What is Arakan Martial Art?

The Origin of Arakan Martial Art

Arakan Martial Art was brought to the developed world over 25 years ago, by our Chief Instructor Robert Kyaw (Ne Htoon Kyaw). Robert was raised in Myanmar (formerly Burma) learning the traditional martial art called ‘Burmese Thaing’, which was one of few ancient arts practiced for generations by tribes in the Arakan region of Myanmar. When Robert arrived in Australia he adapted this art to suit the needs of both modern day adults and their children, and just like that, Arakan Martial Art was born.

What Is The Arakan Martial Art Junior Program?

The Arakan Martial Art Junior Program takes the same approach as the adult Arakan Martial Program, which focuses on a long term journey with a profound impact on the rest of your child’s life.

Arakan Martial Art is not, nor has it ever been, a ring or competition-based style martial art. Instead it focuses on practical skills that are adaptable to real life self-defence situations. It is fast, powerful, unique, interesting, fluid, practical and a highly effective form of self-defence.

The art form utilises many parts of your child’s body, including open and closed hands, fists, legs, elbows, knees (just about every part of the body) in a free flowing manner. Arakan Martial Art utilises knees and kicks, which are all aimed at below the waist level.

These free-flowing movements involve striking, deflecting, grasping, manipulating, locking and using an opponent’s momentum against them.

Along their journey with Arakan, your child will gain the ability to look after themselves in practical situations, whilst gaining incredible amounts of focus, coordination, fitness and self-belief.

This martial arts program for children does not race your kids through belts (although we do have a belt system), nor is it about collecting medals in competitions. At Arakan Martial Art we consider it our pleasure and privilege to be given the opportunity to guide your children towards greater levels of empowerment and self confidence, as they become stronger on an emotional, mental and physical level.

Seven Ways Your Child Will Benefit From Martial Arts

An increase in cardiovascular fitness, strength and flexibility, which will dramatically increase overall feelings of well being.
An increase in coordination and reflexes, which will be of great benefit to other sporting activities.
An increased ability to listen and follow instructions, which will assist with learning in the classroom.
Newly gained skills, techniques and confidence to look after him/herself, which will increase their motivation to succeed in all areas of life.
Learning respect and discipline as they build the foundations for strong relationships with peers, as well as learn how to better interact with adults.
The ability to focus, which will benefit all areas of your child’s life.
Your child will gain better knowledge of his/her own self, an increased awareness of surroundings, and a massive increase in situational awareness.

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Chief Instructor Robert Kyaw

Robert (Ne Htoon) Kyaw was born in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). His mother, father, and their families originated from Sittwe and neighbouring villages in Rakhine (Arakan) on the Western Coast of Myanmar where the art ‘Rakhine Thaing’ originated. Robert’s parents moved to Rangoon as adults and Robert was taught a form of Rakhine Thaing by a close family member for many years.

Due to poor living conditions in Myanmar and the fact that the country was under rigid military rule, Robert’s family immigrated to Australia when he was a teenager.

Robert continued to train Rakhine Thaing with his brother, but as there were no teachers of this traditional art in Australia he also studied boxing, Kung Fu and Tai Chi, as well as other disciplines including yoga and meditation.

In 1993 at the age of 22, Robert started teaching his closest friends his form of Rakhine Thaing for free, so that he could have more training partners. It was through this practice that Arakan Martial Art was born.

At the time, Robert had graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and was offered several career opportunities, however a corporate career was never Robert’s dream. Instead he continued to spend time teaching martial arts to his closest friends and working several part-time jobs.

His passion and dedication to Arakan Martial Art was infectious and began to attract more and more students. Robert has now been training martial arts for over 40 years, and teaching Arakan for over 25 years. Robert has adapted his traditional art to suit our modern lifestyle and requirements.

Robert is a dedicated husband and father. When Robert is not training Arakan, you will find him teaching Arakan to the next generation, his sons. Outside of this he enjoys spending time with his family, mountain biking, snowboarding, going to the beach, training at the gym, reading and meditating. Spiritual growth and self- awareness are high on Robert’s hierarchy of values.

Chief Instructor Robert Kyaw considers teaching a true privilege and believes his calling in life is to be of service to people through sharing Arakan Martial Art.

"
My son Deklan is a naturally kind and gentle boy, who as an only child has never had to endure the competition and ruff and tumble of other siblings. Reading how daunting and challenging schools can be these days I was very keen to get him involved in self defense but wasn’t sure what was going to be the best fit for him.

In a chance encounter at a community fate we saw the Arakan stand and after talking to the guys I was really impressed with how friendly the team was and how passionate they were to get Deklan into his first lesson. And here is the part that grabbed me the most, the training is done outdoors in parks and school grounds while wearing shirts and shorts and everyday shoes, now that’s real life training. We booked in straight away for our complimentary lesson and Deklan couldn’t wait to get started.

On the day of his first lesson Deklan was quite nervous but Ryan his instructor made him feel completely relaxed and the lesson was a great mix of training and learning through fun games. At the end of the lesson Deklan ran straight up to me and asked if he could do more training tomorrow and the next day, which was a sure sign he loved it. He has now been training for over 3 years and as much as Arakan is about learning self defense and getting fit I have seen Deklan grow in confidence, co-ordination, self respect and self belief.

Deklan now jumps at every opportunity to do extra lessons and group training and he totally loves going to school holiday training days and he wears his Arakan uniform with absolute pride.

I can honestly say I have been totally impressed with how Arakan has taught him practical, useable skills in real life environments and we look forward to many more years involvement with the Arakan family.

"

Mark Sculley

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