OK, I confess, I am somewhat biased. I am a long time member of this organisation, although I…read morestarted in NZ many years ago when the earth was young. When I migrated here in 2000 I didn't join the local club for a lot of reasons, but the main one is because I lived so far away at the time. I came back recently after a 10 year absence, having toyed with a number of other martial arts over the intervening years, and I was struck immediately by how friendly, caring and competent every senior member of this club is to newcomers, even returning old broken down folks like me. Head Instructor Ino Macquaring, title Jun-Shihan, is a 6th degree black belt, and his wife Leigh, a Sensei of 4th degree (at the time of writing) are such lovely folks and dedicated karateka that this club has a total family atmosphere. Jun-Shihan can name practically every member of the club by first name, quite an achievement given the size of the organisation. The very large number of families that are members and the large number of juniors is testament to the heart of the club. The style is very traditional Japanese karate, with it's roots in Kyokoshinkai, from which it split in the mid 1970's. It has approximately 20 kata to learn for shodan and generally will take between 4 and 5 years of consistent training to achieve a 1st degree black belt. A key difference to many other Japanese karate styles is the attitude to sparring, or kumite. Safety gear is a must, and it is all about the experience, not about knocking out your opponent - although that may happen! This is born from the US HQ where, like Australia, liability and insurance is a bugger. If you are considering a martial art, look no further - that is unless you have dreams of UFC, in which case walk on by.

I requested personal training. I went in, filled out a form, spoke to the manager and organised my…read morefirst training date. Over the course of three weeks, I had four cancellations. I would receive an SMS between the times of 6PM the night before to 1AM on the morning of my first training day with excuses like leaving the club keys with the cleaners; trying to get my son in a sleep pattern; Im at a fight and I am just leaving Wollongong now; and my newborn has an infection so I have to stay home with my daughter. When I was asked if I wanted to book for the fifth time for which would still be my first lesson, I replied saying no, I wanted someone reliable and who actually wanted to train me. I then received a nasty and sarcastic reply. I do NOT recommend anyone to try this club based on my experiences alone. I have no idea why I was treated this way. I really believe this staff member (who is also the club manager) had absolutely no intentions of training me and this was his way of pushing me away. I am left feeling like I have been discriminated against. An incredibly disappointing experience, I was looking forward to learning a new skill and self-defence. ********* In response to Liam's comment: The business I approached was VT1. I spoke to the manager at your Martial Arts Academy requesting private lessons for kick boxing.

VT1 is a modern professional martial arts academy where you can train a range of different martial…read morearts and fitness classes. I have found the coaches there to be very welcoming and personable, and they make you feel very welcome right from the beginning. The instruction is fantastic! Not only is the quality amazing, but the way they teach makes you want to come back day after day. Definitely worth checking out if you are interested in learning martial arts or just want to get fit!

This is a down and dirty boxing gym, in a good way. Walking in the doors here you get the…read moreimpression that this place means business. There are professional boxers training here, so if you're an amateur like me then you'll feel a little intimated but don't despair all abilities are welcome here. I took a Kick Start Foundation class where they teach you the basics of boxing techniques. The class is great, it gave me lots of confidence plus a great workout. My partner took a F.I.T class which is a high intensity class and not for the faint hearted given the way he looked when he finished! Overall this is great place if you're wanting to include boxing in your workout.

I had a really bad experience at boxing works. I signed up for a 10 visit pass, when I arrived for…read moremy eighth session, they told me that i had to renew, i realised that they had included my free pass visit and also the day the boxing trainer did a no show, very disappointed. When I spoke to the owner Alexandra Papadopolous she was very rude and denied that I had two sessions left and walked away when I was explaining the reason behind this mistake, anyway I did not renew or return to this gym again, I felt ripped off. Joel