A SERVICEMAN who works at RNAS Culdrose has won two gold medals at the British Army Martial Arts Association's Championships.

Luke Yeo won both his events in the twice-yearly competition held in Aldershot, the Army's headquarters.

"I took up Brazilian jiu-jitsu three years ago, because it's based more on leverage rather than strength or size. It involves more ground grappling than throwing, which suits me because I'm quite small," said Luke.

The 26 year old, who works as a guard on the naval base, competed in the featherweight division, which is weight restricted to 70kg (11 stone).

He won the gi category which qualified him to take part in the no-gi open category, in which he also came out on top.

Yeo, who trains at the Progressive Fighting Concepts Gym in Penryn on Tuesdays and Thursdays, will now compete in the inter-services tournament in July.

His medals were presented by Mauricio Gomes, one of only six people to have been promoted to black belt by Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Royce Gracie.

He brought the martial art to international prominence in the early 1990s after winning the first, second and fourth Ultimate Fighting Championships, which at the time were single elimination tournaments.

Royce fought against often much larger opponents who were practising other styles, including boxing, shoot-fighting, muay Thai, karate, wrestling, and Tae kwon-do.

It has since become a staple art for many MMA fighters and is largely credited for bringing widespread attention to the importance of ground fighting.

Sport BJJ tournaments continue to grow in popularity worldwide and have given rise to no-gi submission grappling tournaments, such as the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship.