Saturday, May 29, 2010

a Busy time ahead

A very busy time ahead Colin and myself will be of to Paris in June to support the French Sombo, October I will be taking a team to World Masters, beginning of November to Holland for Judo Comp two weeks later back again for Sombo Comp, Robin will attending The World Sombo in Uzbekistan. Plus we have a Senior Novice MMA SportCombatSombo/pankration event in July late July Junior Sombo/Pankration Wrestling Scottish Open Sombo Judo last saturday in july and Agust Summer camp

I was questioned recently about Combat Sambo and how it would be nearly impossable to insure because they allowed really dangerous techniques such as kick to the testicles etc. It was suggested you can get insurance as long as you pay the price so two questions what insurance company because I can not find one and what price?

Thursday, May 27, 2010

FIAS COMBAT SAMBO

Over recent year we have had a plethora of Strike and Grapple Martial Arts especially from the Ex Soviet Union. The most popular is Combat Sambo/Sambo Combat organised by the World Governing Body FIAS a rival in Russia I recently got criticized because I called them second rate yet I stand by my what I said 1) They are not members of the World Recognised body 2) There is very little safety equipment worn by this rival group 3) In fact they do not have to wear standard equipment i.e. some wear Sambo Boots some do not. My critic suggested he preferred the Non Affiliated group because they allow more ground work, he obviously comes from a Non Throwing background I do not my background is Judo and Sambo/Sombo Wrestling both emphasise big throws maybe harder to do and more physical but that is what I enjoy. In fact that what drew me to Sombo was its emphasis on throwing when I started Sombo/Sambo in the early 1970’s all there was the Wrestling side and you got scores for throwing and the only floor work was arm locks and leg locks, at the time Sambo was one of the FILA recognised disciplines of free Style, Greco Roman and Sambo, because Sambo was the smaller sport they had to accept hold downs to appease the other wrestlers. I WAS LICKY ENOUGH TO MEET SOME Ex soviets who actually trained with the founders of Sambo and they told me the following : Sambo was devised for Soldiers so they win in battle, they were taught to throw there opponent hard and fast, break and arm or leg an injured soldier would need another to help him. They brought this attitude to the competition arena, they said if you rolled around the ground with your assailant in Battle or on the street you were vulnerable. When Combat Sambo was introduced many years later these criteria held fast now that may not be to the liking of many MMA fighters but that is what it is
I had this as well from a Russian Fist Fighter wasnt martin slateing combat sambo (2 words) just in his blog?
saying its to brutal?
maybe his team...' the warriors' will be fighting in the fias one this year? last i saw poor danny carrott ( who is a good wrestler and top guy) be thrown into combat sambo, within second had his nose broken! He sarcastically asked why was there no World Sport CombatSombo Championships, knowing full well we only managed to negoiate Insurance Cover this year


.There is no World CombatSombo Championships yet but numbers are improving especially in the States so maybe next year I will have an International for our members. Yes I made a mistake putting Danny into the Combat Sambo in France I thought it was a Novice Competition. With regard to FIAS Worlds The BSF will be more selective of who we allow to represent GB this year Lee Till will be our only Representative no one else is in GB is of a standard and we want representatives who do not embarrass us and who are fit enough to fight
Any sport that allows kicks to the groin and repeated pouches to the head whilst on the ground is brutal and barbaric and as President of the governing body I have to be guided by UK Sport and Insurance companies. Sport CombatSombo is a watered down version which meets the requirements of UK Sport and the Insurance Company. We will be having our Comp in July for our members only that way I know they are insured and know the rules, Health and Safety is a must.
I have made my case clear to the FIAS Committee sadly they do not agree with me but will talk to them again at the FIAS Council meeting
Some of the other systems with maybe the exception of Ukrainian Hand To Hand leave a lot to be disered have a look at the clips

Where is the control or sport expect Fist Fighter will love this





Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Judo or Sambo

Now tell me what is the best throwing sport this or modern rules Judo and what is more exciting

Second rate Worlds Followed by the Official FIAS World Championships

This was not the Official FIAS World Championships. FIAS World Championship you wear proper Sambo Attire Plus shin and Instep Gloves and Head guard unlike this competition where one of the players is not even wearing a pair of Sambo Shoes also all Sambo matches are done a Mat with a Circle This is done on a Judo Mat. This looks very much like a second rate World Tournament


OFFICIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS FIAS

See the difference

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Old Article What is MMA

Thursday, April 01, 2010
What is MMA?
Monday, February 08, 2010
What is MMA?
WHAT IS MMA?


