Tornado Martial Arts

PROGRAMS

Taekwondo

Taekwondo is a Korean-originated Martial Art with significant emphasis on kicks. Taekwondo is one of only two martial arts (the other being Judo) that are included in the Olympic Games. It became a demonstration event at the 1988 Games in Seoul, and then became an official medal event since the 2000 games in Sydney. It is fastest growing sport, in popularity, in the world.

The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) is the international governing body of the sport of Taekwondo, and is a member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF). WTF has currently 205 member nations. WTF-style Taekwondo is often referred to as sport-style Taekwondo or Olympic-style Taekwondo.

Useful Links:

World Taekwondo Federation

USAT - USA Taekwondo

Judo

Judo means "gentle way". It is a modern martial art, combat style, and Olympic sport, created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano . Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the objective is to either throw or take down an opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue an opponent with a pin, or force an opponent to submit with a joint lock or a choke.

Useful Links:

United States Judo Association

United States Judo Federation

SAMBO

Sambo is a Russian martial art and combat sport. The word "SAMBO" is an acronym for SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya, which literally translates as "self-defense without weapons". Sambo is relatively modern since its development began in the early 1920s by the Soviet Red Army to improve their hand-to-hand combat abilities. Intended to be a merger of the most effective techniques of other martial arts, Sambo has roots in Japanese Judo, international styles of wrestling, plus traditional folk styles of wrestling such as: Armenian Kokh, Azerbaijani Gulesh, Georgian Chidaoba, Kazakh Kures, Mongolian Khapsagay, Romanian Trîntǎ, Tatar Köräş, and Uzbek Kurash.

There are three recognized competitive sport variations of Sambo (though Sambo techniques and principles can be applied to many other combat sports).

Sport Sambo is stylistically similar to Olympic Freestyle Wrestling or Judo, but with some differences in rules, protocol, and uniform. For example, in contrast with judo, Sambo allows some types of leg locks, while not allowing chokeholds. It focuses on throwing, ground work and submissions, with (compared to Judo) very few restrictions on gripping and holds.
Combat Sambo, utilized and developed for the military, resembles modern mixed martial arts, including extensive forms of striking and grappling. Combat Sambo allows punches, kicks, elbows, knees, head butts and groin strikes. The first FIAS World Combat Sambo Championships were held in 2001. The World Combat Sambo Federation, based in Russia, also sanctions international combat Sambo events.
Freestyle Sambo was created and debuted by the American Sambo Association (ASA) in 2004. These rules differ from traditional Sport Sambo in that they allow choke holds and other submissions that are not permitted in Sport Sambo, such as certain neck cranks and twisting foot locks. Freestyle Sambo, like all Sambo, focuses on throwing skills and fast groundwork. No strikes are permitted in Freestyle Sambo. The ASA created this rule set in order to encourage non-Sambo practitioners from judo and jiu-jitsu to participate in Sambo events.

Organizations & Links

International Federation of Amateur Sambo

American Sambo Association

United States Combat SAMBO Association