Part 2
Clothes may make the man, but the uniform defines the sport. Both Kano and Oshchepkov designed their practice uniforms to be hardier, standardized versions of their native dress. The judogi was patterned on the traditional kimono, and the tighter fitting kurtka was intended to represent both modern western dress and the military tunics common to that era. The looser fit of the gi is ideally suited to sport judo in both setting up the classical throws (harai-ogoshi, osoto-gari, etc.) and the jime-waza seen on the judo tatami. As sport judo evolved, judoka consequently became more adept at using the gi against their opponents. Rules evolved to allow more opportunities for the classical throws to occur. Eventually, much of this throwing technology wormed its way into the self-defense portion of the art whether it was street practical or not.
The kurtka was designed to match the uniforms that soldiers might encounter in combat, or that secret agents might meet on guards, civilians, or soldiers. Military uniforms are designed for function and never to allow an adversary to have an equal opportunity to grapple in a clinch. However, for sport matches, all SOMBists wear the prescribed uniform for fair play. In addition, the color of the uniform (comprised of matching kurtka, belt, and shorts) for each player is designated in advance of the match, so that one fighter wears a red uniform and the other blue. This enables both the judges and the audience to better observe the scoring techniques of the fighters. The tighter fitting kurtka complements the scrappier, lower to the ground fighting style found in SOMBO, but inhibits the secure grips needed to perform the classical judo throws and chokes.
In the United States national SOMBO matches, the uniform color for the uniform is strictly enforced. Many international competitions permit white kurtkas to be worn providing that the prescribed belt color is used. Some competitions allow the use of white shorts to alleviate the fighters from having to leave the area to change their uniform bottoms.
French judo adopted a two color uniform system to add contrast for matches to been seen on black and white television. The uniform colors giving the best contrast were blue and the traditional white. Recently, this two color system has entered the realm of international competition. The traditional judoka of Japan have not been pleased by the introduction of this European innovation, but world-wide popularity of sport judo has diluted their influence in the last half of this century.
SOMBO competitions were first broadcast in the era of color telecasts, and the red and blue contrast was adopted.
Judo’s philosophy, and therefore, its desired arsenal of techniques, is enhanced by its deliberately engineered rules and uniforms. Judo and SOMBO are analogous to Greco-Roman and free-style wrestling. Judo and Greco-Roman appear more elegant to outside observers because their rules are designed to encourage the high amplitude techniques that please the crowds. SOMBO techniques include all of the major judo techniques, and free-style wrestling contains all of the techniques of Greco-Roman wrestling.
Incidentally, SOMBO contains all of the techniques of Greco-Roman and free-style wrestling. In a chart called the “Wheel” is catalogued all of the arts that fed the development of SOMBO with all of their techniques. When new SOMBO applications are needed and techniques from existing applications are lacking, SOMBists go back to the Wheel to research the needed techniques to design a new SOMBO application. High amplitude throws do not comprise a large percentage of the actual scoring techniques used in SOMBO or free-style wrestling because of the lower stances required to guard against pick-up attacks. This difference makes high amplitude attacks far riskier, and therefore, rarer.
When the Russians fought on the judo mat, they wore the judogi, but cut much closer to the body like the kurtka. Their early successes led many Europeans to adopt similarly tailored jackets, and the unorthodox pick-up attacks became more prevalent. In 1990, the International Judo Federation amended its existing rules to enforce the requirements for the traditional, larger judo jacket.
Kano’s judo introduced a grading system that used the colored obi (belt) to indicate a practitioner’s proficiency level. The many belt colors of today evolved slowly. In 1886, Kano’s most senior students wore the black obi to distinguish themselves from the other students, but these obis were the traditional sashes worn with the traditional kimono. Kano did not introduce the standardized judogi until 1907. With it came the modern martial arts belt; however, it came in only two colors: white and black. Other colors (green, brown, etc.) were introduced as judo was exported to other nations.
Kano wanted the color levels to act as positive feedback for the students’ progress in judo testing. Instructors would be able to assess training requirements for students based on the standardized techniques required for the award of each obi. This innovation spread to other Japanese martial arts, but was only introduced into sport SOMBO in 1979 by FIAS (International Amateur SOMBO Federation) in a bid to enlist more judoka to enter SOMBO competitions. These SOMBO belts were ceremonial and used to indicate a fighter’s achievements in national and international tournaments. FIAS dropped the competition belt system in 1987, but many American SOMBO organizations such as the American Association of Martial Arts and the American SOMBO Academy have instituted belt systems to track their members’ training in self-defense.
