Our Team
Ensuring the best for your training
At Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy you will meet a variety of different people depending on which classes you choose and which days you train on.
All the team are committed to ensuring the best for your training and for your children’s safety happiness and improvement in their skills. All coaches are fully qualified Martial Arts coaches with many years of experience of teaching Martial Arts.
Without exception, all of our staff are DBS checked to an enhanced level, First Aid trained, properly insured and qualified as martial arts coaches or fitness coaches as appropriate. Being a high belt at a Martial Arts isn’t enough, all of our Martial Arts coaches have specific qualifications to safely teach Martial Arts that covers health and safety, how to coach adults and children, protection of children from abuse, lesson planning and risk management.
Our coaches regularly attend courses from external providers such as Sport England ‘Safeguarding and Protecting Children,’ ‘Equity in your coaching,’ ‘Long Term Athlete Development,’ Coaching Athletes with Disabilities.’ Several of our coaches are also qualified to formally coach other coaches to improve their skills and knowledge.
Our coaches all must regularly take part in advanced Martial Arts classes/courses at an advanced technical level to ensure that they are still enhancing and building upon their own skills.
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Our Club
Bryan our Head Coach, has a passion for the Martial Arts, owning and running Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy since 1991 and with over 40 years of Martial Arts experience.
After spending years running a busy home life with 3 children, commuting to their jobs and teaching Martial Arts part time on evenings and weekends in various locations around Basingstoke, the club took the plunge and to securing it’s own premises and run full time from one central location, so in December 2009 Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy opened its doors as a full time dedicated school.
The club is essentially a family friendly Martial Arts club with the central focus being; dedicated professionally qualified teachers passing on their skills and knowledge to their students, and although the team has substantially grown over since those early years, it has grown with those same values in place, a strong family friendly team who all train with the academy as well as teach there, and because of this all the people you will meet here will understand help you to feel just as at home here as they all do.
In creating Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy we have created a club where they believe everyone from all corners of life of all ages, sizes and abilities will find themselves welcome, the club’s doors are always open to everybody because everyone deserves a chance to discover what they can become.
Because not all Martial Arts clubs are created equally
Bryan Andrews
Bryan is the Head Coach at Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy with over 40 years of Martial Arts training, he holds Black Belts in four different Martial Arts including a 7th Dan in Karate and a 7th Degree in Kung Fu and is the Shikon England national Karate squad coach. He is also a National level Tai Chi teacher.
He has invested significant amounts of time gaining internationally recognised coaching qualifications including a Masters degree in Advanced Sport Coaching Practice. A level 7 Academic qualification, from Sheffield Hallam University, a British Judo Association Level 5 Coaching award, a United Kingdom Coaching Certificate Level 4 coaching award and a British Council for Chinese Martial Arts Level 3 coaching qualification, he is also a tutor for them training other coaches to level 1 and level 2 standard.
Over a 35+ year competition career, he won numerous national and international titles including national Kung Fu champion for fighting, European champion for Karate Kata and World Champion for Karate fighting. He has been Basingstoke and Deane Sports Coach of the year a number of times and Winchester Sports coach of the year as well.
As a coach Bryan’s drive and inspiration is his students, from seeing children develop their skills and confidence which enables them not only to achieve their black belt but also helps them develop as well rounded people outside of the dojo and watching them pass their skills on. With the adults that he coaches it is the challenge he relishes in getting them to reach and exceed goals they have as a martial artist.
William Andrews
William is the Lead Coach at Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy for our children’s Martial Arts classes and also our Boxing programme. He hold Black Belts in Kung Fu and Kickboxing. William is currently a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Chinese Kickboxing.
William is a Level 2 coach with a coaching qualification from The British Chinese Council for Martial Arts. He is also a England Boxing qualified coach.
Alongside his Martial Arts expertise he is a Level 3 qualified personal trainer. He brings this knowledge into his innovative approach to strength and conditioning. If you’re looking for someone to help with your fitness, you can arrange a 1-2-1 with him.
William is the current <60Kg British Champion for Sanda (Full contact Chinese Kickboxing)
William likes to take part in endurance based running events, last year, he ran a mile plus 100 press ups and 100 squats, on the hour every hour for 24 hours.
Mandi Miles
Mandi is our Club Business Manager. She is responsible for the Business Operations and Communications of the club. She also helps us to successfully deliver the different programs that we run and for liaising with key partners, local schools, government agencies and our members. She ensures that the management and administration of the club policies and procedures are regularly reviewed to ensure quality assurance.
Mandi is one of our Lead Coaches and a 2nd Dan in Karate and Kung Fu, She became the World Karate Champion in 2016 for Kata and in 2017 the European Champion. Mandi is a British Council for Chinese Martial Arts Level 2 qualified Coach. She also is one of our Tai Chi teachers. Mandi leads our Ladies only Kickboxing, Ladies only Karate and Wheelchair Martial Arts programmes.
