Adults at Steele’s Martial Arts Institute are taught martial arts in a manner that is significantly different compared to youth classes. Adult students can generally focus for longer stretches of time versus youth students. Consequently, the time allotted to training specific techniques can be lengthened during adult classes which promotes skill development. Learning is done collaboratively under the supervision of Sifu Tommy. Adult training partners have the maturity level to use their training time to help each other figure out and experiment with the techniques to see what works for them and what doesn’t.

Another aspect of adult martial arts classes is the intensity level. Younger students often view martial arts training as simply learning a set of pre-determined moves. While this is a good first step, it may lack realism. Adults often want to know that the self-defence techniques that they are learning will be useful in a real-world situation. This requires training partners, both the Nage (the person applying the technique) and the Uke (the person receiving the technique) to use realistic energy against one another in a controlled manner. Sifu Tommy ensures that adults use controlled and appropriate amounts of energy (matched to both partners’ skill level) with one another so that everyone benefits from training in a safe and realistic manner.