Banbury primary school teacher steps up to claim gold at martial arts tournament
A Banbury man who balances his martial arts training with teaching at a local primary school recently stepped up in class to win a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament.
Year Five teacher at Croprey Primary School, Freddie Whybrow, put on an incredible performance to win at the UMAC (Ultimate Martial Arts Championship) in Milton Keynes on Saturday, April 4.
Freddie, who lives in Bodicote and trains at Inspire Jiu-Jitsu in Bicester, is a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu; however, due to a shortage of numbers, he was moved up to the purple belt division for the tournament.
Despite facing far more experienced practitioners, Freddie steamrolled his opponents and claimed the top prize in the purple belt heavyweight division.
He also came second in the open weight class tournament, only losing once from a total of six matches.
Speaking about balancing his passion for martial arts with his job teaching, Freddie said: “The workload of teaching can be difficult to manage alongside training and competition, and it does involve a lot of sacrifice, but I genuinely love both.
“They feel like a bit of a yin and yang; one is physically intense, the other is about nurturing children. Jiu-jitsu and teaching keep me focused and patient, and I’m always looking to improve.
“Having that perspective also helps with competition nerves, knowing that win or lose, I’m back in the classroom on Monday, and the children see me exactly the same either way.”
Following the impressive win, Freddie now has his sights set on the Grappling Industries Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition held in London on April 19.