I am told it is an abbreviation of Mixed Martial Arts but what is that?

MMA is the biggest Martial Arts phenomenon at present but something I have not particularly followed my own expertise is more Traditional Martial Arts & Grappling, Judo, Jiu Jitsu, CombatSombo, Sombo, Sport CombatSombo, Kurash, Belt Wrestling, Submission Wrestling etc.

I am told that these are now old hat and that I must use my expertise to move into MMA or Cage Fighting the latter I have no interest in what so ever. So I began to enquire what is MMA first I found out it is very difficult to get Insurance cover mainly because MMA has no distinct History or Philosophy. Many years ago when MMA first started I was told it would be the ultimate Fighting System taking the best from every Martial Art and blending it altogether, well I have heard that one before and none have achieved its aim all end up following a route which the founder wants, based on his strengths and weakness but the success of MMA may have proved me wrong.

Now I can understand an Insurance company not insuring an MMA organisation who claims that MMA is a mixture of all Martial Arts this would be near impossible to insure, for one: how would one become expert or even proficient when it takes years of training and dedication to become proficient in one Martial Art/Combat Discipline?

So we have established that MMA is not blender full of Martial Arts made into one Martial Arts Soup, so what are these clubs doing who call themselves MMA. Well my research show that a great deal of clubs are doing different forms of Wrestling without Jackets, some call themselves MMA Submission Wrestling i.e., where the aim is to gain a submission, the rest do points scoring Wrestling like the Japanese Combat Wrestling this where Free Style Wrestlers added submission to there arsenal of techniques or most resemble the old fashioned Catch as Catch Can. The one thing in common there is hardly any throwing.

Now the next group of MMA fighters are the ones who just wear shorts and wear padded gloves and have a mixture of Striking and Grappling to defeat their opponent, this I believe is where the original founders of MMA come from and the name MMA was an ideal Product Name, The Combat Discipline was born round a set of rules rather then the other way round and this made perfect sense, back in the mid 1970’s I tried something similar and called it Shiai Jutsu (Competitive Art) using different styles of rules, all competitors wore a JudoGi, Shin and Instep, Padded Gloves I even developed a grading system, top Martial Arts people like Iron Man Trevor Roberts reached 6th Dan. The style never really took of as it was a mish mash of everything. Yet round about the same time the Gracie’s had developed their own style of Ultimate Fighting the for-runner of Cage Fighting which was a success story and won them World Wide Fame. There’s must be the success story of the Century, some say I should have carried on but I felt it did not achieve what I wanted the Ultimate Martial Art and my heart was still with Jacket Grappling Styles. For the last few years I have ventured into mixing Striking and Grappling with Sport CombatSombo this is a some what watered down version of the Russian Sambo Combat and in March I am having the Pankration European President over for a seminar, this ancient sport looks very interesting





So what is MMA?

I believe it is a precursor for training in becoming a Cage Fighter, which is an extremely hard style of Combat all though I wish they do not use the word Fighting as it gives the wrong impression and could be associated with back street fights. The skill level is more then just Fighting, Cage Combat would be a better name and would give it more Gladiatorial Kudos. MMA as I said is a product name it may have started as Mixed Martial Arts but now just MMA will suffice.

MMA has been good thing for those who do not want to do Traditional Combat Discipline and has given them another outlet, to train and compete. If that is all you want to do is there no need for the rituals of Traditional Martial Arts and that is not decrying Traditional Martial Arts after all I have been doing them for 55 years. MMA has encouraged a lot of people to start up little clubs with small groups of people getting together to have a wrestle which is good. The problem all these little groups do not have any structure or Insurance that is why I am starting GRAPPLINGUK an organisation that still allows them their independence but can give a guiding hand.

