StandStrong Academy - Martial Arts and Self Defence

StandStrong Academy - Martial Arts and Self Defence Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), Hybrid Krav Maga, Kickboxing
Kids Martial Arts & Self Defence

Our Women’s Kickboxing programme continues to grow 🥊💪And honestly, a huge part of that is down to Coach Emily.For a lot ...
23/06/2026

Our Women’s Kickboxing programme continues to grow 🥊💪

And honestly, a huge part of that is down to Coach Emily.

For a lot of women, walking into a martial arts class for the first time can feel incredibly intimidating.

Many have never hit pads before.
Many haven’t exercised in a while.
Some are simply looking for something more engaging than another gym workout.

Taking that first step can be the hardest part.

What Emily does so well is make people feel welcome from day one.

She creates an environment with plenty of laughter, encouragement, and support, while still delivering sessions that challenge people and help them improve.

The classes strike that sweet spot between:
✅ Fitness and conditioning
✅ Learning real skills
✅ Having fun
✅ Feeling part of a community

And I think that’s why so many women keep coming back week after week.

A great coach doesn’t just teach techniques.

They help people feel comfortable enough to keep showing up.

And Emily does that brilliantly 👏

21/06/2026

This young chap always makes me laugh 😂👏

A newer addition to our Juniors Self Defence programme, but already bringing some fantastic energy to the mats.

One of my favourite things about coaching kids is seeing their personalities come out as their confidence grows.

Some are quiet and thoughtful.
Some are super focused.
And some are determined to keep us all entertained 😅

We spend a lot of time talking about what we teach, but I think it’s just as important to hear directly from the kids themselves.

So here’s another chance to hear from one of our students about what they enjoy learning at StandStrong Academy 🥋

After all, they’re the ones experiencing it every week.

Super proud of our Under 16s Jiu Jitsu team 🥋💪One of the things I’ve been enjoying most recently is watching kids from d...
19/06/2026

Super proud of our Under 16s Jiu Jitsu team 🥋💪

One of the things I’ve been enjoying most recently is watching kids from different schools, age groups, backgrounds, and parts of the city come together to help each other grow.

Jiu Jitsu might be an individual sport when you step onto the competition mats, but nobody gets there alone.

Every round, every drill, every piece of advice, every bit of encouragement from a training partner helps make everyone better.

And that’s something this team does really well.

The atmosphere on the mats is genuinely fantastic.

The more experienced kids help the newer ones.

The older kids encourage the younger ones.

Everyone wants to see each other succeed.

For a sport that is technically individual, there is a huge team element behind the scenes.

Everyone is welcome, everyone has a place, and together we’re building something pretty special 👏

Very proud coach.

16/06/2026

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that the people who get the most from exercise aren’t necessarily the most motivated.

They’re the people who accept that life comes in seasons.

There are periods where training is flying.

There are periods where work, children, family commitments, illness, and life generally take priority.

The mistake isn’t falling off track.

The mistake is believing that because you’ve stopped for a while, you can’t start again.

Some of our longest-standing members have had periods where they’ve trained 5 times a week and periods where they’ve barely trained at all.

What matters is that they kept coming back.

If you’re currently in one of those busy seasons, don’t beat yourself up.

Just don’t forget to come back when you’re ready 👊

15/06/2026

Where has the time gone? 🥹🥋

This superstar student has now been training with us for over 7 years… and it’s incredible to look back and see how much growth has happened during that time.

She’s one of only a handful of students who has now progressed through all 3 of our kids age groups…

(Even though back when she started, we only had one group 🤯)

She’s trained with us through:
✅ Venue changes
✅ The pandemic
✅ Programme growth
✅ Countless classes, drills, and challenges along the way

But more importantly than any belt or stripe…

We’ve had the privilege of watching her grow into a more confident, capable, disciplined young person.

Seeing the way she carries herself now compared to when she first started is a real testament to the consistency, focus, self-discipline, and hard work she’s shown over the years.

