Martial Arts Classes for 11-16 year olds in Winchester
Why learn a Martial Art?
Winchester teenagers practicing a Martial Art such as a Kickboxing or Kung Fu class experience a positive healthy environment to meet and socialise amongst their peers. Many of our members develop long term friendships with their classmates, surrounded by these teammates and friends sharing positive values with experienced coaches, they quickly learn how self discipline, respect and focus will give them a head start in life.
Our Winchester Kickboxing programs for young adults and teenagers promotes discipline, self confidence and perhaps most importantly of all, self belief.. These classes provide a friendly, positive and supportive environment where the children can practice self-protection along with self defence skills from our Kickboxing and Kung Fu classes, which for this age group are vital. From this age through to their mid 20s, are the most likely time that they will find themselves in situations where they will need effective self defence skills to protect themselves.
We use a wide range of skills from a mixed range of traditional Martial Arts. Our Chinese Kung Fu system provides a solid foundation system with added techniques from Karate, Chinese Kickboxing and Judo. Many children of this age push to learn Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to fight. We teach the same range of skills as you would experience in Mixed Martial Arts, we mix these skills with the traditional values associated with the Japanese Martial Arts like Judo and Karate plus those from Chinese Martial Arts like Kung Fu and Tai Chi. These include showing respect to one’s parents, teachers and classmates. Whilst learning a Martial Art has a key focus on learning self protection and self defence, we views this as a final last resort when other avenues of escape or de-escalation have failed.
Children in this age group are now in the cusp between childhood and being adult. As parents we remember the anxieties and stresses that this creates. Joining our outstanding group of young adults from across Winchester and the surrounding areas, our classes are always fun, lively, friendly and innovative. Classes are never dull and offer many opportunities to learn new things from weapons self defence through to flying kicks.
We expect that the members of these classes behave with maturity as young adults, yet we strongly encourage them to enjoy their training and have fun whilst training. A great workout, progressing with new skills and new belts and actively enjoying a sport is a fantastic way to combat with the daily life stresses of school, becoming a teenager and life at that age.
Taster Sessions
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Our Martial Arts classes for Children are split by age
Our Winchester children’s Martial Arts classes are split by age.
The Rising Heroes’ class is for 4-6 year olds.
Our Young Legends class is for 7-10 year olds.
The Urban Warriors class is for 11-16 year olds.
Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD)
Children in this age group (Urban Warriors) practicing a Martial Art are more emotionally and physically mature than their younger counterparts, this means that their training can now be more demanding physically and mentally to stretch their minds and bodies. We also start to learn the more advanced aspects of their training and progress with these through the different levels of their Black Belt.
Our Kickboxing / Kung Fu / Karate classes teach age appropriate self protection and self-defence techniques for this age group, plus a number of additional skillsets including pressure points, arm / wrist / joint locks along with a pragmatic realistic and appropriate approach to self defence and weapons awareness. It has been argued that Chinese Kung Fu classes were the original version of MMA given the vast array of skills and ranges within the disciplines. Once our members reach a higher level, we safely teach weapons as part of our Basingstoke Kung Fu syllabus, these include the Broadsword, the Scholar’s Sword, Spean and the Fan.
We ensure that our teenagers and young adults learn about the theory and the principles underpinning their study of Kickboxing and Kung Fu. As their technical ability and skills increases, this knowledge is vital to reach the highest elite levels by softening their movements and making them smaller, whilst increasing their effectiveness.
The classes are designed from a practical sports science perspective utilising knowledge around:
- Nutrition
- Skill Acquisition
- Biomechanics
- Strength and Conditioning
- Physiology
- How to deal with emotional and physical anxiety and stress
Be yourself
Learning any Martial Art like Kung Fu or Kickboxing should be much more than just learning to throw, kick or punch. Martial Arts classes with us means it’s not just a physical exercise, it’s about learning about and defining yourself as an individual, your core beliefs and values. In today’s society our children are pressured by so many social influencers that offer ‘advice’ why we should change how we behave and act, including us what we need to become our ‘perfect selves’ by changing our clothing, podcasts we listen too, hair style, activities we do, how we say things and even down to our political beliefs. It is more important today, than even before, that our children have positive role models and a strong sense of morality and fairness.
