Review by: Kirik

I recently acquired a copy of the Encyclopedia of Sambo. First off, the text is in Cyrillic; the perhaps 2,000 images are of course universally understood. Many of my favorite fight tapes are in Thai or Brazilian Portuguese. I feel the same way here. While I would be delighted to see an English language version some day, I never the less got a very great deal out of the Encyclopedia.

Like many poeple, I understood that I knew very little about Sambo, but, I simultaneously held a number of misperceptions of which I was entirely unaware. Basically, I think most of the uninitiated hold views similar to the one I held. I thought Sambo was a wrestling and Judo hybrid, with leg locks. I knew it had a Spetsnaz side too, that a number of charlatans have picked up and run with. I view people's claims at World Champion status in Combat/Military Sambo the same way I would if someone in Soldier of Fortune claimed to be a world Champion at clearing out sniper nests with a shovel.

The Encyclopedia is an eye opening, mind expanding experience on the subject of Sambo. As I understand it, there are three aspects of Sambo-sport, self-defense, and military. Sport Sambo could indeed be likened to a Judo-Wrestling Hybrid, but the simple fact is that is is neither, it is Sambo. While a freestyle wrestler or Judo player might recognise many moves, in the end, Sport Sambo is Sport Sambo. Sambo for self defense involves defending against a wide variety of attacks, using a large number of means, armed and unarmed. I realise that that is a big vague, but you should get the Encyclopedia! Miltary Sambo was perhaps the biggest surprise to me, involving a huge number of practical aspects of one on one warfare, including the securing and transport of the injured and prisoners.

I can say categorically, that in the 26 years I have been studying martial arts, Sambo as detailed in the Encyclopedia is by far the most inclusive and wide reaching art I have ever been exposed to. Please note, these are just my impresions on the volume, not a genuinely informed view of the art. Sufficed to say, though, I loved the Encyclopedia, and recommend it enthusiatically to each and every martial artist.

If you're at all interested in Sambo and it's many flavors, this book is for you. In ordering my copy of the Encyclopedia of Sambo, I expected that it would include techniques relating to sport-style, and perhaps some interesting examples of it's combat applications, but as it turns out, there is so much more here.

The Encyclopedia of Sambo is written in Cyrillic, but this really isn't much of a problem as the illustrations are as clear as you could hope for, and very easy to understand. It would be impossible to detail the range of information in the book's 510 pages, but you'll find techniques relating to stand up boxing (with elbow strikes), stretching and bridging, every sport Sambo technique you could imagine, and a huge variety of combat techniques, many of which would be very useful in a street situation.

Want to know how to disarm an attacker with a knife, pistol, rifle or cane? It's in here. Want to learn Russian techniques for taking a prisoner, searching, binding and gagging, and transporting them? It's here too. There are even techniques in the Encyclopedia for escaping from the cord-around-the-neck choke often seen in James Bond movies. In short, this is a great book, and it's completeness will leave you astounded. It is hard bound, with an attractive green cover, and looks great on a bookshelf. If you are at all interested in learning more about the huge spectrum of what is Sambo, I couldn't recommend this book more highly.

Kirik Jenness's own masterpiece - The Fighter's Notebook