History UsefulNotes / Sambo

** '''PRB''' (acronym for a term meaning "Full Contact Hand-To-Hand Fighting"): A style created by Sergey Borisovich Ermakov who had been developing it since 1976 and presented it internationally in 2003 as '''Full Contact Fighting''' ('''FCF'''). It originally had fighters wear judogis, gloves, and shin guards only, and was more like combat sambo just without the kurtka, helmets, and shoes and it doesn't allow headbutts, elbows, and forearms to the head (but are allowed on the body), low blows, and kicking to the inner part of the thigh, while also only having a 20 second limit to apply and finish submission holds, making it look like a sort off Russian version of Full Contact Ju-Jutsu. It eventually began using a No Gi version (though originally it was conceived as the pro division and was fought in gi pants instead of fight shorts and shin guards were still worn) known as '''Full Contact Fighting MMA''' ('''FCF-MMA'''), which eventually became the more used and favoured ruleset used by its host federation; the International Federation of Full Contact Fighting. This newer version even got a pro division with competitors removing the shin guards and just wearing fight shorts and gloves, while also allowing elbows and forearms to the head and kicking to the inner part of the thigh. Matches are held on a traditional wrestling mat, not a cage or ring like normal MMA fights. The older style is now seperately organized under the International Association of Amateur Full Contact Fighting which is based in Ukraine and headed by Anton Kulebiakin, who is also the president of the International Full Contact Ju-Jutsu Federation (Zenryoku Ju-Jutsu).

** '''PRB''' (acronym for a term meaning "Full Contact Hand-To-Hand Fighting"): A style created by Sergey Borisovich Ermakov who had been developing it since 1976 and presented it internationally in 2003 as '''Full Contact Fighting MMA''' ('''FCF-MMA''' for short). It is fought more like combat sambo, just without the kurtka, helmets and shoes and it doesn't allow headbutts to the head (but are allowed on the body) or low blows. Competitors just wear fight shorts and gloves, though amateur competitions include shin guards. Matches are held on a traditional wrestling mat, not a cage or ring like normal MMA fights. There is also an amateur variant that has fighters wear judogis, gloves, and shin guards only, making it a more a Russian version of Full Contact Ju-Jitsu.

* '''Stenka''': Another weird style developed in the late 2000s by Valeriy Maistrovoy. Like RBM above, it is based on Russian traditional fighting sports, modernized by the influence of sambo and gets its name from one called "Stenka na senkou", which involves two teams of people linking up to form "walls" of themselves and fighting the other team to break up the other team's wall. Competitors wear kurtkas over a customized camouflage shirts and gi pants, can go barefoot or wear shoes. There are three main rulesets for international competition;

*** 3. '''Stenka Tsepka''': team fighting mostly for training and recreation purposes, the standard version has two teams compete against each other in a close row, teams at minimum have two people each, though for fun and training, depending on the space of course, teams can also consist of twenty or more people as long as there are the same number on both teams. Team members will hook themselves by intertwining their hands at the elbows with the fighters standing next to them and form a tight formation together like a wall or a chain. Fighters have their the left feet in the front, while raising their arms as high as possible (since their hands are grasped at the elbow of their comrades) to protect their faces and grab their opponents with any free hands. Once the fight begins, both teams will move towards each other and to earn victory, must either attempt to break the other team's formation, force at least one member of the other team to touch the ground with any body part that is not the feet, or push the other team out of the marked area, with at least one member's foot enough to count. Another version has teams wear caps and to win the teams must take the caps off the heads of the opppsing team.

*** 2. '''Odin na Odin''': the style's version of ARB, fights lasts 2 minutes, victory is earned by KO or forfeit, only punches, kicks and knees are allowed, as well as ground-and-pound (but not soccer kicks) with competitors also wearing open handed gloves.

