A Family Club or a Family of Martial Artists?
We often describe Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy in Basingstoke as a family Martial Arts club. For some businesses, the word family is simply part of their marketing. For us, it describes how the academy began, how it has grown and what it still feels like today. Shin Gi Tai was created by a family, many of our coaches are members of the same family and generations of local families have trained with us. More importantly, we try to treat the people who join us as individuals. We get to know our students, understand why they started training and help them through the inevitable challenges that come with learning Martial Arts.
How Shin Gi Tai began
My own Martial Arts journey started nearly forty five years ago, but Shin Gi Tai began more than thirty five years ago in a small village hall in Marlow Bottom, Buckinghamshire.
I can still remember putting up posters around the local area and wondering whether anybody would actually turn up for our first evening of children’s and adult classes. To my surprise, sixty people arrived. One of them would later become my wife.After we moved to Basingstoke, I wanted to create the sort of Martial Arts club that I would be happy for my own children to attend. I wanted them to learn from knowledgeable and qualified coaches who genuinely cared about their progress. I also wanted them to be taught as children, rather than simply being given a smaller version of an adult Martial Arts class.
We started teaching at the Active Life Centre and later added classes at the Aquadrome, Sherborne St John Village Hall and several other venues around Basingstoke.
As the club grew, we eventually reached the point where we needed a permanent home. That led to the opening of our full time Martial Arts academy in Basingstoke.
Having our own academy allowed us to create a proper training environment, develop a larger coaching team and offer many different Martial Arts programmes in one place.
The building may be very different from the small village hall where everything began, but the reasons we teach have not changed.
Generations of Basingstoke families
One of the things I am proudest of is that Shin Gi Tai has become a genuinely multigenerational academy.
We have children, parents and grandparents training with us. Some family members attend the same type of Martial Arts class, while others choose completely different programmes.
A child might train in Karate while their mum attends Ladies Only Kickboxing, their dad joins Boxing or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and a grandparent takes part in Tai Chi.
They do not necessarily need to train in the same class to share the experience.
We are also seeing former students return with children of their own. Someone who first walked through our doors as a young student may now be standing in the viewing area watching their son or daughter begin the same journey.
There are few greater compliments than someone saying, “I enjoyed and valued my time here, and I want my child to have the same experience.”
That trust means a great deal to us.
Training with my own children
Some of my most memorable experiences in Martial Arts have come from training with my own children.
My three sons grew up on the mats and explored Karate, Kung Fu, Aikido, Catch Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, MMA and Muay Thai.
They have now become excellent Martial Artists and coaches in their own right. If I am honest, I sometimes wish I had been as good as they are when I was their age.
One particular family class still makes me smile.
At the time, I was competing regularly and achieving some success nationally and internationally. During the class, the coach announced that the children were going to spar with their grown ups.
I assumed I would be able to handle three boys without too much trouble.
They quickly came up with a plan, worked together and got the better of me far more easily than I would like to admit.(it was under 60 seconds)
It was a humbling moment, but also a very proud one. They had listened to their coaches, understood the task and used what they had learned.
Those same boys are now grown men and important members of our coaching team. They help lead our children’s programmes, Boxing, Muay Thai and competition squads.
They bring their own knowledge, experience and ideas to the academy, including a modern understanding of coaching and sports science. At the same time, they maintain the values and standards they grew up with.
I still enjoy joining their classes and training alongside them.
I may not be as fast as I was, and my kicks certainly do not reach the same height, but Martial Arts gives us something we can continue to share.
Martial Arts should fit the person
In the past, Martial Arts was often taught in a very rigid way.
Everybody was expected to stand, move and perform techniques in exactly the same manner, regardless of their age, size, experience or physical ability.
We now understand that people learn and develop differently.
A five year old child has very different physical and emotional needs from a teenager. An adult returning to exercise after several years needs a different approach again. Someone preparing for competition will have different goals from a person who wants to improve their fitness, confidence or general wellbeing.
Our job as coaches is to understand the person in front of us.
That is why our children’s Martial Arts classes are divided by age and ability. It allows us to adjust the content, pace and expectations of each session.
