STICK fighting might sound a bit like playground behaviour,

but Nottingham now has the world champion – and he's 39.

Richard Hudson, a former bodyguard to Rod Stewart and Frank

Bruno amongst others, had retired from fighting seven years ago

– but last month he took the sport by surprise after returning

to claim two world titles in the Philippines.

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After becoming the victim of a knife attack in 1988, Richard

wanted to find a way to defend himself – and was told stick

fighting was the place to start.

The discipline, developed by peasants in the Philippines

during civil, tribal and world wars, aims to disarm

opponents.

And seven years ago Richard defended himself with a

rolled-up magazine when somebody pulled a knife on him at

Nottingham Station.

He advised: "Run if you can, or get an equaliser – a stick,

an umbrella, or anything.

"I keep my distance, move my feet and hit their hand... and

he drops the weapon; it's like taking the fangs from the

snake."

Eskrima, as it is officially called, is a fast-moving sport,

with fighters making three to six hits per second.

Richard, who set up the martial arts academy Kickfit in

Nottingham 13 years ago, added: "You can see things before it

happens. If you can move away from a stick coming at you over

100mph then you can defend yourself against a fist."

Richard, whose fighting name is Animal, retired after he was

crowned world champion in Los Angeles in 2001 but he returned

to the scene last November: "I got an itch for it; I'm teaching

it, you see your students... and you think: 'I could do this

again'."

And last month the super heavyweight champion won gold

medals at two world championships in the Philippines, at the

Doce Pares and World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation.

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