Sambo is one of the most popular martial arts in Russia. Now combat sambo, a new discipline, is developing under the auspices of the All-Russian Sambo Federation; it includes a much wider number of sleights in comparison with the sports section. Along with the traditional technique, strikes and choke holds are used in combat sambo. Russian athletes, the representatives of this type of martial arts, are the undisputed leaders in the international arena. Now the Toldiyev brothers from Ingushetia are expected to become the successors of the famous Emelianenko brothers.
Their father brought the boys to the sambo class in St. Petersburg; he had practiced boxing for a long time. The first coach of the athletes was Mikhail Smirnov. After eight years of intensive training Adam and Rustam Toldiyev started training in to the famous hall "Sambo Petersburg" where they began to comprehend the basics of combat sambo. Such celebrities as Alexander Emelianenko, Andrei Semenov, Arthur Guseinov train in this hall. Alexander Korshunov, the coach of the St. Petersburg combat sambo team, prepares his champions here. There are also parallel classes of mixed martial arts.
"We often visit Ingushetia, our native land. In particular, we visit Ekazhevsky sports and recreation center and train under the guidance of Astemir Buzurtanov. We get a lot of positive energy in the Republic; we feel the support of our landsmen and therefore win the competition, "- the Toldiyev brothers said in the interview to VK .
The Toldiyev brothers have won sport sambo championships, including junior ones, in the northern capital. Rustam came first in the Russian championship among boys. Now the natives of the Ingush village of Ekazhevo are multiple winners of the combat sambo championship of St. Petersburg in among adults, as well as of national tournaments and international tournaments in Holland and Germany. This May, Adam Toldiev pleased the sporting community of the country with his victory at the European Championships in Moscow in 62 kg weight class. Marco Koseva, the two-time world champion from Bulgaria, was defeated in the semifinal contest. At the recent combat tournament in Nazran Rustam Toldiev came second losing only to the experienced athlete from Daghestan.
Eighteen months ago, the Toldiyev brothers began their performances in the M-1 tournaments. Rustam will struggle for the "belt of Central Asia" in Tajikistan as part of mixed martial arts competitions. The brothers have a busy schedule: they are going to participate in the Combat Sambo World Cup and in the Russian Championship with the evaluation for the world competitions. The elders are eager for sharing their experiences with the young Ingush athletes. For instance, Fedor Emelianenko conducted his master class at the training camp in Serpukhov before the European Championship.
