Fights in January

Hope everyone had a great holiday, now that it's over its time to start training hard. The fights are less than a month away.
Here is a example of the choke we worked on last Sat, courtesy of Eugene.

Christmas schedule

Just a reminder that the gym is closed Dec 24-26. Also on Jan 1st. If you want to work out come out for the sambo class on Sat all are welcome.

Judo/Combat Sambo chokes

Here's a exellent example of the choke we worked on during this weeks sambo class. It's actually a judo technique called kata ha jime, but works equally well in combat sambo or bjj.

Sambo seminar

This weekend we hosted another successfull sambo seminar with Eugene Shewchuk. I'd like to thank everyone who attended, we'll definately be working on the material for a while. Hopefully we all took back something from the seminar. Special thanks to Joe for helping me out afterwards(hope your not to sore). I'll post some pictures soon.

BJJ class

We had our first bjj class today. Ryan did an excellent job teaching and showed us some techniques to improve our arbar from the guard and the knee slide guard pass. I'm sure with Ryan teaching everyone's game will go to a new level.
Dont forget there is no class tommorrow but Armando will be there to open up if you want to work out. I will be working with Eugene Fri nite. Seminar starts Sat at noon or shortly after, there will be a short break at 2 and we should be done by 4:15.
See you there.

Gokor Chivichyan

Here is a great example of the sambo belt roll and the inside trip that we worked today by sambo/judo legend Gokor.

Class updates

The BJJ class will start on Dec 11th from 7-8 pm. Ryan is a fantastic instructor and I'm sure everyone will benefit from his experience. Everyone is welcome to try it out.
Just a reminder that the sambo seminar with Eugene Shewchuk is Sat Dec 13th from 12-4pm with a short lunch at 2.
Also because of the all day seminar on Sat there wont be a class on Fri Dec 12th(go to the BJJ class if you need an extra workout).

News

This month has been a busy one at the gym. Membership has increased quite a bit this month.This will be a great opportunity for guys to get on the mat with a lot of different guys allowing you to see how everyone reacts differently. Ryan Grau is back in town(glad to have you back Ryan)and will be starting a bjj class hopefully this week. This will be a traditional bjj class with the gi. For those with a full membership there is no charge for the class. I'll post the times when we figure it out, most likely Thurs nite.
Both myself and Mike "The train" Dohan did some filming at Sat sambo class, I'll post it up in the future.
Also for those prospective m.m.a. fighters please come and talk with me first before talking to any promoters, we dont want a repeat of what happened last time.

Now go train...

Firemans carry and Fedor armbar

This month during sambo class we're concentrating on two throws. The fireman carry and the arm spin. I've allready posted a clip on the arm spin so I dug up a clip on the fireman. We also worked the armbar from the guard. I refer to it as the Fedor armbar since he pulls it of in competition so often, enjoy.

Igor Kurrinoy

Not much I can say but,holy sh#t!

Ankle picks/ Sambo 70th

Worked on the ankle pick today and I think we'll carry that idea on till Tues class.
The ankle pick works great with or without the kurtka. Just remember if your trying it without the kurtka to keep your head above his , bring his head down to the leg your trying to pick. If your head is lower and you have a collar head tie he will shrug it off to a 2/1.
Here's a real simple inside pick by Vadim Kolganov master of sport.

I also included a clip from sambo's 70th anniversary tournament.

kurash

Heres a clip of the ancient wrestling art of kurash. Kurash is a stand up art where you win by throwing your opponent.You can grab the jacket anywhere and the belt but are not allowed to grab the legs(greco with a jacket on).Contests are now held internationally, originally contestants wore a long coat and sash, they now wear a jacket similar to the judo gi. Kurash is one of the arts that contributed to the development of sambo and you can see the influence in the way sambists attack with the belt grips.

Duckunders

This week we covered the duckunder. A high percentage move that often gets under looked. With a little practice anyone can pull it off
We worked a couple variations
1. dbl inside control, pull him over you and duck under the arm
2. Duck with outside step finishing with the back heel trip.
We also worked the back heel trip to counter his outside leg trip.
Here are two great examples

Sambo practice

Today we worked a little on the unique methods of Russian punching as well as defensive technique.
1. The hook punch. Remember to stay relaxed and rotate you arm around the elbow in a whipping fashion
2. Downward diagonal swing. A quick downward strike as you step in hitting with a hammerfist
3. Rolling arm. A method of parrying an attack by letting the energy of his strike pass uninterupted rather than absorbing the blow.

Here's a great exaple

Triangle chokes

This week we covered the triangle choke and the different ways to set it up. From the guard we started with the double wrist control, pinning one arm to the chest and elevating the hips to secure the choke. The second was from the spider guard, streching him out by placing the foot in the bicep then shooting that leg over for the choke. Number three was the triangle from the front. Secure one over one under grip and roll him over. The last was the sambo turnover as we call it in shooto. When your opponent is turtled up crossface him and entangle his arm with your leg, step your leg up his back and roll over him, from behing grab your ankle turn to tighten and lock it up.
Now go practice.

Promo Video

For those of you who have not seen it allready here is the promo clip finally.

Arm spin

Today we worked the arm spin stepping to the outside. This is a very common throw in wrestling, sambo and judo. Each style has little differences but the throw remains the same. Keep a tight grip and let your bodyweight and rotation take him over.Dont try to muscle the throw. Heres a good example from France.

The development of sambo

Here's a interesting video showing the native wrestling styles from the former Soviet Union that contributed to the development of sambo.

Baby news

Congratulations to James and Annika on the birth of their son last Tues.Looks like we'll have a new member in a few years.

club kozak

Club Kozak has a new promo video ,,check it out.If your ever in the Montreal area I strongly recommened you checking out the gym.

Dbl underhook pass. Upcoming tournaments

Found a great example of the dbl underhook pass that we worked on Tues by the boys from submissions 101. Dont forget to put a kickstand under his butt(arm, knee) or he'll drop his hips back down and reguard you.



Coach Eugene Shewchuk is having a catch wrestling tournament Nov 29 08 in Montreal for more info go to info@pancrasemontreal.com
Also in Feb is the Canadian Combat Sambo tournament, check back for exact dates or contact me with any questions.

Sergey Kharitonov

One of my favorite fighters Sergey Kharitonov recently fought in Dreams 6. He was suppose to fight Mighty Mo the k-1 kickboxer but he got injured so instead he fought this guy ,, oh well still fun to watch.Sergey was a commando sambo champ in the army.

Tues class

Today we trained entirely on the ground. We reviewed a few guard passes from last Fri class, and then a few new sweeps from the guard. The first pass was a double underhook pass ,the second was a stack and turn over from the same position.The sweeps were something new for most of the guys. Number one was the ball sweep and the second was the shin across the belly.Dont forget on both sweeps to use his momentum to get him over , let him do the work for you.
I'll try to find some videos demonstrating both sweeps.

Fall Classes

Fall classes began last week. This fall there are a few changes. Tues class will focus solely on grappling, from standup to the ground.We'll try to work on a few takedowns (old and new) every class then work on the ground techniques. Remember 90% of all fights end up on the ground but 100% start standing so work those takedowns. Fridays class will be mma, so bring your mma gloves and boxing gloves if you have them. Classes will consist of skipping, bag work ,technique drills and sparring. Sat will be 100% sambo day, both sport and combat. You will need a kurtka or gi, let me know if you need one.
I'm really looking forward to getting on the mats, everone is really improving the hard work is paying off.

I found a couple videos of Sergey Nikitin European combat sambo champion, very slick submissions, great sambo.