Combat SAMBO; Tony Lopez

***Omega Supreme*** · Posted On: 3/11/2011 10:18am

Anybody ever train with Tony? I've been wondering what happened to him?

***Omega Supreme*** · Posted On: 3/11/2011 12:08pm

http://www.usjjf.org/bio/lopez/index.htm

This guy.

**sambosteve** · Posted On: 3/13/2011 8:20pm

Have one old VHS of his. Was not impressed (not terrible, but not impressive either).

He is from that old guard of wrestlers/TMA guys turned sambo guys...getting ranks and making a name for themselves off a style people did not know much about at the time (except for the sport version wrestlers were doing). Notice in his bio, he starts teaching "combat sambo" with no prior "combat Sambo" training. I am willing to be he was teaching re-engineered sport sambo (like his own "style" kempo-jujitsu), which is what most people were calling "combat sambo" back then. Don't forget that the first world combat sambo champs were not until 2000, so it was not even a formalized sport yet. Very few people had access to russian coaches at that time (there were some...and much of that was patchwork...what they could pick up at international tournaments, etc).

****, in the VHS I have, he is wearing a white gi and all he does which seems sombo like is to talk about this russian friend or that one that showed him something (does not mention names).

Having said that, he may be a great martial artist, but times have changed and people can't get away with the same tactics they did back then.

Regarding his AAU gold medal from 1998, I would love to know what event it was in (same for his 2000 medal) because I do not have him in my archive for those years and I have full results for the 1998 AAU/USSA XXIV National Sambo Championships, 1998 AAU Grand National Sambo Championships, 2000 FIAS West World Open/AAU Grand Nationals, and 2000 XXVI AAU/USSA Nationals. There is a Santiago Lopez who won a gold in 2000 FIAS West World Open/AAU Grand Nationals. I don't know if that is the same guy.