A MARTIAL arts teacher at Arrow Vale Sports Centre has been a consultant and adjudicator for a new TV game show.

BBC2's Masters of Combat, which aired its first programme on Friday evening, saw national ju-justu coach Ross Iannoccaro credited for his help and advice.

The show, from the makers of Robot Wars, is presented by Gail Porter and is the first of its kind, where teams of martial arts practitioners compete in a range of events.

Mr Iannoccaro, who has more than 30 years' experience in martial arts, said if the six programmes got the ratings, the next series could see Redditch teams taking part.

He said: "Masters of Combat is essentially a game show with a set a bit like a Shaolin monastery, where the masters watch their students train and compete.

"There are two teams each week from practitioners around the country who are tested on different events, such as strength and agility, and towards the end of the show they compete against each other in combat.

"I'm sure it will be a big hit as it's entertaining and will certainly give martial arts a good image.''

He added: "I teach a lot of talented people at Arrow Vale and if Masters of Combat gets a second series, I'll pick teams from the Midlands and hopefully there'll be one or two from Redditch."

Mr Iannoccaro teaches men, women and children at the Matchborough sports centre, including three current British champions, and is the founder of Ju-Jutsu Kumite, the sporting format for competitive ju-jutsu.

For details of martial arts classes, call Mr Iannoccaro on 01562 746447.