Life after domestic violence - a members story
7 years ago I found the courage to leave my 10 year mental, physical and emotional abusive relationship. So at almost 28 I found myself no longer a teenager but a woman, back at my mothers house beaten down with a broken soul and no idea of how to function as an adult.

6 years ago I moved to the Gold Coast for a fresh start....

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Student of the Month - Renee Cresswick
Renee has been training for over 6 years. She has been training hard for her Yellow Belt Grading, which she passed in earlier this year in July. Renee is a committed and dedicated student who is such a pleasure to teach. Renee’s courageous approach is an inspiration to us all....

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Warrior Day 2016

Over 250 Arakan Warriors in one place, training hard in beautiful surroundings with the best intentions and energy for each other, how does it get any better than this? Thank you to all of our amazing members for the most magnificent day! I am forever grateful to have the privilege to share Arakan with you all....

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Rebuilding my life with Arakan after domestic violence
I never thought it would ever happen to me. I had always considered myself a strong, confident, and independent woman, yet I became a victim of extreme, ongoing domestic violence (physical, emotional, mental, verbal, and financial abuse) where I came very close to losing my life. I lost everything; my home, my career, my friends, and all sense of who I was as a person. To stay safe, I had to live in a women’s refuge for 3 months when I first fled. My personality and character had been stripped bare and I carried a world’s worth of shame and embarrassment over my experience. In coming out of the refuge, I began the journey of putting my life back together, something I was determined to do from the day I fled from my ex-partner...

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Instructor Story - Scott Morisset
Starting to write this article I asked myself do I include all the interesting events, ups and down I’ve endured along my Arakan journey hmmm….. yes. Just like training there will always be peaks and troughs and times where lessons are harder than others and times where the planets align and everything seems to fall into place. Whether its physical, mental or emotional Arakan has always taught me and given me the strength to battle through any situation. On the flip side of this Arakan is the place where I have had the best times of my life and met my best friends, amazing training partners and my partner and mother of my child. On top of this I’ve had such an incredible, patient and understanding mentor and instructor Rob Kyaw to guide me along the way.

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Legion V Legion
It’s always super exciting to teach these seminars, the intensity is always through the roof; I find myself flipping from smiling to cringing throughout the seminar. Thank you to all our amazing students who trained with such high level of intensity yet with so much care and respect for each other. Arakan has never been a competition style (hopefully never will be) so it’s our way of creating some exciting moments for our students whilst creating an environment where they can learn and grow as practitioners.

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Arakan Martial Art Juniors
It really warms my heart to see so many beautiful, smiling faces of the Arakan junior students. Speaking on behalf of all of the Arakan Instructors, it is indeed a pleasure to be given the privilege of teaching your kids. Thanks for your trust, support, and patience with us. One of my greatest joys in life is to be part of a child’s growth towards greater levels of empowerment, so thank you again for the opportunity.



For a child, each stage of life is a fast transitional period. It’s great to see that Arakan plays such a big part in the lives of our youngest students from the age of three to our young adult students, up to nineteen years old.



One of the aspects of coaching that is most amazing to me is that when a child learns to become a good student of life, I.e. he/she learns how to watch and listen attentively, he/she learns how to focus intently and learns to increase his/her situational awareness, everything in this student’s life improves dramatically, including academically, socially and in other sporting areas.

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Mastering Your Craft

Many students begin their journey thinking that after some time and commitment to training, all of their doubts will be extinguished, that they would gain greater levels of confidence and they would feel totally indestructible.

The reality is that along their journey, students may become even more doubtful and less confident than when they began their journey. Although this state is temporary and transitional, the feelings of doubt often lead to the student becoming disillusioned and stopping their journey all together.

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5 Benefits of Private Martial Arts Lessons for Kids

Making an investment in private martial arts lessons for your child has the potential to dramatically change your child’s life forever.  Many parents have discovered the significant advantage of enrolling their children in private lessons with Arakan Martial Art instead of putting them into a traditional group class with another martial arts club.

Studies have shown that children benefit significantly from one on one, personalized training in any area of life. As Arakan is uniquely taught to improve both the mind and the body, your child can become stronger both mentally and physically through private lessons.

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Urban Warrior Nightclub Sydney

I attended the Arakan Sydney Night Club Seminar in June. 

In one word for the experience, wow, unbelievable. That’s two words! 

The most amazing thing about the nightclub seminar was the level of energy - with all of us students as well as the instructors from the beginning to the end, it just multiplied exponentially....

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My Arakan Martial Art Journey
Writing this, feels like a lot of Arakan lessons I teach. I always think to myself, "I have an hour to share as much as possible in an art that could easily go for a few lifetimes, yet I don't want to dilute anything". I guess that is one of the reasons why we are taught to always have urgency with what we do; there is so much to learn, so don't stuff around and make the most of the time that you have....

