By: Gregg Humphreys
SAMBO: A Short History.
Sambo was created by two men, Viktor Spiridonov and Vasli Oshchepkov. Spiridonov studied the indigenous folk wrestling styles of the Soviet Republics with the most notable being Chidaoba (Georgia) and Kurash (Uzbekistan). He also studied the systems of almost every Soviet Republic as well as Mongolia.
Oshchepkov studied judo in Japan and achieved a Nidan rank( 2nd Degree Blackbelt).
Both these men took what they felt was useful from the styles they studied and combined them to …