Grappling UK will be offering Competitions and Courses home and abroad in many different grappling styles, such as:

With Jackets: Judo, Kurash, Sombo, Jacket Submission, Jacket Wrestling, Mongolian Style, Back to Back, Belt Wrestling, Kosen Judo, CombatSombo Wrestling

Without Jackets: Sombo, Back to Back, Submission Wrestling, Points Wrestling, and Judo Ne Waza

Grappling with Strikes: Sport CombatSombo and Pankration

For more information go to www.grapplinguk.co.uk or email grapplinguk@googlemail.com

Hand To Hand

I tried inventing something call Shiai Jutsu and run a tournament at Herne Bay in 1980 or round about that time For those who were there this looks very much like that

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Rugby Shirts

I am running a pankration Tournament in July and am having great difficulty getting the right equipment so to compromise I will allow Judo trousers and old fashioned Rugby shirts. Can any one tell if I can still but them

Saturday, May 22, 2010

RingMasters

After the successful IBF Multi Nation Judo Championships at Hasting I have been riding on a high especially after the poor turn out at the British Sombo Championships and the snide remarks but things seem to get better. Because on Saturday I met two very nice gentleman from Herne Bay and Dover there name were Shane Burr and Lee Whittington they popped into my Dojo in Sittingbourne to promote their RINGMASTERS Thai Boxing-Kickboxing-MMA event on Saturday 28th August.
Instead of the normal what we do is better then anything else you have seen, they came along and were prepared to listen and compare notes with me and my Son John a rather unique thing in the Combat world especially with people who do MMA. These lads not only specialise in the above discipline having amateur and professional fighter but they also do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, for those who have seen my CV they will see I have done many Combat Sports but my main interest has been the various forms of Jacket Wrestling so the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was of great interest to me. The meeting has led to us taking some of our Sombo and Judo Players to there session on a Wednesday night in about 3 weeks time, they tell me they get up to 50 players I do not know of any Judo Club with that type of numbers, hopefully the exchange will eventually lead to us having a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu section at the Swale Martial arts Club Dojo in Sittingbourne and even putting a few lads in to their MMA tournaments.
It was pleasure to meet these guys and puts back my faith into meeting Grapplers from different styles. If you are interested their competition go to www.ringmasters.tv sadly I will have to miss this one as it is the end of the Summer Camp and Grading day

Thursday, May 20, 2010

International Sambo

Dutch are running a Sombo Tournament in November BSF have been invited

French have a Tournament in Paris in June once again the BSF are invited

If you are interested in these event Contact BSF President Martin Clarke

Congratulations to Roberto Ferraris from Italy who has been voted in as General Secretary of the European Sambo Federation. Roberto is an old friend of mine from the 1980's is was a very good Sombo Wrestler

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Junior Fights Hastings

IBF Seniors Hastings 2010






AASF US Open

Monday, 03 May 2010 19:57

Reilly Bodycomb in the first round of the US SAMBO Open Photo: Tyga Maclin What was, on the surface, a high class grappling tournament in Rahway, New Jersey, yesterday, opened a political can of worms as a series of freak injuries at the USA SAMBO Open revealed unrest with national management.
The primary attraction of the USA SAMBO Open is the classical rules of the Russian martial art known colloquially as “sport SAMBO,” one of three recognized rules sets to bare the SAMBO name. Sport SAMBO is not dissimilar from Olympic rules Judo, with the most notable differences being the allowance of leg locks, the disallowance of chokes, generally more time spent on the ground, and increased difficulty in scoring a perfect throw that will end the match.

After the sport SAMBO festivities, which featured an international cast of athletes from nine countries and 40 competitors total in the adult division, the event was closed with five exhibition matches of Combat SAMBO. The Combat SAMBO rules have their roots in the Russian military and, though practiced in traditional SAMBO uniform, allows for a variety of strikes and is often described as “MMA with a jacket on.”

During the five exhibitions, there was string of freak injuries where four of the competitors were forced to seek medical attention, two with serious shoulder injuries. While any injury is unfortunate in athletic competition, the real drama surfaced afterward when it was revealed that the tournament had insufficient accident insurance to cover the unexpected injuries. Comment:It is normal for every competitor to carry PA insurance but sometimes competitors do not bother in all future BSF Sombo events all competitors will have to bring proof of insurance
The tournament did boast key international talent, including world champions originally hailing from Russia, Georgia, and even Mongolia. As indicated by the palpable absence of spoken English it would seem like the only competitor not in attendance was you.

The 40 adult competitors, some of which swing athletes that can compete in both ‘cadet’ and ‘senior’ divisions at 17 years of age, made up a group that New York Combat SAMBO head coach Stephen Koepfer referred to as “demonstrably smaller” than last year’s competition. Comment: There was complaints about our British Open with regard to numbers seems the same is happening through out the Western World
AASF president David Rudman also recognized the smaller turn out, noting that the overall participation was about “50% less” than the year before.

