ZIMBABWEAN martial arts expert Shidoshi Wilfred Mashaya also known as Zim Ninja has arrived in the United Kingdom ahead of the 2026 ICO Scottish Open Martial Arts Tournament, where he will represent the country in the weaponry categories.
The tournament will be held on August 22 and 23 at Easterhouse Sports Centre in Glasgow, bringing together competitors from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and other countries.
Master Mashaya will compete in Traditional Weapons, Freestyle Weapons and Creative Weapons, seeking to add to an already impressive international record.
His participation comes less than a year after he was crowned world champion at the ICO Martial Arts World Championships in Wales, where he won two gold and two silver medals in October 2025.
The Kobudo world champion who recently won the. People’s Choice Award at the ANSA Awards will be looking to build on that success as he continues his campaign on the international martial arts circuit.
The Zim Ninja expressed his appreciation to those who made his latest international assignment possible, particularly Thaton Property, Coach Rambo, Mr Badzarigere and members of the Zim Ninja Academy.
His journey to Glasgow is the latest chapter in a career that has seen him compete and earn recognition across Africa, Europe and Asia.
Among his major achievements is becoming the first African world champion in weapons in Kobudo martial arts, while he is also a holder of multiple black belts, in Kobudo and self-defence. He also holds black belts in Ninjutsu and Kyokushin Karate and has attained the rank of Shihan, signifying a senior master or teacher.
Shihan Mashaya has also made history through his work in developing martial arts in Zimbabwe, having pioneered disciplines including Ninjutsu and Kobudo and established the Zim Ninja Academy and he is also leading the fight against drug and substance abuse through martial arts.
His influence has extended beyond his own competitive career.
At the 2025 ICO World Championships in Wales, he coached a team of eight Zimbabwean children, four boys and four girls, who collectively won 43 medals.
The achievement was another milestone in his efforts to use martial arts to develop young people, promote discipline and provide alternatives to drug and substance abuse.
Shidoshi Mashaya has also coached men, women and children who have collectively won more than 200 medals in international and virtual competitions since 2020.
His record includes multiple international titles in England, Wales, India, Poland, Montenegro and other destinations, while he has been inducted into several international martial arts halls of fame.
Among those honours are inductions into the Barcelona, Serbia, London, India, Portugal Lisbon, Italy Martial Heroes and Poland Budo Bushi halls of fame, making him one of the most decorated Zimbabwean martial artists on the international stage.
In 2019, he was crowned Zimbabwe Sportsman and Sportsperson of the Year for 2018, receiving the award from then Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry. He subsequently became the first Zimbabwean male to win the Regional Sportsman of the Year award in Namibia.
His contribution has also extended into community work.
In 2021, Mashaya partnered with the Sports and Recreation Commission and the Ministry responsible for sport to provide free self-defence training to women with disabilities and albinism, an initiative which earned him further recognition internationally.
He was subsequently recognised with humanitarian and self-defence awards, reinforcing a career that has combined competition with community development.
The Scottish Open therefore represents more than another tournament for the Zimbabwean.
It offers Mashaya an opportunity to continue flying the national flag on an international stage while testing himself against competitors from across the United Kingdom and beyond.
With his experience in traditional, freestyle and creative weaponry, the Zimbabwean will be hoping to turn another international appearance into more medals and further recognition for Zimbabwean martial arts.
For the Zim Ninja Academy, his participation also provides another platform to demonstrate the progress being made in Zimbabwean martial arts and the potential of locally developed talent to compete at the highest level.
