Epsom firefighter targets Jiu Jitsu gold (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)
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Epsom firefighter targets Jiu Jitsu gold
5:08pm Thursday 15th December 2011 in Round-up By Nick Gentry
Hard man: Ashley Martineaux shows firefighting colleague Stuart Burge a Jiu Jitsu hold
An Epsom firefighter who won a bronze medal at the recent English Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Open now has his sights on becoming a world champion.
The English Open is the biggest event of its kind in the UK and now 27-year-old Ashley Martineaux will travel to Abu Dhabi in March to take part in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Pro Trials aiming to qualifying for the World Pro Championships.
As a fireman he combines training with his job and has the full backing of his colleagues.
“I train pretty much full-time alongside work and I do intend to be a world champion,” he said.
“Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is getting much more popular in this country and it is probably going to explode over the next five years.
“It is similar to mixed martial arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championships. You need a lot of body conditioning and hard training, to perfect all the techniques.”
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