“Cry in the dojo. Laugh on the battlefield.”
Author unknown
I’ve always run Kombat Principle classes as a safe space – not just physically safe, but psychologically and emotionally safe too. There are no egos at Kombat Principle, and every emotion, and every pain, is a lesson we learn to help us on our journey. When students come to our classes, they learn to master their minds as well as their bodies, always with the support of me as their Master, and their fellow students as well.
My dream has always been to give my students a dojo – a safe and permanent space in which they can learn the Way, and meet all of their challenges in doing so – the place to cry if they need to, and the place that will fortify them to laugh on their battlefields.
I’m so proud that the Kombat Principle Institute of Martial Arts became a reality on 1 October 2018, when the doors of our dojo opened for the first time.
After months of sanding, painting, equipping and preparing, all Kombat Principle classes from the Tots to the Adults are now operating in the brand new dojo – upstairs from the function room in Wolverton Working Men’s Club, where we used to hold them.
The mats now run the length of the room, giving us a much larger space to train and learn in. This means there’s more space for the rapidly-growing Juniors class – we have 20 regular students in this class now – and the various Adult classes. We’ve also got room to use and store the specialist equipment for each of the age groups, including our new Warrior Tots obstacle course.
I opened it for the students, so to really give a feel for what it’s like to train in our new institute, here’s what some of them think:
Alex, age 5 (Warrior Tots): “I like that there is lots more space to run around. Before I could run a bit, but now I can run a lot. And we have an amazing obstacle course now too.”
Ben, age 7 (Juniors): “I like coming to the Juniors Class in the dojo because it feels like it’s the Kombat Principle home. And I like that I don’t have to go far for the toilets!”
Andy, Parent: “It’s great to see a permanent home for Kombat Principle. The dedication, skill and knowledge that Karl puts into the classes deserves to be delivered in a dojo that does them justice, and the new space is fantastic.”
Now that we have a permanent home, more classes are being planned and are coming up in the New Year. Follow our Facebook page to stay up to date with all of the latest news.
