Born and raised in Brasilia, Carlos Henrique Barbosa discovered Jiu-Jitsu in 2004 as a way to overcome shyness and control anxiety. An unassuming beginning that would eventually evolve into a journey in the martial art. Motivated by the desire to increase his confidence and find a constructive outlet for his energy, Carlos immersed himself in Jiu-Jitsu. Under the guidance of his professors, he competed in several tournaments in all belts.
In 2015, after graduating in Civil Engineering, he decided to dedicate himself fully to Jiu-Jitsu. In 2019, Carlos moved to the United States, eager to share his knowledge with others. So, the following year, he founded his own academy, Native Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
During a brief break from his work at the academy, Carlos took some time to talk to the VF Comunica team. According to him, his goals as leader of Native are based on teaching martial arts with total credibility. As a result, he intends to produce a world champion black-belt with a set amount of time for the athlete’s development.
“My personal goal is to have a world champion as a black-belt in 12 years. My goal as a team leader is to create a Jiu-Jitsu school that develops champions on and off the mat. To have an academy that is a reference in teaching Jiu-Jitsu, always guided by discipline and respect. A team where everyone is welcome and feels comfortable learning this incredible martial art.”.
According to Carlos, training his daughter is a task that requires extra care
Carlos Henrique passed on his love for Jiu-Jitsu through his genes. His daughter, Luiza Faria, a yellow-belt athlete, has always shown an interest in the sport without any direct influence from her father. For Carlos, having his daughter by his side in the academy environment is like a reward.
“Sometimes I think she was born to fight. She has been going with me to Jiu-Jitsu training since she was 3 years old. When I opened Native, she was 5 years old and I would bring her to the academy. That’s when I noticed that she would watch the classes and repeat the movements. When she turned 6, I started teaching Jiu-Jitsu to my daughter. Since then, she has never stopped.”.
However, having this type of teacher-daughter bond requires greater care, as challenging moments will inevitably occur. Carlos spoke a little about the greatest difficulties of the process and discovered that outside influence, from another academy, can be beneficial.
“It’s very difficult to be a father and a coach at the same time because you have to separate the emotions of being a father and the task of being a coach very well. What I do to ease this is to have her train once a week with another coach. Another thing I do is to focus only on Jiu-Jitsu. For the other areas, I have her practice with other specialists. So, she has support from a psychologist and physical training with a physical educator. This makes her believe more in my ability as a Jiu-Jitsu coach.”.
Adherence to a teaching methodology is one of the guiding principles of Native’s founder as a BJJ professor
With his academic training, Carlos Henrique learned the importance of a reliable methodology on the mat. After all, every teacher has the mission to teach and with Jiu-Jitsu it cannot be different. Planning, structure and organization are requirements that cannot be neglected.
“Every gym must have classes for beginners and advanced students. You can never have favorite students. And coaches need to be constantly evolving. Another fundamental thing is to understand that medals and championships can never be priorities in your gym. Being a teacher means knowing what to train, how and when to train, and being clear about the reasons why you are a coach. In other words, with these goals clearly defined, it is time to invest as much as possible to achieve them.”.
Holder of a Civil Engineering degree, Carlos Henrique chose Jiu-Jitsu as a profession for a reason that motivates him daily: to build human beings through teaching a martial art.
“I have a degree in Civil Engineering and I always say that my Jiu-Jitsu certificate is more important than my Civil Engineering certificate. Because Engineering taught me how to build bridges, roads and buildings, while Jiu-Jitsu taught me how to build stronger people who are capable of facing the most complicated situations on and off the mats.”.
