Meet Dojo Manager, Jordan Squires
My Story begins...
My love for the arts started at a young age, when I was just
five. I watched 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' and 'Power Rangers' becoming
obsessed with these shows, dressing up as the characters on a regular basis. As
I got older, movies such as 'Passenger 57' and any 'Steven Seagal' movies only
increased my desire to train in martial arts.
My teenage years though proved difficult for me, and I had a
hard time at school. I would get into fights on a regular basis and had
difficulty controlling my temper and this behaviour eventually got me suspended
from school. It was around this time I got attacked by six people, near a local
supermarket – that was the precise point in my life I knew I had to do
something to keep me from heading down a dark path...
Turning a corner
After this, my father introduced me to Ben Richardson at
'Can Do Martial Arts' a Dojo in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. I began training in
'Jeet Kune Do' under Ben at the age of 14. When I was 16, still at college, I
began helping Ben teach the children's classes during the evenings after
lectures. While I was approaching the end of my college course, I still wasn't
sure what I wanted to do in life.
At a critical point in time, Ben offered me the opportunity
to do an apprenticeship under his guidance. During the apprenticeship I trained
in 'Karate' and 'Brazilian Jiu Jitsu' as well as doing personal training
qualifications. Four years later, I had passed all my course and gained all my
qualifications. In 2014 I achieved black belts in both Jeet Kune Do and Karate.
After getting my blacks belts, I went on to finish my
personal training qualifications gaining NVQ Level 3. I was also part of the
JKS, (Japanese Karate Shoto Federation), England Squad team for Karate where I
travelled the country competing on a regular basis. Add to that my Training for
Warriors Level 1 certification in fitness under Martin Rooney, who has
previously been a strength and conditioning coach for the Gracie family as well
as Ultimate Fighting Champions such as Frankie Edgar and Jim Miller and I was
well on my way to finding a life that served a purpose.
So many highlights!
I've had the opportunity to be a contestant on Channel 4's
"The Crystal Maze" along with my friends and fellow martial artists,
Scott Witham, Richard Smith, Heather Grimes and Ryan Collins with Richard
Ayoade as the host. The whole day was great fun, and I would love for you to
watch it!
One of the coolest things I’ve done with Scott and Ben at
Can Do, was to train Matty Healy from The 1975. Matty had been training in Jeet
Kune Do as well as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and I was utterly thrilled to fly to
the States on tour with the band!
I truly feel incredibly lucky to have been introduced to Ben,
and to have trained with some of the best martial artists in the world including
Guro Dan Inosanto, Jean Jaques Machado, Mauricio Gomes, Guro Bob Breen and
Roger Gracie just to name a few!
I have now been Coaching at Can Do for nearly 12 years and
it was an honour to be asked by Ben to take over management of the Dojo at the
end of last year. In this position I can continue my passion to help people
achieve their goals as both part of the coaching squad and as members from as
young as three years old! I know that if I can have the same positive influence
on just one person in the Dojo as my experience had on me, then I have done a
good job.