Younger children work on listening, balance, coordination, confidence and basic Martial Arts skills. As they get older, the training becomes more technically and physically challenging, while also placing greater emphasis on responsibility, resilience and independent thinking.
Adults can choose from Karate, Kung Fu, Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo and Yang Style Tai Chi. We also offer Ladies Only classes for women who feel more comfortable beginning their training in a female only environment.
There is no single type of person who is suited to Martial Arts. Good coaching is about helping each person find the right way to progress.
More than learning techniques
Our syllabus has developed through decades of teaching, training and learning from some outstanding Martial Arts instructors.
The children’s and adult programmes include striking, movement, balance, coordination, close range skills, grappling and practical self protection. The material draws on our experience of Karate, Kung Fu, Judo and other Martial Arts.
However, learning techniques is only part of the reason people benefit from training.
Martial Arts also teaches you how to cope when something feels difficult.
You learn to listen to feedback, make changes and try again. You discover that you will not always get everything right on the first attempt. You learn that confidence does not mean never feeling nervous. It means being willing to have a go despite those nerves.
Those lessons matter on the mats, but they also help children at school, adults at work and all of us when life does not go quite according to plan.
A lesson I am still learning
Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to learn from some of the best Martial Arts teachers in the world, including Dave Owen Sensei, Asano Sensei, Kanazawa Sensei, Steve Rowe Sifu, Robert Mustard Sensei and Neil Saunders Sensei.
Each of them has influenced how I train, teach and think about Martial Arts.
I remember training with Kanazawa Sensei when I was in my early twenties. I was physically strong and felt rather pleased when he commented on my strength.
He then explained that I was actually too strong and needed to learn how to be soft.
It was not quite the compliment I thought I was receiving.
In Martial Arts, being soft does not mean being weak. It means avoiding unnecessary tension, moving efficiently and being able to adapt to what is happening.
More than thirty years later, I am still working on that lesson.
The same principle applies outside Martial Arts. Genuine confidence is not about being aggressive, loud or physically intimidating. It is about staying calm, making sensible decisions and adjusting when circumstances change.
That is the sort of confidence we want our students to develop.
Friendships that grow through training
The Shin Gi Tai family extends well beyond my own relatives.
It includes our coaches, students, parents and the many friendships that have developed through training together.
People join us for all sorts of reasons. Some want to improve their fitness. Some want to learn self protection. Parents may be looking for something that will help their child become more confident, focused or resilient. Others simply want to try something new.
Over time, many people discover that the friendships and sense of belonging become just as important as the Martial Arts.
Students support each other through gradings, competitions, injuries and difficult periods in their lives. Children make friends outside their normal school groups. Adults meet people they would probably never have met elsewhere.
One of our Tai Chi students even chose to celebrate her eightieth birthday at the academy with a class, cake, non alcoholic wine and her training friends.
Those are the moments that show what our academy is really about.
Can families train together?
Yes, although training together does not mean everyone has to attend the same class.
Our age specific programmes ensure that children receive coaching which is suitable for their stage of development. Parents and other adults can choose the class that best matches their own interests and goals.
Some parents initially come along to watch their children and eventually decide to try Martial Arts themselves.
Training gives families something positive to share. They can talk about what they are learning, encourage each other and understand the effort involved in working towards the next grade or mastering a difficult skill.
It is also good for children to see their parents learning, making mistakes and continuing to practise.
Parents should, however, prepare themselves for the day their child becomes faster and more flexible than they are. It normally happens sooner than expected.
Discover Martial Arts in Basingstoke
Martial Arts is not always easy. It takes patience, regular practice and a willingness to keep learning.
That challenge is also what makes it so rewarding.
Whether you are looking for children’s Martial Arts classes in Basingstoke, an adult Martial Arts class, Ladies Only training or a gentler form of exercise through Tai Chi, we would be pleased to welcome you to Shin Gi Tai.
Come and meet our coaching team, experience the atmosphere at the academy and discover why generations of Basingstoke families have chosen to train with us.
Book a free taster class and take the first step in your family’s Martial Arts journey.