Welcome to the official website of the American Sambo Association
The American Sambo Association is a division of American Sambo, LLC
© 2003-
In 2006 the American Sambo Association launched the annual Pioneers of American Sambo award to be given at the annual North American Freestyle Sambo Championships. This award is intended to recognize individuals who have made great strides towards supporting Sambo in the United States. In 2006 three awards were given to mirror our first three years of existence as an Association. Subsequently, we will give one award annually.
Nominations for this annual award are based on any one
(or combination) of the following possible criteria:
Competition history;
Promotion of Sambo in the US;
Literature contributions;
Popularization of Sambo in the US;
Character attributes that represent the best of our sport;
Notable achievements in US Sambo;
Any other honorable contributions you may feel appropriate.
*Winners need not be members of the American Sambo Association.
“PIONEERS OF AMERICAN SAMBO” HONOREES:
2011 -
Popularization of Sambo in the US
All American Sambists owe a debt of gratitude to Boris Timoshin. He is a living legend in the US Sambo community as the very first known Soviet trained Sambo coach to immigrate and teach in the United States, back in 1968. After many decades away from the sport he again trained for the St. Petersburg Sambo Championships (Veteran's Division) where in March of 2011 he took home a silver medal from the event after grappling people 20 years his junior. To learn more about Boris and why he is the 2011 recipient of this award, watch this short film:
2010 -
Notable Achievements in US Sambo
Ron Tripp (born April 1953) Battle Creek, Michigan, is a World Sambo and Judo champion and the current general secretary of USA Judo. He is also a member of the board of directors of the United States Olympic Committee.
His name is well-
A native of Lake Orion, Michigan, and graduate of Hillsdale College and Palmer College of Chiropractic, the 6 foot, 205 pound Tripp excelled in both the sports of Judo and Sambo. Trained by Pat Burris, 2 time Judo Olympian and Olympic Judo Coach, Tripp's fight career in judo lasted from 1982 to 1995. He is also a Doctor of Chiropractic. Tripp trained in Japan for six years, and during that time trained under Sensei Takagi at NichiDai University, home of MMA star Makoto Takimoto and 2 Time All Japan Judo Champion Jun Konno. In 2006 he founded C3Fights, a professional MMA company, and still personally trains C3Fighters at the USA Stars Training Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma as well as Joe "Daddy" Stevenson and Melvin "The Young Assassin" Guillard of the UFC.
Some Career Highlights:
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1982-
1990: Submitted by Rigan Machado in 39 seconds, Sambo Pan Am finals
1993: Defeated Rickson Gracie in sambo by Uchimata (Total Victory) in 47 seconds.
1994: At 41, defeated 24 year old Andrew Bourdeau to win the World Heavyweight Championship of Sambo in Montreal, Canada.
Awards and titles include:
1994 World Sambo Champion
1988, 1989, 1990 silver medalist at the World Sambo Championships
1989 World Judo Team Belgrade
Distinguished Master of Sports (Sambo)
Olympic Festival Judo Champion Open Division
8-
Mifune Cup Team Bronze Medalist Open Division
12-
President of USA Judo 2000-
Member of U.S. Olympic Committee 2000-
Co-
2009 -
Notable Achievements in US Sambo
Born April 14, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois, James "Chico" Hernandez has been competing in wrestling, sambo, and grappling since 1968. Chico was the first (and only) sambist ever to be featured on the box of Wheaties. Being selected to be on the Wheaties box as an "Everyday Champion" is considered by many to be akin to "America's Hall of Fame". Over 15 Million boxes with Chico's image were sold.
James "Chico" Hernandez was the second and last sambist to appear in Sports Illustrated "Faces in the Crowd" in October 1997 (the first was Greg Gibson in 1981). At the time, Sport Illustrated readership numbered near 23 million per week, not including web viewers. However, at the time of Chico's listing, Sports Illustrated had teamed up with CNN, making Chico the first known Sambist covered on CNN.
Hernandez was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame and is the oldest known
active competitive sambist in the USA today. He has been named to five different
halls of fame and has been featured in numerous magazines including Ultimate Grappling
Magazine, Black Belt Magazine, Inside Ku-
Hernandez was recently honored with the "The Civic Hospitality Achievement Award" during the 2010 FIAS Scottish Sambo Championships by the Dumfries and Galloway Council. He was also honored by the Scottish Sombo Federation with the Scottish Sambo Federation Appreciation Award for "Fighting Spirit" and his Contributions to Scottish Sambo.