Sport SAMBO is a highly active endeavor with rarely a pause.

comment: I am not the only one to think Sambo/Sombo is a great sport“It’s the most tiring sport I’ve participated in, next to soccer,” said bronze medalist and multiple martial art veteran Reilly Bodycomb. “I wouldn’t say it’s harder than MMA. But in MMA you’re strategically encouraged to back off with your jab or take a breath when [you’re in a dominant position.] Here you can’t do that.”

Constant action would seem to make SAMBO the most palatable grappling competition to spectators, with the possible exception of NCAA wrestling, if it were better advertised. Even among the thriving grappling culture in New York and New Jersey, few American athletes were even aware that there was a grappling tournament with world champion level competitors going on in their back yard.

Rudman maintains that advertising the event outside of the insular SAMBO community, which in the US consists mostly of members of the Eastern European immigrant communities that are heavily concentrated in Brooklyn and Coney Island, costs money that his organization simply does not have. With all the organizational flaws in the SAMBO Open, the one undeniable positive is the sheer talent competing.

“Where else could my guys compete with world class [SAMBO competition,]” Koepfer said of the tournament, which New York Combat Sambo members Reilly Bodycomb and Ariel Elghanayan competed in. “It’s a mixed bag tournament. It’s good for my athletes, but it’s bad for the sport.”

Comment: Looking at the Standard The BSF will be seriously looking at taking a Team next year it will certainly good for our British Sombo Players

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Forthcoming events

Forthcoming Events
For
GrapplingUK-British CombatSombo Association-PankrationUK Members
1st British Semi Contact PANKRATION & Sport CombatSombo Championship
Swale Martial Arts Club Sittingbourne
Sunday July 4th 10.00am
Men over 16 years
Full entry Form at www.grapplinguk.co.uk

IBF/BCSA
British Junior Sombo Championship & Junior Pankration Wrestling Championship
Swale Martial Arts Club
Sittingbourne
July 11th 2010
Boys and Girls
Age 8 years to 11 years - 12, 13, 15 years
Competitors will be matched
Competitors can wear correct Sombo Kit (we have a limited amount for sale) or they can wear Judo Jacket with Black shorts Baseball boots or Wrestling boots are allowed
Pankartion White Judo Trousers and Rugby Shirt or similar

August 22nd Jacket Wrestling Competition Dibgate Folkestone

December 5th BCSA British Closed Sombo Championships
Jack and No Jacket Juniors & Seniors
OTHER EVENTS SUPPORTED BY GRAPPLINGUK

June 20th International Kurash Tournament Sittingbourne

July 24th Scottish Open Judo & Sombo

October 22 till 25 World Masters Sombo Prague
October 10th English Sombo Federation Closed Sittingbourne
Junior & Senior
October World Pankration Poland
November Pankration
November 4th till 8th World Sambo & Sambo Combat Uzbekistan

Sorry this was a boring match

I am pleased to say I have sorted out my differences with Steve Koepfer (the American)and he rightly pointed out that he was not the only one to Criticise me Darren Richardson also enjoyed knocking myself and the British Sombo Federation but we are used to that from Darren.

Frenchman Gael Coadic sent me a Grappling Video and asked for a comment
I replied "this bored me to tears" sorry to say this was not what expected he then sent me the following

Martin; you probably don"t know but this is a fight sport and it"s called "Grappling" !
It doesn't matter what you Wear to fight but, yes, it's boring; it's not a dancing show and it's always boring when you know nothing about fighting technics.
Goodbye Martin



Grappling is a generic term but why is it as soon as you do not agree with someone they insult you I have had 55 years in all sorts of grappling sports with and with out Jackets

I found this match boring as the standard of the two players was not very high any decent Olympic FreeStyle Wrestler would have beaten them. Yet I expect the two fighters enjoyed the tussle and fought their best and some of their entourage enjoyed the event

I do not like events that do not have a regulated attire as make the whole event look scruffy plus there can be safety issues.

I run Ground fighting competitions because i know some of my members enjoy them especially those who can not take throws I much prefer the Jacket Ground fighting as it adds more techniques with the use of the jacket

Most of my competitions have a mixture of points for throwing and holds plus submissions my favourite is jacket Grappling but then as world medallist in Sambo and World masters Judo Champion I would say that

The best thing about grappling sports is its diversity but you do not have to enjoy all them and some in your mind maybe boring .

