Bristol Shorinji Kempo Dojo

For all our martial arts training, we use Bristol Shorinji Kempo. It’s not Gymkata (“The thrill of gymnastics, the kill of karate!”), but it’s a great way to stay fit, meet new people and throw a punch.

This is great club. I joined a few weeks ago and I’m really enjoying the classes.I was looking for somewhere to learn a martial arts which is practical for the 21st Century but where you don’t have to be an ‘olympic athlete’ or do bleep tests or do an iron man workout in a cage with an opponent pumelling each other into oblivion – (they all have their place, but some of us have to work the next day).This club fitted the bill. I also knew from experience with a former training partner who had a black belt in shorinjii kempo that it was effective – we trained together in ‘japanese’ ju-jitsu and he stood out in the gradings which included defending against multiple attackers with (wooden) knives, bottles, kicks etc.Another thing I like about this club is that it is run by highly experienced instructors. There also is probably an equal mix of men and women who train, from different age groups and walks of life.There is a good atmosphere in the training sessions. These include kicks, strikes, joint manipulations, pressure points, as well as a brief interval for Zen meditation. Zen was the meditation / mindset adopted by the Samurai for its practicality. Instruction is also given in acupressure / healing techniques – which relates to the chinese medicine concept of ‘chi’ or ‘ki’ channels.The training here comes with a moral approach to be a better person, to defend rather than attack, to develop a ‘good community’ / ‘club spirit’, to exercise within your limitations and to respect your training partner.I find the training mentally uplifting, it is improving my fitness and confidence / sense of well-being.I would encourage anyone interested in finding out more to come along to a free class and try it out (there are instructions on the club website for this) . You may be taking the first step on a rewarding martial arts journey.

Great teachers, great atmosphere, great martial art. Definitely worth a try regardless of your age, fitness level, or prior experience of martial arts.

Although I haven't trained for a long time, I can still see in the way I approach everyday life the benefits of years of learning Shorinji Kempo. I wold recommend this martial, and this dojo, to anyone wanting to achieve something special.

The atmosphere here is great along with the martial art itself which covers healthy body and mind. This is what attracted me to it originally and it has been a very positive experience so far. I would highly recommend it to anybody.

If you're looking for a full-body workout that increases your flexibility, coordination and mental stamina whilst building self-defence skills I could not recommend Kempo highly enough. I'm not going to lie, it does require hard work and more than a little sweat (what exercise doesn't!) BUT I have found Bristol Shorinji Kempo Dojo a welcoming, fun and sociable way to get fit.

A very useful, interesting, and fun martial arts for beginners and experienced martial artists alike. Been training at the City Dojo for over a year and it has been great. Lovely people.