RAF HONINGTON GETS FIGHTING FIT FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Royal Air Force personnel have attended a vigorous Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) Training Camp organised at RAF Honington with three members having qualified for the upcoming InterServices Championships.

Officer in Charge of the Combined Martial Arts Club Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) Wayne Elliott and Corporal Jai Nembhard achieved Gold medals, with Lance Corporal Tyrone Heaney achieving Silver in the recent RAF BJJ Championships 2023 held this year at RAF Digby back in March. They will now go on to compete in the InterServices Championships held in July. Flt Lt Elliott said: “In total from 11 entered competitors, RAF Honington came away with an amazing 5 Golds, 6 Silvers and 2 Bronze.” He added: “Although winning is nice, just for the competitors to get through the gruelling 2-week camp and display the physical and mental resilience to even step onto the competition floor is a testament to them all. Attention now turns to preparing for the Inter-Service BJJ Championships.”

As the lead RAF Instructor for BJJ and Team Captain for the RAF Honington Team, Flt Lt Elliott along with other team members has built up the club from scratch post COVID spending the last 14 months securing equipment, training space and now over 35 members.

Flt Lt Elliott routinely trains at Thetford Mixed Martial Arts Club which is also known as Carlson Gracie Norfolk. Professor Lee Doski, 2nd degree BJJ Black Belt, has been his coach for over 7 years alongside multiple other members of the current RAF Honington team. Professor Doski kindly opened up the Thetford club to the RAF team exposing them to the professional facilities for their training camp and without doubt contributing to their good fortune at competition level.

BJJ is one of many martial arts practised and actively promoted within the Royal Air Force. Open to Whole Force personnel, they train together and share knowledge and experience from a range of different martial art forms. Anyone in the RAF is welcome from novice to black belts and together they develop true fighting spirit across the Service.

The year has as ever, been an enthralling and fast-paced period, with key changes in the Chain of Command, exciting range-packages and the sudden arrival of the international Operation to evacuate British Nationals and entitled personnel out of Sudan. It is safe to say the Squadron has been kept on its toes – eagerly rising to the challenge.