* '''Stenka''': Another weird style developed in the late 2000s by Valeriy Maistrovoy. Like RBM above, it is based on Russian traditional fighting sports, modernized by the influence of sambo and gets its name from one called "Stenka na senkou", which involves two teams of people linking up to form "walls" of themselves and fighting the other team to break up the other team's wall. Competitors wear kurtkas over a customized camouflage shirts and gi pants, can go barefoot or wear shoes. There are three categories of competition rulesets used;
** 1) '''Bor'ba''': wrestling, divided into several types;
*** 1. '''Jacket Wrestling''': throwing-only rules
*** 2. '''No Jacket''': same as above, but without kurtka.
*** 3. '''One-Handed''': one hand gripping opponent's kurtka at all times, allows to switching of hands gripping the kurtka though previous hand must let go immediately after, victory comes from unbalancing opponent till part of body that isn't the feet touch the floor or forcing them out of the marked area.
*** 4. '''Freestyle''': the style's version of sport sambo.
** 2) '''Sam na Sam''': one-on-one full contact fighting, divided into two types;
*** 1. '''Traditional Hand-to-Hand''': the style's version of ARB, fights lasts 2 minutes, victory is earned by KO or forfeit, only punches and kicks are allowed, as well as ground-and-pound (but not soccer kicks) with competitors also wearing headgear and open handed gloves.
*** 2. '''Stenka Hand-to-Hand''': jacket wrestling combined with kicks and bare handed open hand and palm strikes, victory is earned by forcing the opponent to the ground, either though knockdowns, throws or sweeps and trips.
** 3) '''Stenka na Senkou''': team fighting, divided into two types;
*** 1. '''Stenka Tsepka''': two teams compete against each other in a close row, teams usually consist of either 3 to 5 fighters in competitions, though for fun and training, depending on the space of course, teams can also consist of twenty or more people as long as there are the same number on both teams. Team members will hook themselves by intertwining their hands at the elbows with the fighters standing next to them and form a tight formation together like a wall or a chain. Fighters have their the left feet in the front, while raising their arms as high as possible (since their hands are grasped at the elbow of their comrades) to protect their faces and grab their opponents with any free hands. Once the fight begins, both teams will move towards each other and to earn victory, must either attempt to break the other team's formation, force at least one member of the other team to touch the ground with any body part that is not the feet, or push the other team out of the marked area, with at least one member's foot enough to count.
*** 2. '''Stenochniy''': elimination style team fighting. Before the fight begins, teams will first have their fighters stand in formation facing the other team, once the fight starts they can separate and attack any other member of the opposing team, with all members of both teams fighting at the same time and even allows gang ups on single fighters. Eliminations occur when fighters are forced to the ground by either knockdowns, throws or sweeps and trips. The fight ends when all members of one team are eliminated, with the survivor’s team winning. Techniques allowed are the same as Stenka Hand-to-Hand above.

** 2) '''Stick Fighting''': more like saber fencing as the "stick" as a hilt and guard like a sword.

*** 2. '''One-Handed''': one hand is always on the collar of the jacket, but allows for the other hand to be used to complete a throw, victory comes from putting opponent under oneself either on their back, side, or knees.

* '''Stenka''': Another weird style developed by Valeriy Maistrovoy. Like RBM above, it is based on Russian traditional fighting sports, modernized by the influence of sambo and gets its name from one called "Stenka na senkou", which involves two teams of people linking up to form "walls" of themselves and fighting the other team to break up the other team's wall. Competitors wear kurtkas over a customized camouflage shirt and gi pants, can go barefoot or wear shoes. There are three types of competition rulesets used;
** 1) '''Bor'ba''': wrestling, divided into several sub-types;

** 2) '''Sam na Sam''': one-on-one full contact fighting, divided into two sub-types;

*** 2. '''Stenka Hand-to-Hand''': jacket wrestling combined with kicks and bare handed open hand and palm strikes, victory is earned by placing opponent on the ground, either though knockdowns or throws.
** 3) '''Stenka na Senkou''': team fighting, divided into two sub-types;

*** 2. '''Combat Stenochniy''': elimination style team fighting. Teams will fight each other, all at the same time until all members of the opponent's team are defeated. Techniques allowed are the same as Stenka Hand-to-Hand above.

*** 1. '''Traditional Hand-to-Hand''': the style's version of ARB, fights lasts 2 minutes, victory is earned by submission or KO, only punches and kicks are allowed, as well as ground-and-pound (but not soccer kicks) with competitors also wearing headgear and open handed gloves.

