WINNING THE MATCH: A Sambo wrestling match can be won in one of three ways: (1) by Total Victory (a perfect throw or submission hold), which ends the match immediately, (2) by technical superiority (12 point difference in score), which ends the match immediately, or (3) by point difference at the end of the match, if the match goes to end without a total victory or technical superiority on points (in which case the athlete with the most points wins--no minimum point score required). Tie matches are decided by a one minute overtime period. If there is no winner at the end of overtime, the match is decided by majority decision of the officials.

DURATION OF THE MATCH: The sambo wrestling competition match is one period of six minutes length for Seniors, five minutes for espoirs and juniors and four minutes for masters, schoolboys/girls and cadets. Matches will be stopped and athletes returned to the center of the mat for a standing start in the following situations: (1) Athletes are out of bounds (One foot touches protection area or three feet touch in the red zone while standing, or half of body passes outside the red zone, or the entire body of the defender in a submission hold passes outside the red zone); (2) Time out for injury or adjusting uniforms; (3) No activity by athletes while on the ground; (4) Athlete cautioned for illegal hold; or (5) Total Victory is earned by perfect throw or submission hold. There is no parterre or down starting position in sambo wrestling, unlike freestyle or Greco.

UNIFORM: A sambo wrestling competition uniform consists of (1) shoes, (2) a red outfit (red jacket, red belt and red shorts or singlet), and (3) a blue outfit (blue jacket, blue belt and blue shorts or singlet). Each competitor must have one complete red and one complete blue uniform. Jacket, shorts and belt must be worn with matching colors (all red or all blue,but not mixed). The jacket (also referred to as a "kurtka," which is the Russian word for jacket) should be made of canvas or other heavy material. Sleeves must be long enough to extend to the extend to the wrists; Sleeves must also be wide enough at the end to fit the wrist and four fingers ( held side by side). The Jacket should be tight fitting around the torso and extend no more than eight inches below the belt (roughly equal to the bottom of the sleeve). The belt must be wrapped snugly around the body and knotted in the front. The belt must pass through at least three belt loops on the jacket. Only national patches may be attached to the left side of the chest area (club patches may be worn on the right side). The jacket must have cuffs or epaulets (braces) sewn onto the shoulder of the jacket, perpendicular to the shoulder at the uppermost point of the arm. A judo jacket is not the same and is unacceptable at official competitions. Shorts should be tight fitting and cover at least one-third of the leg above the knee. Wrestling singlets (red or blue) may be used, although strapless trunks are preferred. Shoes should made of soft leather or other pliable material and should have a soft leather sole with seams inside. Rubber soled wrestling shoes are acceptable, but soft soled shoes are preferred.

SCORING: Three types of technical moves will score points or result in Total Victory in a sambo wrestling match, as set forth below:

1.      HOLD DOWN  (Immobilization): Similar to a judo hold down or a prolonged wrestling "predicament" or "near fall." In order to score, one athlete must hold the back of the other athlete toward the mat in a danger position (less than 90 degrees), with the chest, side or back of the attacker in unbroken contact with the chest of the opponent. A hold down is "broken" when (1) Contact between the athletes is interrupted because space is created between the two, or (2) the defending athlete turns over to the stomach or the side with an angle greater than 90 degrees. A hold down may only be scored once in a match and will earn either 2 points for a ten second hold down or 4 points for a twenty second hold down. Once a hold down is scored, an athlete cannot attempt another. A hold down does not end the match (it only scores points).

2.      SUBMISSION HOLD: A pressure hold (key or lock), applied to the arm or leg of the opponent which makes the opponent surrender or submit by calling out or tapping the mat at least twice (not permitted in  youth age categories). Submission holds cannot be applied in standing position. A Submission hold ends the match by Total Victory.

3.      THROW: A throw is scored anytime one athlete takes another to the mat in a single, continuous and uninterrupted action. A sambo throw is more than a simple wrestling takedown, however. Like a Judo or Greco-Roman wrestling throw, (1) it must start with both athletes on the feet, (2) one athlete must unbalance the other, and (3) the attacker must take the opponent directly to the mat with one action without stopping. A throw must knock the defender off their feet either by lifting or tripping them, not merely dragging them down. A throw is scored based on two factors: (1) How the thrown athlete lands (on the back, on the  side or on the chest/buttocks) and (2) whether the thrower remains standing (the throw scores twice as much if the thrower stays up). A throw results in Total Victory and stops the match if it is a "perfect throw" (the attacker throws the defender to the back and remains standing). Other throws will score 4 points, 2 points, or 1 point, depending on (1) the impact point of the thrown athlete, and (2) whether the attacker remains standing.