Ikigai Dojo

Sensei Peat pushing the class with pace with discipline and intention. We do 50 push-ups at a time, then we break 90 sec. Another 50 push-ups, then another break 90 sec. That’s how we run it. This isn’t random it’s structured to build real strength. Push-ups are one of the most effective bodyweight exercises for developing arm strength, chest power, shoulder stability, and core engagement. Every push-up strengthens the muscles used for punching, making your strikes sharper, faster, and more powerful. Strong arms don’t just hit harder they recover faster, too.

Push-ups also play a huge role in blocking. A strong chest, shoulders, and triceps give you the ability to absorb impact, hold structure, and maintain solid defensive frames. When your arms are conditioned, your blocks don’t collapse under pressure they stay firm.

Beyond the arms, push-ups activate the entire upper body chain. Your core stabilises every rep, your back supports alignment, and your shoulders learn control. That full-body engagement translates directly into better balance, tighter form, and stronger movement overall.

Internally, push-ups are excellent for developing the chest muscles, improving muscular endurance, and building resilience. They teach your body to produce force repeatedly without breaking down. That’s real-world strength functional, reliable, and earned.

This is why we do them the way we do. Push-ups build power, discipline, and durability. They make your punches stronger, your blocks tighter, and your body tougher inside and out.

At Ikigai Dojo, we don’t train movements we train intent.

We teach our young people to strike with Kime (決め) the Japanese martial arts principle of decision, focus, and commitment. Kime is that instant where mind and body align, delivering explosive power at the exact end of a technique not stiffness, not tension for show, but controlled force with purpose. That’s how opponents stability is broken. That’s how fights are ended.

There is little value in throwing techniques into empty air.
Real power is forged through connection pad work, resistance, and realistic feedback. When the mind locks in and the body follows, the output speaks for itself.

She is only 14 years old yet delivered such a powerful Mawashi Enpi into the rib area that the adult holding the pad felt genuine impact and said it hurt after she delivered the blows. This is not aggression. This is capability.

She now carries the physical confidence and technical ability to defend herself against anyone who might try to intimidate, pressure, or harm her. That is the standard of a child intermediate-level practitioner at our dojo.

We train for real-life scenarios.
We train for today’s streets.
We train young people to walk with awareness, discipline, and the ability to protect themselves if needed.

Strength with control.
Power with purpose.
Preparation for reality.

At Ikigai Dojo, we teach a hard truth about real-world self-defence: fair fighting gets you hurt.

When facing a knife threat, the goal is not to trade blows or play by rules it’s to neutralise the danger and survive. Acting in “FEAR” dramatically increases the risk of being stabbed. Survival demands decisiveness, structure, and proven technique.

Our Sensei brings years of frontline experience delivering weapon-awareness and self-defence training to young people, including those impacted by gang violence, through his work with The Safety Box . This experience has shaped a practical, reality-based approach to knife defence.

Over time, these methods have evolved into gross motor functional movement techniques movements designed to work under adrenaline, when fine motor skills fail. By studying how knives are actually used, carried, and moved in real attacks, we train the body to respond with effective blocking, positioning, and control that still function when stress levels are high.

This is not about bravado.
This is about preparation, protection, and survival.

Train for reality. Train with purpose at Ikigai Dojo. 🥋🔥

Class 5th February 2023 - Goshin Jutsu, Ne Waza Training covering all aspects of the syllabus.