* '''RBM''' (acronym for a term meaning '''Russian All-Round Fighting''', which is what it is known as internationally): another weird style that mixes the modern combat sport approach and military fighting techniques of sambo with those of historic Russian folk styles of combat. Developed by Maksim Shatunov since 2003, it comprises of various styles of unarmed fighting, grappling, stick, bayonet and knife fighting, all of which are put to the test under full contact sparring. It features an "octathlon" of competitive fighting rules, with tournaments spread among two days; the first day features the first four events and the second features the last four. The events in order are; 1) Baronet Fighting, 2) Stick Fighting, 3) Knife Fighting, 4) Wrestling (divided into three types 1. Belt (both hands always on opponent's belt, victory comes from putting opponent under oneself either on their back or side), 2. One-Handed (one hand is always on the collar of the jacket, but allows for the other hand to be used to complete a throw, victory comes from putting opponent under oneself either on their back, side, or knees), 3. Freestyle (the style's version of sport sambo)), 5) Kick Fighting (instead of just using the legs to kick and block, it interestingly allows clinching, kneeing, leg catches, even soccer kicks and stomps), 6) Fisticuffs (boxing that seems to allow all sorts of punches (above the waist of course) like backfists (spinning or otherwise), hammerfists, rabbit punches (punches to back of the head), fibbing (grabbing the headgear, the jacket's collar, or the back of the neck of the opponent, then pummelling them with the other hand) and even ground-n-pound, all based on traditional Russian bare-knuckle boxing), 7) Hand-to-Hand Fighting (the style's version of ARB) 8) Storm Fighting (the style's version of combat sambo). Fighters wear a jacket that sort of resembles a dobok from taekwondo, martial art belts, black gi pants, and shoes in every ruleset, headgear and gloves when striking and weapons are involved, shin protection when kicking is involved, chest protectors depending on age of competitor when striking is involved and always when weapons are involved, and a body armor jacket when stick and bayonet fighting.
* '''Universal Fight''' or '''Unifight''' for short: another weird style that came about in the middle of the 1990s, originally called '''Russian Fight'''. It was originally a Soviet military training regime that somehow got turned into a combat sport by Novikov Sergey, then got international attention when he started to promote this sport in a Russian television show program. It consists of two consecutive stages of physical challenge; the first requires the completion of an obstacle course that includes firing an airsoft or paintball gun and throwing a knife at a fixed target with the two fighters starting at the same time on parallel paths, the one who comes first gets one point though one automatically wins the match if the opponent cannot clear the course within a large enough margin, while the second stage is a one-on-one full contact fight in the ring or tatami mat in kurtkas and special cut pants to match with headgear, gloves and footwear can consists of either special made shoes, foot guards or they can just go barefoot, the fight commences one minute after the first stage is completed with 3 to 5 rounds of 2 minutes, whoever knocks out or submits their opponent automatically wins the match. Techniques allowed in the second stage are actually quite similar to the DRM above, though it bans soccer kicks. If the fight ends in the time limit victory is awarded to the fighter who scored more points in the biathlon. Tournaments are usually ten person elimination style with rest periods of at least 2 hours between two matches a day. It is broken down into three different divisions.

** '''Pro''': This division is kind of an anomaly as it is removes the obstacle course entirely and only includes fighting. Fighters wear shorts and short sleeved kurtkas with gloves but without headgear. It allows striking on the ground, but only clean strikes are scored.

* '''ARB''' (acronym for a term meaning "Army Hand-To-Hand Fighting"): a weird style invented in the 1970s by the Soviet Airborne Troops. While some of its practitioners will deny any relation to sambo, it is very clearly an offshoot of combat sambo, although it uses a tatami instead of a wrestling mat, judogis instead of kurtkas (though military uniforms are used instead in competitions organized by the military), fights only have a time limit of 3 minutes with no additional rounds, grappling is limited beyond throwing and submissions can only start and end on the ground and it seems to only allow armbars and leglocks that are not wrist locks or foot locks. Instead, its rules favor punching and kicking (it never actually mentions elbows and knees in the rules, but there seems to be a sort of gentleman’s agreement not to use them), making it vaguely similar to UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} and UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}, though for some reason it bans kicks to the inner thigh, headbutts are only allowed while both fighters are standing, soccer kicks and ground-and-pound are legal, and has a time limit of 10 seconds to either strike a grounded opponent or put on a submission which adds an addtional 20 seconds to finish the submission.

** '''New ARB''' (acronym for a term meaning '"Absolutely Real Combat'"): A simplified variant of ARB that was created in 2020 by Denis Yurievich Batsun, mostly so that children from ages 8 to 17 can compete in it unlike regular ARB, though it also has adult competition. It differs from regular ARB as it allows an additional round of 40 seconds if the fight is ruled a draw, bans headbutts, but allows knees and chokes. It even has a No Gi version which allows pinning, which is why the style is also known as '''ARB-MMA'''.

Practitioners of it are sometimes called sambists, but this not usual because that is also how practitioners of the Brazilian music style of samba are called (the very similarity of the names is an endless source of confusion and bad jokes in real life). Equipment in sambo consists of shorts, a loose jacket named ''kurtka'' and wrestling shoes, as well as a number of protective gear pieces depending on the kind and level of competition.

** '''Classic''': Basically the standard version mentioned above.
** '''Light''': A version where the fighting stage is basically just sambo without the mat work, with only throws being allowed and a clean throw wins outright.
** '''Pro''': This version is kind of an anomaly as it is removes the obstacle course and just includes the fights. Fighters wear shorts and short sleeved kurtkas with gloves but without headgear. It allows striking on the ground, but only clean strikes are scored.
** '''Child''': A version made for children from 10-13 years old makes modifications to the obstacle course such as replacing the knife throwing with throwing tennis balls at a target instead. It also adds extra protection like chest protectors in the fighting stage and are fought in 2 rounds of 1 minute with the finals being 2 rounds of 1 minute and 30 seconds.

** '''New ARB''' (acronym for a term meaning '"Absolutely Real Combat'"): A simplified variant of ARB that was created in 2020 by Denis Yurievich Batsun, mostly so that children from ages 8 to 17 can compete in ARB, though it also has adult competition. It differs from regular ARB as it allows an additional round of 40 seconds if the fight is ruled a draw, bans headbutts, but allows knees and chokes. It even has a No Gi version which allows pinning, which is why the style is also known as '''ARB-MMA'''.

