FITNESS. FASHION. FOOD.
Judo: The Sport That Guides You
London-based Judoka shares the story of how judo changed his life for the better, forever
By Silvia Cerisara 20 April 2018
@sampsonsampson
“It will be 45 years this year since I started Judo and I have never looked back. I spend most of my time, apart from training and enjoying it, teaching to everyone who wants to enjoy judo and taking kids off the streets.”
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- Samuel Sampson, Judo Master
@silviacerisara
Sampson Sampson, 58, believe or not that’s his real name. This 8th dan judoka (judo master) is one of the most prominent Judo figures in the UK and in the world.
His passion for judo started while watching Bruce Lee films back when he was a young boy from a modest family who liked to street fight. He came in contact with judo when he broke into the Sobell’s leisure centre and found the newly built judo centre, the same centre where he still teaches judo today as chief instructor.
“It came absolutely natural and my teacher couldn’t believe what I was doing, he was so sure that I did judo before, I was picking it up immediately. It’s like walking to a Japanese class for the first time and you can talk Japanese, it was ridiculous, and it was like fish and water, I just understood it. I understood the language, I understood the science behind it and within three months I was teaching and just in under twelve months I got my black belt at 14 years old,” said Sampson, who is believed to be the youngest black belt ever. Sampson also got the 3rd dan (triple black belt) at 16 years of age and was one of the youngest triple black belt in the world and the person to get it in shortest time ever recorded.
Sampson also founded in 2011 the JFAUK (Judo For All UK), a non political, non bureaucratic organization, which aims at teaching Judo the way it was born more than a century ago.
“We started to reintroduce traditional Japanese rules, traditional contest rules, basically everything that’s been extracted by IJF (International Judo Federation) we put back in place, we introduce it back as a martial art, we listened to everybody’s complaints, because there were many complaints about the existing organization and the direction they were going. We started off with a hundred people, we have now just under 2,000 people teaching at JFAUK all over the UK, we have now just under 30 clubs, I’ve expanded to Greece, Italy, Spain,” added Sampson, whose work inspired the World Judo Federation which awarded him in 2013 with the 8th dan for his contribution to the martial arts.
“Judo caters for everybody, whether you have ability, or disability, whether you’re a champion or you’re not a champion. Judo can give you direction in life, it releases stress, it teaches you about coordination, balance, fitness, health, it takes you away from drinking, smoking, bad habits, you get someone to guide you.”
After reading these passionate words it is difficult to resist the urge to leave the house and head to a judo centre and the most reassuring thing is, Sampson will likely be there to welcome you.
@silviacerisara
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