Can you now let me have your real name , your age and your competition record then we can all judge who would be the better to comment on knowledge of Fighting Techniques
I have posted the video on my face book site

Monday, May 10, 2010

A reply from the American

Its only been a couple of hours and the replies have phenomenal, most ask why I replied to the American and why get worked up, well to answer that I am not I just enjoy a good debate, those who know me will know that especially when it comes to politics. I have said I will give Steve the right to answer which I have done; he invited me on to his discussion site but I have refused my experience with them they only end up as a slanging match and people threading inaccurate statements
Can I quote one Email I have not given the name because it was private: well my friend
you have to much time on your hand or you would not have bothered with all this miss-information they are trying to mix words with a master! Although I´m out cannot stand the petty politics any more- it is a shame such a great sport suffers so. For all complaints you are still trying to keep it alive in UK. This was much appreciated and from some one not far of my age

So I will reply to Martin's comments regarding me directly:

1) He asks if he should market like I do (I assume he means the ASA). My answer is simple. Yes, he should. Why not? The ASA has done very well promoting and spreading sambo in the US. Our growth in 7 years has been fantastic.
MC:But it yet to catch up with the numbers Josh Henson Had

2) He claims he has the ability to multi-task all his various organizations without having sambo in the UK suffer. Fine, I can't say whether he can or can't. I am not in the UK and I am not Martin. If he feels he can do justice to sambo while simultaneously managing all his other projects, more power to him.
MC:Thank you but really thanks should go to the Various associations I am with

3) He admits his website is amateurish, but blames lack of funds to hire a web designer...and the fact that he does it himself. We all lack funds these days. But we are all not multi-tasking as Martin says he can do without having sombo in the UK suffer. My suggestion would to be to concentrate resources and get a solid professional website up and running for UK sambo.
MC:In your attack on me about the web site you said it was not up to date? I have just been on your ASA web site and it states that it last up dated in January 2010

4) Martin clearly does not undertand my use of the word "oxymoron". The definition is: "a combination of contradictory or incongruous words".
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oxymoronic) MC:Oxford University Press is where I got my info from
Thus, I am not calling him foolish. I am saying that it is not congruous to speak politics in a formal BSF article of the event.

5) Martin asks if WWG would be such a venue to discuss politics. My answer, yes. WWG is an open discussion forum. We do not post political discussions on our ASA website.

6) Martin agrees apparently that it is insulting to call new players "cannon fodder" in his article but, feels it is fine because it is true. It may or may not be true, MC: which one is it but it is still IMO insulting and not encouraging to new players who may be on the fence about continuing sambo. Such comments IMO are not appropriate for an official governing body report.
MC:But you forget to say that I run many tournaments suitable for Novices, gone are the days when a completely inexperienced players enters the British, the health and Safety issues would be tremendous

7) Martin agrees that his article is self serving and feels that it should be and says he was criticized for making public comments. No, he was not criticized for speaking publically. It was the nature of the comments. I don't think he understood the word "self". Yes, his article serves himself (Martin Clarke), not the BSF or sambo as a whole in the UK. This was my point.
MC:So an article on the British Sombo Championships does not benefit BSF or Sombo interesting?

8) Martin asks if I had been informed about the numbers of past events via e-mail. No, I have not. However, one look at event results from past years listed on his website, compared to this year's results, and it is clear numbers are down.

9) Regarding the Martin Clarke Flag, which Martin feels was appropriate as it was his logo and he was sponsor. Ok, fine. Was it "Martin Clarke" who was the sponsor? Or was it the BSF? Where was the FIAS flag? The UK Sombo flag? The BSF flag? Were you the sponsor or was your organization the sponsor? There is a difference. And, regardless, I still find it egotistical and funny. Again...self serving for Martin Clarke, not sambo in the UK.
MC:If you looked you would have seen the BSF Banner on the wall were you not aware that this was the BSF British Open? On the entry form it said the British Sombo Federation present

10) Regarding Anthony's match. Yes, Anthony lost 12-0 to a very skilled thrower (your guy). And he still may have lost. Danny was VERY good. However, if you take into consideration your open statements about being concerned about Anthony's grappling as well as compare how long Anthony was given to secure the armbar against Sharpe (1:24 of video 1) and how quickly he was stood up with Danny (2:27 of video 1), how can you disagree that there was a discrepency in refereeing? Anthony had the arm hooked, one leg hook in, and the second leg ready to go, yet he was stood up. I would also ask why Danny was allowed to score a pin against Anthony with a scarf hold when other fighters were not as in this clip with Doug when he had to change from scarf to sidemount in order to score a pin (:44 of video 2

MC:Once you have been the sport as long as I have you may learn to take defeat gracefully

Noticed no comments on the history?

