FIMA Sambo Club

660 Kinderkamack Road Oradell, NJ  201-261-1780

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Master Igor's Biography

                     

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Born in Russia, as a young boy Igor Chernyakov started his training in Sambo and then Judo and Karate in Denamo, one of the most prestigious Russian Clubs of that time in Charkov, Ukraine. This is the city where Sambo was developed into what it is today. 

After a short time, he became a member of the Regional Junior Team and won 1st place in the regional competition. His career rapidly developed giving him high ranks in Sambo and Judo in the Soviet Union. He joined Federation of Eastern Kinds of Single Combats as a Master of Sports in Sambo and in 1983 earned 2nd degree Black Belt in Judo. Pursuing different aspects of Martial Arts in 1985 he was awarded Black Belt in Shotokan Karate. Always striving to learn more, Igor went on to study Filipino Martial Arts and in 1989 became a certified instructor of Filipino Modern Escrima.

However Igor's first love has always been Sambo. Throughout the years, he has participated in numerous regional, national, and international competitions as an athlete, coach and trainer. His achievements include Gold medallist of the 1993 Northeastern Sambo Championship Master Division, Bronze medallist in all American Sambo Championship, and Bronze medallist in World Sambo Championship Master Division.

During his 20 years teaching experiences abroad and in the United States Igor Chernyakov has trained many male and female Sambo fighters. He represented the United States as Head Coach of the United States  Sambo team in the 1996 World Championship. Over the last few years, Igor has worked with some UFC fighters such as Moti Horenstein, Igor Vovchanchin, and Genady Fabricant, trainer of Oleg Taktarov. He has also worked with Karate legends such as Joe Lewis, 10th degree Black Belt and seven times champion of the USA national Karate-Do team Tokey Hill.

Recently, Igor was the Chief Martial Arts instructor for the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind children and adults. He also has developed a program exclusively geared towards woman's self defense. 

Igor Chernyakov has an action rooted philosophy and his training program is based upon the European approach to education and fitness, where knowledge is the most important issue, not the time spent in the classroom.