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Sunday 08 May 2022
North London's newest, leading martial arts centre - Meiji Martial Arts - has welcomed two new disciplines and two new world-leading instructors to the team.
Sensei Denise is the co-founder of the progressive Meiji Martial Arts, which has Dojos at Temple Fortune and St John's Wood. Denise began her martial arts career 35 years ago through a desire to protect herself.
Now she has been joined by two new instructors - both experts in their disciplines, who will be bringing Meiji Jiu Jitsu and Meiji Krav Maga to the growing range of classes.
Jiu Jitsu Instructor Abel Martinez is a national and international instructor in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which he describes as the "gentle art", and will be teaching it at Meiji. Abel has been an instructor for more than twenty years, and has experience in several styles of martial arts, including kickboxing.
He describes Jiu Jitsu as similar to Judo - teaching key principles of self-defence, and giving his pupils new skills to gain an advantage. Abel is a BJJ British Champion and a black belt (third degree).
He said: "It is definitely the gentle art, but it is such an effective martial art. I love the simplicity of it, and the fact that it enables the weaker person to beat the stronger person. It's something you are always learning and can always develop. I enjoy teaching and being able to pass on the skills to my pupils, and to see them grow in their confidence."
Abel Martinez
Mark Roberts is joining the team to lead on teaching Meiji instructors the combat art of Krav Maga. Mark has been training in martial arts for 35 years, and teaching for 25 years.
Krav Maga is a relatively new discipline, a military self-defence and combat art. Combining techniques from boxing, wrestling, judo and karate, Krav Maga is becoming increasingly popular as a very simple but effective martial art. It's popular with both men and women, and high-profile Krav Maga students include Daniel Craig, Sean Penn and Angelina Jolie.
Mark is a full-time Master Instructor in two different Krav Maga systems, and a black belt in five martial arts. He has been training extensively with Sensei Matteo - who already had previous Krav experience - over the past few months, and together they have developed a great new curriculum.
He said: "Krav Maga is not really about medals or points or trophies, it is a very pure and no-nonsense martial art. It's about learning strategies to protect yourself - it takes from lots of different martial arts but is very stripped back and simple in its approach."
Mark Roberts
Denise said: "All our courses are grounded in building self-confidence and making people feel empowered and capable - we're really lucky to have Abel and Mark joining us here at Meiji, two new instructors who are both leaders in their disciplines."
Denise Bailey
Meiji Martial Arts runs a full timetable of classes and sessions for all ages and abilities at both their Dojos, including group sessions, private tuition, and bespoke self-defence training.