Martial arts academies operate in a regulatory gray area, lacking the basic safety protocols common in youth sports and recreational facilities. Black belt Milton Campis, founder of Academy Safe, is working to change that after witnessing troubling patterns within the jiu jitsu community firsthand.
Campis, a 12 year jiu jitsu practitioner who hosts a popular podcast, launched Academy Safe as a nonprofit after experiencing what he describes as serious misconduct at his former training facility. His mission is straightforward, require background checks for all martial arts academy owners and staff members, not just head instructors.
“IBJJF does black belt background checks,” Campis explains on Forever White Belt Podcast. “ATA, the Taekwondo Association, does them for their black belts or academy owners. But what happens is we’re leaving out a major part, the people who could be the worst offenders.”
This gap in oversight extends to assistant coaches, front desk staff and even volunteers who transport children to aftercare programs. Campis points to an example, an academy owner who had to terminate his own daughter after discovering her relationship with a 15 year old student.
The issue runs deeper than many realize. A brief internet search reveals numerous cases of martial arts instructors across the country facing serious allegations. In upstate New York, an owner of six academies who had been convicted of SA in the 1990s continued operating, and both his son and another employee were later arrested on similar charges involving more than 40 allegations.
“I believe that martial arts has been a safe haven for people that want to get near kids,” Campis states bluntly.
“This is people, you know, the whole #MeToo movement that happened, typically a man in power abusing that power and doing things. Unfortunately, in martial arts, what’s happened is that there have been under age girls involved. He has, you know. But in our world, we’re dealing with kids. I said it before, this is a very, very intimate sport. Jiu-Jitsu specifically, it’s a very intimate sport, whether you’re rolling with a man, rolling with another man, or a man rolling with a woman, whatever that looks like.”
“There’s a perceived intimacy that comes along with rolling (with) a predator, that comes along with rolling with them.”
Academy Safe requires eight core safety measures for accreditation. Coaches and owners must complete background checks, Safe Sport certification through the U.S. Center for Safe Sport and concussion training. All staff need CPR and first aid certification. Academy Safe also verifies business insurance, confirms security cameras are installed on premises, checks instructor lineage credentials and ensures an automated external defibrillator is available.
The AED requirement holds personal significance for Campis, who survived a heart attack at 43 after training.
“I had a heart attack at night after training. Didn’t know, just having chest pains. Go back to train in the morning. Same thing. My wife makes me go to the hospital, tell me I’m having a heart attack,” he recalls.
His main artery was 80 percent blocked.
Some academy affiliations have resisted the full safety protocol. Campis describes one major organization that wanted to mandate background checks for their affiliates but resisted requiring insurance and AEDs, claiming costs were too high in certain states.
“They’re literally letting these academies run without insurance,” he says. “They’re knowingly letting these academies operate without insurance.”
The intimate nature of jiu jitsu training creates unique vulnerabilities. Physical contact during practice can provide cover for inappropriate behavior, and the traditional hierarchy places instructors in positions of significant authority over students, particularly children and women.
Campis left his academy of eight years after learning about alleged misconduct involving the owner.
“He was hitting on the wives, girlfriends, ex wives of his students. He’s married. His wife is a black belt, a world champion black belt at the same academy,” Campis reveals.
“Think about that for a second. You’re training with your coach and while you’re heading home, he could potentially be talking to her through Instagram messaging. He’s hitting on your wife on your way home.”
When confronting other students about why they remained at the facility despite knowing about the allegations, Campis heard a recurring justification, they did not want the gym to collapse and hurt the owner’s wife and family financially.
“Do you understand what we are all doing? We’re showing new people that come in that this is a good gym to be at,” Campis argues. “The more people on the mat, it is implied that this must be a good gym.”
Campis went on to reveal that something similar happened to Pablo Popovitch allegedly. He alleges Popovitch was romantically involved with his students while he was running an academy in Florida, leading to an incident involving a disgruntled UFC pro husband.
Academy Safe operates through Sports Engine, part of NBC Universal, using the same background check system employed by USA Wrestling and other Olympic pathway sports. The organization recently added a standalone background check option for individual coaches or staff members whose academies have not joined the program.
While Academy Safe cannot prevent all future misconduct, Campis believes the combination of background checks and Safe Sport training creates accountability and awareness.
“The US Center for Safe Sport gets us talking,” he explains. “It keeps everybody on their toes, knowing that we have to do the right thing. This is no longer acceptable in the martial arts world as a whole.”
The nonprofit model allows Academy Safe to work with struggling academies that face financial constraints. Annual membership costs 99 USD for coaches and 75 USD for staff members.
“If there’s somebody that wants to do this bad enough, we’ll figure it out,” Campis promises. “The most important thing is to get you on the platform, get you background checked, get your people background checked.”
Campis sees the movement gaining momentum. Academy owners who complete the accreditation report that parents respond positively when informed about the safety measures, even though few initially think to ask about background checks.
“People are looking at them like, what, is that a thing?” Campis says. “They didn’t know that they were supposed to be asking about that.”