The old Soviet system recognized eleven degrees of “black” belt. A national champion was awarded a black belt (sixth degree) onto which was sewn devices representing the host country and organization for the event. A PanAmerican champion or other continental champion was also awarded a black belt but at the seventh degree level. A gold medallist in the World Games earned a gold belt (tenth degree), a silver medallist was awarded a silver belt (ninth degree), and a bronze medallist was earned a bronze belt (eighth degree). The eleventh degree belt was gold like the tenth degree belt but adorned with honorary ensigns.
American SOMBO organizations began in the 1970s as sport SOMBO clubs that realized that the overall art contained a vast variety of techniques outside of the sport realm. These organizations often had members who had received SOMBO training in the Soviet Union as part of cultural exchange programs. Also, many members were wrestlers interested in adapting their own grappling skills to self-defense. American SOMBO (this spelling was adopted for its phonetic accuracy in English) was born as a new application of the Russian martial art. It is usually heavily influenced by sport SOMBO supplemented with techniques drawn from wrestling, judo, jujitsu, tae kwon do, and US military hand to hand combat systems already familiar in the United States.
Considered too unorthodox to be a part of judo, SOMBO’s international stature was uncertain until 1968 when the sport was adopted by FILA (the International Amateur Wrestling Federation) as the third international style of wrestling along side of free-style and Greco-Roman wrestling. This was hindered by the scant amount of SOMBO knowledge and experience in the western world. Until very recently, combat SOMBO was cloaked in secrecy under the mantle of Soviet national security. This sometimes included sport SOMBO and slowed its exportation outside of the Soviet Union.
The jujitsuka of feudal Japan would not be fazed by SOMBO’s takedowns. Many of the techniques were common place then and there. However, the distillation of the art that led to judo was too refined to entertain these techniques as good martial arts. Other skills of the samurai did not enter judo’s curriculum either. The hojo jitsu and taiho jitsu presently practiced by the Tokyo police and their elite tactical units are other such examples. Many of these skills are retained today in combat SOMBO.
SOMBO is often the archive for techniques that have been lost in other arts. Many of the catch-as-catch-can wrestling styles once prevalent in North America included submission techniques such as neck cranks, toe holds, and bent arm and leg locks. Eventually, these techniques were deemed dangerous, made illegal, and have long since dropped from the modern wrestler’s repertoire. Many of these techniques exist in SOMBO today.
The modern Japanese shootfighting, shootwrestling, or shooto was inspired in part by the professional wrestler, Karl Gotch. His real surname was Istaz, but he changed it to Gotch for the association with Frank Gotch. Frank Gotch was one of America’s greatest wrestlers in the days before professional wrestling became the show that it is today. He was noted for breaking the legs of opponents who refused to submit to his “Gotch step-over toe-hold.” Frank Gotch died in 1917. He was a student of wrestling legend Farmer Burns who most likely taught Mr. Gotch his stepover toe-hold.
Most of the joint manipulation and locking techniques streamlined into judo and aikido have SOMBO equivalents. However, these SOMBO equivalents are often performed in a style closer to that of jujitsu from the first quarter of this century. This is neither good nor bad, but it is different from the modern Japanese interpretation of the techniques.
In Japan, SOMBO could be ignored-almost. Since the 1960s, judo has softened its position on barring judoka from forcing matches to the mat simply to grapple. SOMBO was probably the first wake up call followed more recently by reality based fighting events such as the Ultimate Fighting Challenge (UFC) where judoka have not fared as well as they might have. Oddly enough, sport SOMBOists has fared remarkably well in Russian reality based fighting events but have not translated that success to the international scene.
A point worth noting: American amateur wrestlers, with their strong tradition in Catch-as-Catch-Can wrestling, have enjoyed great success in reality based fighting events leaving both judoka and SOMBists far behind. Some of the wrestlers have been trained in American SOMBO. Dan Severn, for example, is a black belt under the American Association of Martial Arts. Often criticized for their lack of finishing techniques, the wrestlers dominate their matches with their takedown skills and control their opponents until they can be finished with boxing skills or rear naked chokes.
Since the only “finishing” techniques found in modern amateur wrestling are pins and falls, it should not be surprising that the wrestlers do not have traditional submission skills taught at the lower levels of other martial arts.