Mandi is responsible for much of the way in which the classes are taught so that they are not only fit for the purpose but also so that each student will get the most they can out of each class on a physical, emotional and social level and in particular that the children’s classes mirror that of their educational key stages.
Mandi is the Club’s Lead Welfare Officer. She can be reached on 01256 364104 or on mandi(dot)miles(at)basingstokekarate.com
What our clients think
Our team of coaches, volunteers & staff.
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Oliver Andrews - Lead Coach
Oliver holds Black Belts in Karate and Kung Fu along with a Brown Belt in Judo, he is a 2nd degree Black Belt in Chinese Kickboxing He trains in MMA, Muay Thai Boxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Oliver is a Level 2 Martial Arts coach with the British Chinese Council for Martial Arts. He is also the lead coach for Our Kingston upon Thames children’s and ladies only classes .
Oliver has a degree in Strength and Condition from St Mary’s university in Kingston Upon Thames and is ideally placed to design a medium to long term training plan for for our members.
Neil Walker - Lead Coach
Neil is a 3rd Dan Black Belt having started his Martial Arts training in Judo, prior to progressing to Kung Fu, which he studied for quite a few years now. He has been teaching Karate since 2005 and like all of our coaches is a fully qualified Martial Arts teacher.
Neil loves the technical aspects of Karate, Kung Fu and Tai Chi and has immersed himself in it’s study to deepen his skill and knowledge.
Neil is known for his attention to detail and his relaxed coaching style. He is currently working hard towards his 4th Dan.
Jess Muller - Senior Coach
Jess is a 2nd Dan Black Belt and a past European Karate Champion. Jess has been training for over 15 years now and is a good example of what can achieved if you practice correctly, she teaches in some of the Children’s classes and helps to coach our Senior and Junior Competition squad, she helps to inspire them with her skills.
Jess has been a qualified coach since 2010 and is now looking towards her Level 3 Coaching Qualification and her third Dan. Jess is our clubs specialist nutritionist and can help with the matters relating to nutrition and it’s effect on performance.
Many weekends of the year, you’ll find her travelling around the Country or further afield to test her skills on the competition mats. She has won over 30 medals at National or International level including 13 Gold Medals, 10 National, 2 International and was the European Kumite Champion.
Zara Hughes White - Senior Coach
Zara is a Sport England recognised Level 2 qualified coach and has been coaching since 2013. Zara coaches our children’s and squad classes and combines learning in a fun and engaging manner.
In 2016 she was part of the team that won the Female Cadets World Championships for Fighting in Dublin. This medals was added to her impressive collect of competition trophies.
Cameron Jones - Senior Coach
Cameron has been training with us since the age of 6 and is an accomplished Black Belt and Level 2 coach and leads many of our MMB classes.
Edward Andrews - Senior Coach
Edward is a Level One and hold Black Belts in Karate and Kung Fu. Ed has won Gold medals at National level in Karate, Kung Fu and Weapons competitions. He is well done for the variety of techniques that we performs and his skills with the Jo staff.
Kate Lowe - Senior Coach
Kate is a level 1 qualified Martial Arts coach. Kate assists with our Kids Karate classes. Kate is also one of our Ladies Kickboxing and Martial Music Blast coaches.
Kate is also developing her skills competitively and is now regularly winning medals at a national level.
Michelle Thakur - Assistant Coach
Michelle is an assistant coach, helping in our Children classes and delivering sections of each class.
Agnese Lyne - Assistant Coach
Agnese is an assistant coach, helping in our Children classes and delivering sections of each class.
Kelly Gough - Assistant Coach
Kelly is an assistant coach, helping in our Children classes and delivering sections of each class.
Mahesh Subramanian - Assistant Coach
Mahesh is an assistant coach, helping in our Children classes and delivering sections of each class.
Radhika Mahesh - Assistant Coach
Radhika is an assistant coach, helping in our Children classes and delivering sections of each class.
Charnah Bradley - Assistant Coach
Charnah is an assistant coach, helping in our Children classes and delivering sections of each class.
Joe Poynter - Assistant / Apprentice Coach
Joe is an assistant coach, helping in our Children classes and delivering sections of each class. Joe is also one of our Martial Music Blast coaches.
Fara D'Adamou - Assistant Coach
Fara is an assistant coach, helping in our Children classes and delivering sections of each class.
Emma Sullivan - Assistant Coach
Emma is an assistant coach, helping in our Children classes and Ladies only Kickboxing classes and delivering sections of each class.
Martin Wood - Assistant Coach
Martin is an assistant coach, helping in our Tai Chi classes and delivering sections of each class.
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