Practical Martial Arts

03/06/2026

Hello all!

Money due tonight. £24 please. Thank you!

06/05/2026

Hello awesome people. Class fees due tonight. A reminder, that fees have gone up to £6, so that's £24 for this month.

24/04/2026

Please forgive me a momentary indulgence, but I was speaking to my now best friend, and he told me that even though he was not interested in academics, I inspired his interest in reading (Terry Pratchett - if you're interested). My former best friend (very sadly deceased relatively young), said that I inspired the interest in computers that led him to become a CAD designer.
Another friend said that I inspired his interest in journalism that went on to become his career.
And of course Connor, whom I had the pleasure of training for over a decade before he moved on to a professional MMA career.
Tyler now, becoming a great instructor, and Brody before university called him away. And there are others. It amazes me now, how many lives I've been a positive part of.
I have worked with young people all my life, and have been fortunate to see so many of them go on to succeed using seeds that I planted.
This is not about me; it's about nurturing young people to succeed beyond class, and I've been so privileged to work with so many great youngsters and their supportive families. None of us will live forever, but passing something on is, to me, the most important legacy. Thank you for allowing me and my amazing team to nurture your most precious treasures.

15/04/2026

We want to teach your kids resilience. At the last grading, one child cried because he got punched. It was a girl who got upset the grading before. But they both kept on fighting. Because life isn't always about crossing the line first - sometimes it's about keeping going!

Connor Hayes was a gentle student of mine who got emotional easily in class, he also ALWAYS kept his guard up and kept fighting.

He went on to become a professional MMA fighter, and the toughest student I ever had.

11/04/2026

Wow, what a grading! So proud of everyone today. Everyone from youngest to oldest, lowest grade to highest, put in a terrific effort.
We demanded higher standards, and the students certainly rose to the challenge. They demonstrated the full range of their abilities; fundamentals, combinations, self defence, knife defences, sparring, and for Harry, throws and ground fighting.
I will just single Harry out - he's been training for ten years, and it's taken him a while to get into his groove since becoming a teenager, but boy did he step up today. He pushed himself beyond the point of exhaustion, with fast, powerful, effective techniques. His throws and knife defence were particularly stand out!

Please spare a thank you for our incredible instructor team who all took half a day out of their weekend to volunteer their time. They come in from all over, Kevin from Stanford, Tyler from Billericay, Jade all the way from Milton Keynes, and even though he is local, Paul has been volunteering his time for two decades now!
We are all dedicated to helping your wonderful children, and we could not be happier with what we saw today!

11/04/2026

Me "I'm gonna get lots of sleep so I can be up bright and early for the kids' grading tomorrow"

My body. "6am Okay time to wake up!"
Me "No, no, I meant 11am"
My body "Gotcha, 6:15 it is then. 6:30. 7:00 7:15 7:30 7:45"
Me 10am "Gah, I give up!"

10/04/2026

Grading tomorrow. Please be no later than 12:50pm
Main sports hall.

4 students going for various brown belts, and lots of people at various equally special stages of their journey.

Brown belts can expect to be there for 3 hours+

White - orange, hopefully away in less than 2. We'll do the best we can.

All the best to all the wonderful students!

06/04/2026

Look at that smile! Student of the year Lorenzo Masarella.
Lorenzo always puts in a super effort, brings a smile to the class, and is full of creativity.

Well done Lorenzo!

I know that this is waaaay late. I was having technical problems getting it off my camera. Sorry Lorenzo.

30/03/2026

Hello wonderful people!
Class fees due on Wednesday. 5x weeks - £25.
Grading fees due same day. Going to:
£15 – Yellow stripe to orange belt
£25 – Green belt to red belt
£35 – All brown belts

Belt order:
White
Yellow Stripe
Yellow
Orange stripe
Orange
Green
Blue
Red
Brown
Brown and 1 white stripe
Brown and 2 white stripes
Black 1st-10th dan.
Sensei Mat 25th dan ish ;-)

28/03/2026