Sombo Combines Wrestling and Judo With a Dress Code

Jim Matthie and Greg Dixon of San Diego were talking in hushed tones, careful not to offend their martial arts leader or their mates. Or the spirits. Or the sport.

“Judo guys don’t think we have true classic form,” Matthie said in a whisper. “They’re sort of elitist.”

Spoken like a true freestyle wrestler, which is what Matthie and Dixon were before they took up judo 10 years ago. Now, they have been recommended for black belts and are eagerly awaiting a verdict.

Beyond the coveted belt, what sets the two wrestlers apart from many other judo practitioners is that they have gained expertise in sombo, a relatively new combination of judo and freestyle wrestling.

In that little-known hybrid sport, Matthie and Dixon are representing the United States in London at the World Games through Aug. 4. A showcase for many non-Olympic events, the World Games feature athletes from 20 countries participating in 30 sports, including sombo.

Sombo is the abbreviation of the Russian expression “samo-berejeni biess orujie,” which means “self protection without weapons.” In the United States, the Russian term “sambo” was changed to “sombo.”

Sombo combines grunts with grace. Originated in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, sombo combines the etiquette and dress of judo with the instinctive aggression of wrestling. A sombo competitor wrestles while wearing a jacket and performs judo maneuvers while wearing shoes. There are pins in sombo, but they are called “admissions of submission.”

Said Matthie: “By virtue of the gi (jacket), sombo is more efficient than wrestling. Sombo lets you take the quickest possible route.”

During a workout in the backyard at the San Diego School of Judo, Matthie showed why sombo is easier and more fun for wrestlers than the freestyle form. He grabbed Dixon’s jacket, and using it for leverage, threw Dixon to the ground.

The watchwords of judo are “maximum efficiency with minimum effort.” Freestyle wrestlers make a career out of grabbing for the legs and attacking. Sombo is slightly more refined, but not enough to make it unappealing to wrestlers. Competitors traditionally bow before a judo match, there is no bowing in sombo.

Matthie, 5-feet 7-inches, competes in sombo’s 163-pound division. Dixon, 6-0, competes at 180 pounds. Both have been wrestling competitively since high school.

Matthie was the San Diego Section wrestling runner-up from Patrick Henry High School in 1972, and Dixon wrestled for Mt. Miguel. Both wrestled at Grossmont High and Adams State College in Alamosa, Colo. Matthie was an NAIA honorable mention All-American in 1978, and Dixon was an NAIA All-American in 1979.

Then came the day when they were no longer wrestling at the collegiate level.

“One of the problems with wrestling is that when you get older, you have no one to do it with,” Matthie said. “That’s where judo comes in.”

When Matthie found himself getting out of shape, he looked for a new sport. The tonic for both Matthie and Dixon was to learn judo.

“I think I became stagnant with wrestling per se,” Dixon said. “This broadened my horizons. And it was a way to develop insights in wrestling and advance my teaching skills.”

Dixon, 28, is the wrestling coach at San Diego City College. Matthie, 30, works for a manufacturing company and is getting his doctorate in educational administration at United States International University.

In the gym, the two friends have been part grapplers, part judokas, for the past 10 years.

They are not the only sombo wrestlers in San Diego, but being civilians places them in the minority among their contemporaries.

The Naval Training Center in San Diego is a major training ground for sombo wrestlers, and members of the Marine Corp have taken a particular liking to the sport. Sombo has also been used by police officers to control crowds.

“There is no pretense about this being a gentle sport,” Matthie said. The physical nature of the sport makes sombo appealing to both wrestlers and practitioners of judo.

“There is a relationship between judo and wrestling,” said Al C. Holtmann, who has run the San Diego School of Judo for 35 years. “The throwing techniques and pinning arts relate to wrestling. A person who studies wrestling can become quite good in judo rapidly.”

Aided by the lack of world-class competition in the United States when they started, Matthie and Dixon were able to rise quickly to the top.

Sombo, considered the third style of wrestling at the international level, is part of the national defense in Russia. But it is ignored in Olympic competition, where freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling are established events.

It wasn’t until 1968 that the International Amateur Wrestling Federation recognized sombo. The Amateur Athletic Union has sponsored national sombo championships since 1975.

Matthie placed second in his division in the national sombo championships in 1979, and he was third last March in the national championships in Kansas City, Mo. Dixon placed third in the 180-pound division in this year’s nationals.

Third was credible but not good enough for either Matthie or Dixon to qualify for the World Games. However, fate was on their side.

When the two top finishers at each of their weights could not make the trip to London, Matthie and Dixon were asked to represent the United States. While many of their freestyle and Greco-Roman mates are off competing at the National Sports Festival, Matthie and Dixon take pride in being successful in three worlds-- wrestling, judo and sombo.

“We’re really pioneering a new thing in this country,” Matthie said.