During Hernandez' long competative career he has stepped on the sambo, wrestling, judo and grappling mat many times. His resume is far too extensive to list in its entirety. However, here are some of his sambo accomplishments:
1997 AAU Grand National Sambo Championships -
1999 AAU Sambo Nationals -
2000 FIAS West World Sambo Championships -
2000 FIAS West World Cup of Sambo -
2000 XXVI AAU/USSA Sambo Nationals -
2000 FIAS West Pan American Sambo Championships -
2001 FIAS West World Cup of Sambo -
2002 FIAS West World Cup of Sambo -
2004 FIAS British Sambo Championships -
2005 FIAS British SAMBO Championships -
2007 FIAS British SAMBO Championships -
2010 FIAS Scottish SAMBO Championships -
Between 1987 and 2003, Chico has achieved AAU All American status as a wrestler 31 times. He has won Gold at the NAGA Nationals 4 times. To this day, at the age of 56, Chico still steps on the sambo, judo, and grappling mat regularly.
2008 -
Notable Achievements in US Sambo
Dayn was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1955. He began martial arts training in Judo,
at the age of 10, under Sensei Mamoru Shimamoto. He began Karate training in 1973
under Teruhiku Uto, and Jujitsu under Alexander Vongries, in 1978. In 1984, he began
to compete in Russian Sambo tournaments, at the national and Pan -
Dayn began fencing in High school, by training informally with the Newark Academy fencing team. He later received personal training from Dr. John Tobey, a former University of Pennsylvania Saber Team captain, while fencing for the Columbia High School fencing program, headed by Lawrence Lubkin. Dayn continued fencing at Clark University, coached by former Olympic Bronze medalist Henrietta Bayer, and her assistant Francois, a native born and trained Hungarian saber fencer.
Dayn became coach for the Millburn High school boy's and girl's fencing teams, while
in Graduate school, in 1984. Eventually, Dayn was responsible for coaching freshman,
junior varsity, and varsity boy's and girl's teams (at the cost of all days off and
much of his sleep). Millburn captured its first state Epee championship in 1989 and
produced a number of national level fencers in the under 20 age division, notably
1996 Olympian and Pan -
In 1995 Dayn became Head Fencing Coach at Drew University, and a member of the U.S. Fencing Coach's Association. He taught Judo and Karate for Sensei Mamoru Shimamoto, at his school in South Orange, New Jersey, for almost 20 years. He is now Chief instructor at South Mountain Martial Arts, in Madison New Jersey, which holds classes in Judo, Karate, Sambo and Jujitsu. He is ranked to teaching levels of Black Belt in Judo, Jujitsu, Karate, and the equivalent in Sambo.
2007 -
Popularization of Sambo in the US
Stephen Koepfer is President of the ASA; head coach of New York Combat Sambo; and
teaches Combat Sambo for MMA at Miletich New York. He has coached his team to wins
in national and international Sport, Freestyle and Combat Sambo, Grappling, and Mixed
Martial Arts. Additionally, Stephen is a regular contributor to Ultimate Grappling
Magazine, Inside Martial Arts, Fight Fix, and has written for Bodyguard Magazine.
In 2003, during a time of major decline and political infighting for Sambo in the
US, Alexander Barakov and Stephen Koepfer created the American Sambo Association,
which Stephen has presided over since that time. The goal of the ASA was to serve
as a political-
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2006 -
Competition History
This is a name that few people outside the Judo and Sambo circles know. But to those who know him, he is legendary in his athletic achievements. We should all know who this man is! This is man for whom the competition never stops! His resume is VERY long and distinguished. Some of his more recent accomplishments include a Gold medal at the 2006 USA Judo International Masters Championships; a Gold medal at the 2006 World Masters held in Japan; and a Bronze Medal at the 2003 FIAS World Sambo Masters in France.
2005 -
Charachter Attributes Best Representing Sambo
Khassan is one of the few Sambo players in the US who knows how to put politics aside. Khassan is the Athlete’s Representative for the USSA and has also been an AASF board member as well. Like few others, Khassan will compete in any Sambo event no matter who hosts it.
Most notable is Khassan’s humanitarian work through the international Committee for
the Children of Chechnya, which he founded. After growing up in Chechnya, attending
medical school in Russia, training and competing in Sambo since the age of 13, and
surviving both Russo-
Khassan’s biography, The Oath: Surgeon Under Fire, promotes Sambo like no other text. His tale of survival is knuckle biting and his constant mention of how Sambo training gave him the strength to face inhuman circumstance is incredible. Khassan lectures around the US and world on book tours and everywhere he goes, Sambo is discussed and promoted.
In October 2006, Khassan was only the second person in 30 years to receive the prestigious Physicians for Human Rights award. Dr. Baiev is also a past recipient of the Human Rights Watch Award.
2004 -
Popularization of Sambo in the US
This award is self-