Sambo

Overview

A Russian martial art and combat sport, mixing throws, holds and joint locks. It has two competition forms: sport SAMBO (throws, hold-downs and leg and arm locks, in a jacket) and combat SAMBO (which also allows strikes). This page covers sport SAMBO.

Checked against the International SAMBO Federation's International SAMBO Rules (Sport SAMBO), 2026 edition, approved 31 March 2026. Article numbers below refer to it.

1. The bout

Adults and juniors fight 5 minutes of actual time (Article 25). A bout ends early with a total victory (Article 28), or at the end of time with the higher score.

2. Winning early

A total victory ends the bout at once, for (Article 28):

• a perfect throw: the attacker stays on their feet, and the opponent lands flat on their back or in a "bridge";
• a submission during a painful hold or hold-down;
• an 8-point lead;
• the opponent withdrawing or being disqualified.

3. Scoring

Techniques score by what the defender lands on, whether the attacker stays on their feet or falls too, and whether the defender was standing or already on the ground (Article 30):

Defender lands	Standing defender, attacker stays up	Standing defender, attacker falls	Ground defender, attacker stays up	Ground defender, attacker falls
On the back or in a bridge	Perfect throw, wins outright	4	4	2
On the side or in a half-bridge	4	2	2	1
On chest, stomach, buttocks, lower back or shoulder	2	1	1	0

Hold-downs (Article 23): pin the opponent's shoulder blades to the mat with your torso on theirs. A full 20 seconds scores 4 points, and 10 to 19 seconds scores 2 points (Article 30). A submission from a hold-down wins the bout. Painful holds, the arm and leg locks, aren't scored: they win by submission. Each one is given one minute (Article 14).

Warnings also score: the second and third warnings give your opponent a point (Article 30).

4. Ties and warnings

If time runs out level (Article 29):

1. more points from technical actions (throws, hold-downs);
2. more high-scoring actions (worth 4 and 2);
3. whoever scored last;
4. fewer warnings, if nobody has scored;
5. an "activity" assessment, if nobody has scored or been warned.

Commonly argued

• A perfect throw wins the bout on the spot, and requires the thrower to stay on their feet.
• An 8-point lead ends the bout.
• Hold-downs score 4 points for 20 seconds, 2 for 10 to 19.
• Arm and leg locks don't score. They win by submission.
• The second and third warnings give the opponent a point each.