* '''ARB''' (acronym for a term meaning "Army Hand-To-Hand Fighting"): a weird style invented in the 1970s by the Soviet Airborne Troops. While some of its practitioners will deny any relation to sambo, it is very clearly an offshoot of combat sambo, although it uses a tatami instead of a wrestling mat, judogis instead of the usual attire, fights only have a time limit of 3 minutes with no additional rounds, grappling is limited beyond throwing and submissions can only start and end on the ground and it seems to only allow armbars and leglocks that are not wrist locks or foot locks. Instead, its rules favor punching and kicking (it never actually mentions elbows and knees in the rules, but there seems to be a sort of gentleman’s agreement not to use them), making it vaguely similar to UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} and UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}, though for some reason it bans kicks to the inner thigh, headbutts are only allowed while both fighters are standing, soccer kicks and ground-and-pound are legal, and has a time limit of 10 seconds to either strike a grounded opponent or put on a submission which adds an addtional 20 seconds to finish the submission.

** '''PRB''' (acronym for a term meaning "Full Contact Hand-To-Hand Fighting"): A style created by Sergey Borisovich Ermakov who had been developing it since 1976 and presented it internationally in 2003 and is known internationally as '''Full Contact Fighting MMA''' ('''FCF-MMA''' for short). It is fought more like combat sambo, just without the kurtka, helmets and shoes and it doesn't allow headbutts to the head (but are allowed on the body) or low blows. Competitors just wear fight shorts and gloves, though amateur competitions include shin guards. Matches are held on a traditional wrestling mat, not a cage or ring like normal MMA fights. There is also an amateur variant that has fighters wear judogis, gloves, and shin guards only, making it a more a Russian version of Full Contact Ju-Jitsu.

** '''Light Rules''': An even more restrictive version of combat sambo used by some smaller regional organizations. It farther removes headbutts and elbows altogether, knees to the head and submissions can only be done on the ground, while all strikes to the head are removed from the juniors division and below.

** '''New ARB''' (acronym for a term meaning "Absolutely Real Combat"): A simplified variant of ARB that was created in 2020 by Denis Yurievich Batsun, mostly so that children from ages 8 to 17 can compete in ARB, though it also has adult competition. It differs from regular ARB as it allows an additional round of 40 seconds if the fight is ruled a draw, bans headbutts, but allows knees and chokes. It even has a No Gi version which is the only one that allows pinning, which is why the style is also known as '''ARB-MMA'''.
* '''RBM''' (acronym for a term meaning '''Russian All-Round Fighting''', which is what it is known as in English): another weird style that mixes the modern combat sport approach and military fighting techniques of sambo with those of historic Russian folk styles of combat. Developed by Maksim Shatunov since 2003, it comprises of various styles of unarmed fighting, grappling, stick, bayonet and knife fighting, all of which are put to the test under full contact sparring. It features an "octathlon" of competitive fighting rules; 1) Baronet Fighting, 2) Stick Fighting, 3) Knife Fighting, 4) Wrestling (divided into three types 1. Belt (both hands always on opponent's belt, victory comes from putting opponent under oneself either on their back or side), 2. One-Handed (one hand is always on the collar of the jacket, but allows for the other hand to be used to complete a throw, victory comes from putting opponent under oneself either on their back, side, or knees), 3. Freestyle (the style's version of sport sambo)), 5) Kick Fighting (instead of just using the legs to kick and block, it interestingly allows clinching, kneeing, leg catches, even soccer kicks and stomps), 6) Fisticuffs (boxing that seems to allow all sorts of punches like backfists, hammerfists, rabbit punches (punches to back of the head), fibbing (grabbing the headgear, the jacket's collar, or the back of the neck of the opponent, then pummelling them with the other hand) and even ground-n-pound, all based on traditional Russian bare-knuckle boxing), 7) Hand-to-Hand Fighting (the style's version of ARB) 8) Storm Fighting (the style's version of combat sambo). Fighters wear a jacket that sort of resembles a dobok from taekwondo, martial art belts, black gi pants, and shoes in every ruleset, headgear and gloves when striking and weapons are involved, shin protection when kicking is involved, chest protectors depending on age of competitor when striking is involved and always when weapons are involved, and a body armor jacket when stick and bayonet fighting.