SOMBO, judo, and even wrestling do not tolerate mat work that does not actively lead to hold downs or submissions. Unlike the UFC, the bouts are limited to no more than six minutes each, so that fighters must work aggressively to earn points to decide the outcome of a match if there is not a submission, a pin, or a throw to a fall. Unlike the UFC, if the mat judge decides that the ground work is stalemated, the match is halted and restarted with both fighters in a neutral position. Both fighters are then in a situation where they must work to score or be penalized. This is kinder to the audience at least.
In consonance with world level Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling matches, international judo bouts are five minutes in length without breaks or periods. The power judo players of Europe are lobbying for four minutes matches, but this is being countered by traditional judoka who prefer besting an opponent with excellent technique instead of simply overpowering him (or her). Oddly enough, international SOMBO matches are six minutes in length without breaks or periods. The extra minute was deemed necessary to offset the additional difficulties of beating an opponent by ultimate victory with twelve points vice ippon by one point.
In the United States, SOMBO was ignored by judoka thanks to the relative isolation from the Russians. Also, the United States sided with the Japanese lest the Kodokan frown on its fledgling judo programs. Many of the early Americans who participated in international SOMBO competition came from the ranks of AAU wrestling. Largely, this stemmed from the AAU declaring SOMBO the fourth style of wrestling in the United States. Besides, free-style and Greco-Roman, the United States practices National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) catch-as-catch-can wrestling which is native to North America and is often referred to as “folk-style.”
The wrestlers’ domination of American sport SOMBO is changing. When the United States Judo Association (USJA) implemented its policy to award belt promotions for martial arts outside of judo, SOMBO was quickly adopted under the USJA umbrella. USJA SOMBO belts were first awarded in 1995. Unlike the USJA’s well-documented judo and jujitsu programs, USJA SAMBO does not have a set curriculum. It does not specify if it covers sport, self-defense, or both. Further, it does not specify if it is Russian CAMBO, American SOMBO, or both. Today, judo and wrestling clubs from all over the United States do participate in most regional and national AAU SOMBO events.
In Europe, however, SOMBO was always a force to be reckoned with even if SOMBO had been declared a style of wrestling. In Russia, wrestling and judo and SOMBO were considered to be the same thing: grappling (free style wrestling again). Just because you changed the uniform and limited some of the rules, you did not stop the athlete from doing what he or she did best. The Europeans countered the Soviet invasion of judo by modifying their sport philosophy to take in SOMBO’s more effective techniques and methodologies.
Their tradition in sombo (which is similar to judo although it has a different look and feel) gave the Russians a head start over most of Europe and it still stands them in good stead today.Even so, it is not necessarily a smooth transition from SOMBO to judo or judo to SOMBO.Neil Adams, Judo Masterclass Techniques: Grips
Page 15 of Reference 2
The distinguishing characteristic of western judo is that it does not aspire to the perfect form embodied in the Gokyo, but rather adapts it and modifies it to be more effective at throwing the opponent. The Japanese … argue that their goal is not, in fact, the same, since the aesthetic element is of intrinsic importance to the performance of any technique and if the use of force is excessive, rather than truly rational, then the object has not been achieved in accordance with the basic philosophical tenets of judo.
Peter Seisenbacher and George Kerr, Modern Judo, Techniques of East and West
Page 50 of Reference 12
…In comparing sambo with judo, I found that on the whole, judo techniques were on a higher level. But, I also discovered that the ura nage and juji gatame used in sambo were considerably more powerful and effective than those in judo. Another thing that I noted was that because the stance in sambo is wide, the samboist is vulnerable to forward-and-back combination techniques particularly to those like tai otoshi, ko-ouchi-gari, and o-uchi-gari. Thus, I was able to take advantage of the weak points of Russian judoists when I met them in contests.SOMBO’s relative disregard for the hold down did not always prepare a SOMBist to develop the skills needed to evade a judoka’s skillful osae-komi waza. The hold down in judo is just as effective as the arm lock in ending a bout. Judoka, in turn, experienced problems coping with SOMBO’s rules and unique techniques:Nobuyuki Sato in Best Judo
Page 243 of Reference 7
…I was competing in the All-Japan Sambo Competition. I was fighting the Soviet Champion and I must have tried something like kouchi-gari into yoko- tomoe-nage combination, but it came out like this [furiko-tomoe-nage] instead. I threw the Russian twice for what in judo terms would have been ippon, but in sambo terms was only four points for each throw-one point short of outright victory. In the event, my opponent caught hold of my leg and I lost on a leglock.To clarify: four points or one good throw was required to win in this manner. One point (ippon) ends a judo match. A twelve-point lead in the score immediately wins the SOMBO match. Three four point throws often end many European SOMBO matches. Either way, a third throw of type cited by Kashiwazaki above would have won him the bout if he had not been submitted by the leglock.Katsuhiki Kashiwazaki, Judo Masterclass Techniques, Tomoe-nage
Page 43 of Reference 9
Only about a quarter of the Japanese submissions in judo come from kansetsu-waza. This is as true today as it was in 1920 and 1960. European judo maintained this ratio until the SOMBO infusion in the 1960s, but since then has allowed kansetsu-waza to take over almost sixty per cent of judo submissions. In SOMBO, roughly sixty per cent of the submissions come from arm locks with the other forty per cent resulting from pinching the hamstring or Achilles tendons or locking the knee or hip.
