Talented Carlisle-born Brazilian jiu-jitsu athlete Kit Wilson has enjoyed a great deal of success recently in tournaments in Asia - thousands of miles away from his family.

The former Cumbrian, who had lived in Dalston, was recently crowned the Asian champion and won the Pan Asian Championship in May, too.

Wilson, 25, grew up in Cumbria and his family remain in the area but he now receives support, which allows him to travel around Asia, taking part in competitions.

"I started Japanese jiu-jitsu with my brother when I was in primary school, with the late Ronnie Whittle, and started trying other martial arts when I got older," Wilson says as he explains how he first got involved in Brazilian jiu-jitsu [BJJ].

"The first time I ever went to a Brazilian jiu-jitsu class was a day-long seminar that my mum had seen somewhere and it was given by Rubens Charles "Cobrinha" [one of the greatest competitors of all time who won four World championship gold medals].

"I'd just received my Japanese jiu-jitsu black belt, but it wasn't until three months later, that I started doing it.

"That was after my brother beat me up during the Christmas holidays."

Wilson has performed well in recent tournaments.

He won four matches on his way to gold in the Pan Asian Championship, winning two by submission and two by points.

Meanwhile, the former Dalston lad had to win a further three matches on his way to becoming Asian champion, earlier this month.

One match was won by disqualification, another by submission and another by points.

When asked if he needed to do anything to qualify for either championship, Wilson says: "No.

"I think there is only one event in the calendar year you need to qualify for and that's the IBJJF [International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation] World Championship for black belts.

"But, at the higher levels of competition, categories can get very big."

His training then went to another level when he went to Singapore as part of his university degree.

He says: "My training intensified when I went to Singapore for a year as a part of a university degree.

"My instructor is Antonio Tani at Equilibrium MMA in Singapore. He's a black belt world champion and has mentored many champions."

With the support the 25-year-old has been getting from Equilibrium MMA, Wilson has been training and competing full-time since the start of the year.

"Basically, since January, I've been training and competing full-time, usually being based in Singapore - I mostly competed in Asia, too," he explains.

"Right now I'm in Beijing, China, teaching English to save some money. But I'm also training, there's a good gym here.

"I'm going to be back in Cumbria in November and will stay until January."

Wilson also describes how he saved money when he worked in London before he headed off to Asia - and how much the support he now gains means to him.

He says: "I saved money, working in London, which allowed me to start out.

"But, when I've been in Asia and competing, I've received enormous support from Equilibrium MMA which I am very grateful for.

"A lot of what I've done wouldn't be possible without them."

But it's not only jiu-jitsu Wilson has competed in - he also boxed for a while and medalled in freestyle wrestling.

Wilson tries to train as often as possible.

"I try to train everyday of the week and only take days off immediately before and after a competition," he says.

"And, if possible, I'll train two or three times in a day. It's mostly jiu-jitsu and conditioning."

So, what is the 25-year-old's perception of Brazilian jiu-jitsu back in the UK?

"Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the UK is at quite a high level, potentially the highest in Europe," he adds.

"The biggest and best events are all over the world though from Japan to USA to Portugal to UAE and Brazil.

"The best place [to compete] has to be Brazil, though."

When asked who his sporting role models are, Wilson gives a philosophical response, saying: "Nobody famous really.

"You draw motivation from your instructors and team-mates. They encourage you to compete and improve.

"My brother has had a big influence on me, ultimately he's the reason I started. Arnold Schwarzenegger has too."

And will Wilson be returning to the UK permanently anytime soon.

Wilson adds: "I'm not sure, I'll see where life takes me.

"After Christmas, I'm going to compete in the European Championships in Lisbon.

"I'm going to be training in the UK for that, but afterwards, I'm going to Belo Horizonte in Brazil.

"My goal is to become a world champion."

That will be no easy task as all the current Brazilian jiu-jitsu champions are from Brazil.

These include Bruno Malfacine in the 57kg category, Otávio Souza in the 82kg weight class and Marcus Almeida in both the 100+kg and the absolute categories.

During his career, Almeida has won 10 World Championship medals, which includes eight golds.

The Carlisle-born Brazilian jiu-jitsu star posts regular updates on how he has been performing and continues to receive support from his friends in Cumbria.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a martial art and combat sport that teaches a smaller person how to defend himself against a larger adversary by using leverage and proper technique.

The Gracie family, the founders of BJJ, modified judo and traditional Japanese jiu-jitsu to create the art.

It's an art Wilson is doing very well in at the moment.