speed. It is a sin for the best of wrestlers to tear off his opponent’s clothes".

In the earliest days of Sambo’s formulation, Spiridonov stated that no one existing martial system was complete and flexible enough to handle every situation that might be met. Any martial system needed supplements from other styles - particularly those systems that most expertly addressed new concerns. With striking or countering strikes, one would logically search boxing, savate,

karate, etc., for possible solutions. If the issue were blocking kicks, then boxing might be dropped from the list while American freestyle (Editor’s note: In Russia, it was common to call CATCH wrestling “American Freestyle”) might be checked out to see if single leg take down finishes might be adapted to finishing a kick counter ploy.

With early Sambo-wrestling, this meant searching existing grappling and throwing styles for ploys that filled in the perceived holes that existed then. Per the politics of the day, Anatoly Kharlampiev searched wrestling and self-defense systems native to the USSR, but his teacher, Vasily Oshchepkov looked beyond Japanese judo to include wu shu, savate, Olympic wrestling, and American freestyle wrestling. He was one of the foremost proponents of adding rolling ploys from the native Soviet wrestling styles into judo to make his new freestyle wrestling more efficient in terms of his view of what a sport and self-defense system should be (Editor’s

note: Before Sambo’s name was formalized, Oshchepkov called his modified judo “freestyle wrestling” – not to be confused with today’s freestyle wrestling).

Oshchepkov and his students (including Kharlampiev) noted that the outside hooking throw from Turkic wrestling could counter judo’s kata garuma (the “mill”) even when the Turkic styles did not have a technique analogous to the Japanese

technique that they were countering.

Oshchepkov dispatched his students to the Caucasus to make photo books of ploys from chi daoba and kuresh, to help him study ploys to integrate into his system. He and others found some of these throws more effective than judo throws, but then again, they

were not strictly adhering to Kano’s vision of judo. What did Oshchepkov and Kharlampiev see that perhaps Kano did not?

First, chidaoba was a fast tempo jacket wrestling style already within the Soviet Union. Jacket holds below the belt were not permitted, and the jacket was sleeveless, so the style did not depend on a loose fitting jacket with long sleeves as judo did. It was a natural bridge between Western wrestling and judo.

The Soviets called the technical core of chidaoba the “Georgian ring”, and this ring was comprised of six throws (and their variants):

• Throws over the chest • Stepping throws • Throws over the back • Sweeps • Reaps • Hooks

These throws did not depend on jackets (belts were a different story) for gripping, they did not rely on

Image from the 1949 edition of Kharlampiev's “Sambo Wrestling”

Illusration from Kharlampiev's Text

judo’s kuzushi, and they could be executed on an uncooperative opponent. Often, this meant using more power to begin or complete the throw, but it did not necessarily mean less finesse.

The Georgians wrestled from an erect stance and at incredibly fast pace. For Oshchepkov who fretted about wasted time and opportunities in matches this system was an example of what fighting could be.

When Evgenie Chumakov listed tactics for Sambo-wrestling, he noted this style of offense as the tactic for suppressing the opponent by tempo and quickness. The Georgian ring was the basis for the technique selection in his classic book, 100 Lessons of SAMBO.

In the first chapter of his NKVD manual, Volkov provides the following insights into the Georgian wrestling style:

“On the subject of technique and simplicity, one must observe the excellent Georgian wrestling style called "Chohah". There are a small number of ploys (roughly 12 – 16 basic ploys), but their skillful combinations, richness in dexterity,

and cunning execution create a remarkable show during a match. The Georgian style is not deprived of applications. It is even necessary to consider that a number of the working maneuvers developed for the

Georgian style are better than their equivalents in Japanese judo. Wrestlers don the traditional and unique uniform, the “chohi”. Each wrestler grips his opponent’s belt and any hand or

foot hold is allowed as he attempts to induce his opponent to fall to the ground, so that his opponent’s shoulder blades touch the ground. The matches are always conducted at a very fast tempo”.

Anatoly Kharlampiev amplified this in his own work as noted by Kharlampiev’s son, Alexander:

“Excellent hooking techniques and throws were from Georgian wrestling including the throw across the hip by gripping the opponent’s uniform on the chest. From Azerbaijan and the Buryat Mongolian wrestling came various leg grips and holds. Tatar Trikmenskaya and Uzbek wrestling provided the basic long range throws, the so-called "sit through or sit down techniques". From the Tadjik wrestling came the "ballistic grips" (a grip that also becomes the immediate throw by the nature of the grip). Lastly, the wrestling styles of Central Asia and Altai provided the submission ploys and so on…So, on the basis of this exchange in experience between the various national wrestling styles, began the perfection of all ploys for sport wrestling. The Sweeping Leg Throw - a throw, taken from Georgian wrestling that could be quickly applied by the sambist as a counter ploy against the leg grabs that were found in the other wrestling styles which in turn became a ploy that the Georgians introduced to the other wrestling styles”. Alexander Kharlampiev (2002) pages 43 – 46 Techniques from chidaoba worked their way into Sambo-wrestling, and ultimately, into judo (think “Georgian Pick-up”). Georgian ploys entered judo through sambists turned judoka, but then again, they also entered unfiltered by Sambo when Georgian wrestlers tried their hand in international judo in 1964.

