MASTERING THE SADDLE. Russian Sambo for Mixed Martial Arts Competition.

* “Scott Sonnon is by far the best coach Iʼve ever trained with.” - Steve Maxwell, World Masters Black Belt Jiujitsu Champion

* “Coach Sonnonʼs ideas are groundbreaking and immediately applicable!” - Igor Yakimov, World Sambo Champion, World Masters Judo Champion

* “Training with Scott Sonnon is awesome!” – Alberto Crane, World Black Belt Jiujitsu Champion and UFC Fighter

* “After training with Coach Sonnon, Iʼm a convert!” – Elvis Sinosic, Black Belt Jiujitsu Champion and UFC Winner

* “It was an honor to train with you, Coach Sonnon.” – Jeff Higgs, Black Belt Brazilian Jiujitsu (who awarded Ultimate Fighter Dean Lister his black belt.)

* “Training with Coach Sonnon completely changed my game for the better!” – Jason Keaton, Black Belt Brazilian Jiujitsu and Reality Super Fight Champion

* “Coach Sonnon has had a tremendous impact on my training. I canʼt say enough great things!” – Bruce Carleton, Pan-American Brazilian Jiujitsu Champion

* “Coach Sonnonʼs training made me feel like I was unstoppable!” – Wayne Fisher, Superbrawl Champion

* “Coach Sonnon helped me train to victory!” – Hunter Clagett, Ax Fighting Champion

In Mastering the Saddle, USA National Sambo Team Coach and Champion, Scott Sonnon, who earned the sport's most coveted athletic distinction as Honourable Master of Sport, reveals the signature "Saddle" techniques that have made him one of the most respected leg lock coaches in the world. With 101 step-by-step moves, including entries, sweeps, passes, recounters, and a host of submissions, this series is a must for all competitors searching for an edge over the competition.

Sambo prides itself on fast-wrestling - with only 60 seconds of groundfighting permitted. In mixed martial arts, however, these locks only work 20% of the time and aren't worth sacrificing quality position. As a result, Scott Sonnon modified traditional Sambo to become a "lower-half" positional approach so that fighters could both strike and defend against strikes, could maintain positional dominance, and could easily transition from one submission to the next in a chess-like fashion, as Brazilian Jiujitsu has become known for in the “upper-half” game.

As more details of the Saddles are published and more people begin training it, it will flash like wild fire across the MMA community, as they offer incredibly greater success in mixed martial arts than traditional Sambo, and soon will become the most useful of the many accepted variations in the leg attack game.

MASTERING THE SADDLE. Russian Sambo for Mixed Martial Arts Competition.

Most readers know Scott Sonnon the training genius behind UFC greats such as Andrei Arlovski, Alberto Crane, Jorge Rivera and Elvis Sinosic. But he is also active in coaching submission fighting, as a former USA National Sambo Team Coach and Champion. Recently, he released his approach to the public which he calls "lower-half positional fighting" and specifically named the "MMA Saddle."

Scott, please tell us a little about your background and how it led you to developing your approach?

Scott: I needed to, because as a child I had to overcome significant physical and mental disabilities which prevented me from being able to acquire and refine physical skills like normal kids. I had to meticulously develop each remedial step because I just couldn't over-power opponents, and I couldn't memorize techniques. This led me on a long path to the door of the former Soviet Union, who had perfected the science of motor learning beyond what any other country had. For whatever reason Grace blessed me, I was accepted as the first American to study with their Olympic Coaches. I served for several years as USA Sambo Team Coach, and passed the International Category Referee examination in Lithuania. As a result of my competitive victories, my coaching and officiating accomplishments, I was awarded one of the USSR’s most coveted distinctions: the "Honourable Master of Sport" diploma. For someone with my genetic challenges, receiving this diploma was very meaningful to me. There had been no room for error with my development, because of my challenges, so these genetic "flaws" ended up being a blessing which allowed me to see, feel and learn about martial art from a very unique perspective.

