Joe Chapple

Hi I’m Joe. I’m a wrestling/brazilian jiu jitsu coach and personal trainer based in London. Here’s the story of my combat sports journey so far…

When I was growing up I was a short and skinny kid and the least sporty person you could imagine. Honestly, I was useless at any sport I tried. No strength, agility, coordination etc. I was often picked on at school due to my lack of size making me an easy target. I’d always fight back but it didn’t always go my way. After years of this I decided to hit the gym and build a bit of muscle at the age of 16. It was at this time that my friend introduced me to freestyle wrestling at Lewisham Wrestling Club, and to my surprise I found that I was actually pretty good at it, picking up the techniques pretty quickly and even having a go in the sparring (although I did throw up after my first session as it was an intensity i’d never experienced before). I decided that I wanted to keep going so I returned the following week, and every week after, never missing a single session. it was the first sport i’d tried that I was actually good at. I trained there for 6 years in total and after 2 years, with my knowledge from working the fitness industry, I started to run the warm ups/fitness elements of the classes. they were mixed adults and kids sessions so I found a way of retaining the intensity of the fitness but also making it fun by implementing wheelbarrow races, fireman carry races, tug of war etc. Before long I was teaching the techniques too and found I had a knack for teaching people of all ages and abilities, including many people with varying learning difficulties. I’d found my passion and I was more than happy to teach voluntarily the whole time I was there. I did some competitions during my time wrestling and medalled in the english championships at the age of 19, but then decided to focus a bit more on coaching.

One day a guy, Jack, who I knew from school (but never really spoke to) came to my class, told me he did brazilian jiu jitsu and asked if we could do some wrestling with submissions at the end of the session. Having never heard of bjj before I thought to myself “I’ll easily take this guy down and hold him there.” which I did, but the next thing I knew my arm and neck were locked between his legs in what I later learned was a triangle choke, and I felt like I was about to pass out so had to tap. I couldn’t believe what had happened. This skinny guy could have killed me if he’d wanted, despite my weight/strength advantage and 6 years experience with wrestling. It was at this moment that I decided I had to learn this magical martial art. So Jack invited me to train with him in his attic, started to teach me some basics, and quickly became my best friend. He introduced me to my first bjj club under Vinicius De Castro, and 2 years in I’d learned to adapt my takedowns to work for bjj, and I was teaching wrestling classes based on jiu jitsu rules, as well as assisting with kids classes, teaching children as young as 3 years old.

In 2021 I was offered the opportunity to teach and train under Ross Nicholls, well known as one of the best jiu jitsu athletes in Europe (2018 <77kg ADCC European champion), and have been teaching wrestling and kids jiu jitsu classes at his club in Deptford, London Grapple. In June 2024 I was awarded my black belt by Ross. I’ve competed over the years a fair amount and have always done reasonably well, often entering heavier weight divisions and medalling against opponents sometimes 15kg(33lb) heavier than me.

It’s a never ending learning experience and I plan to continue for as long as I can physically move. I absolutely love teaching wrestling and jiu jitsu to people of all ages and abilities. The confidence it builds is like nothing else and seeing the students I teach, in classes and in private sessions, improving so much gives me such a great sense of achievement.