Richard Martin

Richard "Dickie" Martin's introduction to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu came in November 2001, when his friend Simon Hayes invited him to train at the historic Budokwai gym in London — one of the oldest and most respected martial arts clubs in the United Kingdom. That invitation set Martin on a path that would define his athletic and professional life for decades to come.

In 2002, Martin seized the opportunity to become one of the founding students at the newly opened Carlson Gracie London, established by Wilson Cretaro da Luz Junior and Luca Menagacci under the supervision of Nelson Solari. Joining at the academy's inception placed Martin at the heart of what would grow into one of England's most prominent BJJ institutions, and that formative environment shaped both his technique and his long-term commitment to the art.

Martin did not arrive on the mats without prior martial arts experience. His parallel pursuit of Judo deepened his understanding of grappling mechanics, and in 2005 he earned his Judo black belt — a credential that reinforced the technical foundation he was simultaneously building in BJJ. This dual grounding in Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu became a defining characteristic of his development as both a practitioner and, later, an instructor.

Building Trust Through the Ranks

Martin's growth within Carlson Gracie London mirrored the academy's own rise to prominence. Even before reaching black belt, his technical ability and investment in the gym's culture earned him coaching responsibilities. While still a BJJ purple belt following his 2005 Judo black belt promotion, he began assisting with instruction — an early signal of the trust senior instructors placed in him.

From Brown Belt to Black Belt

That role expanded in 2006 when Martin received his BJJ brown belt, taking on formal assistant instructor duties and playing an increasingly active role in developing the next generation of students. On May 19th, 2008, Wilson Cretaro da Luz Junior awarded Martin his BJJ black belt, marking the completion of a seven-year journey that had begun on the mats of the Budokwai.

From first-generation student to head instructor at Carlson Gracie London, Martin's career arc embodies the continuity and institutional loyalty that defines the strongest BJJ academies. His progression through the ranks under the same roof where he first learned the art reflects both the quality of instruction he received and the depth of his commitment to the Carlson Gracie lineage.

Early Results and Pre-Black Belt Success

Martin's competitive career spans more than a decade of consistent performance across multiple belt levels and age divisions, establishing him as one of England's most accomplished grapplers in the Pesado (Heavyweight) division at 94kg/207lbs. His earliest recorded results at the European level came in 2004, when he earned a silver medal as a blue belt competitor in the adult division — a result that foreshadowed the sustained success he would achieve on the international stage.

Victories at the Gracie Invitational in 2004 and again in 2006 demonstrated competitive consistency well before his black belt promotion, underscoring that his drive to test himself in competition was present from the very beginning. Those wins at lower belt levels built the tournament experience that would serve him well as his career matured.

Black Belt Titles and World Championship Gold

Following his 2008 black belt promotion, Martin's competition record at the senior and master levels speaks for itself. A silver medal at the 2009 European Championship served as a prelude to back-to-back European Championship gold medals in 2010 and 2012 in the black belt senior 1 division. British Open black belt titles in 2009 and 2011 further cemented his standing as one of the dominant figures in his weight and age category within the United Kingdom.

A silver medal at the 2011 European Masters division and an International Masters & Seniors gold in 2011 in the Senior 2 category reflect his ability to perform across multiple competitive brackets within a single season. The pinnacle of his tournament career came at the 2014 IBJJF World Master Jiu-Jitsu Championship, where Martin claimed the world title — the clearest validation of his standing among the best competitors of his generation on the global stage.

Among the many submissions available to a black belt-level competitor, Martin has identified the Rolling Armbar as his favorite technique — a choice that reveals much about the stylistic influences shaping his game. The rolling armbar is a dynamic, transitional submission demanding precise timing, spatial awareness, and explosive rotational movement that sits squarely at the intersection of Judo and BJJ.

For a practitioner who earned a Judo black belt before completing his BJJ journey, this preference is anything but coincidental. The throwing instincts and sensitivity to momentum that Judo develops translate naturally into the setup and execution of a rolling armbar, where reading and redirecting an opponent's weight matters as much as the finishing mechanics themselves. The technique rewards athleticism and competitive experience in equal measure — qualities Martin accumulated over years of high-level tournament competition.

In this sense, the rolling armbar serves as a fitting expression of the dual martial arts foundation that has defined Richard Martin's approach to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the beginning.