Russian Martial Art

[Anchor Lead]

An international competition dedicated to the Russian traditional martial art of sambo has been held ahead of the Korea-Russia summit meeting slated for next month. Let’s check it out.

[Pkg]

Spectators are mesmerized by powerful blows reminiscent of a combination of wrestling and judo and sometimes similar to mixed martial arts.

[Soundbite] Park Sung-woong(Gangwon-do Prov. Resident) : "The wrestling moves and the athletes' ability to get back on their feet after falling are very dynamic."

An international competition dedicated to the Russian martial art of "sambo" has opened in Donghae, Gangwon-do Province, bringing together some 120 athletes from ten countries. The competition has played an important role in strengthening bilateral friendship between Korea and Russia. It's also expected to serve as an opportunity to publicize sambo in Korea ahead of the World Championships to be held in Korea in 2019. Many are calling for promotion of the sport in Korea and the training of sambo athletes, as the International Sambo Federation has been trying to have sambo included on a trial basis in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.