Our Instructors
Jamie Seal
Jamie Seal (8th Dan) is the founder and chief instructor of Axis Martial Arts. He teaches Ninjutsu, FMA, Combatives and Shurikenjutsu. He is the Soke of Axis Martial Arts. Jamie is an inspiring and knowledgeable leader who demonstrates the key values of Ninjutsu to all his students and instructors. He has been practising martial arts for 29 years and established Axis Martial Arts in June 2016.
Throughout his martial arts experience he's trained with some of the best instructors across the UK. Sensei Jamie Seal likes to take on a hands on approach when it comes to the dojo as he actively teaches all of his students and instructors week in and week out instead of sitting back and letting his assistant instructors do all the work.
Over the years Jamie has studied a wide variety of martial arts such as Shotokan Karate, Judo, Jujutsu, Ninjutsu, Aikido, FMA and Combatives. He particularly specialises in the instruction of a wide variety of weapons systems and Shurikenjutsu (Throwing Hand Hidden Blades).
Jamie is also insured to teach students how to use live blades (Sharp Swords) to practice Tameshigiri (Test Cutting Fixed Targets) and Suemonogiri (Test Cutting On Freestanding Targets). He can also build and restore Nihonto (Japanese Swords) which he has a particular passion for.
Sensei Jamie Seal also works with BMABA (The British Martial Arts & Boxing Association) and makes sure all instructors are qualified, insured, DBS checked and maintain the highest possible industry standards when teaching.
Tom Peña
Guro Tom Edison Peña is the founder of Lightning Kali Combatives, An Instructor for Lightning Scientific Arnis International and an Instructor for Jon Escudero Lightning Combatives. Tom is quite possibly the best Filipino Martial Arts Instructor in the United Kingdom and oversees all Filipino Martial Arts tuition in the Axis Martial Arts Dojo as a board member of the British Council of Kali Eskrima Arnis Instructors.
Tom regularly hosts seminars at the Axis Martial Arts Dojo in Rugby and his seminars are always great fun and very informative for the students. Tom also runs the Surviving A Knife Attack (SAKA) course to instructors across the country which is particularly relevant in modern society. He is also an instructor for Guro Roger Agbulos' Lameco Astig and for GM Reynaldo Galang's Bakbakan RAGE Team. - General Secretary of Lightning Scientific Arnis International HQ, that is based in the Philippines
The students call Tom the "Smiling Assassin" as he is always smiling during training whilst being a master martial artist and absolutely lethal.
Tom also runs regular a weekly Monday evening classes and a once a month Saturday (3rd Saturday) Intensive session in Stevenage for his students in Stevenage so if you ever find yourself down that way don't hesitate to drop in and experience FMA.
Alexandra Pascal
Alexandra Pascal is our resident kickboxing instructor who also specialises in the No Reload Half Spin technique from Shurikenjutsu. She also has a particular passion for Kamajutsu (The Art Of The Sickle) which she likes to dual wield. She devised a system of Kamajutsu taking techniques from traditional Japanese Kamajutsu and splicing it with modern day Combatives making it a lethal dual wieldind system for self defence.
Alexandra also teaches the Women's only Kickboxing & Fitness sessions working on striking, pad work and HIT (High Intensity Training).
Alex practices FMA, Ninjutsu, Combatives and Shurikenjutsu and is a student of Sensei Jamie Seal and Tom Peña but at Axis Martial Arts she mainly focuses on teaching Kickboxing around her studies in other arts.
Alexandra is an excellent martial artist with the ability to pick up new things very easily whilst also having a true passion for martial arts and the determination to become an amazing multi skilled master martial artist.
Michael Crane
Michael Crane is the predominant instructor for Axis Martial Arts Shurikenjutsu under Sensei Jamie Seal the founder of our Shurikenjutsu system.
Michael is an extremely skilled knife and axe thrower and has around 20 years experience throwing sharp objects starting as a teenager destroying his mother steak knives whilst studying Jujutsu.
Michael also runs the forge for the Dojo an is an extremely skilled bladesmith capable of making some true works of art. Everything Michael makes is custom made from scratch and it is worth every penny.
Sensei Jamie Seal and many of the students have intricate blades or training knives made by Michael as we all really rate his work and Sensei Jamie Seal is a weapons specialist that works with Cold Steel and various other brands so he knows quality!
If you fancy picking up something custom made message Michael Crane he is basically our improved in house Budoya that uses carbon not mild steel to ensure strength and quality.