We’re all super proud of her 👏

Now the big question is…

Will we be seeing her in the adult classes soon? 😅

Hair grabs ✋💇‍♀️How do we teach kids to deal with them?Hair grabs are very different to things like wrist or clothing gr...
13/06/2026

Hair grabs ✋💇‍♀️

How do we teach kids to deal with them?

Hair grabs are very different to things like wrist or clothing grabs.

They hurt.
They can disrupt balance really easily because the head is being controlled.
And for a lot of kids, they can feel quite personal and frightening.

So when we teach these situations, the focus is always on simple, realistic priorities rather than complicated techniques.

We teach the kids to:
✅ Make lots of noise and call for help
✅ Fight to stay balanced and protect their head from strikes
✅ Potentially attach themselves to the grabbing arm to reduce pulling force
✅ Try to isolate fingers on the grabbing hand to help break the grip
✅ And if nothing else is working… strike painful targets until the grab is released

As always, we try to teach serious skills in a way that is age-appropriate, controlled, and engaging for the kids.

And despite the topic…

The session was actually great fun 😂

Although the robot hoover definitely struggled with the amount of hair left on the mats afterwards

I don’t get a huge amount of chance to talk about our Youth Self Defence group very often.The reality is… the sessions t...
12/06/2026

I don’t get a huge amount of chance to talk about our Youth Self Defence group very often.

The reality is… the sessions tend to be pretty intense from a coaching perspective, so there’s usually not much time left to stop and take photos 😅

But honestly, these classes are some of my absolute favourites to coach - and here’s why.

As most parents know…

Getting teenagers to consistently do something they don’t want to do is basically impossible 😂

Which is why I think this group is so special.

Every single one of these teens is here because they genuinely want to be.

They’re self-motivated.
They walk themselves over from school.
They remember their own kit.
They support each other.

And in some cases, we’ve even had older teens pay for their own memberships because training means that much to them.

That kind of ownership and commitment at that age is genuinely impressive.

It’s an absolute pleasure to coach this team and watch them grow into confident, capable young people 👏

11/06/2026

A quick one for any martial arts coaches who follow me on here.

Over the last few years, we’ve built our children’s programme at StandStrong to over 140 kids training every week from one modest location.

That growth hasn’t come from one magic drill, one perfect syllabus, or one clever advert.

It’s come from constantly working on the programme itself.

The coaching.
The class structure.
The energy in the room.
The progression system.
The parent communication.
The team around the children.
The experience each child has when they walk through the door.

I speak to a lot of martial arts coaches who care deeply about their students, but find the kids’ side of the business difficult.

Managing behaviour.
Keeping children engaged.
Balancing fun with standards.
Supporting different ages and abilities.
Building confidence.
Improving retention.
Creating a programme kids and parents genuinely value.

That’s why I’ve started Kids Coaching Corner.

It’s a new page for martial arts coaches who want to build better children’s programmes.

I’ll be sharing ideas, lessons, mistakes, systems and reflections from the real-life lab we have here at StandStrong every week.

So if you coach kids, run a martial arts school, or want to improve your junior programme, head over and follow Kids Coaching Corner on Facebook and Instagram.

I’d love to connect with more coaches who care about doing this properly.





10/06/2026

Most people don’t need more techniques.

They need better fundamentals.

Last night’s HKM session was highly technical, focusing on one thing: generating power through circular strikes. 🥊

We worked on using hip rotation to create force, improving timing and distance, reducing telegraphs, and understanding how these strikes can be applied against a moving opponent.

Because the reality is that a strike doesn’t work just because you’ve learned the technique.

It works because you can generate power, maintain balance, find the target and land it at the right moment. 🎯

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15 To 17 Brislington Hill
Bristol
BS45BE

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Tuesday 7am - 9pm
Wednesday 7am - 9pm
Thursday 9am - 9pm
Friday 7am - 9pm
Saturday 9am - 12pm
Sunday 9am - 12pm

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