Who We Are

We are a long-established club within the Imperial College London Student Union, dedicated to training in a modern interpretation of Jiu Jitsu, an art originally practised by the samurai of feudal Japan. The club is a mixture of students, faculty and others with an interest in our martial art. Our training environment is safe and welcoming to all potential students, and we are happy to instruct those with no background in martial arts at all together with those who have an extensive training history.

In addition to our training, we have a very active social side to our club. Recent events include meals out, film nights, snowboarding and short breaks abroad, all of which are optional but highly entertaining.

To find out more about our martial art, please see our training page. If you have any questions about the club, please contact us.

Where and When Do We Train

We usually train three times a week in the following venues:

Hammersmith

Our training in Hammersmith takes place in the basement of the Reynolds building of Charing Cross Hospital (W6 8RF). As this dojo can be a little tricky to find the first time, please feel free to contact us in advance to arrange for someone to show you the way.

Paddington

On Thursdays and Saturdays we train in a permanently matted dojo, the Sherman Lounge, in Wilson House (W2 1UF). This building requires a swipe-card to enter, so if you haven't been issued one yet (or are attending as a non-student by invitation) please contact us to arrange for someone to meet you.

Cost per session

Our sessions are designed to be as cheap as we can make them. Students of the university pay £2 per session, anyone attending as an external guest should expect to pay £4 per session. Please note that for students joining the club for the first time we have a number of deals which can make training even cheaper, so please ask us what we can offer if you want to sign up and continue your training.

Our Instructors

The club is currently run by four main instructors, all of whom are at brown belt (1st kyu) level. Although it may seem odd at first to have a club run by people without a black belt, please be aware that Aiuchi is not like many other styles where the dan grade (black belt) structure runs through to 10th degree: in our style the maximum attainable grade by a student is currently 4th dan. All of the club's instructors are insured through and authorised to teach by the Aiuchi Jiu Jitsu Association.

In addition to the club's main instructors, we are fortunate enough to have a number of external instructors who regularly come to either train with us or teach a class. These include one of our style's 4th dan instructors and a 2nd dan with extensive personal experience of self-defence and restraint technique applications.