A Newham College tutor has officially became one of the world’s best capoeira performers.
Zia Rahman, who teaches maths at the Stratford campus, has been doing capoeira for four years and recently competed with Capoeira Team UK at the world championship in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Capoeira is a combination of martial arts with dance which originated in Brazil and performed worldwide.
Zia achieved second place in his category making him one of the world’s best performers.
He spends three days each week training for two hours after work, and also dedicates time to developing his skills during weekends and half term breaks.
He returned to east London after three weeks in Brazil and was thrilled with his success.
He said: “I was very happy just to compete. I was absolutely blown away by coming second!”
Zia has since returned to Newham College but his capoeira training will continue as he maintains his position within the UK team.
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