Learning Martial Arts For Self Defence

So, before I start, I just want to ask a few quick questions - to make sure you are in the right place…

Do you live locally to Abingdon?

Are you looking for something new to try for yourself or maybe with the whole family?

Do you want to feel safer and fitter?

If you’ve answered YES to any of these questions, then perfect - you are in the right place and I would love the opportunity to introduce you to our Can Do Martial Arts DōJō...

We all know that joining a gym to get healthier can be expensive and eventually becomes something we stop doing. Finding a local activity for the family also becomes challenging and you soon run out of choices. This is where our local ‘Can Do Martial Arts DōJō’ offers the perfect combination of self-defence, fitness and fun, and something the whole family can do together.

As I said my name is Ben and I’ve trained in martial arts for over 30 years and have been a professional instructor for 15 years.

I created a professional team of highly qualified and accomplished coaches committed to helping students achieve their goals. The DōJō is a unique space that is dedicated to martial arts, and designed to create an amazing learning environment, with a strong family focus and a culture of immersive learning.

Being a family man and local to the area, I enjoy giving back to the community. One of the ways I do this is by providing free Women’s Self-defence courses, primary school personal safety courses and family fun days.

The DōJō is recognised as a hub of the Abingdon Community and a place people can come to for transformation and personal growth.

It’s never too late or too early to start learning martial arts. If you stop by any of our classes, you’ll see a variety of different ages and backgrounds at every level. We cater our teaching style to meet the needs of our students no matter their strength level, skill level, or physical capabilities. As long as you are willing to commit to your practise, we’ll help you excel.

The importance of having a dedicated DōJō is that it allows us to help you learn new martial arts skills faster. The DōJō has plenty of space which eliminates distractions and keeps you focused. This relaxed atmosphere makes it so much easier to submerge yourself in Martial Arts providing you with the opportunity for personal growth and increased fitness. 

Martial arts creates personal challenges that continue to become more interesting as you progress. At the DōJō we tailor our coaching to your specific requirements allowing you to learn your new skills confidently. This means you won’t be turning up to a class full of 50 people and be lost in a crowd. We understand that everyone is different, and you are unique which means we put processes in place to help you achieve your personal targets.

DōJō literally means the Path or Way of enlightenment. So it is not a gym, or box, or pit or whatever the slang term is for fitness places these days. This is a DōJō, a place to learn and grow in a culture steeped in history and its uniqueness will drive your learning and become the place to start a journey towards something more important in your life.

The DōJō is a place of learning, you won’t just be here to do an activity or to “keep fit”. You will become part of something greater and something meaningful. 

Rather than turning up to a soulless commercial Gym, this is your opportunity to be part of a supportive and thriving community of like minded people, a family that helps to motivate you and support you as you start to achieve amazing results.

You will find our coaches have one focused purpose, which is simply to help you learn martial arts. That’s it. The reason they are so good at this is that they are professionals, they live the arts they coach, and have the highest standards for themselves and their students.

One of the martial arts we teach that everyone has heard of, is Karate. This art is all about undertaking a challenging journey of personal growth. Our passion for real Karate means our coaches travel to Japan to learn from the source. Many of our coaches have successfully competed at the highest levels too in order to ensure we are at the top of our game for you. 

To become truly successful in any journey, immersing yourself in a new lifestyle is the most powerful approach. An underlying foundation of fitness for example is a great way to supercharge your results, and like everything we do at the DōJō, results for you matter, which is one of the many reasons we have the Training For Warriors 6 week challenge.

This is an incredible fitness programme founded in martial arts philosophy. As an example Karate uses belts as a way of assessing the start and end point of your journey, in our fitness transformation challenge we understand the value of this benchmarking method and apply a similar system . This means you will always start with a baseline body composition analysis and basic fitness tests so that we can map out your journey with assessment points. So you will always have a goal to reach and the motivation to stick with it.

When you get involved in learning martial arts you naturally start to set yourself personal goals. These targets are a fun way of developing your new skills and the act of passing your belt grades becomes a fun and exciting activity. As you move forward in your art, you are not measured against other people, but instead against a set of criteria. This makes it so much easier to achieve massive results in a shorter time period.

As you start learning new martial arts skills and progressing through your belts, you will start to notice that your confidence in your abilities will increase and because you are using different muscle groups, your body will start to feel stronger and fitter as well. Martial arts strengthens your core as well as all muscle groups, which ultimately helps you have more energy in your daily activities. 

Arrive a few minutes early so you can get ready for class. We recommend you give yourself time to sign in, get changed, catch up with fellow students and start warming up before we begin class. We do a thorough warm up, but everybody is different so it’s good to get nice and loose before we begin. Getting into the habit of warming up your muscles before your workout will prevent discomfort, lower the chance of injury, and will also generally improve your health and your ability to learn new moves.

If you are a newcomer to martial arts, you may be intrigued by the unique etiquette of our DōJō. There are certain customs in martial arts training that you will find fun to learn. As an example, when you first walk in - you will be required to bow to the DōJō. This is an old custom of showing respect to the place where you will train. This also creates a deep level of mutual respect between the student and coach. We are all traveling the martial arts path together, helping each other grow and evolve. You will achieve skills to be proud of and have changed for the better in the process.

First thing is first. You don’t have to worry about getting hurt, feeling embarrassed, or being on your own. Our DōJō provides a safe, friendly, and professional atmosphere. Any time you start something new, it’s a little uncomfortable. But that’s when you know you’re learning, growing and transforming! We’ll support and compassionately challenge you to be your best and we’ll guide you at every step of the way. Before you know it, new students will be looking to you for advice!

The first of the three martial arts that we teach is Karate. This form of martial art is all about undertaking a challenging journey of personal growth, along the way you will make great friends, learn some amazing skills and develop your fitness and confidence to new heights. Rather than turning up to a soulless Gym or empty hall, you will be part of a supportive and thriving community, and train in an art that has been practiced for centuries!

At our DōJō, we welcome you to come for your first class in any clothing that you feel comfortable moving in. If you decide to keep training with us, we’ll let you know how to order a uniform.

It’s much easier to achieve a goal when you are not alone, and are surrounded by others who will hold you accountable and push you on. The DōJō is a safe and unique place in its ability to provide you with highly motivated professional coaches, and an amazing martial arts programme that takes you on a journey from beginner to Black Belt. 

But I would say the real transformation comes from within, as you discover what you are truly capable of achieving. The friendships you will build along the way will play a big part in your success, and in turn you will become a role model to those around you leading the way for those following in your footsteps.

We will train you to maintain a practical mindset and apply your training to reality-based situations. More than that, we don’t limit your applications to kicking and punching. We will give you the confidence to use your self-defense skills in any situation and include grappling, throwing, locking, tripping and a mix of it all.