Sunday, May 09, 2010

An Answer To the American

Most of you know I take a very keen interest in Politics and I don’t mean the Martial Arts kind. The waiting to see what will happen with the results of the Election is frustrating to say the least so I need another outlet. Some weeks ago a friend of mine from the USA told me to have a look at a web site called World Wide Grappling; it is one of those sites where you can have your say. Several years ago I enrolled in one of these sights as they had attacked me over something I had written, what a mistake. These sights just become a vehicle to insult people most of the time what they write is not factual and some cases they just lair, lots of time they are used by people trying to promote themselves as experts sadly to say this sight seems no better. I never ever reply using these sights but occasional you have to put the record straight and I use my own Blogsite for that. The article is quite a long one but if you are like me at the moment got nothing better to do then have a read
The articles started to appear last year when Steve Koepfer told me I could not run Frees style Sambo events my reply can be seen on the Blog, since then Steve has been to England and his team participated in the British Open Sombo and done extremely well, although we never spoke on the subject of Free Style Sambo as the subject never arose.
My Camcorder Grading system and my links with my CombatSombo Group came under some rather tasteless comments yet never once has anyone of the writers contacted me direct that says a lot about them rather then me.

This was taken from the site and written by Darren Richardson it is exact copy
strange on the write up i saw written large teams from france, usa and germany!
france 4 fighters
usa 3 fighters
germany 1 fighter.
no women no kids, sounds like the movie 'leon' there is a real problem in the uk. 30 wrestlers for that a national championship 8 international and 22 from the uk?
if you say a thing about this you have the threat of being banned from events?
its very poor.
have to say the sambo was first class, shame new fighters were refered to as 'cannon fodder' were not there to gain experience and pass on new skills learnt. they would deserve respect for entering after all. you have to start some where dont they?#what do you think?

No where in the article do I say there were Large team (read www.britishsombo) The kids were cancelled because of a drop in numbers and as the article states I was going to cancel the whole event but because of the Foreign entry I continued with the Senior event informing everyone that it was with a poor turnout. As for banning Darren from the event that was a liar he could not enter because of a knee injury. How many fighters did Darren put in two that 50% of his Sambo Club membership


Next is an article by Steve Koepfer
Well, as I am here in the US, I can't speak directly to how sambo is run in the UK. But, in terms of what I see on the net, there needs to be MUCH more productive marketing. What just like you do? And based on this year's event, definitly diminished interest. From the outside, it seems Martin is spread too thin with too many other non-related things like pankration, etc. 100% must be on sambo. Unless you can multi Task and have an organisation to back it up just like I have I would also update the BSF website which looks very unprofessional and amateurish.


Certainly Amateurish as I do it myself we can not afford a web master as we do not have the money that our US counterparts seem to have and where is it not up to date?


Martin's article is clearly biased towards his own guys. It is unfortunate that the "official" write up on the BSF site has to raise politics and internet squabbles...it is kind of oxymoronic (This means pointless or foolish) and not worthy of a piece about the tournament. Especially when Martin has also used the net to make very public criticisms and accusations in the past. There are venues for that, What like World Wide Grappling just not an official event result piece. Calling young, new guys "cannon fodder" seems insulting to me.but truthful After all, it is the new guys that will keep the sport going. They need to be encouraged to participate, not discouraged. It certainly was not a good "journalistic" article. (yet read by many people) It seemed self serving to me.

Of course it was self serving I am trying to promote the British Sombo federation I am criticised for making my comments public yet they have open sight condemning me “What’s good for the Goose is good for the Gander”

As far as the event goes, yes there was some real good Sambo being played even it was a small event. The folks that did come were top notch guys and very cool to hang with. But, it was a small turn out, which is unfortunate when compared to past years. We had a great time there, but were surprised at the turn out. Why you were informed by email the exact numbers Our impression was that past events had much more participation. The possible cancellation of the adults was a shocker (thanks to Martin for not cancelling). But the fact that there were no youth competitions was unfortunate.

