I hope he has learnt a hard lesson
Champ, 17, on jailed bully
AS he sits in his prison cell, Stuart Briggs may be wondering why jiujitsu is known as the “gentle art”.
The thug, 35, randomly attacked 16-year-old student Alex Williams, not knowing he is an expert in the martial art, and was slammed to the ground.
He was jailed for 20 months this week for biting Alex, who has now set up self-defence classes for under-12s who might be targeted by a bully too.
Alex, now 17, said: “I’m glad he went to prison but it should have been for longer. I hope he’s learnt a hard lesson not to pick on young people.”
Alex was on his lunch break from college in Guisborough town centre in North Yorkshire, when Briggs stormed over to him, unprovoked.
The jobless drug addict snarled “I’m gonna smash your head in” and “I’ll stab you down the alley”.
He then attacked Alex, unaware he was assaulting a four-time junior world champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The student was bitten as he executed a “double leg takedown”, grabbing Briggs around the legs, lifting him and slamming him to the ground.
Briggs staggered away but the attack was caught on video and shared around the world on social media.
Alex, a maths and accountancy student at Prior Pursglove College, Guisborough, rang Cleveland Police after realising he was injured. He said: “There was blood everywhere and I realised he had bitten a chunk out of my ear. I went to the hospital and it needed six stitches.”
Briggs was jailed at Teesside crown court on Monday after admitting causing grievous bodily harm.
Alex said: “I knew how to look after myself but not all young people do and to many that would have been terrifying. He injured my ear but he came off very much worse and hopefully he learnt a valuable lesson not to pick on people who you think are vulnerable.
“It would be good to think that when he’s in prison he gets help for his drug issues and comes out a better person, but at least for now another dangerous person is off the streets.”
Alex, of Redcar, North Yorks, said he had already been speaking to pal Serenity Scott about self-defence classes but the attack was a catalyst.
Their NXT Gen MMA group in Stockton-on-Tees has proved popular and runs classes for youngsters every Wednesday and Friday night.
Alex said: “We decided to get cracking and we now hold classes for kids, mostly under-12s, to teach them how to defend themselves.
“It is an anti-bullying initiative but it also teaches kids confidence and hopefully they can progress into competition. I want to be able to give them the skills that proved so useful to me.”
The video was seen by 1.3 million people after being shared by professional fighter Alex Enlund. He said: “Get your kid into martial arts and it’s unlikely they will become the bully due to the humility learned on mats.”