We have a number of themes that we focus upon with our teenagers’ Martial Arts class programme. These themes are:
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Versatility
The ability to adapt to changing situations is a valuable skill for success in both school and everyday life. In our Urban Warriors programme, students develop a multi-skills approach, learning how to adjust, problem-solve and respond confidently in a variety of situations.
This adaptable mindset helps children become more resilient, think independently and apply their skills across different challenges—both in martial arts training and beyond.
Reaction
Martial arts isn’t just physical—it also introduces children to real-world principles in a practical and engaging way. For example, understanding that every action has a reaction helps students improve their timing, control and effectiveness when performing techniques or responding to an opponent. By learning to recognise subtle movements and react quickly, children develop sharper awareness and faster responses.
These lessons go beyond the training floor. Children begin to understand how their actions influence outcomes, helping them make better choices in communication and relationships. This builds emotional intelligence, respect for others and a greater sense of responsibility in everyday life.
Instinct
In our Urban Warriors programme, students develop their natural instincts through consistent, structured training. By practising techniques repeatedly, they learn how to respond quickly and effectively to different situations, building confidence in their reactions and decision-making.
We also help students understand intuition—often described as a “gut feeling”—and how it can guide positive choices. Through martial arts training, children learn to combine instinct with calm thinking, allowing them to respond appropriately under pressure. This creates confident, aware individuals who can act decisively while staying in control.
Dexterity
At this stage of development, children are able to refine and enhance their physical abilities, gaining greater control, coordination and precision in their movements. Techniques become smoother, more controlled and are performed with increasing confidence, accuracy and style.
Equally important is the development of mental agility. In our classes, students learn to think quickly, stay composed and make effective decisions under pressure. This combination of physical skill and mental sharpness is a key foundation of their martial arts journey and supports success both in training and everyday life.
Strength
When we talk about strength, it’s easy to think only of physical power. In our martial arts classes, we focus on developing functional strength—helping children move efficiently, improve coordination and perform everyday activities and sports with greater ease. It’s not about building large muscles, but about creating a body that is strong, balanced and fit for purpose for life.
Just as important is mental strength. As children face increasing pressures, learning how to stay resilient, manage challenges and ask for help when needed is vital. Through training, we support children in building confidence, emotional awareness and inner strength—helping them develop both physically and mentally for a healthier, more balanced life.
Precision
As students progress through their martial arts journey, they begin to notice real improvements in their strength, coordination and overall control. In the lead-up to Black Belt level, the focus shifts towards precision—performing techniques accurately and consistently every time.
Students are encouraged to set their own high standards and take pride in maintaining them. This attention to detail builds discipline, self-motivation and a strong sense of personal responsibility—qualities that support success both in martial arts and in everyday life.
Explosiveness
One of the key elements in sport is the ability to generate maximum speed and power in a very short amount of time. In our training, we use modern plyometric drills alongside structured strength and conditioning to help students develop explosive movement, faster reactions and improved athletic performance.
Our competition squad regularly incorporates these methods to sharpen speed, agility and reflexes. This focused approach to training has helped establish us as one of the leading Kung Fu / Chinese Kickboxing clubs in Hampshire, with students consistently performing at a high competitive level.
What our clients think
Coaching Programme
Within this group we also run a successful Junior Leaders program. Our Junior Coaches showing the less experienced, younger members that these are skills they can develop if they work for them. They are a great example of the benefits consistent hard work.
Entry to the Junior Coaching program is by invitation only from the senior coaches. It includes regular additional in-depth technical sessions plus regular personal development. We teach our Junior coaches life skills such as effective communication, public speaking, leading by example and being a good team-player. This program leads to a formal Sport England NGB recognised coaching qualification.
We have received national recognition for our coach development programme as the Runner up (We lost to a national governing body) for the UK Coaching’s Coach culture award for our commitment to providing top quality coach education for our members and helping to develop the next generation of coaches through a range of different tuition methods.
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