Sambo wrestling is a composite style of jacket wrestling. It was originally developed in Russia to serve as a common form of sport wrestling for the fifteen different republics of the former Soviet Union. Each republic had one or more of its own distinct styles of folk wrestling, with widely varying rules. It was also used as a form of hand-to-hand combat preparation and training by Soviet military for use in unarmed combat. Sambo today is practiced in two flavors: Sport Sambo, the third style of international wrestling and a globally popular form of submission grappling; and Combat Sambo, a method of self-defence training.

The term SAMBO is an acronym for the Russian phrase "SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya" or in English language, "Self-defence Without Weapons." Until the official adoption of the term "SAMBO" the sport had also been referred to as SAM, and then later SAMOZ. The correct, official Internationally recognized English transliterated spelling is SAMBO.

Sambo originated in the former Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). It is considered to have been born on November 16, 1938. That is the date it was officially accepted as a sport by the National Committee of Physical Culture of the USSR; however, the roots of Sambo go back to ancient times with techniques drawn from the many folk styles of wrestling that existed in the fifteen republics of the former Soviet Union. Sambo was further developed by the Soviet military and extensively taught as a form of hand to hand combat for soldiers.

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