* '''ARB''' (acronym for a term meaning "Army Hand-To-Hand Fighting"): a weird style invented in the 1970s by the Soviet Airborne Troops. While some of its practitioners will deny any relation to sambo, it is very clearly an offshoot of combat sambo, although it uses a tatami instead of a wrestling mat, judogis instead of the usual attire, grappling is limited beyond throwing and submissions can only start and end on the ground and it seems to only allow armbars and leglocks that are not wrist locks or foot locks. Instead, its rules favor punching and kicking (it never actually mentions elbows and knees in the rules, but there seems to be a sort of gentleman’s agreement not to use them), making it vaguely similar to UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} and UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}, though for some reason it bans kicks to the inner thigh, headbutts are only allowed while both fighters are standing, soccer kicks and ground-and-pound from a standing position are legal, and fights only have a time limit of 3 minutes with no rounds.
** '''DRB''' (acronym for a term meaning "Dynamo version of Hand-To-Hand Fighting"): An offshoot of ARB, created by the KGB and the MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs) members of the Dynamo Sports Club in the 1980s. It was actually introduced to the Russian public before ARB and is probably the one that is seen outside of Russia and known internationally as '''Hand-to-Hand Fighting''' and commonly mistaken for ARB. Almost everything about it is the same as ARB except for rules like banning upkicks, “straight” kicks to the head, open hand and palm strikes, leglocks, ground-and-pound (though it still allows soccer kicks), and headbutts, clearly states that elbows and knees are illegal, but allows chokes that don’t use the legs (triangle chokes and gogoplatas and anything else like them are banned), allows pinning, and it only allows 5 seconds to set up a submission on the ground and 20 more seconds to try and submit the opponent. It also contains two stages with the second being the fighting. The first stage is where fighters must do a demonstration of self defense techniques against armed and unarmed opponents, with the techniques being assessed on a 10-point scale, any errors reduce the score.

** '''Absolutely Real Combat''': A simplified variant of ARB that was created in 2020 for ages 8 to 17 years old. It actually uses the same acronym, but the words are different and translates accordingly. It differs from regular ARB by banning soccer kicks but allows chokes, wrist locks and foot locks. It even has a No Gi version.

* '''Full Contact Fighting MMA''' or '''FCF-MMA''' for short: Basically combat sambo without the kurtka, helmets and shoes, though it is more in line with the United Rules of MMA as it doesn't allow headbutts, soccer kicks or low blows. It was created by Sergey B. Ermakov who had been developing it since 1976 and presented it internationally in 2003. Competitors just wear fight shorts and gloves, though amateur competitions include shin protections. Matches are held on a traditional wrestling mat, not a cage or ring like normal MMA fights.
* '''ARB''' (acronym for a term meaning "military hand-to-hand"): a weird style invented in the 1970s by the Soviet Airborne Troops. While some of its practitioners will deny any relation to sambo, it is very clearly an offshoot of combat sambo, although it uses a tatami instead of a wrestling mat, judogis instead of the usual attire, grappling is limited beyond throwing and submissions can only start and end on the ground and it seems to only allow armbars and leglocks that are not wrist locks or foot locks. Instead, its rules favor punching and kicking (it never actually mentions elbows and knees in the rules, but there seems to be a sort of gentleman’s agreement not to use them), making it vaguely similar to UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} and UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}, though for some reason it bans kicks to the inner thigh, headbutts are only allowed while both fighters are standing, soccer kicks and ground-and-pound from a standing position are legal, and fights only have a time limit of 3 minutes with no rounds.
** '''DRB''' (acronym for a term meaning "Dynamo version of Hand-to-Hand"): An offshoot of ARB, created by the KGB and the MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs) members of the Dynamo Sports Club in the 1980s. It was actually introduced to the Russian public before ARB and is probably the one that is seen outside of Russia known as '''Hand-to-Hand Fighting''' and commonly mistaken for ARB. Almost everything about it is the same as ARB except for rules like banning upkicks, “straight” kicks to the head, open hand and palm strikes, leglocks, ground-and-pound (though it still allows soccer kicks), and headbutts, clearly states that elbows and knees are illegal, but allows chokes that don’t use the legs (triangle chokes and gogoplatas and anything else like them are banned), allows pinning, and it only allows 5 seconds to set up a submission on the ground and 20 more seconds to try and submit the opponent. It also contains two stages with the second being the fighting. The first stage is where fighters must do a demonstration of self defense techniques against armed and unarmed opponents, with the techniques being assessed on a 10-point scale, any errors reduce the score.
** '''URB''' (acronym for a term meaning "Ukrainian Hand-to-Hand"): An offshoot of DRB that is used in Ukraine. It has two divisions; one which is the same as DRB, while the other is called "Light Contact", where fighters instead wear boxing gloves and sashes instead of open finger gloves and belts along with knockouts being banned.

