Luka stepped forward, an imposing man with heavy Slav features and broad, muscular shoulders squeezed into a sweatshirt with the sleeves ripped off. He was powerfully built: a similar height to Tom at about six-foot-tall but at least twenty to thirty pounds heavier, mostly muscle. He extended his hand and gripped Tom’s hand with a firm shake, smiling to show a row of crowded teeth.

‘You any good at rolling, my friend? I always struggle to get someone to roll with, who can stay with me for more than a minute.’ A glimmer of sarcasm was detectable in his deep, even voice. ‘Rolling,’ the term used by BJJ practitioners to describe practice bouts.

Tom met his stare. ‘Good to meet you. I can roll pretty well; happy to help you out. I’ll see if I can last more than a minute,’

‘Where are you from, Tomo?’ Suspicion and reserve deep in his face.

‘Sarajevo. Came over when I was twelve at the start of the siege.’

‘How come we’ve never met? Not so many of us Serbs about.’

A slight interrogation starting already, thought Tom. Not even a subtle one.

‘I grew up in Scotland. I was an orphan and lived all over, but I’ve only been down here a couple of months. You want to roll, or talk?’

The Serbian smiled. ‘Come on then, let’s see if you’re as tough as Ivan says.’

They moved through to the MMA area. Luka stripped off his sweatshirt and track pants, pulling on a skin-tight rash vest similar to Tom’s. He was well-muscled but, Tom noticed with a touch of satisfaction, carrying a bit too much fat for proper efficiency. They faced each other on the matting in the dojo area, bumped fists, and then took the fighting stance.

BJJ is a little like a game of chess: move and counter-move, trying to lead an opponent down a particular route. It usually begins with standing holds, the aim being to take your opponent to the ground on your terms to try and get a submission from a joint-lock, choke, or compression-lock. Luka grabbed aggressively at Tom, trying to take the initiative and get him to ground quickly. As soon as Tom saw his opponent’s approach, he knew he could beat him; Luka was rushing, and he was overly aggressive. He knew that he could easily counter and have him locked up in a heartbeat, but that wasn’t the objective.