What martial art does the Russian army use?

In the modern era, Russia has boasted one of the biggest armies in the world. Generally speaking, it’s no secret that Russia has invested billions into its military and is pretty powerful. However, like most modern nations – the bulk of this money has been spent on weapons such as tanks and bombs.

At the same time, a very small portion of the Russian military budget gets spent on hand-to-hand combat. Specifically, we’re looking at martial arts. These days, martial arts are mostly redundant in warfare due to the use of advanced weapons. Nonetheless, the Russian army does teach its soldiers martial arts, as will be discussed below.

The Russian army knows Sambo

Perhaps Russia’s finest martial art import is Sambo. This can be trained as either regular Sambo or in the form of combat Sambo which involves strikes. Originally designed in the Soviet era for KGB agents to fight with, Sambo is now an Olympic sport and is fairly mainstream, with a global following.

In short, it can be described as Judo with fewer rules. Like Judo, Sambo practitioners will wear the gi top, however they will also pair it with shorts and wrestling shoes. All of the Judo throws are used in Sambo, as well as illegal Judo throws such as grabbing the legs, or the kani basami takedown. Sambo also teaches submissions that are found in BJJ such as leg locks and armbars. As we’ve seen with MMA fighters over the years, Sambo is highly effective.

So, if you happened to fight a Russian soldier without weapons, then you would imagine that they were a solid grappler. If you’ve trained Sambo then you’ll know that it can get pretty intense at times, so it’s a decent martial art for self defense.

As mentioned, there’s also combat Sambo as well. This is Sambo with the addition of strikes such as kicks and punches. Honestly, combat Sambo isn’t too indifferent to MMA and is yet again good for self defense. Russian soldiers are taught Sambo but in reality, many of them may already know Sambo anyway from their personal life.

The Russian army knows ARB

Although a lot is known about Sambo, typically less is known about ARB which is a newer martial art. Generally speaking, it’s less mainstream than Sambo and isn’t talked about much outside of Russia. The term ARB means Armeyskiy Rukopashniy Boy which is Russian for Army hand to hand combat. Like Sambo, this was also created in the Soviet era and had military fighting in mind.

Similarly, it also looked to Japan for inspiration. You could say that ARB is quite similar to Kyukoshin which is often seen as the hardest style of karate. In brief, this involves aggressive strikes such as kicks and punches and also uses western boxing as well. Often, ARB involves fighting forward rather than a cagier approach.

Interestingly, ARB also incorporates grappling as well, however there is a lesser emphasis on grappling when compared to Sambo. Here, it’s much like the grappling used in Karate where trips and sweeps are used but the majority of the system relies on striking. Yet again, ARB is often performed in the gi which is probably more realistic for military purposes. This is because many soldiers will wear military uniform whilst in combat – which can be gripped just like a kimono.

To sum up, ARB is mostly about striking whereas Sambo is mostly about grappling. At the same time, there is crossover between the two. Undoubtedly, if you learned both then you’d probably be a skilled fighter as a result.

The Russian army learns tactical shooting

As mentioned earlier, hand-to-hand fighting styles aren’t as prominent in most armies as they once were. You could potentially be the best fighter in the world with your fists, yet get shot dead by a child. This is the reality of firearms and whether it’s fair or not is debatable.

Because of this, it goes without saying that the Russian army learn tactical shooting. Whilst some may say this is not a martial art, others would differ and argue that weapons have been used in martial arts for years.

Like most armies around the world, the Russian army learns how to aim, shoot and importantly – duck and cover. Remember, the bulk of military combat these days involves guns so this area of training would be prioritized over striking and grappling. This may not be as cool as learning other martial arts but it’s obviously a key part of being a modern day soldier. In some circles, learning how to use firearms is referred to as gun fu.

KGB agents know Systema

Again, going back to the Soviet era, KGB agents were taught Systema. Note, that these were KGB agents and not soldiers. Since then, Systema has become more mainstream and is still taught to modern KGB agents as well. The closest comparable martial art to Systema is probably Krav Maga – whereby the idea is to disarm opponents carrying knives and guns. It also has a mixture of joint locks and deadly strikes which are too dangerous for sparring.

Unlike Krav Maga, Systema has a certain mysticism surrounding it. It has a big portion devoted to breathing and tries to be very loose and soft when put into practice. Because of this, Systema has its fair share of critics who deem it ineffective nonsense.

Arguably, Systema at its purest was probably a legitimate martial art that was very effective. However, since then it has been hijacked by rouge teachers who aren’t teaching its core techniques. Because of this, mainstream Systema is probably not worth learning.

However, you’d expect the Systema used by the KGB to be solid and reality-tested in combat. Please note though, that this is not taught to regular Russian soldiers as it’s probably not worth their time and isn’t appropriate on a typical battlefield.

Conclusion

As you can see, the Russian army curriculum is pretty broad and equally effective when it comes to martial arts. Arguably, learning combat Sambo alone would put you in good stead if you had to fight with your hands. Here, you’d be sufficient in both grappling and striking which serves as a good base for self defense.

The Russian army has also incorporated ARB into its curriculum which adds more striking. Overall, this is a good addition and isn’t as focused on grappling compared to Sambo. In summary, it’s fair to say that the Russian military has a solid mixture of martial arts based on Sambo and ARB.

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