At Storm Family Martial Arts we teach multiple styles.  Our Chief Instructor has been training in martial arts for 30 years and holds numerous black belt and instructor grades.

Here is an overview of the styles we teach to over 500 students at Storm Family Martial Arts in Bracknell, Warfield, Windsor, Wokingham, Maidenhead, Twyford and Woodley.

Kickboxing

As its name suggests, kickboxing is a striking style that incorporates punches and kicks.  In reality, it is an umbrella term for a wide range of combat and martial arts styles including Karate, Tae Kwon Do and Kung Fu.

Tae Kwon Do

Tae Kwon Do is a Korean form of martial arts characterized by punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques.   Tae Kwon Do literally translates as ‘The Art of Kicking and Punching’

Karate

Karate is a Japanese unarmed martial-arts discipline employing kicking, striking, and defensive blocking with arms and legs.  Karate literally translates as ‘Empty Hand’

Sport Karate / Freestyle Kickboxing / Semi Contact / Points / Point Stop

These names are some of the various description given to the first style of sparring (fighting another student) that students experience.  Typically new students will spend at least six months working on pads before experiencing any sparring of any kind.  This ensures they understand how to move, strike, evade and block so they, and their sparring partner, are safe.   This style of sparring is a little bit like the art of Fencing.  By that we mean that when a student lands a punch or a kick the referee shouts ‘STOP’ and both students return to their start positions.  A point is then awarded to the attacker and the bout is re-started.   This style of sparring is extremely fast and dynamic but also ensures students are not overwhelmed by continuous strikes.

Continuous Sparring

Once students are comfortable with the ‘stop – start’ style of sparring above, they can move onto continuous sparring.  If you’ve ever watched a boxing match on TV then this is what we mean by continuous.  ie the referee doesn’t stop – start the fight after every punch.  At Storm all sparring sessions are light contact and we have 500 students of various ages, shapes, sizes and abilities training with us.   Our students always look after beginners with plenty of encouragement and ensure that our sparring sessions can be enjoyed by all.   Our senior grades will experience heavier contact and 2 v 1 scenarios away from the main class, but this is only for our advanced students.

The Fight SMART System

The Fight SMART System is our Self Defence syllabus.  It is easy to learn as it is based on instinctual moves and gross motor skills.  It is ruthlessly efficient. Training in the Fight SMART System gives the practitioner a heightened sense of awareness, increased self confidence and practical tools to handle realistic attacks.

Muay Thai

Muay Thai (sometimes called Thai Boxing) is known for its tremendous power, maximum efficiency, and raw simplicity. Often referred to as the “Art of Eight Limbs”, Muay Thai utilizes kicks, punches, knees and elbows with fluidity and grace.

Muay Thai is now one of the most well-known and practiced martial arts in the world. It has proven to be highly effective and is the most common striking art in the vastly popular, fast growing sport of Mixed Martial Arts and the UFC.

Krav Maga

A self protection system from Israel designed to enable ordinary men and women to protect themselves in the shortest time possible.  It was first developed by the Israeli army back in the 1940s and has since become popular across the globe.

Western Boxing

Often overlooked by many as a sport, Western Boxing is must for anyone serious about self defence as dealing with an aggressive attacker throwing punches is one of the top priorities in that situation.  Boxing drills teach us how to stand, move and evade punches as well as deliver our own powerful and accurate punches.

Filipino Boxing

Unlike Western Boxing, Filipino Boxing is most definitely not a sport.  Instead it is a street oriented fighting system where techniques have not been adapted for safety or to comply with a set of rules.  It is often called “Dirty Boxing” as it includes elbows, headbutts, shoudler strikes and limb destruction.

Jeet Kune Do

Usually shortened to ‘JKD’ it can be translated from Cantonese to “The Way Of The Intercepting Fist”.  JKD was created by Bruce Lee back in the 1960s and is also a hybrid of many different martial arts.

Eskrima

Also called Arnis or Kali this is the national sport and martial art of the Philippines.  It is famous for being a weapons based system using sticks and knives however it also includes empty hand techniques, grappling and disarms (taking a weapon from an attacker).

Jiu Jitsu

Although we try to avoid going to the ground at all costs in a self defence situation, it is a possible scenario we may encounter.   Jiu Jitsu is a martial art that focuses on grappling with a strong emphasis on ground fighting.  By studying this we can learn to protect ourselves on the ground and learn how to get back to our feet.

Real Combat System

A pure self defence martial art developed by Geoff Thompson, Matty Evans and Tony Somers with a focus on pressure testing or ‘reality training’ to ensure students can experience some of the psychological stress when dealing with an aggressive attacker.

Our Founder & Chief Instructor, Digger Barnes, teaches all classes in Bracknell and Warfield personally. With over 30 years experience here is an overview of his qualifications:

Instructor – Kickboxing
Instructor – Tae Kwon Do (ITF)
Instructor – Fight SMART System
Instructor – Real Combat System
Instructor – Muay Thai International Association
Instructor – National Federation for Personal Safety
Instructor – British Martial Arts & Boxing Association
Instructor – Boxing
Instructor – JKD & Kali
Instructor – Dacayana Eskrima
Instructor – KEWAP
Instructor – Krav Maga
Instructor – Alicaway Combat Knife System
BTEC Level 3 – Legal and Practical Context of Self Defence Instruction & Psychology of Training
Diploma – Health Management
First Aider – St Johns Ambulance
Safeguarding Children certified
DBS / CRB certified

Digger has been training in martial arts since he was a teenager and still trains regularly with world leading instructors in the UK, Hong Kong and Thailand.

Recent Accolades:

2023 – Bronze Medal while repressing Team GB at World Championships in Greece
2022 – Silver Medal at WUMA European Kickboxing Championships
2021 – Martial Arts Academy Of The Year (London & SE)
2021 – Silver Medal at the WKC Kickboxing Open
2020 – Silver Medal at English National Kickboxing & Karate Championships
2019 – UK Martial Arts Instructor Of The Year
2019 – Inducted into the International Black Belt Hall Of Fame

Our students come from all walks of life, but we share a common passion for martial arts. You'll make lifelong friends and find a sense of belonging in our community.

No matter your age, fitness level, or experience, we welcome you to join our martial arts family. Contact us now to arrange a trial class and see why we're the best in the business.