Photo: Sean Rosborough/SWNS
Tom Hardydoesn’t just play a tough guy onscreen — the Mad Max star, who is an accomplished blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu, took home another martial arts championship over the weekend.
The 45-year-old actor stunned attendees at the 2022 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open Championship on Saturday when he entered the tournament at Oakgrove School inMilton Keyes, England, about an hour and a half north of London.
A representative for the tournament’s organizers, Ultimate Martial Arts Championship, said “Tom was a really nice guy” who “was very humble” and “happy to take time out for people to take photographers with him.” The rep also stated that “everyone” at the competition recognized the actor.
Tom Harty wins UK martial arts competition.Sean Rosborough/SWNS
Hardy reportedly secretly arranged to participate in the tournament with the event organizers weeks beforehand,according to the Daily Mail. “We found out he was coming probably a couple of weeks before,” said event sponsor Sean Rosborough. “He was brilliant. A lot of people were asking for photos, and coming up to him, and he had no problem with that at all. The mums were all over him. It didn’t bother him.”
Leatherland described his famous opponent as “very focused” and “absolutely sound” throughout the tournament. “The intensity that he brought to his movie roles, he brought that. He didn’t say a word, he didn’t say anything.”
Sean Rosborough/SWNS
Hardy ultimately defeated Leatherland, who explained, “I made a mistake and he capitalized on that. He absolutely nailed it, and he subbed me, and it was over relatively quickly.”
Hardy previously took home a gold medal for martial arts in August, when he won a charity competition in Wolverhampton. The actor actually won two golds: one in the gi (traditional martial arts uniform) category, in his belt and weight division, as well as one in the no-gi category, also in his weight and belt division.
Tom Hardy wins gold in martial arts tournament.Sean Rosborough/SWNS
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The organization supports veterans, military and emergency service members who are dealing with depression, PTSD and “life-altering physical injuries,” according to its website. The REORG team offers programming to teach and practice Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a form of therapy.
According toNewsweek, Hardy started training with the organization and learning jiu-jitsu to prepare for his role in the 2011 film,Warrior. The actor is also listed as a trustee on the organization’s website.
source: people.com
