Tangling with a human tarantula

The tarantula is Rafael Correa, the 1998 BJJ Mundials world champion, a four-times Brazilian national title holder and now an instructor at the Evolve Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Singapore.

The rapid worldwide growth of mixed martial arts (MMA), popularised by the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the United States, brought Correa to Singapore from the prestigious Renzo Gracie Academy in New York.

MMA, which brings together a range of fight styles such as BJJ, boxing, muay thai and wrestling, is set to take Singapore by storm, Correa believes.

"The crowd in Asia is educated in MMA. The potential here is huge. I really believe this is going to be the biggest sport in Singapore within two years max," he told Reuters in an interview.

"It''s as close as it can get to real life. Everyone who''s watching it, maybe they don''t see themselves in the cage or in the ring fighting, but they can see themselves in that situation on the street."

RAZOR SHARP SKILLS

A short sparring session with a Reuters reporter confirms Correa''s combat skills remain razor sharp.

He flicks a kick and switches stance to confuse his prey -- then he is on you. All over you. Throwing you. Twisting you. Choking you. The end comes. Quickly.

Correa said that in the early days of MMA, the highly technical nature of jiu-jitsu sometimes left U.S. audiences confused and frustrated when a fight finished with a cunning submission rather than a sensational knockout.

"Drunk, crazy crowds" baying for a beating were unable to appreciate the finer points of BJJ, he added.

"But now, because it has grown so much and people are getting to understand it, with professional people commentating etc, the crowd is appreciating mixed martial arts."