Our Martial Arts

Traditional Karate

Karate is a highly recognised form of martial arts and has been taught for hundreds of years. S.M.A.A. are affiliates of higashi Karate Kai and our black belt instructors are students of sensei Peter Spanton one of the world’s leading exponents of wado ryu karate for the past couple of decades. Karate offers the student a very disciplined approach to training and is very technical in its application. It is striking based art and is a great form of self-defence offering the practitioner strong foundation and great awareness in an attack situation. Karate training tempers both the body and mind giving the practitioner a steely resolve when or if they need it. It also helps people focus on the challenges of everyday life and given the student a work hard ethic for as long as they train.

Ju-jitsu

Is a grappling art that has proven to be a highly effective form of self-defence and combative style of fighting. It is one of the main arts used today in the U.F.C. and it is based on submitting your opponent and making them give up or tap out and it is a proven art against a much larger attacker with its use of leveraged based techniques. S.M.A.A. are affiliates of Alliance Jui Jitsu who are recognised as the number one B.J.J. team on the planet. All of our bjj instructor have been awarded their belts by alliance world champs such as Michael Langhi and Bruno Malfacine. B.J.J. is also known as physical chess because it offers a never-ending range of techniques and application to each attack or defence. It also offers a great way of helping the student to focus and train hard and overcome different challenges both in and out of doJo.

Youth Club

At S.M.A.A. we pride ourselves on offering young people a safe and structured environment where they can learn and develop the skills of Karate and Brazilian Jiu jitsu. The important components of developing our youth club is to place an emphasis on fun while also promoting a hard working ethos. As you can see from our gallery we take part in many fun activities with our younger members including dodge ball and sumo suit wrestling. We teach all the young members of our club the importance of respecting each other and also encourage the formation of positive friendships. Martial arts training for young people has been proven to promote positive functioning of both the mind and body. So why not come on down and enrol today!

Our Class Times

Saturday's

The C.R.I.B. Youth Centre, Rockwood Parade, Sligo

1st Class

10:00am
Until
11:00am

Juniors

7 - 10

2nd Class

11:00am
Until
12:00pm

Intermediate

10 - 15

3rd Class

12:00pm
Until
01:30pm

Seniors

15 +

Tuesday's

Ransbro School Hall , Ransboro, co Sligo

1st Class

06:15pm
Until
07:15pm

Juniors

7 - 10

2nd Class

07:15pm
Until
08:15pm

Intermediate

10 - 15

Thursday

Skreen/Dromard Community Centre, co Sligo

Class

06:00pm
Until
07:00pm

Juniors / Intermediate

Join Our Mailing List

Social Media

Sligo Martial Arts Academy

The Sligo Martial Arts Academy was founded in 2010 by Michael Downs. He leads a team of four highly successful martial arts coaches who strive to deliver top quality classes for everyone. At our Academy, we specialise in the art of Karate and Brazilian Jui Jitsu. We feel that these styles of martial arts offers each student a well-rounded base of self-defence and experience in combat situations. Classes range from the complete novice right up to the black belt level and beginners are always welcome. Our classes consist of Traditional Karate, Ju-jitsu, women’s self-defence, Junior club and body conditioning.

We train Karate and Brazilian Jui Jitsu and feel that these styles offer each student a well-rounded base of self-defence and combat situations. Our club mandate is to ensure that all students enjoy training and feel better both mentally and physically after a session. For young people martial arts can discipline the mind and also combat against issues such as bullying and school pressures like exams. For adult’s martial arts can offer an outlet to overcome stress and kick start a rise in fitness levels. Martial arts also allows students to develop excellent motor skills which can be used in other aspects of life and particularly in other sports. These skills include top class mobility, flexibility, strength and co-ordination as well as the mental agility needed to get through life’s obstacles. The martial arts journey offers each student more than the normal sports person ever feels. It can be a lifelong journey with some students still training past their seventies’ and eighties.

Our academy is run by a strong teamof fully qualified instructors who are dedicated to the purpose of improving each student’s ability’s and confidence levels all the time. Each instructor offers their unique perspective on training whilst also sticking to the syllabus that each student must learn as they progress. The academy follows strict guidelines/ code of ethics when classes are being run and the safety of our students is our priority. All students are taught about respect for their fellow classmates and in general to have respect for each person that they deal with in everyday life. The academy does compete in various tournaments throughout the year but only about 25% of student opt to do this and it is not compulsory to go or train for competitions. We have discovered that most of the students become friends as they share a common interest and are like-minded individuals and this has created a friendly atmosphere within our academy. So come on down, try us out if you wish, first lesson is free! It may change your life.

The Sligo Martial Arts Academy was founded in 2010 by Michael Downs.