Teaching is a calling and for Luke Falzon, it was a match made in heaven as he mixes his passion to teach with his love for martial arts
As the Dojo Martial Arts & Fitness Academy program director, Mr Falzon has been teaching karate to muay Thai, krav maga and kobudo to children as young as three right up to adults in Cobram and Yarrawonga.
The academy has more than 20 classes a week with most classes running between 45 minutes and one hour with classes broken up by age which are run by Mr Falzon and his three assistant instructors.
For Mr Falzon, martial arts has been a life-long passion.
“I’ve been training for 23 years. I started when I was a teenager and I have travelled all around Australia and all around the world,” he said.
Mr Falzon holds three black belts; a fourth Dan in karate, second Dan in kobudo and first Dan in krav maga.
Talking to the Courier, he said that different martial arts had different purposes.
“Karate is a traditional martial arts from Okinawa, Japan, krav maga is more military self-defence from Israel and muay Thai is obviously from Thailand and is for fight training for people wanting to compete.”
His students are able to learn a variety of different martial arts skills with membership covering all disciplines.
“With our memberships people can attend our full timetable of classes,” he said.
Though competition participation isn’t compulsory for students at the academy, Mr Falzon said several of his students had chosen to compete in regional and interstate competitions.
“Other students choose not to compete and they train more for their personal development and others change their trajection,” he said.
Personal development is a big thing in martial arts and Mr Falzon said along with the physical fitness benefits his students were taught strategies which included self-control, discipline and overall wellbeing.
“In the classes we don’t just do physical training but also practise meditation and that’s just one example to help young people and adults to have mental health as well as physical health,” he said.
Naturally Mr Falzon encouraged anyone thinking about taking up martial arts that learning the art was a fantastic way to not only develop life-long skills in self-defence but also develop as a person.
“It is a fantastic opportunity to set goals and working towards achieving those goals through structured training and grading opportunities,” he said.
For any inquiries regarding lessons please contact the Dojo Martial Arts & Fitness Academy on 0497 224 367 or email thedojoau@gmail.com