I have to laugh at the fact that Martin has his own "Martin Clarke" Flag! That was funny to see...LOL

I was the main sponsor for the event and that was my logo

I also had to laugh at Martin's comments about Anthony's match. The ref (Robin) clearly did not allow Anthony any time to grapple anyway. To admit that there was worry because of Anthony's good grappling, and to admit that they wanted their boy to stay on his feet seems interesting...in tandem with the fact that in that match Anthony was never allowed to grapple even when obviously working on a sub. In other matches, he was given time to finish his subs (he has 3 sub wins). But, in the final, he was never given the chance. I am not saying Anthony would have won, but it would have been nice to see him given the opportunity.

Watch the video on YouTube Danny beat Anthony 12 points to Nil and when you watch it tell me how many times Robin stopped a Submission


Every event has questions and concerns. And regardless, we had a great time. But I also hope Martin could take these critiques openly and to heart to help future events.

The same goes for me but I would have rather been told direct

More from Darren Richardson
.

martin clarke realesed news that sambo uk was no longer in existance. it seems he was wishing of had his facts wrong. it is still up and running headed by mr paul sawyer. paul is a good friend and very good wrestler himself. im glad there are still level heads running part of Sambo here.


SamboUK President Steve Sweetlove resigned over a year ago and informed me that he had taken no membership in that time except for two. Darren in later comments goes on to say that Paul Sawyer runs SamboUK once again Darren gets it wrong SamboUK was started by Paul Sawyer, Tim Thomas and Steve Sweetlove, Steve has now resigned. Paul has not been involved with membership for three years There were no Senior officials from SamboUK at the British, Steve and Tim were working and Paul was at a Judo competition. Current Clubs with SamboUK are Bournemouth, Dynamo Glasgow, Somerset BJJ, Cage Gasport approx membership 20. At the British 2 SamboUK clubs Somerset BJJ and Gosport 4 fighters in all. It was the first time we had seen players from Somerset and they were most welcome hopefully we will see more of them
As for level headed coming LOL

Darren Richardson writeso we have now in the UK

combatsombo wrestleing

combat sambo(which isnt allowed)

sambo combat(which is allowed)

sombo wrestleing

sambo wrestleing

sambo freestyle (as was freestyle sambo)

no gi sombo???? or is it a kurka?

i cant keep up!


He says that he can not keep up I am not surprised! But I will try and explain
CombatSombo is a style invented by myself see www.combatsombo.co.uk in that style we have the Self Defence system, Sport CombatSombo which Grappling and Striking and the CombatSombo Wrestling which I believe the Americans copied and now call Free Style Sambo. Sambo/Sombo are the same and anyone who is also new to Sombo should go to www.britishsombo.co.uk this will explain the history of the BSF. Never heard of No Gi Sombo Grappling UK will be running a No Jacket Sombo competition later this years join and have a go. The Russian Combat Sambo and Sambo Combat are allowed but because of their rules groin strikes, head shot while on the ground etc it nearly impossible to get insurance cover. The BSF have been advised that it not the sort of thing a Government recognised Sports association should be involved in, hence the watered down version Sport CombatSombo. There is no reason why Darren Richardson or SamboUK can not run an event with the Russian Rules. But use of the word Combat Sambo is similar to my trade mark CombatSombo so I will contest any use of its name, so suggest they use Sambo Combat




When belts were first being applied to combat sambo, it was sombo, and they used the TKD belt system because someone involved in that planning was already familiar with that system. I believe that those who were 8D and higher translated that rank as grandmaster. George Nobles in the US used that title as a 10D, so following that logic, Martin Clarke was aligned with the thinking in the US with Nobles and Densberger.
__________________
Scott Anderson



Sorry Scott totally wrong I based my CombatSombo Grading System on Judo I do not even do Tae Kwon Do I started it in I believe about 1983. I have met Mark Densberger but had no dealings with him and do not know Nobles, As founder of the CombatSombo system I do not hold a grade go to www.combatsombo.co.uk for more information

