Frequently Asked Questions

In a world that is sadly only getting more dangerous, gaining both the knowledge and skills on how best to deal with potentially violent situations is vital to have, so to help keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

Real life dangers rarely come with a warning and are often unexpected. No one wakes up one morning thinking that today will be the day that I get attacked.

Too many times we have students joining our classes after they have been violently attacked and we cannot help but to always think in such a case that had this person joined our classes sooner, the outcome of the attack could have been very different.

Not just this, but our training helps to empower and build great confidence which in turn helps one to be less likely seen as a potential target/victim.

But apart from the obvious benefits of Self Defence, there are so many other life-skills and benefits to our training, giving our students incredible value compared to other activities.

We have had many students join our classes after having lost motivation and become bored of going to the gym.

This is not the case with our classes which take place in a very social environment where your peers are literally training with you and cheering you on. These peers soon become great friends, creating a sense of community and belonging, which in turn continues to help and motivate you in achieving your goals.

With our training, you will not just get a fantastic physical workout, but you will also become mentally and psychologically stronger, building greater confidence, and all whilst learning an incredible life-saving skill in the process too.

Our eldest student started training with us at the age of 69 and he’s absolutely loving our classes!

It proves that one is ever too old to join!

And we make sure that the training is according to everyone’s ability and capability.

Yes. We have beginners joining all the time.

Our classes accommodate both beginners and experienced people who have had other types of martial arts & self defence training.

Despite teaching no nonsense, reality based street defence; our classes are not only taught in a very fun and enjoyable manner but more importantly, are always taught with great care and control to promote a very safe environment for all students.

Getting hurt in our classes should never be a concern for any potential student, especially when we have students ranging from only 4 years old to students now in their 70’s.

Compared to other sporting activities and even other martial arts, we are very proud to have a zero track-record of both serious injuries and even mild injuries.

So rest assured, you are in safe hands!

Absolutely not. In fact, many people join our classes especially to get fit and into shape. We have had people join our classes who started off very unfit and only in a matter of a few weeks, their fitness greatly improved and continues to do so. Read the testimonials of these people yourself on our reviews page.

Furthermore, we make it very clear to all of our students that when it comes to our classes, it is not a race with others but is a personal journey for everyone, where each individual will progress according to their own abilities and capabilities. As professional instructors, it is our job to positively push and motivate you accordingly.

It is also important to make a distinction between ‘general fitness’ and ‘fighting fitness’. The two are quite different and it is the latter that you will build in our classes, and that matters when it comes to Self Defence.

It can be very daunting for many people to come to a new martial arts / self defence class for the first time, especially when many places are notorious for having too much testosterone and ego flowing in the air.

We are extremely proud that our classes are nothing like that all. It’s something about our training at Defence Lab, as well as the overall culture promoted within our classes by our instructors, that just does not allow for any ego. Defence Lab classes are in fact well known to be very warm and welcoming, where even the experienced students are always happy to help all new comers.

When someone new joins our classes, there is a reason why we always say “Welcome to the DL Family!” It is because people really do get a sense of family and belonging when becoming part of Defence Lab.

We have different price plans depending on various factors.

Our experience has shown us that people often have a pre-conceived idea of what our classes are going to be like based on their own understanding and experience of Self-Defence and Martial Arts. However, what we do and the way we teach is very new and quite different. And so these pre-conceived ideas are usually proven wrong with people often saying to us at the end of their taster session that they never expected the class to be like that.

Therefore our procedure is to first invite you and your children for a FREE taster session to experience the class for yourself first-hand. Only then will you truly know what you will be paying for. Rest assured that our prices are not expensive at all and are in fact very competitive. We just want you to have a proper idea of what to expect from our classes first, so that when you are given the prices, you will see the amazing value in what we offer.

After having your free taster session, we will then go through all the different price plans in person according to what options you decide to take. So don’t delay any further and book your free taster session today!

