Gracie Jiu-Jitsu lands at Madeley club

And living BJJ legend Royce Gracie was impressed with what he has seen at Kyushinkai Dojo Martial Arts Centre in Madeley, giving the school his formal seal of approval.

Gracie also put a group of around 30 students through their paces, while also presiding over a series of gradings at the school during his visit to Shropshire.

Gracie has done more than anybody to popularize Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in modern martial arts with his exploits in the Ultimate Fighting Championships.

His victories came in three of the first four tournaments staged by the organisation in the early-to-mid 90s.

He routinely defeated bigger, stronger opponents by submission through superior grappling techniques, revolutionised the sport of mixed martial arts.

It demonstrated the effectiveness of ground fighting, both in sport and self defence.

It prompted a move towards cross-training within the former, to incorporate jiu-jitsu alongside traditional striking skills such as boxing and Muay Thai.

And Gracie was happy to give Kyushinkai students the benefit of his wisdom during a keenly-anticipated visit over the weekend, passing on technical pointers and demonstrating a range of exclusive techniques.

It was the second time Gracie has visited the school, which has now received his official seal of approval for the standard of its tuition, and is part of the Gracie network of approved dojos.

And delighted Kyushinkai chief Sam Stewart said: "In the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Royce Gracie is the top man and to be aligned with a legend is a real feather in the cap for us.

"He changed the face of mixed martial arts training and to have someone like him visiting the school is such an honour.

"We can now wear the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu badge with pride, which is a world-recognised symbol.

"It is not easy to get but we applied because it was about achieving that standard."

The school's BJJ classes, which are headed by instructor Neil Furber, attract around 50 adults and children twice a week.

Among those who passed their latest assessments and received new grades from Gracie were Furber, who earned a fourth stripe on his blue belt.

Students Will Jones, who commutes from Wolverhampton, and Oliver Myers from Coalbrookdale, were also awarded their blue belts after showcasing their skills.

Stewart told of it meant a lot to members to have been assessed by Gracie himself and that it had helped inspire them to hit the highest standards.

He said: "If you get your grading from Royce Gracie, you know you are on the right track."

Kyushinkai has been teaching BJJ for around 15 years and they have enjoyed national success in that time, with students winning medals at the prestigious Hereford British Open among others.

And it's hoped that school's links with Gracie will help bring new members through the doors in the future to follow in their footsteps.

But Stewart insisted that was not the main reason for bringing Gracie to the school.

He said: "The first reason was just about aiming for a high standard. It would be nice to get other people coming along and new members are welcome.

"But it was just about getting to that world-class standard and to get the guys to step up to that mark."

Bosses are though planning to expand the BJJ set-up at the school to include three training sessions a week from next month.

The club, which is based at Court Works Industrial Estate on Bridgnorth Road, hosts practice sessions on Monday and Wednesday nights from 7pm-9pm.

But Stewart said: "There will be discussions about holding an extra session in the coming weeks and that will help get the standard even higher."