Actor Tom Hardy surprises fans with appearance at Milton Keynes jiu-jitsu tournament

Actor Tom Hardy surprised residents in Milton Keynes, over the weekend, by turning up to a martial arts tournament and winning the finale.

Hardy took part in the Ultimate Martial Arts Championship (UMAC) Brazilian jiu-jitsu Open 2022, at the Buckinghamshire town's Oakgrove School.

The Mad Max and Peaky Blinders actor, dressed in a blue jiu-jitsu gi, won the gold medal in his category, defeating his final opponent by an arm bar submission.

He started training for the sport in 2011 as part of his role in the film, Warrior, which centered on a pair of brothers who are mixed martial arts fighters.

In recent years martial arts has grown in popularity with other actors such as Jason Statham, Robert Downey Jr and Dwayne Johnson known as fans.

"Tom was a really nice guy. Everyone recognised him but he was very humble and was happy to take time out for people to take photographs with him," a spokesman for the UMAC told the MK Citizen.

"It was a real pleasure to have him compete at our event.”

Brazilain jiu-jitsu is a self-defence martial art which involves grappling, ground fighting and submission holds. Within its classifications Hardy is recognised as a high level blue belt.

Competitors are tasked with taking their opponents to the ground, controlling and forcing them into submission via a mixture of joint locks or chokeholds.

Last month, Hardy achieved similar success after turning up at a charity martial arts competition in Wolverhampton.

The 45-year-old competed in the Reorg jiu-jitsu and Parajiu-jitsu championship, where he again achieved a gold medal finish.