Clarke was speaking after the conclusion of the British Sambo Open Championships, which were held at the Supreme Banqueting and Conference venue in English town West Bromwich.

Joining sambists from all over Britain at the event were representatives of Bulgaria, Croatia, Ghana, Latvia, Russia, Serbia and the United States. 

Matthew Clempner, who competes in combat sambo both domestically and on the world stage, was among those competing on home soil.

Sport sambo fights were contested among men, women and children, while combat sambo fights were also held.

"This Championship was not only one of the best in terms of the fights' merits, it was also the best from the point of organisation," Clarke said.

"The medals were equally distributed all over the country, making it clear that sambo in Great Britain is being developed.

"I would like to stress that the only way to develop your sambo skills is to compete and hold competitions, which is exactly what I promote among my colleagues."

According to Clarke, the BSF plans to host further major tournaments for home athletes in the near future. 

Next year's British Open Sambo Championships are due to be held in Liverpool.

Clarke founded the BSF in 1986.

It is officially known as the British Sombo Federation with the word "sombo" being the English interpretation of the Russian word "sambo".

Sambo is a martial art and combat sport, developed and used by the Soviet Red Army in the early 1920s to improve their hand-to-hand combat abilities.

The sport is similar in many ways to judo and jujutsu, but also incorporates different types of wrestling, and various self-defence systems.

The name "sambo" derives from the Russian acronym Samozashchita Bez Oruzhiya, which literally means "self-defence without weapons".

Soviet martial arts expert Vasili Oshchepkov is credited as one of the sport's founding fathers.