(Picture: Ashley Clews-Jones). An Army athlete has competed on a world scale in one of the newest sports in existence. Captain Ashley Clews-Jones is a General Duties Medical Officer for 3 Medical Regiment and was honoured to represent Great Britain at the Kudo World Championships in Japan. The sport has only been in existence since 1981 and is also known as Daido Juku in many parts of the world.

At the World Championships in December, Capt Clews-Jones faced a tough challenge in the Male under-260 class as he faced off against Japanese competitor Kato Kazunori. It proved too much for the British participant and Kazunori went on to win a silver medal at the event.

The Kudo World Championships began on 1 December 2018 for a two-day tournament (Picture: Ashley Clews-Jones)

Kudo was founded by Takashi Azuma after he suffered frustration with the sport of Kyokushin Karate and is considered a Japanese hybrid martial art. Azuma, who is the current president of the Kudo International Federation, was concerned that Kyokushin Karate caused too many serious head problems and looked for a safer alternative as Capt Clews-Jones explained. He said: "It was mainly created through a combination of judo and full-contact or Kyokushin-style of Karate. "The aim of judo was to try and create a martial art that was very realistic but also without safety compromise for its participants." The sport uses protective clothing which allows hand techniques to the head without causing serious damage. In the sport’s short history, there has been a number of well-known competitors to take part including British kickboxer Lee Hasdell and one-time UFC fighter Minoki Ichihara. If you’re in the military and interested to know more about Kudo, you can contact Captain Clews-Jones here: [email protected]