* '''RBM''' (acronym for a term meaning '''Russian All-Round Fighting''', which is what it is known as in English): another weird style that mixes the modern combat sport approach and military fighting techniques of sambo with those of historic Russian folk styles of combat. Developed by Maksim Shatunov since 2003, it comprises of various styles of unarmed fighting, grappling, stick, bayonet and knife fighting, all of which are put to the test under full contact sparring. It features an "octathlon" of competitive fighting rules; 1) Baronet Fighting, 2) Stick Fighting, 3) Knife Fighting, 4) Wrestling (divided into three types 1. Belt (both hands always on opponent's belt, victory comes from putting opponent under oneself either on their back or side), 2. One-Handed (one hand is always on the collar of the jacket, but allows for the other hand to be used to complete a throw, victory comes from putting opponent under oneself either on their back, side, or knees), 3. Freestyle (the style's version of sport sambo)), 4) Kick Fighting (instead of just using the legs to kick and block, it interestingly allows clinching, kneeing, leg catches, even soccer kicks and stomps), 5) Fisticuffs (boxing that seems to allow all sorts of punches like backfists, hammerfists, rabbit punches (punches to back of the head), fibbing (grabbing the headgear, the jacket's collar, or the back of the neck of the opponent, then pummelling them with the other hand) and even ground-n-pound, all based on traditional Russian bare-knuckle boxing), 6) Hand-to-Hand Fighting (the style's version of ARB) 7) Storm Fighting (the style's version of combat sambo). Fighters wear a jacket that sort of resembles a dobok from taekwondo, martial art belts, black gi pants, and shoes in every ruleset, headgear and gloves when striking and weapons are involved, shin protection when kicking is involved, chest protectors depending on age of competitor when striking is involved and always when weapons are involved, and a body armor jacket when stick and bayonet fighting.

* '''ARB''' (acronym for a term meaning "military hand-to-hand"): a weird style invented in the 1970s by the Soviet Airborne Troops. While some of its practitioners will deny any relation to sambo, it is very clearly an offshoot of combat sambo, although it uses a tatami instead of a wrestling mat, judogis instead of the usual attire, grappling is limited beyond throwing and submissions can only start and end on the ground and it seems to only allow armbars and leglocks that are not wrist locks or foot locks. Instead, its rules favor punching and kicking (it never actually mentions elbows and knees in the rules, but there seems to be a sort of gentleman’s agreement not to use them), making it vaguely similar to UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} and UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}, though for some reason it bans kicks to the inner thigh, headbutts are only allowed while both fighters are standing, soccer kicks and punching from a standing position or ground-and-pound are legal, and fights only have a time limit of 3 minutes with no rounds.
** '''DRB''' (acronym for a term meaning "Dynamo version of Hand-to-Hand"): An offshoot of ARB, created by the KGB and the MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs) members of the Dynamo Sports Club in the 1980s. It was actually introduced to the Russian public before ARB and is probably the one that is seen outside of Russia and commonly mistaken for ARB. Almost everything about it is the same as ARB except for rules like banning upkicks, “straight” kicks to the head, open hand and palm strikes, leglocks, ground-and-pound (though it still allows soccer kicks), and headbutts, clearly states that elbows and knees are illegal, but allows chokes that don’t use the legs (triangle chokes and gogoplatas and anything else like them are banned), allows pinning, and it only allows 5 seconds to set up a submission on the ground and 20 more seconds to try and submit the opponent. It also contains two stages with the second being the fighting. The first stage is where fighters must do a demonstration of self defense techniques against armed and unarmed opponents, with the techniques being assessed on a 10-point scale, any errors reduce the score.

** '''DRB''' (acronym for a term meaning "Dynamo version of Hand-to-Hand"): An offshoot of ARB, created by the KGB, the MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs) members of the Dynamo Sports Club in the 1980s. It was actually introduced to the Russian public before ARB and is probably the one that is seen outside of Russia and commonly mistaken for ARB. Almost everything about it is the same as ARB except for rules like banning upkicks, “straight” kicks to the head, open hand and palm strikes, leglocks, ground-and-pound (though it still allows soccer kicks), and headbutts, clearly states that elbows and knees are illegal, but allows chokes that don’t use the legs (triangle chokes and gogoplatas and anything else like them are banned) and it only allows 5 seconds to set up a submission on the ground and 20 more seconds to try and submit the opponent. It also contains two stages with the second being the fighting. The first stage is where fighters must do a demonstration of self defense techniques against armed and unarmed opponents.

* '''ARB''' (acronym for a term meaning "military hand-to-hand"): a weird style invented in the 1970s by the Soviet Airborne Troops. While some of its practitioners will deny any relation to sambo, it is very clearly an offshoot of combat sambo, although it uses a tatami instead of a wrestling mat, judogis instead of the usual attire, grappling is limited beyond throwing as the only submissions it seems to allow are armbars and leglocks (though they are done, much less attempted very rarely, also wrist locks and foot locks are banned, so the only target areas are above those). Instead, its rules favor punching and kicking (it never actually mentions elbows and knees in the rules, but there seems to be a sort of gentleman’s agreement not to use them), making it vaguely similar to UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} and UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}, though for some reason it bans kicks to the inner thigh, headbutts are only allowed while both fighters are standing, and soccer kicks and punching from a standing position or ground-and-pound are legal.

