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This weekend sees the start of Euro 2012, while we're less than two months away from the start of the London 2012 Olympics. But in rural Gloucestershire, residents of Chipping Camden were taking part in a sporting event like no other.

The sport of shin kicking is taken seriously around these parts, with contestants travelling the length and breadth of the country to turn up, stuff straw down their socks and kick each other to smithereens.

Shin-kicking judge James Wiseman gave us the lowdown on one of the simplest, but most painful, of Britain's sports.

"The easiest way to describe it is it's a bit like wrestling but with a lot of contact below the knees," he said.

"The idea is really to throw the person to the ground, but to throw the person to the ground you've got to unbalance by kicking them first."

The rules of shin kicking are very simple. Kick your opponent to the ground and you win. No throwing, tripping or pulling - the "fall" must be precipitated by a kick to the shins.

The 2012 competition was won by Zac Warren, who took part after taking up the challenge set by his workmates.

"Well [I'm] quite surprised actually," he said after becoming champion at his first attempt.

"It's been a big joke at work for the past month that I was going do it - they didn't think I was - but I obviously I've come here this evening and won it, so it's going be quite interesting when I go back to work Wednesday."

So even if England fail to get out of their group at the Euros and Team GB's athletes struggle to bring home the gold at London 2012, we can all rest easy in the knowledge that in the world of shin kicking, England remains on top of the world!