How did you end up moving from Sambo to Mixed Martial Arts?

Scott: In the 90s, I was asked to develop the rule structure for Sambo’s MMA variant called "Combat Sambo" as the International Combat Sambo Commission Chairman for the Fédération Internationale Amateur de Sambo (FIAS) – the world governing body for the sport recognized by Fédération Internationale de Lutte Amateur (FILA, the International Amateur Wrestling Federation.) Being a Sambo athlete, referee and coach at an world-class level allowed me to see the sport three-dimensionally. I saw the limitations of the discipline, as anyone seriously analyzing a specific style would, and suggested improvements which would make it more effective in a multi-discipline arena like MMA. Unfortunately, by that time Sambo had become very political and traditional, and my criticisms branded me as a "heretic" to the international organizations which had just slightly earlier given me special honors and asked me to complete important tasks for the future of the sport.

MMA, however, was truly an "open source" sport. There was only one check and balance: effectiveness in competition. So, I gravitated quickly to coaching athletes for MMA and submission fighting events like NAGA. Although my heart remains nostalgic about my heritage, it's still rife with political pettiness; and despite the success of the athletes I've trained, I'm still attacked by traditional Sambo organizations. However, don't misunderstand all of Sambo to be petty! Real masters from Russia remember the original intent of Sambo was evolution and adaptation to any and all fields of combat; such as Russian Master of Sport, Vadim Kolganov, " Sambo started out by taking the very best techniques and training methods from different martial arts and Scott continues in this trend, whilst maintaining the true essence of SAMBO!" Just look at fighters like Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski for the true embodiment of Sambo!

So, was the transition to MMA easy from traditional Sambo?

Scott: No, it was difficult and complex. All of the non-essential and inappropriate had to be boiled out in the laboratory of actual rolling. I am surprised that mixed martial arts fighters still rely too much on “free wrestling” or non-positional leg attacks (trying to apply a leg lock without securing the opponent’s hips) and will sacrifice good position for the low percentage chance of landing a fast submission hold to the legs. Some people actually think that leg locks are ineffective, but that's just like when the UFC began in the early 90s when people thought that high kicks were ineffective; the skills and approach needed to be adapted to the new discipline, and now we see fighters regularly KO'd by high kicks. In the next 5 years, you will see a massive shift in the nature of MMA as "lower-half positional fighting" gains public awareness. Eventually, it will even spiral out of my influence, because fighters will innovate methods beyond what I've developed.

These "free wrestling locks" are low percentage because it’s relatively easy to avoid submission because the other end of the lever is free to remove pressure; and in an actual MMA match, non-positional leg attacks exposes the fighter to being front and even back mounted. For example, the traditional Sambo "knee pinch" is like a very poor open guard, which is easily passed when a leg attack is attempted. Many fighters don’t control the hips because they learned their leg attacks from traditional Sambo or from someone who learned them from traditional Sambo. In traditional Sambo, there are no points awarded for passing the guard, and unlike traditional Judo and Jiujitsu, leg attacks have never been prohibited. As a result, Sambo athletes will stay in the “lower-half” (by the legs) rather than rushing to establish “upper-half” position in the way that Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ) has become famous.

With only 60 seconds permitted to land a submission in traditional Sambo, there has never been much encouragement to establish positional control because both players are trying to submit the other opponent as fast as possible. Hence, Sambo prides itself on “fast-wrestling.” This tactic only works a small percentage of the time against positional fighters, especially in MMA, and isn’t worth sacrificing quality position. As a result, I had to modify traditional Sambo to become a positional approach so that fighters could both strike and defend against strikes, could maintain positional dominance, and could easily transition from one submission to the next in a chess-like fashion, as BJJ has become known for in the “upper-half” game.

Is the Saddle a new fighting style then, like BJJ?