* '''Universal Fight''' or '''Unifight''' for short: another weird style that came about in the middle of the 1990s, originally called '''Russian Fight'''. It was originally a Soviet military training regime that somehow got turned into a combat sport by Novikov Sergey, then got international attention when he started to promote this sport in a Russian television show program. It consists of two consecutive stages of physical challenge; the first requires the completion of an obstacle course that includes firing an airsoft or paintball gun and throwing a knife at a fixed target with the two fighters starting at the same time on parallel paths, the one who comes first gets one point though one automatically wins the match if the opponent cannot clear the course within a large enough margin, while the second stage is a one-on-one full contact fight in the ring or tatami mat in kurtkas and special cut pants to match with headgear, gloves and footwear can consists of either special made shoes, foot guards or they can just go barefoot, the fight commences one minute after the first stage is completed with 3 to 5 rounds of 2 minutes, whoever knocks out or submits their opponent automatically wins the match. Techniques allowed in the second stage are actually quite similar to the Light Rules of combat sambo above, though it bans ground-and-pound altogether and only allows 5 seconds to set up a submission on the ground and 20 more seconds to finish. If the fight ends in the time limit victory is awarded to the fighter who scored more points in the biathlon. Tournaments are usually ten person elimination style with rest periods of at least 2 hours between two matches a day. It is broken down into three different divisions.

* '''ARB''' (acronym for a term meaning "military hand-to-hand"): a weird style invented in the 1970s by the Soviet Airborne Troops. While some of its practitioners will deny any relation to sambo, it is very clearly an offshoot of combat sambo, although it uses a tatami instead of a wrestling mat, judogis instead of the usual attire, and grappling limited beyond throwing. Instead, its rules favor striking, making it vaguely similar to UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} and UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}, though for some reason it bans kicks to the inner thigh, and the only submissions it seems to allow are leglocks (though they are done, much less attempted very rarely here).

* '''ARB''' (acronym for a term meaning "military hand-to-hand"): a weird style invented in the 1970s by the Soviet Airborne Troops. While some of its practitioners will deny any relation to sambo, it is very clearly an offshoot of combat sambo, although it uses a tatami instead of a wrestling mat, judogis instead of the usual attire, and grappling limited beyond throwing. Instead, its rules favor striking, making it vaguely similar to UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} and UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}.

* '''Universal Fight''' or '''Unifight''' for short: another weird style that came about in the middle of the 1990s, originally called '''Russian Fight'''. It was originally a Soviet military training regime that somehow got turned into a combat sport by Novikov Sergey, then got international attention when he started to promote this sport in a Russian television show program. It consists of two consecutive stages of physical challenge; the first requires the completion of an obstacle course that includes firing an airsoft or paintball gun and throwing a knife at a fixed target with the two fighters starting at the same time on parallel paths, the one who comes first gets one point though one automatically wins the match if the opponent cannot clear the course within a large enough margin, while the second stage is a one-on-one full contact fight in the ring or tatami mat in kurtkas and special cut pants to match with headgear, gloves and footwear can consists of either special made shoes, foot guards or they can just go barefoot, the fight commences one minute after the first stage is completed with 3 to 5 rounds of 2 minutes, whoever knocks out or submits their opponent automatically wins the match. Techniques allowed in the second stage are actually quite similar to the Light Rules of combat sambo above, though it bans ground-and-pound altogether. If the fight ends in the time limit victory is awarded to the fighter who scored more points in the biathlon. Tournaments are usually ten person elimination style with rest periods of at least 2 hours between two matches a day. It is broken down into three different divisions.

** '''Pro''': This version is kind of an anomaly as it is removes the obstacle course and just includes the fights. Fighters wear shorts and a short sleeved kurtkas without headgear. It allows striking on the ground, but only clean strikes are scored.
** '''Child''': A version made for children from 10-13 years old makes modifications to the obstacle course such as replacing the knife throwing with throwing tennis balls at a target instead. It also adds extra protection like chest protectors in the fighting stage and are fought in 2 rounds of 1 minute with the finals being 2 rounds of 1 minute and 30 seconds and only allows groundfighting for 5 seconds when using Classic rules.

* '''International Rules''': A slightly more restrictive version of combat sambo used by organizations outside of the former Soviet bloc and Japan. It removes soccer kicks, low blows, ground-and-pound to the head with elbows and headbutts and surprisingly open hand and palm strikes.