Many SOMBO techniques and methods of generating speed and power are better suited to the European physique than judo. Jigaro Kano’s martial art is based upon economies of motion, leverage, and energy to generate the most force to throw the opponent with the least amount of energy. However, the foot work and body positions favor bodies that have long torsos but short arms and legs as the average Japanese has. Europeans and North Americans often have long or short torsos with long arms and legs. Again from Russian-Style Hand to Hand Combat:
…Because of physiological differences, it is difficult for the European to make use of concentration [of force] in a strike as is customary in the East. Therefore, this requires greater physical force. The low Eastern stance is uncomfortable for the European, with his long legs; on the other hand, for his long arms, penetrating lateral strikes are preferable. And it is on these characteristics that the Russian style system is partially constructed…Westerners who do not have a build that corresponds to that of the average Japanese are often forced into bad judo form, which is inefficient, and thus, loses power and speed. SOMBO adapted its techniques to take full advantage of the longer legs and arms found on the average European. These included techniques that use the hands to sweep an opponent’s legs out from under him. Many of these techniques derive from Mongolian or Chinese wrestling styles that used jackets but were little influenced by Jigaro Kano’s innovations or philosophy. An advantage shared by both the Chinese and Mongolian styles is that their techniques are not dependent on the opponent’s gi or other garb to be effective.Paragraph 5.2 of Reference 8
Also, by including the full arsenal of wrestling techniques, the SOMBist opens up a wider range of attack techniques and follow-ups. For example, if a SOMBist cannot complete an ouchi-gari style attack because his opponent steps over the technique, the SOMBist may follow up with a “knee pick” to the swept leg. In turn, he may pull that trapped knee over his hip, catch his opponent’s far arm, and switch to a harai-ogoshi equivalent throw against the opponent’s standing leg. Done properly, the throw should lead directly to an ankle or leg lock off the pick or throw.
Additionally, as westerners entered judo, their different builds caused them to attempt classical judo throws, but forced them to adapt their styles and techniques to be successful. These adaptations were not always met with open arms and smiling faces by traditional judoka. Consider the case of uchimata:
…During the 1950s, uchimata proved the highest scoring technique at competitions in the Kodokan. This was partly caused by the absence of weight categories and the discovery by taller men that the leg form of uchimata could be especially effective against smaller opponents…and to highlight uchimata as a tall man’s throw, which did not do full justice to its potential range of application. Long legs also promoted the use of ken-ken uchimata, though this variation was often disparaged as a second-class technique and referred to as shomben uchimata, or the “urinating dog style”-not the kind of variation that appealed to purists and lovers of fine judo. Yet then, as now, no-one could deny its effectiveness.> This last variation of uchimata is a standard workhorse of both sport and combat SOMBO. Where ken-ken uchimata is considered flawed for judo because the technique lacks amplitude and altitude for the uke (receiver of the throw), it is a philosophically correct technique for SOMBO. The Russian art prefers a lower amplitude throw where amplitude is traded for decreased time for technique execution. This quickly positions the opponent for a submission in the event that the throw is not scored as ultimate victory. In self-defense situations, the lower amplitude techniques take less time to execute and allow the defender to more quickly deal with multiple attackers-or to more quickly submit a single attacker.Hitoshi Sugai, Judo Masterclass Techniques, Uchimata
Page 14 of Reference 13
European judo, like SOMBO, began to adapt to its environment:
A major difference between judo in the East and West is the sprung floor that is common in all Japanese dojos… The effect of the sprung floor is to encourage movement and spring to allow the judoka to train with less fear of injury, and to move faster, and without inhibition… The typical western judo club mat is slower… and, because taking falls is harder, players tend to be more defensive and attempt to pin their opponents in place, rather than moving with them. Peter Seisenbacher and George Kerr, Modern Judo, Techniques of East and WestSOMBO did not appear on the world scene under its own banner until the first international tournament was held in 1967 at Riga in the then USSR. However, this event only featured teams from the USSR and the nations of Mongolia, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria. The second international tournament was held in 1969 and featured competitors from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands as well. The Japanese fielded their first SOMBO team at the fourth international tournament held in Tachkent in 1971.Page 75 of Reference 12
Judo held its first world championships in 1956. In 1964, judo became an official Olympic sport spurring worldwide interest in the art and in improving its techniques for competition. Interest in Atemi Waza waned as judoka devoted greater training time to improving their competitive techniques that were now gaining more and more importance in belt promotion requirements.