Scott: Although it may be possible to fight lower-half position dominant and be successful, I still concentrate primarily on MMA, so I don't think that's advisable. The Saddle positions are a good alternative for MMA fighters since it establishes optimal positional control of the opponent’s hip and can be held, protect the fighter from strikes which non-positional leg attacks cannot, and opens up opportunity to a variety of positional submission attacks to the legs. They aren’t the only tool in the toolbox, but they are missing from most fighters’ repertoire. In additional, there are variations, counters and most importantly re-counters, as well as transitions into upper-half positions: guard, half-guard, cross-side, mount, et cetera.

The Saddles are the ultimate adjunct to Brazilian Jiujitsu, since no approach other than BJJ has the elegant wizardry at upper-half positional fighting. I predict that as more details of the Saddles are published and more people begin training it, it will flash like wild fire across the MMA community, as it offer an incredibly greater success rate for MMA fighters than traditional Sambo, and eventually become the most useful of the many accepted variations in the leg attack game such as the traditional non-positional attacks: wishbone, scissors and knee pinch.

Do the Saddle positions require a high degree of flexibility like Eddie Bravo's Rubber Guard?

Scott: I've addressed complaints that the Saddle requires a higher degree of flexibility than conventional leg attacks, due to the closer position of the legs and knees to the opponent’s hips. If you expect to be good just accept the fact that mobility is a very important part of training. Although it seems like the Saddles are “attribute driven” the mechanics are how the legs are supposed to move when not counterconditioned with stiffness and injury. One test of the limberness for applying Saddle effortlessly is the ability to cross your legs one over top of another in a seated position while laying down on the floor (similar to a folded half lotus yoga asana.)

I think that we must realize that to improve, we must improve. Technique and physical constitution shouldn't be seen as mutually exclusive. Because of my difficulties I faced as a child, I had to become a student of the human body, to understand its weaknesses and exploit those. Like US Army Jiujitsu creator, Matt Larsen wrote for one of my books, "Scott Sonnon pioneered the application of the newest sports science and the best techniques of the past, making an immeasurable contribution to our program by combining an intimate knowledge of biomechanically efficient movement, the physiological capabilities and weaknesses of the human body.”

What is the best way to learn the Saddles?

Scott: In the future, young coaches may develop other methods of refining the Saddle strategy, but mine was born out of the physical and mental learning disabilities I faced as young athlete. I couldn't memorize techniques due to dyslexia, nor could I substitute strength due to a joint disease. As a result, I became a kinesthetic learner - improving through actual live rolling primarily. People who can learn just through rote memorization get frustrated by the high degree of light rolling I espouse; I do this so that their spine learns instead of their head. The spine is always faster than the mind!

I realize that I remain a controversial figure for both “inventing” new Sambo positions and techniques, and because I believe that Sambo can be practiced without ever using a jacket. The problem is that many players are a little addicted to dynamic wrestling, and view “boring positional chess” as a distraction from the adrenaline high of full-out rolling. Any serious practitioner needs to spend at the very least an hour per week drilling the essential moves and defending themselves within the Saddle positions, so they become as unconsciously competent skills. The core Saddle positions need to become second nature, otherwise the reaction speed required to apply them will always stand in the way of their effectiveness.

Do you think that "pure" Sambo will be lost due to its inclusion in MMA?

Scott: My Sambo for no-gi (jacketless) submission fighting and mixed martial arts may not be "pure" Sambo. I may be highly supportive of Brazilian Jiujitsu's influence on Sambo's evolution. My intention was never to preserve tradition but to help young athletes here and today and to foster growth in the sport of submission fighting and mixed martial arts. I hope that by sharing this approach to Sambo with the world, one day even my former colleagues will open their minds to the fact that Sambo was never about dogma, elitism and isolationism, since Sambo was founded upon inclusiveness, experimentation and evolution. Sambo has a great deal to contribute to the modern mixed martial art movement, but... where Sambo continues is now up to you...

MASTERING THE SADDLE. Russian Sambo for Mixed Martial Arts Competition.

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