01
Awareness & distance
The part that stops most situations before they start — reading distance, positioning, and the options you have before anything physical happens.
Sundays · 5.00 – 6.00pm
Self-defence
Self-defence
that assumes
you're not
the biggest.
A women-only mat area every Sunday, led by Sensei Gemma, 2nd Dan Jujutsu. All levels, all abilities, and most people arrive with no experience at all.
£6 per class
Pay at class
No experience needed
2ndDan instructor
60Minutes weekly
£6Per class
£0Your first one
Why a separate mat area
Because "just do
Because "just do
a martial art" isn't
useful advice.
Plenty of women want practical self-defence and have no interest whatsoever in walking into a room full of men to get it. That's a completely reasonable position, and it's why Sensei Gemma runs her own mat area inside our Sunday class.
It's the same TJK syllabus — the reality-based material the association has spent forty-five years developing — taught in a space where you can work at your own pace, ask the awkward questions, and train with people who are roughly your size.
You are welcome to move across to the main class whenever you want to, and several members do exactly that once they've found their feet. Equally, plenty stay on the ladies area indefinitely. Both are fine.
What you'll
learn.
Techniques that work on leverage and timing rather than strength, because assuming you'll out-muscle an attacker is bad self-defence.
02
Releases & escapes
Getting out of grabs, holds and restraints. Wrist grabs, bear hugs, hair grabs, being pinned — the situations that actually come up.
03
Strikes that count
Where to hit, with what, and how to generate power from a bad position. Taught on pads, with control, at your own pace.
04
Ground defence
What to do if you end up underneath someone — how to protect yourself, create space, and get back to your feet.
05
Personal safety
The wider TJK personal protection material — walking home, public transport, workplaces, and the legal side of defending yourself in the UK.
Before you
come.
The Ladies Area runs every Sunday from 5.00pm to 6.00pm at Wheatpieces Community Centre.
Do I need any experience?
No. Most people who join the ladies area have never done a martial art of any kind. That is exactly who it's for.
Who teaches it?
Sensei Gemma, 2nd Dan Jujutsu, on her own mat area within the Sunday class. Sensei Mark is in the hall too, teaching the main class alongside.
What do I wear?
Gym kit and a bottle of water. Nothing else, and no gi unless you decide to stay and grade.
How much is it?
£6 a class, paid at class. Your first one is free if you book a trial online first.
Can I bring a friend?
Please do. Most people find the first session easier with someone they know, and you can both book free trials.
Is there an age limit?
It's an adult class, 16+. Members range from their teens to their sixties.
Find us
Wheatpieces
Community Centre
Free parking on site, five minutes from the A38 and a short walk from Walton Cardiff.
- Address
- Wheatpieces Community Centre, Tewkesbury, GL20 7SP
- Train
- Ashchurch for Tewkesbury — ten minutes by car
- Message
- Facebook Messenger or Instagram
- hello@tjktewkesbury.co.uk