FRIEND REQUEST: SENSEI ANDRE CAMPOS OF 219 SUBMISSION ACADEMY

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Sensei Andre Campos holds the rank of a 4th degree black belt in Judo and 2nd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. He has 48 years of active training and competition experience, as well as over 28 years teaching children and adults of different nationalities and backgrounds. His humble personality and relaxed demeanor made for a natural conversation as LOCAL 219 learned more about this man of many accomplishments.

LOCAL 219: Thank you for your time today, Sensei. To begin, would you say it was your childhood, hobbies, or circumstances that led you to this role?

 

Andre Campos: I was born in Volta Redonda but later moved to San Paulo in Brazil. I was a very, very shy child, and I wasn’t confident at all. I had self-esteem problems, and I was the oldest child [of my siblings] at eight years old. I was bullied in school, so my mother decided to put me in martial arts. She had no idea what it was.

We were lucky because there were a lot of kids doing sports in this big sports complex in the city and it was free.

It was where they had all the Olympics sports practicing. It was sponsored by the government, and we had judo, basketball, soccer. I tried swimming and judo, and wasn’t good at either, but decided to stick with Judo. The funny thing about that is [before starting] I was constantly being bullied, so that wasn’t helping me with my self -confidence, right? Maybe three to four months into Judo the bullying stopped.

The kids that were antagonizing me stopped pursuing me. I didn’t know why; I was just happy they weren’t after me. Years later, I realized why they stopped going after me; It was nothing that I did to them, nothing I said to them, but something changed with me, and it was my demeanor.

L219: They no longer saw weakness.

AC: Exactly. I was walking straight with my head up. I gave off more confidence naturally without forcing anything. My sensei at my dojo, my school, was Kameo Otagaki, who was a Japanese immigrant, and he had this Japanese philosophy that said, “You got to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat.” He was a very, very humble person.

He wasn’t in the front line of anything; he was always in the background and obviously would come in teaching us Judo, but basically, all the students that spent a little time with Sensei Kameo are similar to how you see me: very calm, cool, methodical. Very laid back, because of him.

L219: Those are valuable lessons to learn as a kid. Have you been training since then?

AC: Yeah, on and off, because a lot of things change as far as life goes. Over there, we were like a median to low class. So, we struggled a little bit with finances. My father had me when he was 40 years old, and he passed away at 60 so we didn’t get too much time together. He wasn’t present all the time, but there is not a day that passes that I don’t remember my father.

I remember seeing him at five o’clock in the morning, if it was raining, doesn’t matter the weather, he was going out to work. Some days we wouldn’t see him for days and then he would come back and spend time with the family, then travel again. He was a very, very hard worker.

Every time I was in contact with my father, I listened to what he had to say until I became a teenager.

L219: We never listen as teenagers.

AC: Yeah, we know it all, right? When he passed away, I was 20 years old.

L219: That’s quite young to lose your father.

AC: Yeah, and then through life’s experiences, I would think, “Oh, my father was right. I should have listened to my father.”

L219: About our mid-twenties we tend to realize how much our parents were right about. The combination of a hard work ethic and humility are two excellent characteristics to have as a human; how great that you were able to learn those attributes from your father and your sensei.  

AC: I think life teaches you humility. It teaches you how to be humble, how to see other people, and understand their struggles, their motivations, and the reasons why they do certain things.

L219: Some adults never learn to shift their perspective in that way. What gets you out of bed in the morning?

AC: I love what I do. I’m on calls almost every single day with people giving me feedback for the class and everything, but I don’t want to [just] teach the art because I think there’s much more to learn, right?

L219: About the mindset required.

AC: Yes, the mindset. In particular, for me, when I’m competing. I have so many problems with my body right now and I’m like, “I can’t do this.” Then I switch to, “No, you’re doing this. Push through it. You have to do it. You gotta do it.”

L219: People are relying on you.

AC: Yes, people look up to you. You need to set the example. Walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Particular for kids, that is my bigger motivation to keep doing what I’m doing.

L219: These years training will significantly shape who they are as adults and teenagers.

AC: Exactly, yes. When I had my kids doing it and they were competing they would ask, “Why don’t you compete?” I would tell them it’s their turn, and that I have competed all my life. Now their kids, especially my grandson, asks the same thing all over again.

I know by the messages that I get from other people how much motivation people have received [from jiu jitsu]. I’ve inspired them to get out and move their bodies, to do something. Little things like that make it about much more than just Judo Jiu-jitsu.

L219: It’s about discipline, pushing yourself further, and exploring what you’re capable of. Who has had the biggest influence in your life?

AC: Undoubtedly, my dad. Although we didn’t have physical contact too much during his life, I learned from his actions, during things that occurred throughout our lives, and seeing how hard he worked. Seeing him set his own example. Like when people did him wrong or stole something.

When somebody broke into his car and stole his radio, I was angry, my sister was angry, my mother was angry. Everybody was anger, and what my dad said was, “Well, I hope whoever stole this, I hope it helps them, and in some way puts food on their table.”

L219: What a mature, compassionate response.

AC: He shut everybody up. Things like this I’m going to keep in my heart and try to follow that same mentality. On my darkest days I think of him, and I think, “What would my dad do?” I feel how he’d do the right thing and just get it done.

L219: He’d take the high road. What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned while being in Jiu-jitsu or being an instructor?

AC: The lesson I’ve learned is that I will always be learning something. I will always be a student. I can learn from a student, and I’m not saying about the art itself. There’s a lot of people that bring things to me about life.

L219: Sometimes a five-year-old teaches me. His/her perspective will see something I’ve missed.

AC: Exactly. You just have to have ears open to absorb that, and in a way, we are losing our sensitivity. We are becoming numb to a lot of things, and we are looking at ourselves too much instead of looking around, you know?

L219: Pride can lead to foolishness. What do you enjoy most about being an instructor?

AC: What I enjoy most is getting to grow together with others. The more I instruct the better I get, and one of the things this environment of the Judo Jiu-jitsu gives me is the capability to work with different people from different backgrounds. People from all color, sizes, religions. I go abroad and know people, know these different cultures, and [get to] accept, absorb and understand them, the best way I can.

               

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