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The ancient art of jiu-jitsu is about more than getting a good workout (although you’re bound to work up a sweat). It also teaches you about strategy and self-defence, even if your opponent has a clear weight or size advantage – after all, jiu-jitsu was not designed for the strong; it was designed for the smart.

- Caroline Petersen

Bodybuilder Thaabiet Domingo walked into his first jiu-jitsu class with all the confidence in the world. He was built like a tank and paired up with a short 16-year-old girl – this was going to be a cake walk, he figured. ‘She put me to sleep in a couple of seconds,’ he says. ‘I woke up with about five or six people crowded around me, slapping me awake. At that point I realised, if this were to happen on the street, I wouldn’t be able to defend myself. After that, I quit the weights and threw myself into jiu-jitsu.’

That was eight years ago. Today, Thaabiet is referred to as ‘Coach’ on the mat – a term of respect for this highly skilled purple belt. He runs his own jiu-jitsu academy, Resilience Jiu-Jitsu, with Amjad Tiseker – who’s also known as ‘Coach’.

Some form of the martial art originated in Japan and eventually made its way to Brazil. ‘In Buddhism it’s illegal to use weapons, so about 2 500 years ago Buddhist monks developed a martial art centred on animal movements to defend themselves against looters,’ explains Thaabiet. This even influenced the samurai. It eventually spread throughout Asia and evolved into practices such as judo.