EXCITING NEWS – NEW VENUE OPENING 1ST DECEMBER!
Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy is now the proud occupant of its own full-time, purpose fitted martial arts centre.
We have been working very hard over the last year to find the right location in order to provide all our students with the best possible facilities both for those that are training but also those who are dropping off, picking up and waiting, we’ve shared many of the same frustrations that you’ve echoed in your survey feedback earlier during the year. With this in mind the new centre has ample well lit and secure free parking right outside, a comfortable waiting area where people can sit and watch the classes whilst relaxing with a cup of coffee and a wide range of great training equipment both for kids and adults. We have invested many thousands of pounds to make all of this possible and have dedicated an enormous amount of time and effort to bring it all to fruition. Finally everything is in place for us to invite you to make the transition with us and make it your new training centre rather than our idea.
The new facility will provide a dedicated Martial Arts training area with Tatami Judo / MMA floor mats covering an area 9m wide x 18m long and a smaller area for a parents/sibling waiting area with children’s games and a TV/Xbox plus a small café serving refreshments. The training area will also benefit from 10 freestanding kickbags, 3 grappling bags, lots of pads, kick shields, mitts, blockers, a speedball and other fitness and fun equipment for children and adults alike including Hedgehog Stones, Flat rung Ladders, Run Mats, Obstacle Course sets, Balance beams, balance balls, fit balls and lots more. Because the training area is fully matted it enables us to provide a much safer and cleaner training environment and one that we can use to safely broaden our syllabus to learn new things without having to cart around a supply of mats and other equipment.
From Tuesday 1st December we are stopping all classes at the current venues and moving to our new centre. This will mean that all members will be able to train in the same facility and share the same equipment and more importantly do so in a safer and more secure facility where we can control the activities in the centre and not have to worry about messy floors or other users activities. Our first classes in the centre will be on Tuesday 1st December.
Whilst we can appreciate that this may seem a sudden change to many of you, it has been very difficult to announce our intentions any earlier as the processes involved in leasing business premises have proved to be both very complex and troublesome, dealing with mountains of red tape and until very recently we were unsure as to whether we would be able to proceed. We were finally given the go ahead for the planning permission last week and our landlords being keen for us to move in, want to start charging us for the use of the property from 1st December, so with this in mind it was important to us to move as quickly as we could in order not to have to pay two sets of rent each month.
The last week therefore has been somewhat busy with us ordering all of the necessary equipment, furnishing the centre and generally getting it ready. Thankfully as of yesterday evening everything is now in place and we are able to start using the centre from the 1st December. Actually we are going to hold the first training session there, this Sunday between 10:00 – 14:00 with Steve Rowe 8th Dan (Bryan and Lindsey’s instructor) teaching a great course for us. (Further details available from http://www.facebook.com/#/event.php?eid=89443264580&index=1 )
In order to fully maximise the potential use of the facility we have made some minor changes to the timetable which may include a change to your or your child’s class times. However, it has enabled us to offer many more classes spread over 7 days per week, including new ones (e.g. family class, age 10+ combat groove etc). We will automatically transfer all of our students to the equivalent class on the same day(s) which you are currently attending, however, if you would prefer to switch to a different class or add in extra classes please let us know.
To those of you who we are inconveniencing by asking you to change your class time or travel a little further, we would like to apologise, but I sincerely hope that you will feel that what we are able to now offer in terms of better facilities and opportunities to you / your child will hugely outweigh the inconvenience. Please come along and see the new venue and try the new classes to see the difference. We are well aware that without all of you Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy would not be what it is today and we would like to thank each and every one of you for your support and we look forward to welcoming you at your new Centre and looking forward to what will be a great year in 2010 with some exciting plans ahead! Please do not hesitate to contact us, if you would like to discuss any of these changes.
Some photos of the new venue are here http://blog.basingstokekarate.com/gallery/new-venue/ We’ll load some more pictures of the finished venue over the next couple of days. Further information on ou new centre is available here http://www.basingstokekarate.com/our-dojo.php
Address information
The address is Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy. The Annex @ ITT Industries, Jays Close, Basingstoke, RG22 4BA (More info and a map available here). When you enter the main ITT entrance, turn left into the car park and The Annex is the building on the right. The parking is immediately behind the building and in the first bays on the left, between the trees. Lots of the staff at ITT leave work between 4 – 4:30, so discretion can be used after this time.
