BMA Naas

A proud moment in the history of BMA Naas.

From opening our doors in 2018 to celebrating our first-ever black belts.

Congratulations to Roderick Conway, Amy O’Connor and Phil Cole on earning their 1st Degree Black Belts after successfully completing an intense 6½-hour grading.

A special thanks to Senior Coach Seamus Reynolds, who has led the club since 2020 and has played a huge role in guiding these students to this milestone.

🥋 HISTORY MADE AT BMA NAAS 🥋
The first ever BMA Naas Black Belts!

Established in 2018 as part of Ilija Salerno’s BMA clubs (Clondalkin, Naas & Southside), BMA Naas has reached a major milestone with the club’s first ever 1st Degree Black Belts.

The club was launched firstly under the guidance of Karyna Nikitina, before Head Coach Ilija Salerno appointed Seamus Reynolds as the new Senior Coach in 2021, continuing to build a strong and successful team.

After an intense 6½-hour black belt grading, featuring kickboxing combinations, boxing sets, advanced pad work and karate katas, three dedicated students earned their place among the black belt ranks.

🥋 Roderick “Rodge” Conway and Amy O’Connor have been part of the club since it first opened its doors in 2018, while Phil Cole continued his martial arts journey in Naas after beginning his training with BMA Clondalkin.

All three showed exceptional determination throughout the grading, with Amy O’Connor and Phil Cole achieving top marks on the day out of 16 black belts hopefuls from various BMA clubs.

A fantastic achievement for the students, their coaches, and everyone involved in the growth of BMA Naas.

Congratulations Rodge, Amy & Phil – your hard work has earned you this moment! 👏🥋

This Sunday marks a landmark occasion in the history of BMA Naas as the club prepares to present its very first Black Belt students.

BMA Naas, one of the clubs within Ilija Salerno’s BMA group alongside BMA Clondalkin and BMA Southside, has gone from strength to strength since opening its doors in September 2018.

Under the guidance of its first Coach, Karyna Nikitina, the foundations for success were established before Seamus Reynolds took over the reins in 2021, continuing to build and develop the club into what it is today.

Now, after years of commitment, hard work and perseverance, three students are ready to take on the biggest challenge of their martial arts journey to date:

🥋 Amy O’Connor
🥋 Roderick Conway
🥋 Phil Cole (who began his BMA journey in BMA Clondalkin before continuing his training with BMA Naas).

For Senior Coach Seamus, this is a particularly proud day, watching students he has coached and helped develop over the past number of years reach the stage where they are ready to test for their 1st Dan Black Belt.

The grading will be conducted under the watchful eye of BMA Chief Instructor Roy Baker, BMA Assistant Senior Instructor Ilija Salerno, and a panel of experienced 3rd Degree BMA Black Belts.

⏰ Start Time: 10:00am
⏳ Duration: Approximately 6 hours (yes… there will be breaks, don’t worry! 😄)

Family, friends and supporters are warmly invited to come along and cheer on all of the students.

📍 Venue:
BMA Leixlip Academy
Next to Leixlip Amenities Centre

Good luck Amy, Rodge and Phil. Years of dedication have brought you to this moment. Give it everything you’ve got.

A black belt is earned, never given. 🥋💪

A Historic Day for BMA Naas!

Today marks a special milestone in the history of BMA Naas.
Roderick Conway and Amy O’Connor, who were among the very first students to walk through the doors when BMA Naas opened in 2018, have now taken another huge step on their Black Belt journey.

Joining them is Phil Cole, a long-standing senior member from our sister club, BMA Clondalkin, who continued his training in Naas under the guidance of Senior Coach Seamus Reynolds.

All three were part of the elite group of 16 students from across BMA Leixlip, Enfield, Clondalkin and Naas who successfully completed today’s Black Belt Pre-Grade under Senior Instructors Ilija Salerno and Darragh Geoghegan.

After being tested on their fitness, technical ability, attitude and overall readiness, we’re delighted to announce that all three have been recommended to progress to the 5-hour Black Belt Test on Sunday, 2nd August.

The final challenge awaits… 👊🥋

Our Sunday was well spent with this amazing group during the BMA Summer Grading in the Leixlip Amenity Centre! ☀️🥋

Another successful day as our students pushed themselves through their white and green belt tests 👏🏼

𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐀𝐂𝐇-𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐈 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐔𝐒 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐀𝐂𝐇 - 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐈 𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐉𝐀!

Coaches
Friends
Family

Proud to lead & inspire BMA students every day!

Congratulations to BMA Naas’ Newest Brown Belts!

A huge well done to our amazing students who successfully earned their brown belts and advanced tips today at BMA Leixlip HQ!

Under the expert eyes of senior BMA black belts, Chief Instructor Roy Baker, and Assistant Chief Instructor Ilija Salerno, the team was pushed through two hours of intense testing — and they all rose to the challenge!

We’re incredibly proud of the effort, discipline, and determination shown by everyone. Keep up the great work, team!

This girl is amazing 🙏

Dedicated, Committed, Respectful & always fun of energy …she’s one in a million 🥇

One of our favourite young martial artist 🥋

Keep doing what you’re doing Hannah 💙