Shire Martial Arts is a progressive Black Belt School located only 3 minutes away from the famous Cronulla beaches at Taren Point, NSW, Australia in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire.

We proudly offer self defence and WTF Taekwondo Martial Arts classes in our brand new, clean, modern, fully air conditioned and equipped Dojang (training floor).

At Shire Martial Arts we believe that learning Martial Arts is much MORE than merely “doing exercises and learning how to fight”. Our programs utilise Martial Arts as a vehicle for personal development. (Find out for yourself in our Introductory Program).

Sure, EVERY class at Shire Martial Arts is structured to help you or your child develop strength, flexibility and aerobic fitness. And yes, EVERY class is designed to increase you or your child’s ability to use self defence against all sorts of assaults that can occur in everyday life in very practical and effective ways.

However at Shire Martial Arts we create students who become Taekwondo Black Belts on the inside as well as the outside. Let me try and explain.

In ancient times long before there was technology, soldiers used Martial Arts to fight their enemies in battle. That was all well and good back then but these days it would be pretty safe to say that you or your child don’t go out into the modern world looking for fights or have a need to beat up on people, right?

Yet, there is still an enemy out there, a very formidable enemy who we must all square up to on a daily basis. The enemy that you or your children are most likely to be faced with is the inner voice that can sabotage confidence and create low self esteem, self doubt, lack of focus, obesity and the inability to focus or set and achieve goals.

“I’m too…”
“Everyone else is…”
“I can’t do…” 

Self talk like this can be debilitating for anyone. However for kids in particular, beliefs like these can be DEVASTATING and have long lasting and far reaching effects on their lives.

Parents know that even just talking about these problems can be very difficult for kids while actually DOING something can seem just about impossible.

Then unfortunatly, if there is any bullying going on or if your child is faced with negative peer group pressure any lack of self esteem or confidence can be compounded.

This is where Shire Martial Arts can help.

As a Martial Arts instructor with over twenty five years experience, I have noticed that in everyday life, most people tend to hold THEMSELVES back from reaching their maximum potential due to a particular fear of some sort such as the fear of failure, the fear of looking stupid, the fear of not being accepted or not being good enough. The list goes on.

Then, there is research around which indicates that besides a sudden illness, injury or perhaps public speaking, physical violence is generally regarded by our society as one of the worse things that could happen to a person in everyday life. The media backs this up on a daily basis.

Strangely enough though as in public speaking, the fear has a far worse effect on a person than the actual cause of the fear. We all know people who can become physically sick at the prospect of speaking in public right? This principal applies in varying degrees to all fears, including the fear of violence.

Therefore, by learning how to analyse and respond to an extreme physical attack in a controlled and safe way, Shire Martial Arts students are able to explore, demystify and deal with their own inner fears in a way that makes them stronger and without hurting anybody else – or themselves.

Martial Arts training helps people discover how they may confront and deal with the aggression, fear, ego, stress and pain that they are likely to encounter throughout the course of everyday life.

The inner strength, sense of peacefulness and the absence of fear derived from regular Martial Arts training, becomes unsettling for bullies and is why black belts do not seem to get picked on, even though they do not advertise the fact that they are a black belt. In fact, students who regularly practice  Martial Arts suddenly realise one day that literally, life’s ‘upsets’ no longer affect them in the dramatic way they once used to.

This positive attitude adjustment soon makes a student’s self esteem and confidence grow and develop to a level where eventually they are able to implicitly trust their own judgment and thoughts which dissipates the power and hold of peer group pressure. This sense of self trust then allows students to shift their focus off the effects of their problems and onto ways in which to deal with them.

The programs at Shire Martial Arts are not just for sporty or athletic types either. Everyone regardless of their age, shape, size or ability can reap the many rewards that Martial Arts can offer. Our Black Belt school is also renowned for augmenting physical training with the principles of charity, modesty, loyalty, patience, respect and responsibility. This is what we call being a Black Belt on the inside.

Perhaps most importantly, the curriculum at Shire Martial Arts is renowned for providing a particularly effective means of being a Black Belt on the outside by teaching practical and effective street self defence for men, women and kids. The ‘moves’ we teach include blocks, strikes, punches, kicks and holds. Our more advanced classes involve learning how to defend against a weapon or multiple attackers when unarmed, as well as how to wield a weapon that can be easily accessed in daily life from everyday household items.

So, now it’s time for you or your child to find out more about Shire Martial Arts for yourself.

The Shire Martial Arts team and I are so confident that you will be impressed with either our kids, teen or adult programs that we want to offer you a place in our INTRODUCTORY PROGRAM so you or your child are able to try out Martial Arts training, with no obligation to join!

That’s right. You can try out Martial Arts and see for yourself. To get more information pick up the phone and call (02) 9531 7648 or send an email to tkdinfo@shiremartialarts.com.au. There are limited spaces each week, so ensure you secure your place NOW.

We look forward to seeing you at ‘SMA’ soon.

Kind regards,

Master Gary Simmons
World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) 6th Dan
Senior Head Instructor