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Melbourne Prison Seminar and Sydney Night Club Seminar Member's Story
Both seminars started fast, we lined up uneasily awaiting what was ahead. You could feel the tension crackling. Not hesitating, the instructors lived their roles as prisoners, guards or night-clubbers looking for a good time.  At Casablanca night club, in Sydney, the bouncers had us line up and show IDs. Once in, I was bumped into and confronted by drunkards looking for a drink…or a fight. Brawls erupted all around me as I tried to smooth talk my way out of buying an instructor a drink. It felt so eerily similar to what I’d seen when out clubbing, I was confronted. Bad Top 40s blaring, it felt like a sweaty night out in Sydney. Over the 2 hours we endured typical party situations, from standing up to sitting down from light presses to lightning fast cupping palms to groin shots, we learnt the ins and outs of martial nightclubbing. That night I could not help but be twitchy and hyper aware as I did actually navigate Sydney’s nightlife. Having dusted myself of from the Sydney seminar it was time for round two....

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Arakan Training Day 2016

When I was invited to write about Training Day, I wondered if it was because, from what I saw, I was the only one who lost blood. More on that later.

The seven-strong Melbourne contingent landed on the Coast in 2 waves. My partner and I were in the later Friday night convoy. I remember being en route to the Coast in our Europcar rental and discussing with our friend (and fellow student) what we were anticipating for the next day. Descriptors like nervous, excited, trepidatious never strayed far from our expectations, which were largely speculative, as we were all first-timers at an Arakan Training Day....

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Instructor Profile - Richard Burkett
I remember meeting Richie when he was approximately fifteen years old, I was teaching at Southport High School, when Richie and his group of friends enquired about what is was that I was teaching. After a brief conversation, the boys convinced me to start teaching them on a weekly basis. I will always remember these classes very fondly, a group of boys just training hard without too many conscious desired goals. Richie was always very athletic and coordinated and would love to learn everything he could about fighting; a passion will still share approximately twenty years later. 

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Being the Chief Instructor's Student

here do I start about being the Chief Instructors student. Well I was trying my hardest to dodge writing this, because writing is definitely not my thing, but I know the Arakan way is; even if we don't like it, we still get it done. That’s the Warrior Way. So here I go; let me tell you a little story…

When I was 15, I turned up after school one day to play basketball. Little did I know there would be no basketball that day as one of my brother’s friends had seen Rob teaching someone at the school and asked him what they were doing. He said 'its called Arakan, a Burmese martial art.'

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The Benefits of Being an Arakan Junior : A Parent's Perspective
f as a parent, I left this world tomorrow, would I be comfortable with the knowledge and lessons that I have passed on to my daughter? Would I be satisfied that I have equipped her with the skills and knowledge to get through life with me no longer there to guide her? A confronting situation no doubt. But one that I have personally come to terms with over the years. Arakan has helped me discover my responsibility as a parent, and has given me the insight to understand the benefits that Arakan offers its junior students.

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Ladies Only Member Story - Elly Killiman
I have been training Arakan Martial Art for over two years now, and this is the second Ladies seminar I have attended. The experiences I have had during this particular seminar have been absolutely mind blowing. Not only do we learn how to physically defend ourselves, but we also gain the "mental toughness" to recognise and handle threatening situations. We learn countless techniques to get out of dangerous situations, and also have the opportunity to practise and apply these techniques in a simulated and controlled environment. The care and passion the instructors show each and every week is amazing, putting their bodies on the line so we are able to apply self-defence techniques in real life scenarios.

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Instructor Profile - Ben Ho
I love spending time with Ben; we may be training really hard together or just having a laugh after training, Ben is always such a pleasure to spend time with. Ben has been training for over 9 years now and is a talent, successful, honest and humble person, these are qualities in a person that I value highly. Ben is always so open to learn and grow, no matter what the topic may be, which makes him a true warrior of life. 

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Arakan Martial Art Training Day - Saturday May 7th 2016 - Bornhoffern PCYC.

WOW! What a truly AMAzing event Training Day 2016 turned out to be. The venue was great, the weather was great and the energy throughout the seminar was electric… thank you to all the dedicated students who trained like warriors, you all inspire me and motivate me so much.

Thanks to the truly awesome team of Arakan Instructors, you really make everything so much fun, I cannot stop smiling when I am around you guys and girls…

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Student Profile - Dean Mayer
I love the journey. I enjoy training hard so that if a dangerous situation comes up, I can deal with it in a decent manner, and not be frightened...

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