No unnecessary movements. No flowery techniques. Just what works.
The shortest path between two points. Efficient and effective.
Breaking from tradition. Adapting to reality. Personal expression.
At Applied Martial Arts in Sunderland, every training session is built around one question: does this work under real pressure? Not in theory. Not on a compliant partner. Not against a prescribed attack. For real, under resistance, against someone who doesn't want you to succeed.
Our training strips away everything that doesn't earn its place and focuses on the principles, techniques, and training methods that consistently produce functional martial artists. Whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced practitioner, you will find an environment built around honest development.
No sales pitch, no sign-up desk, no pressure at the end. You come in, you train, you decide.
Choose a time that suits you from the booking calendar. You get a confirmation straight away with everything you need to know.
T-shirt and joggers are fine. Bring water. No experience needed and no kit to buy. You train in the real class, not a watered-down taster.
If it's for you, we'll talk about joining. If it isn't, no hard feelings and no follow-up pestering. Either way you leave having learned something.
Most martial arts training is dead. Cooperative partners, choreographed attacks, prescribed responses. It looks impressive and produces practitioners who fall apart the moment a real situation doesn't follow the script.
At Applied Martial Arts, every technique is trained under resistance, with a partner who isn't cooperating because that's the only way to build skills that hold up when it counts.
Every technique has been proven under live, resisting conditions. No theory. No fantasy. Just what actually works when it matters.
Structured training that builds from fundamentals to advanced applications. Each session develops your attributes and fighting ability.
Training methods that prepare you for real confrontations. We don't choreograph. We don't pretend. We train alive.
Striking, clinching, grappling, and defence. All ranges of combat covered systematically and thoroughly.
We would rather tell you straight than waste your time. Read both columns honestly before you book.
Applied Martial Arts teaches across all ranges of combat, from long-range striking through to ground. Every area is trained functionally, pressure-tested progressively, and applied under resistance.
Punches, elbows, knees, and kicks delivered with power, speed, and precision across all ranges.
Controlling and immobilising your opponent's limbs whilst maintaining offensive capability. Close-quarters dominance.
Standing grappling, control positions, and devastating strikes from the clinch. Dominate in close.
Taking opponents off their feet through timing, leverage, and positioning. Vertical to horizontal in seconds.
Joint manipulations and controls. Controlling opponents through leverage and structure rather than strength alone.
Getting your opponent to the ground through technique, timing, and explosive power. Control where the fight happens.
Redirecting, off-balancing, and controlling movement. Making your opponent move where you want them.
Ground fighting, positional control, and submissions. Functional skills for the most dangerous range.
Defending against armed attackers. Realistic training for the worst-case scenarios you hope never to face.
Quality over quantity. Focused attention over crowded classes. We offer two training paths, both built around giving you the individual attention needed to develop real skill.
Exclusive attention. Personalised curriculum. Techniques adapted to your body, your attributes, your goals. Available in Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do & Jeet Kune Do Concepts, NCKF and Self Protection.
Intimate training environment. Limited numbers. Maximum coaching time for every student. Group focus: Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do, Jeet Kune Do Concepts and Unarmed Tactics.
Applied Martial Arts draws from a lineage of proven, pressure-tested disciplines. There are no dead forms here, only living, functional arts that produce genuine martial ability.
The philosophical framework that ties everything together. Every art we teach sits within JKD Concepts, Bruce Lee's principles for building a martial art that actually works. It's the lens through which every technique, method, and training approach is examined, and the reason our whole curriculum trains the same way: alive, honest, and under real pressure.
Bruce Lee's complete martial art, taught in full depth. Alive, pressure-tested, and delivered through clear structured progression.
A revolutionary combat science from Bruce Lee's first student, Jesse Glover. Delivered via Pierre Hartmann's direct lineage. Deliberately exclusive.
A comprehensive self-protection system refined through 15 years of real-world application. No mystique, just what works under pressure.
A functional MMA curriculum built on JKD Concepts, blending functional grappling, Brazilian jiu jitsu, catch wrestling and the Filipino martial arts with principles drawn from Krav Maga. All ranges of combat, with and without weapons.
Brazilian jiu jitsu and catch wrestling for self protection: positional control, submissions, escapes and getting back to your feet. Trained live against full resistance.
Weapons and empty-hand applications, weapon-to-empty-hand transitions, and realistic weapons defence under pressure. Practical skills for worst-case scenarios.
Jeff Hollows has been teaching functional martial arts in Sunderland for over a decade. He is a registered instructor with the British Martial Arts and Boxing Association, and his Jeet Kune Do lineage runs from Bruce Lee to Guro Dan Inosanto, to his own instructors Burton Richardson and Michael Wright.
He still trains under both. That matters, because an instructor who has stopped learning has stopped being worth learning from.
"Jeff is a great teacher, both in terms of knowledge and enthusiasm. The class is very friendly and suitable for all levels and ages. I have been going for over a year and love it. Wish I had done it sooner."
Mark Mutrie — Google Review"From a girl's point of view, anyone thinking about trying martial arts should give this class a try. It's a great way to get fitter, learn self-defence, and have fun. You'll feel welcome from day one."
Tina Denny — Google Review"I have attended classes twice weekly since November 2015. Jeff Hollows is an excellent instructor and each class is well structured. I would definitely recommend to anyone interested in a proven self-defence system."
Michael Oliver — Google Review"Fantastic class, a great bunch of people and a very professional and knowledgeable instructor. I've become more cardio-fit and my confidence has grown enormously. Simply fab."
Anna Ridley — Google ReviewNo. Most people who walk through the door have never trained anything. Small groups mean you get shown properly instead of being left to copy the person in front. You'll be paired sensibly and taken at the right pace.
No. Getting fit is one of the things training does for you, not something you do before you start. Work at your own level on day one and build from there.
A t-shirt and joggers are fine. Bring water. You don't need a gi, gloves or any kit to try a class.
The trial class is genuinely free and there's no obligation to join. If it's not for you, that's a fine outcome. We'd rather you find that out in one session than sign up to something you don't want.
Training alive means training against resistance, and it's controlled. Intensity is matched to experience, drills are progressive, and nobody is thrown in the deep end on their first night. You should expect to work hard, not to get injured.
The class runs across a wide range of ages and abilities. Because the groups are small, the training gets adapted to the person in front of us rather than the other way round.
Yes. We have women training in the group and the environment is a friendly one. Self protection is arguably more relevant, not less.
No long contracts and no joining fee. If you decide to train with us we'll talk you through the membership options after your trial, not before.
We train in Sunderland. Once you book your trial you'll get the full venue details, directions and parking information in your confirmation.
You can read about aliveness, resistance and functional training all day. Thirty seconds to book, one session on the mat, and you'll know whether this is the training you've been looking for.
Free · No contract · No pressurePick a time that suits you. It takes about 30 seconds and there is nothing to pay.