Michael has been with Axis Martial Arts for 10 years now and nearly died twice in that time from illness so he is truly remarkable. Michael personifies Ninpo Ikkan (Survival In The Face Of Adversity) and despite everything he has endured in still more than happy to help new students and occasionally sew some seeds of chaos to wind the students up for a laugh.
Dave Smith
Dave Smith is an extremely experienced instructor in the Axis Martial Arts Dojo holding his 4th Dan in Ninjutsu. Dave has been training with us since the early days of the dojo and is loved by all of the students in the dojo.
He is heavily respected and regarded as the second in command at the Axis Martial Arts Dojo as Dave is more than capable of running it on his own if required to. Dave is a skilled swordsman and he has already mastered a wide variety of weapons systems over his years of training.
Dave is always more than happy to help new students and has old school values so he makes sure you develop good technique with very detailed and precise instruction.
You don't want to get on the wrong side of Dave however he is the tank of the Dojo and extremely strong so respect is important when training with Dave. He has earned the respect of everyone in the dojo and it is well deserved.
He is a loving father and grandfather and a big teddy bear really when you get to know him. Zach and Dave are close friends after years of training together which illustrates how training can develop into lifelong friendships.
Marco Guerra
Marco Guerra is one of the assistant instructors in the Axis Martial Arts Dojo. He often teaches the kids classes and assists with guiding the adult students to learn new techniques. Marco is more than capable of teaching lessons on his own and has a particular passion for striking and kicking.
His background is in Wing Chun Kung Fu so he emphasises the important of being fluid with your techniques and bypassing the opponents guard. Marco has a true passion for martial arts in all forms and is constantly learning as much as he possibly can during lessons.
Marco comes from Portugal originally and after moving to the UK joined Axis Martial Arts after deciding not to pursue Wing Chun Kung Fu anymore. He was looking for something that was a bit more diverse with an extensive lineage and as such started studying Ninjutsu and now he holds his 1st Kyu in Ninjutsu so it won't be long until he becomes a fully fledged instructor in his own right.
Marco is always more than happy to help new students learn the art of Ninjutsu and he has a passion for sparring and testing his skills on the mats.
Marco is quite possibly the most acrobatic instructor out of all of us being more than capable of dive rolling over 6ft and performing hand springs. He is a skater at heart so I think the balance developed from skating assists him with his acrobatics (Kurowaza).
Zach Turnbull
Zach Turnbull is the youngest assistant instructors in the Axis Martial Arts Dojo but don't let that fool you!
Zach is extremely smart for his age and knows the art of Ninjutsu extensively. Zach quite possibly is the 3rd most knowlegable instructor in the dojo under Sensei Jamie Seal and Dave Smith.
Zach has a passion for the art of Kukishin Ryu Bojutsu which he often covers with the students in the dojo. This is a smart tactic as if your not huge putting distance between you and your opponent makes a lot of sense.
Zach has trained with some of the best martial arts instructors in the UK such as Tom Peña, Tommy Joe Moore, Julian Masson, David Hastings and many more.
When Zach is old enough to be a fully fledged instructor he will go extremely far in the world of martial arts, He is very similar to Sensei Jamie Seal and many of the students joke that he might be a clone.
Zach always want to help students in the dojo and will often walk around just to make sure everyone is training correctly. Zach has been training for about 5 years now and holds his 1st Kyu so it won't be long until he tackles the dreaded black belt grading (Shodan).
Zach has a deep passion for martial arts and is extremely switched on for a man of his age so he has more than earnt his place amongst our instructors.
Richie Threlfall
Richie is the head of the UK Double Nunchaku Association and is the fighter of the Axis Martial Arts Dojo who can often be found travelling up and down the country to test his skills in national Nunchaku competitions.
Richie is absolutely massive but he is one of the nicest people out there, he just likes hitting people with Nunchaku on the weekends.
He has won all of his Nunchaku fights to date and challengers often pop out of the woodwork to test his skills.
Richie's love for competition sports means he is always trying to rope the other students into competitions which provides vital experience for them and helps them learn to defend against an aggressive opponent.
Richie is like a big docile Rottweiler he is fierce and loyal but you DAMN SURE don't want to be facing him in the ring. Richie promotes the Spin Storm technique in memory of a good friend of his who passed away.
He has impressive skills with double nunchaku and has a huge following on TikTok (@richiethrelfall) so check out what Richie gets up to online