Finally both Darren and Steve condemn me for not promoting Sombo/Sambo before I defend myself let me say SamboUK has not organised any event for a least two years, to my knowledge Darren has not organised any event since he has been linked with the BSF as for Steve what I read he has organised a few events in USA along side the ASA as participating in the Worlds he brought a team for the Combat Sambo in St Petersburg who were genuine US players as for the Sombo/Sambo the last time the US brought a proper US team was under Josh Henson now the US Sombo consists of ex Eastern Block players.
Every year the BSF run a British Open, Scottish Open pus squad training sessions, Annual summer camp and Instructors Courses, My own British CombatSombo Association run events in England, Scotland and N Ireland so once again people are being misled at best lied to at worst.
Let me give brief history my involvement in Sombo/Sambo I first became involved in the Mid 1970’s when the BAWA were in charge, I was there when they changed the name to Cambo because of the racial connotations of Sambo, I believe Darren was about 7 years old then not sure about Steve. The name Sombo was devised by Josh Henson USA who was one of the founders of FIAS. I returned to Sombo in 1984 when Burt Jacobs asked me to prepare a team for the 1985 World Games which I did, we won 1 Gold 1 silver and 4 bronzes. In 1985 the BAWA gave us permission to form our own organisation the BSF was constituted in 1986 and recognised by the Sports Council as the Governing body for Sombo by 1990. The BSF has sent players to nearly EVERY World championships since 1986, I personally have attended 20 World Championships. In 1989 I along with the BSF organised the First European Sambo Championships to be held in GB and the same was with World Championships I and the BSF run in 1992. I was awarded a Gold Medal from FIAS in 2008 for my services to International Sambo and on the same day I was invited into the World Sambo Elite Club this is a club of the top most influential people in World Sambo membership is just 8 people I doubt whether any honour given to me will surpass that.
So there you have it were Darren and Steve right to condemn me and suggesting I am hindering the development of Sombo I leave that up to you to decide, I have sent the two of them a copy of this before I published so they can reply.
The Worst thing of all its Sunday 9th May 2010 6.15pm and I still do not who whether my party the Conservatives have formulated a government not to worry on my political Blog I will write an article explaining PR

Martin Clarke






Tuesday, May 04, 2010

COYNEYUK

Martyn Coyne from Spitfire Grappling Club Capel Le Ferne has his own Youtub site where you will find lots of Matches from the British Sombo Championships

Youtube coyneyuk



Danny’s dropping seoi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMYXfPmaxVY

Kieran Daniels: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIxd989YZbw

Kalum vs. Jamie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jvu317X7AQ

Jamie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUrWm8Mm2jo

Me vs. Ashley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fztpvV_m78I

Me vs. American: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhkFYQ0WUis

Me vs. Ian Parker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhkFYQ0WUis

Me vs. Frenchman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO8ymm6QmG4

Justin Polette CombatSombo USA

Here is an amatuer video of COMBATSOMBO USA member Justin Polette winning MMA Cage Fights See what he wins on a strangle
In this video he demonstrates the Strangle if you do Judo you will recognise it as a variation of Hadaka Jime and Kata Ha Jime

Monday, May 03, 2010

Paul Sawyer wins BJA Ne Waza Comp

The BJA Ne Waza good event with about 150 taking part, the veteran’s event included some new faces not previously seen on the mainstream vet’s circuit who clearly were keen & in many cases skilful Ne Waza men. The same was probably true of the seniors although there were not the familiar competitors. The refs let the matches flow sensibly in most cases (although I got matte called whilst straightening the arm for juji gatame on one occasion! To be fair the corner judges said to me afterwards the (inexperienced) ref had made a mistake). It was new for refs & competitors so there was a good spirit of support all round & decisions were accepted with good grace. Everyone enjoyed the event & looked forward to more.
Paul thinks with the severely limited time allowed in ne waza now it’s in danger of becoming a lost art & I think there is a good case for ne waza only events such as this. They can easily be run in a club environment & don’t need much space (although the BJA insisted H Wycombe used full contest areas – probably insurance?). Also there are people like me who can no longer compete/train in tachi waza but enjoy competition & would take part in this type of event. I look forward to the IBF ne waza open!

Paul won vets 66k & seniors 66k (there were originally 4 senior u66k but 2 no showed & 1 pulled out injured after I had armlocked him so I fought with the u73k winning 2 & losing 2)
Paul is very honest in his summary of his results he did not over exaggerate his result wish other Grapplers were the same Well done Paul. Grappling UK will be running a back to back groundwork competition but will include leglocks

Sunday, May 02, 2010

Kurash 2010


Teams from France Greece Turkey Sri Lanka and uzbekistan are expected go to www.grapplinguk.co.uk for entry form