A POPULAR martial arts school in Oxford has moved its classes online to help people stay healthy and active during the government-enforced lockdown.

Like all non-essential businesses in the country British Krav Maga Oxford was forced to close its doors due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

But the school, which is usually based in the Rose Hill Community Centre, Oxford, has launched a new online platform for current students and for people who are tempted to try something new during the crisis.

Wayne Bailey and the team of assistant instructors Jean Tough and Caitlin Naylor have been running the self-defence classes in Oxford for more than three years now.

They focus on reality-based techniques and fitness classes.

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Oxford Mail:

Mr Bailey who is head instructor for the school that also holds a branch in Reading has been training in Krav Maga – a military self-defence and fighting system developed for the Israel Defence Forces and Israeli security forces – and various other traditional fighting systems for more than 23 years.

The popular martial art could be described as a combination of techniques sourced from boxing, wrestling, aikido, judo, and karate along with realistic fight training.

With this wealth of knowledge and experience Mr Bailey can now adapt to home training and solo training for students who have nobody to partner with.

The instructor explained that he began the online sessions as an innovative way to help his students stay active during isolation, however, a new online course for beginners is set to start soon too.

He said: "We took the responsible decision to stop running our standard classes last week and moved towards an interactive online platform that allows us to continue to run our sessions for anyone at home even with little space to train.

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"We looked for a fully interactive platform that allows us to run a class and be able to coach our students so we can continue training."

The team have also put together a range of instructional videos covering all manner of self-defence techniques and training that students will have unlimited access to, so they can train on their own time as well.

Mr Bailey added: "In these uncertain times, we need to remain positive and adapt to the changes to our routines and lifestyles.

"We can do so much more than we think at home and it is vital that we keep our minds and bodies active.

"It is also great to be a part of this community and meet up for weekly sessions virtually, especially with the current restrictions on movement."

To find out more about the school and its online sessions visit krav-maga-oxford.co.uk