The British Army Jiu Jitsu team were training at Limassol’s Gracie Barra Cyprus gym between June 6 – 14 to hone their skills ahead of upcoming competitions.
Captain Gerry Coghlan, from Episkopi’s 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, was the organised the training and decided that the best place for the seven- team members to train was alongside his old professor, Argyris Agyrides, owner of Gracie Barra Cyprus.
Training camps are usually only run in the UK at Army level, so this was the first time the team had ventured overseas.
Morning sessions were taught by gym instructors but in the evening, they had the opportunity to train alongside some of Cyprus’ talented students.
Speaking about his old professor, Capt Coghlan said: “Argyrides who is an ex-Cypriot military, has worked with the British Army before and has a good relationship with us.
“Most Army jiu jitsu competitors who come through Cyprus have trained at his gym over the last 10 or so years, so he knows most of the big names in the sport in the military personally.”
Capt Coghlan even got his blue belt under Argyrides back in 2018 and returned as a purple belt in 2022, so he wanted to bring the team over to develop that relationship.
“The quality of training in Gracie Barra Cyprus is leaps and bounds beyond most places in the UK, so the team has hugely benefited from this opportunity, and it has set them up brilliantly for further successes in the upcoming World Masters and Europeans,” he said.
Agyrides himself values the relationship he has forged with the British Army and his former student, Capt Coghlan: “I have been cooperating and training with Bases personnel for the last 10 years.
“I feel good as I can see how much interest is put into this kind of training. I wish others were as open minded as the British Army – who I congratulate.
“Gerry is an exceptional student, he has been training hard, he is very disciplined and he shows respect to his professors and other students. He has won everyone’s respect with his friendly approach and good sense of humour. I am happy to see him again and feel very proud of his development.”
