A NEW martial arts sports is attracting Baguio athletes.
It presents a new avenue for the athletic prowess of Baguio’s homegrown martial artists. Sambo, a Russian martial arts which is similar to wrestling and judo was introduced in 2015 in Davao under the close watch of Paolo Tancontian, a Jodoka and a sports enthusiast.
It was then acknowledged as a National Sports Association (NSA) in 2018.
Sambo is vastly growing in the country with many martial artists from different discipline slowly showing interest in the new Martial Arts Combat sports.
Sambo originated in Russia SFSR Soviet Union. The word sambo literally translates as “self-defense without weapons”.
There are multiple competitive sport variations of sambo, first is Sports Sambo, which is similar to old time catch wrestling judo but with some differences in rules, protocols and uniform.
More akin to catch wrestling and in contrast with judo, sambo allows types of leg locks while not allowing chokeholds. It focuses on throwing, ground work and submissions, with very few restrictions on gripping and holds.
Second is Combat Sambo. It resembles modern mixed martial arts including extensive forms of striking and grappling.
Combat sambo allows punches, kicks, elbows, knees, head butts and groin strikes.
Here in Baguio City, it was made known in 2018 with two athletes: Jedd Andre Kim and Helen Aclopen with Jasmin Dino Kim as the start – up coach.
Jedd already competed at the World Youth and Junior Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia on October 12-14, 2018. Jedd and Helen are also active Judo players of the University of Baguio under their Coach Jeorge Borja.
On June 22, in Bandung, Indonesia, a pre SEA GAMES tournament was held where Jedd and Helen competed, bagged silver medals in their respective -74kgs and -52kgs weight class.
Jedd and Helen are slated to participate for the upcoming World Martial Arts Masterships 2019 in Chungju, South Korea on August 30 to September 6, 2019.
This is also in preparation for the upcoming 30th South East Asian Games to be held here in the Philippines on November 30 to December 11, 2019.
Barely a year in Baguio City, sambo is becoming a rising sport in the country today. With passionate and hard-working coaches and players, there’s no doubt, sambo athletes will hit the international scene with a storm as they showcase their prowess, proving once again that indeed Baguio is an athlete’s haven and a heaven for athletes to train.