* '''Combat Sambo''' (popularly known as '''Commando Sambo''' in Japan): essentially old Brazilian vale tudo with protective gear and quick-draw rules. Its competitors fight with gloves, helmets and shin protections, which comes in handy for a ruleset that effectively allows throws, submissions and strikes. Unusually for a combat sport, combat sambo is perfectly fine with headbutts, soccer kicks and even low blows; the only real techniques it forbids are pulling guard and sitting on the mat, as it is usually done in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, as well as wrist locks.
** '''Combat Sambo Light''' or '''International Rules''': A less intense and more restrictive version of combat sambo used by organizations outside of the former Soviet bloc and Japan. It removes headbutts, soccer kicks, low blows, elbows, knees (to the head) and even open hand strikes for adults and all strikes to the head are removed for juniors.

* '''Universal Fight''' or '''Unifight''' for short: another weird style that came about in the middle of the 1990s, originally called '''Russian Fight'''. It was originally a military training regime that somehow got turned into a combat sport by Novikov Sergey, then got international attention when he started to promote this sport in a Russian television show program. It consists of two consecutive stages of physical challenge; the first requires the completion of an obstacle course that includes firing an airsoft or paintball gun and throwing a knife at a fixed target with the two fighters starting at the same time on parallel paths, the one who comes first gets one point though one automatically wins the match if the opponent cannot clear the course, while the second stage is a one-on-one full contact fight in the ring or tatami mat in judogis with headgear (for amateurs), gloves and depending on which country and what age group the match takes place in, either go bare foot or wear special made shoes or foot guards, the fight commences one minute after the first stage is completed with the number and length of rounds depending on age group, whoever knocks out or submits their opponent automatically wins the match. Techniques allowed in the second stage are actually quite similar to the International Rules of combat sambo above, submissions can only be applied when both opponents are on the ground. If the fight ends in the time limit victory is awarded to the fighter who scored more points in the biathlon. Tournaments are usually ten person elimination style with rest periods of at least 2 hours between two matches a day. It also has a version made for children at the minimum of ten years old called '''Light - Unifight'''.

* '''Unifight''': another weird style that came about in the middle of the 1990s, originally called '''Russian Fight'''. It was originally a military training regime that somehow got turned into a combat sport by Novikov Sergey, then got international attention when he started to promote this sport in a Russian television show program. It consists of two consecutive stages of physical challenge; the first requires the completion of an obstacle course that includes firing an airsoft or paintball gun and throwing a knife at a fixed target with the two fighters starting at the same time on parallel paths, the one who comes first gets one point though one automatically wins the match if the opponent cannot clear the course, while the second stage is a one-on-one full contact fight in the ring or tatami mat in judogis with headgear, gloves and depending on which country and what age group the match takes place in, either go bare foot or wear special made shoes or foot guards, the fight commences one minute after the first stage is completed with rounds depending on age group, whoever KOs or submits their opponent automatically wins the match. Techniques allowed in the second stage are actually quite similar to the International Rules of combat sambo above, submissions can only be applied when both opponents are on the ground. If the fight ends in the time limit victory is awarded to the fighter who scored more points in the biathlon. Tournaments are usually ten person elimination style with rest periods of at least 2 hours between two matches a day. It also has a version made for children at the minimum of ten years old called '''Light - Unifight'''.

** '''No Kurtka Sambo''' (also known as '''No Jacket Sambo''' or '''Bez Kurtka Sambo'''): Basically the No Gi version of sport sambo, though it is not very widespread. One variant used by the Sambo League USA does to be a No Gi version of freestyle sambo.

** '''Combat Sambo Light''': A less intense version of combat sambo used by some organizations. It removes headbutts, elbows and knees to the head for adults and all strikes to the head are removed for juniors.

* '''Sport sambo''' or '''sambo wrestling''': it is fought with little to no protections and over a circular wrestling mat. It is primarily a submission wrestling competition where most throws, takedowns and locks are allowed, with the notable exception of chokeholds, neck cranks and heel hooks. Closing guard is considered a form of stalling and thus more or less forbidden too. Sambists can win by submitting the opponent or by scoring points, which are earned through throws and pins (the cleaner a throw is, the more points you will receive, and a picture perfect throw leads to total victory).
* '''Combat sambo''' (popularly known as '''commando sambo''' in Japan): essentially old Brazilian vale tudo with protective gear and quick-draw rules. Its competitors fight with gloves, helmets and shin protections, which comes in handy for a ruleset that effectively allows throws, submissions and strikes. Unusually for a combat sport, combat sambo is perfectly fine with headbutts, soccer kicks and even low blows; the only real techniques it forbids are pulling guard and sitting on the mat, as it is usually done in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, as well as wrist locks.
* '''Freestyle sambo''': a ruleset created in 2004 by the now defunct American Sambo Association. It could be described as sport sambo with less grappling restrictions, allowing all the three submissions described above.
* '''Beach sambo''': [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Yes really]]. Compared to the others above, the rules are modified in that the combat lasts three minutes and are held only in the standing position, making it a throwing-only sport. Victory is awarded after a throw or when the opponent falls on the sand on any part of the body other than the feet. The kurtkas are also slightly modified and ankle wraps are used instead of shoes.