Arashi-Te Budō Kai: The Club

“Strive to create leaders, not control followers.”

ABK was concieved after Sensei Matt Savigear left his original karate organisation of 25 years and was encouraged by a number of senior figures from the martial arts world to continue teaching as an independent instructor. He chose "Arashi-te" or "Storm Hand" as the name for the new school.

Over the years the storm has come up time and time again as symbolically significant in the martial world. The connotation of destruction and subsequent rebuilding seems an apt metaphor for the changes involved in leaving one group to found another, however the nature of the storm can be found in many places.

When one is beset by enemies, one seeks to be the calm center of the storm whilst your opponents rage about you - pulled in, dealt with and cast away as if by the gale. Further, the spiralling structure of a cyclone mimics both the physical spiralling and rotating energy of strikes and throws and the more esoteric focus on internal energy as a martial artist roots and manoeuvres.

The club seeks to strike a suitable balance between an ongoing dichotomy across the martial arts. On the one hand, instructors often seek to ensure the purity of their system and to closely specify what their students learn so that the next generation follows in their footsteps. This is both understandable and laudable, however the other common thread is that martial arts are a lifelong and very personal journey and that our focus should be our own.

The balance therefore is to equip the student with a strong set of principles and techniques, along with the discipline and awareness that comes with a focus on self defence, but without dictating the course or speed of their overall journey. As a martial artist learns and grows the requirement for instruction diminishes in favour of guidance and support. The outcome from this approach should be a more diverse and richer organisation.

To allow students to succeed, we look to instil in them a growth mindset, such that successes are celebrated and failures or simple hardship contain lessons to be learned and to be built upon. Passion for any subject is a strong motivator and powerful force for change and personal improvement, and ABK seeks to nurture a passion for the martial arts which takes flight in all its students.

ABK is a non-profit club and therefore prioritises keeping fees and other costs low to enable as many students as possible to attend and reach their potential. This approach enables us to put the requirements of the art before the need to maintain revenue.

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