BUDE ju-jitsu stars, Liam Smith, Martin Edwards and Adam Trace are all looking to the future after returning from the WCJJO (World Council of Ju-Jitsu Organisations) World Championships with medals recently.

The championships were held at the Tallebudgera Leisure and Gold Coast Recreation Centre in Queensland, Australia between October 27-29, with the trio representing Team GB.

Such was their success, Smith was crowned world champion in the Sports Ju-Jitsu under 67kg category as well as finishing with a silver in the under 66kg Brazilian Ju-Jitsu section while Edwards won a Bronze in the Masters Middleweight category and Trace won a Silver in the under 75kg Individual Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class.

After leaving Heathrow airport on October 20, the fighters had a week to acclimatise to the searing heat, get rid of their jet lag and get their last minute preparations in.

Both Smith and Trace faced problems before setting foot on the mat.

Smith injured his back stretching in a warm-up, meaning he fought at much less than 100% while Trace was forced to lose 7kg in the space of 48 hours after one of Team GBs fighters didn’t turn up; meaning a number of the squad had to lose weight to fill each of the categorys.

Losing 7kg in such a short space of time meant that Trace was ill, meaning he pulled out of the Individual Sports Jiu-Jitsu.

However, despite all of their troubles, the three days proved to be a remarkable success.

On the first day, Smith won silver in the Individual Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition, which saw him compete against four fighters, with each fight consisting of one six-minute round.

He won all but one of those, losing to Craig Chitwood from Ohio in the United States of America on points.

Despite picking up the Silver and battling a back injury, the 26-year-old went on to compete in the Sports section, which was fought over two two-minute rounds, and incredibly won gold as he won all five fights, and admitted that to become a world champion is a dream come true.

He said: “It felt unreal to become a world champion. Winning the nationals felt good but to be honest I was just going along for the experience. I never expected to win the gold but it’s an amazing feeling to be able to bring something back to Bude.”

“I was more confident going into the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as that’s the style I train in. However, when I hurt my back stretching cold muscles, I was less confident.

“Going into the sports jiu-jitsu I was feeling ill and had been throwing up so I was a lot less confident.

“However, once I won the first couple of fights I saw that the Bronze and Silver medals were in sight and I somehow won it, so it’s amazing.

“Since coming back I’ve been overwhelmed by the support even if it’s been pretty hard to get back into work mode.

“I’ve had lots of people shaking my hand who I don’t even know and everyone at Camelford Leisure Centre where I work have been great as well as all the messages of support from friends, family, sponsors and my trainers.

“I’d especially like to thank my brother Dan who couldn’t compete after suffering a hematoma (a collection of blood caused by a break in a blood vessel). He was a great source of support to me and the rest of the team and also to my girlfriend Grace (Chan).

“It was great to have everyone there and Grace and I then spent a couple of weeks after travelling to Byron Bay in New South Wales and doing lots of activities at Surfers Paradise. It was an incredible trip.”

Liam is looking forward to testing his skills in the boxing ring and is already looking at defending his title in Orlando, Florida in two years time.

He said: “The next world championships are in Florida and I want to win the gold medal in the Brazilian Ju-Jitsu. As well as that I want to get more people involved in the local area and I’m also looking at becoming a professional boxer.

“I’ve started training with Des Charnock at Launceston Amateur Boxing Club and my goal is to have my first fight as a lightweight by the end of 2018.

“I’m not setting myself any goals with the boxing. I want to have that first fight and take it as it comes.”

While Smith was ill and injured, Trace’s weight loss makes his accomplishments just as impressive.

He said: “We spent the first few days warming up and it was really fun. However I was informed that I had to lose 7kg in 24 hours and cutting that weight so quickly made me ill.

“However, I was desperate to fight and it went really well. I had to fight four times but unfortunately lost to Leonard Settles from the USA in the decider.

“They were some of the hardest fights of my life. By the end of the first three minutes against Settles we could both hardly breathe but I’m very happy with the silver medal. I put everything into it but Settles was the better fighter on the day.”

Trace then spent ten days in Surfers’ Paradise with his girlfriend before returning home to a hectic schedule.

He said: “It’s been extremely busy since I ‘ve come back. I’ve had a month of uni work to catch up on as well as working at Holsworthy College and trying to fit in all my training and that.

“However, the support I’ve had from everyone has been great so I’d like to thank everyone.”

Looking ahead, Adam is focused on finishing his degree in Medical Sciences and like Liam wants to fight in the squared circle.

He said: “I’m hoping to have a boxing bout in March. I train at Tamar Boxing Club and I’m also improving my Muay Thai at Team Chaos in Okehampton.

“I just want to keep up my ju-jitsu and MMA so that I keep improving my fundamentals and finish off my degree so that I can eventually start a career from my degree.”

At the other end of the chain is Martin Edwards who continues to enjoy competing at the age of 44.

Edwards picked up a historic bronze medal, despite facing much higher graded fighters in contests scheduled for two two-minute rounds with a decider if necessary.

He fought two Americans, an Australian and his own Team GB coach, Mike McGarry but won three of his five fights to take third place.

He said: “It was a big honour to represent Team GB. The standard of opposition was very very good. They all had higher Dans than me so I did really well to get a medal and it was a brilliant experience. I’ve already applied for Orlando in two years time.”

Edwards also admitted that the sheer ferocity of the competition took him by surprise.

He said: “It was very brutal. I had a black eye and there were a lot of injuries, including a shoulder being popped out.

“It was very aggressive but in the moment it’s all about winning. The judging wasn’t perhaps the best but we all beat each other up to get points and then we shook hands after.

“I had a good attitude going into it. All I ever wanted to do was to represent my country and the medal is just a bonus.

“I’m 44 now and I didn’t want to regret not being able to go and compete out there.

“I’d like to thank everyone who helped me and supported me while I was out there. There are a number of people who I’m thankful for getting me in this position. Even my son who is autistic gave me £60, which brought a massive tear to my eye so it means a lot and I’m proud to have brought a medal back to Bude.

Martin left Brisbane on November 1 and was back to work within a week but has already set goals for 2018.

He said: “I work in the care industry and it was a bit difficult adjusting again to begin with. I had a couple of days off to acclimatise again.

“After Christmas we’ll have our Team GB sessions and I want to become stronger help the team improve as well as start learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It costs a lot of money to do what we do so any additional support would be great.

“Looking ahead I want to help progress the sport and get people from Cornwall involved. At the moment there’s just the four of us but it’s great to be involved in and I’m looking forward to the future.”