In this episode, Sampson, a 9th Dan Judoka, tells his story. Born in Cyprus during a time of civil unrest, Sampson shares his journey of emigrating to the UK as a young child and the struggles he faced adapting to a new life. He dives into how he found Judo and other martial arts; and built an impressive competitive career. However, despite his talent, Sampson reveals the unexpected and disheartening reason he never made it to the Olympics. He also shares insights on the practical applications of martial arts for self-defence and offers his candid thoughts on how Judo in the UK needs a modern makeover. A big thank you to Mondello for sponsoring this podcast. Get 20% off with SAMPSON20 - https://www.mondello.uk/ Chapters: 0:00 - Start 0:45 - Growing up in Cyprus 1:48 - Coming to the UK 4:00 - Returning to Cyprus 4:29 - People shot guns into my home! 6:40 - Back to the UK 9:00 - I come from a football family 10:42 - When Sam realised I wasn’t bad at Judo 12:06 - Saving Sam from a gang 19:55 - Street fights and protecting yourself 30:40 - Why I started Judo 44:40 - My training schedule 46:32 - Starting to teach Judo 50:00 - I beat up my PE teacher 55:28 - Starting a schools judo team 56:15 - Being scouted by Brian Jacks 59:39 - Being scouted for the British Team 1:03:23 - Sam’s experience of gatekeeping 1:06:27 - What I would do if I was in charge 1:10:00 - Policies are restricting grassroots growth 1:18:29 - Respect is earned, not demanded 1:20:02 - Why I started the YouTube channel 1:23:13 - As a coach you need to be confident 1:24:35 - My training mentality 1:32:00 - The death of the open weight 1:34:29 - My thoughts on the Olympics 1:41:14 - My Olympic opportunity 1:49:52 - Closing thoughts www.YouTube.com/SampsonJudo www.Instagram.com/SampsonJudo www.Instagram.com/Samkakujime www.Facebook.com/SampsonJudo