What makes SAMBO one of the most complete and exciting grappling martial arts in the world? And why is the sport now beginning to grow across the UK?
In Episode 88 of The Grapple Of Your Eye Show, Brett Summers sits down with Alex Vankov, SAMBO competitor, coach at Tonbridge Sambo Club and one of the people helping to develop and promote British SAMBO in Kent (Kent Sambo Association) and across the UK.
Alex’s grappling journey stretches across freestyle wrestling, judo and SAMBO, beginning as a young wrestler growing up in post-Soviet Latvia. With a father heavily involved in grappling and military SAMBO, combat sports became part of Alex’s life from an early age.
🔥 FROM WRESTLER TO SAMBO COACH
Alex reveals what training was really like growing up in the post-Soviet grappling system — demanding sessions, intense conditioning, competition for places and a training philosophy built around learning to execute technique even when exhausted.
After stepping away from serious competition, Alex eventually moved to the UK, became involved in British Judo, and later returned to the grappling world through SAMBO.
But after nearly a decade away from regular grappling, what was it really like stepping back onto the mat?
Alex discusses the physical reality of returning to combat sports later in life, dealing with old injuries, training intelligently and why older grapplers shouldn’t allow age to stop them from returning to wrestling, judo, BJJ or SAMBO.
Alex explains why SAMBO provides such a powerful foundation for almost any grappling discipline.
Combining elements of wrestling, judo, throws, takedowns, groundwork, pins, arm locks and leg locks, SAMBO produces an incredibly dynamic style of grappling that can transfer into:
🥋 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
🥋 Judo
🤼 Freestyle Wrestling
🤼 Greco-Roman Wrestling
🥊 MMA & Combat Sports
🔥 Submission Grappling
Alex also shares the story behind establishing his own SAMBO programme at Tonbridge Judo Club and explains why SAMBO could be an ideal martial art for anyone looking to develop a truly well-rounded grappling game.
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We speak to competitors, coaches, historians and personalities from across the grappling world to discover the people, stories and traditions that make these sports unique.
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