About
Learn all about my journey, qualifications and experience, and see why I chose to help children and adults develop the vital skills needed to defend themselves.
My Martial Arts journey
Prior to my son being born I hadn’t attended any classes, or even thought of attending. However, when my son turned 4 I took him to his first class, and he loved it – and so did I! I was instantly hooked, it seemed to have ignited something deep within me and there was no turning back.
Like most new mums, I needed to adjust my life to fit around my child, and my career was no exception. Previously I had worked as a Finance Manager for high profile companies including EasyJet, but I needed something that would fit around my family commitments. It made sense to embark on a new journey as a Martial Arts instructor.
Under my Sensei’s guidance I started training much more frequently, and soon realised my passion for teaching, and how fulfilling it was to see the students developing their technique and gaining confidence.
Why I teach children
As my training developed and I started really thinking about how I wanted to teach and who I wanted to teach, there was always one question that I kept coming back to: ‘Why aren’t basic self-defence lessons part of the school PE lessons/curriculum?’.
It was, and still is, my opinion that just like swimming, self-defence can be a lifesaving skill, and should be accessible to everyone – not just those who can afford lessons. With this thought in mind, I began combining my Jujitsu, Kick Boxing and self-defence knowledge into a 4-session course consisting of basic techniques, simply taught, to give children especially, (as the techniques are skill based and not strength based) the ability to defend themselves.
We are reminded on a daily basis (through all types of media) how dangerous today’s world can be, so it makes sense to teach children some simple skills to help them protect themselves.
My qualifications and experience
I now have two black belts, one in Jujitsu (2nd Dan) and the other in Kick Boxing (1st Dan).
To those who have supported me
I’d like to give thanks to those who have supported me on this journey, and helped me to deliver my classes to the community, including:
Herts Sports Partnership
Thanks to the wonderfully supportive people at Herts Sports Partnership who put Shinrai Martial Arts in contact with some high schools in Harpenden and St. Albans. Since May 2021 I have been successfully teaching many students our free self-defence courses and the positive feedback from the students, their parents and the school has been overwhelming.
My team
I have an amazing team who have helped make this dream a reality, thank you so much to Sarah, Karen, Flo, Hayden, the wonderful ladies at the Lyons Community Centre, Barry Keech (BK Printing and Consultancy), Simon Booth (No 61 Photography), Pro-Action and my hugely supportive friends and family – I love you all!