The first SOMBO world games were held in Tehran, Iran in 1973. SOMBO made its brief Olympic appearance as an exhibition sport in the 1980 Moscow games. By the middle of that decade, it was evident that SOMBO would not join judo as a permanent Olympic sport. The SOMBists who had basked in the limelight of 1980 had no other choice than to take up judo if they dreamed of winning other Olympic gold medals with their hard-earned skills. They did so enthusiastically changing both sports.
In more recent times, there has been an increase in the techniques of sport judo, largely as a result of the influence of Russian fighters coming into the sport with their traditions of sombo wrestling. This eclectic quality has always been Judo’s greatest strength. When confronted by anything new and of value, it has always been capable of assimilating it.In reverse osmosis, the best techniques of SOMBO were absorbed into European judo and via European judo into Japanese and ultimately, American judo. Now, belt throws, single leg picks, double leg picks, and crotch lifts are common in European judo championships, and Europeans acknowledge the SOMBO origins of their new found techniques. The line between SOMBO and judo in Europe is blurry at best, and at worst, unseen.Peter Seisenbacher and George Kerr, Modern Judo, Techniques of East and West
Page 30 of Reference 12
Following the emergence of the Russians as a force to be reckoned with in international judo, the trend has been towards a gradual sharing of success among European countries, with an increasing number of the world’s nations sharing out the honours in international tournaments, generally at the expense of the Japanese. Peter Seisenbacher and George Kerr, Modern Judo, Techniques of East and WestOriginally, European judoka were dismayed to have East German and other Soviet Bloc athletes block their ogoshi and uchimata with the SOMBO wrestler’s rear crotch lift. Not only did the judoka adopt this technique for both a counter and an attack, but also they learned to adapt ogoshi and uchimata to the Russian inside/out throw to block the rear crotch lift themselves.Page 168 of Reference 12
The inside/out throw, as a hip throw, is performed by blocking uke’s right elbow with tori’s (the thrower) right hand, so that tori can step in front of uke (but he behind uke’s right arm) and wrap his left arm around uke’s waist. The throw may be executed as ogoshi or hane-goshi or uchimata. If altitude is not the object, stepping across uke’s left shin with tori’s left leg while shoving down and leftward against his trapped leg will also force uke to the ground. Tori may even use the tai-otoshi throw from this grip. The chief advantage of this cross arm throw is that uke is severely limited in counter techniques while being set up for very quick and brutally efficient arm, leg, and ankle locks. This same throw, without the leg assists, had long been employed in Greco-Roman wrestling, but had not been included in the original judo by Jigaro Kano. Variants can, however, be found in jujitsu and aiki-jitsu.
Today, the two sports are in no mortal danger of merging together, but then again, the arts have not finished their cross pollination. In 1997, martial arts audiences were treated to two bold experiments shaped at improving and vitalizing their respective arts: New Sport Judo and American Modified SOMBO. Both of these revised sports preserve their roots while incorporating rules and elements from other martial arts-including each other. They were designed to entertain audiences, attract newcomers, and provide fun but more realistic arenas for the fighters themselves.
Sport judo and SOMBO are different arts that share some common ground in takedowns, throws, arm locks, and Europe. Many great judoka such as Nobuyuki Sato, Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki, Neil Adams, and Peter Seisenbacher have successfully integrated SOMBO techniques into their championship repertoires. Today, most of SOMBO’s world champions have relied on judo techniques to score points and to win matches and championships. This is very true in Europe where most every SOMBist also plays judo.
The future of jacket wrestling will continue to evolve as the styles and techniques of the two arts blend and adapt. Ironically, this is happening just now with New Sport Judo and American Modified SOMBO in the greatest of all melting pots: the United States of America.