We get asked this question all the time and the answer is that we are very different to Krav Maga. We are proud to say that we have had many Krav Maga instructors try our classes and they absolutely loved our training, finding it more extensive i.e. covering a wider area and also with a greater depth of understanding and detail.

Therefore many Krav Maga instructors from all over the world are now incorporating Defence Lab into their training.

We have some students who can only make one lesson per week due to other commitments and then we have other students who come twice and even four times a week.

The progress made by training more than once a week will naturally be far greater. But it is understandable if you have other commitments and can only attend one lesson a week. Training once a week is still much better than having no training at all.

Having said that, we always recommend training more than once a week if possible to get the best results from your training.

We have a few parents in such a situation and they simply attend their child’s class also, sitting on the side with their laptop, a book etc and when it is time for the parent’s class, the child then sits on the side and keeps themselves busy with homework, a book, an iPad etc.

Do bear in mind though that with most of our venues, there is a 15 minute break in between each class so if you live very close to the venue, then you may even be able to quickly drop your child back home and return for your own class.

Our classes operate throughout the year and not just during school term time. We do have a few weeks off in the year which is included in our pricing. For more information on this, please speak to your local instructor.

Super Sparks is our youngest age group ranging from the ages of 4 to 6. However, we often get asked by some parents if we will be willing to take on a child who is only 3 years old? In such a situation, we simply invite the child for a free taster lesson and depending on how the child responds to the class, we make a decision accordingly. Sometimes the child is okay to join and at other times we simply ask the parents to wait a little longer before bringing the child back in.

Kindly note that not all of our venues offer the 4 to 6 year old classes.

We have had countless parents in similar cases who have been astonished on how their child fell in love with our classes, looking forward to each class every week and thereby seeing their child progress and excel.

It all comes down to ‘their’ experience and our classes are designed to be fun and inclusive, with a great number of benefits including helping each student to feel more empowered and confident with each new lesson.

But yes there can be times when a child may begin to feel lazy and no longer wish to attend. This is natural and often all the child needs is motivation from the parents. In such rare cases, we work closely with the parents, asking them to ensure that their child still attends each class and we find that such laziness is only temporary phase.

We must remember that as parents, there are certain things that we will not compromise on i.e. our children must attend school and they must eat their vegetables. There is no question because we know as parents that this is what is best for them in the long-run. So we urge parents to adopt a similar view to their child’s Self Defence training, which is both a life-changing and a life-saving skill.

It is the children that train consistently who always excel the most, and such children always end up being very grateful to their parents for always motivating them when they needed it the most in their journey to achieving the ultimate goal of becoming a Black Belt.

Our Kids Classes are great exercise for children. Combined with a sensible diet, there is no reason why you will not be able to transform your child’s physical and overall health.

Helping your child to feel good about themselves will undoubtedly help them to develop strong confidence and self esteem which they then continue to carry into other areas of their future lives.

Your child’s safety is our top priority. By providing our instructors with first-class training and having strict regulation and safety rules in place, we help to create a very safe environment for all students.

Of course there is always an element of risk but the same can be said about any other physical activity.

One thing we can say with confidence and with great pride is that we have never had a serious injury or even a mild injury in any of our classes.

It does come as a surprise that one is far more likely to get injured doing other physical activities such as football.

Absolutely not!

In fact the opposite is true. Despite teaching a new, modern and evolved Self Defence system, we still hold onto the traditional values of honour, respect and humility. So you will find your child developing better control of their emotions.

Our students are taught to have a real understanding of their new found skills and abilities which are to be only used if they have no option in order to keep themselves safe.

Not only every child, but every person has the ability to take part and excel in Martial Arts and Self Defence training.

Although taught in a very social setting, our training is also very personal. There is no race, competition or comparing to others and every student’s personal journey is based on their individual abilities and capabilities. Some students will naturally progress quicker but it is important to understand that every student still progresses, regardless of their pace.

Apart from the physical training, please also bear in mind that our training also develops other key skills such as character building. So there is much more to our training than just the physical aspects.

By helping a child to develop their confidence, they soon learn that they can achieve whatever they set their mind to.