The leading Soviet judo medalists of that era were the sambists: A. Kiknadze, I. Chikvladze, O. Stepanov, A. Bogolyubov, S. Chochishvili, V. Nevzorov, H. Тletseri, and V. Gurin. While many of their techniques were Sambo-wrestling based, many of these wrestlers were also Georgians who opted to use the close in, one-sided grip from chidaoba that was entirely unconventional for judo. This allowed them to have tighter holds on their opponents with much more arm control than the average judoka of that era was trained to handle.

Judo traditions were sometimes forced to adapt to this new wrestling style, and sometimes, traditions won out through rule changes to negate what the sambists and chidaoba practitioners dragged onto the mat. As noted by Neil Adams in the preface to Barnaby Chesterman’s Gokyo, (2008):

“There is always a danger that children will try to learn the one-handed techniques that the Georgians and Russian do because many people think that is the way to go. But look at the Japanese, they adapted to the eastern European style of judo and back in 2002 at the World Team Championships, they whitewashed Georgia 7-0.”

Sambo-wrestling held a love affair with chidaoba for many years, but once the Georgians became less effective in judo from the aforementioned rule changes, the Russians reconsidered. At one point, Sambo-wrestling trainers experimented with using chidaoba training methodologies in their training. This was based on the theory that better sambists would crop up to supplant the Georgian wrestlers in mat supremacy. The unfortunate result was that tactical and technical readiness in the sambists declined, and imitating the wrestlers from south of Russia was discarded in favor of returning to the old training methods for Sambo. To train Russian judoka, this meant exploring the more traditional judo training methodologies from Japan and the rest of the world because those methods netted proven results. Judo adapted to chidaoba influenced Sambo-wrestling and marginalized the impact of this unconventional, Sambo-wrestling inspired Russian judo. New paradigms were needed - quickly. If chidaoba could stun the worlds of Sambo-wrestling and judo, why didn’t chidaoba net a world full of better sambists and judoka? Igor Кurinnoy in his article Wrestling: History, Geography, Laws (2005) began with a hypothesis

that neither Eurasia nor Africa ever had a common or uniform wrestling style. Through laborious analysis, Kurinnoy determined the “geography” for wrestling’s evolutionary distribution in the world. However, he discovered what he believed to be a uniform wrestling style in Eurasia in those areas coinciding with the territories of the Great "Mongolian" Empire of the 14th to 16th centuries. Wrestling as a martial art arose in that empire, which included a subjugated Russia. When the Empire fractured in the 17th century, the uniform "Mongolian" wrestling system broke off into separate styles or schools as it evolved under the influences of changing local customs and cultures. These methods were similar styles of belt wrestling. Belt wrestling was a significant skill for a warrior in those times. Nearly every military uniform required a belt to carry weapons, so that those weapons could always be at hand. Most all of these styles spread over the old geography of the Mongolian Empire had similar names: kures, kuresh, kurash, gyulesh, guresh, etc. Kurinnoy concluded that today, great wrestlers can be counted on to come from those areas where the Golden Horde once ruled or from Japan. Therefore, these regions have people genetically disposed through their ancestors to be better wrestlers. The Georgians and other inhabitants from the Caucasus would have a natural edge over a Russian from Moscow. Much of this is hidden by the fact that the Sambo-wrestling teams from Moscow or Leningrad are very successful, but a check of their team rosters shows that they could afford to recruit Georgians and others to fill out their team in lieu of native Russians. Following this theory to one of its logical conclusions, Russians could not use chidaoba’s unique training because the Georgians were naturally better suited for that training than non-Georgians. This is similar to the argument that judo was developed for the Japanese first and the rest of the world second, so that the Japanese would always have an edge in that sport; judo was innately

Japanese as chidaoba must be innately Georgian. That being said, the rest of the world has made considerable head way in winning judo championships. Genetics aside, a second point to consider is that when the Soviet trainers tried to train their wrestlers as the Georgians did, they were copying a style of wrestling that was not exactly commensurate with the goals of Sambo-wrestling. It was not necessarily a style that the trainers fully understood in terms of what chidaoba was, nor how it should be integrated into Sambo-wrestling as a whole. Chidaoba was neither judo nor Sambo-wrestling. At best, it was an independent style being used to rework other original styles. This brings us back to Spiridonov’s concept of intelligent change. To change because someone else is successful is shallow analysis. The change must be one that is needed and attainable, and only careful study can determine if a set of ploys are effective or can be integrated successfully into an existing system. Similarly, a system is a snap shot that must be updated over time to remain relevant. Change must be understood for its benefits and potential problems. In the case of Soviet judo, to go back to original Japanese concepts and training methods is lost time that could hold back a sports generation on the world scene. For Sambo-wrestling, it is a smaller stage to work from, so changes can be enacted more quickly if resources are available. Sambo-wrestling and judo continue to evolve, and if chidaoba follows this trend it will evolve as well.