Being a fairly small town, Stafford has limited choice as far as martial arts go, but there are still a fair few options if you’re willing to travel to the centre or outskirts of town.
Wing Chun
If you’re living in Stafford and wish to practice Wing Chun Kung Fu, there’s one local option and a few further afield if you’re willing to travel to Walsall or Birmingham. In Stafford, Sifu Mike Gorton teaches Wing Chun from the Elite 2000 Fitness Centre just a few minutes’ walk north from the town centre.
Learn more: Wing Chun in Stafford
Aikido
If you’re interested in Aikido and living in Stafford, you’re in luck, as Jay Savery (5th Dan) runs a class from Browning Street, a short walk north from Stafford town centre; and if you’re willing to travel to Birmingham, which is only half an hour away by train, you’ll find several 7th Dan instructors and even the odd 8th Dan!
Learn more: Aikido in Stafford
Judo
While there’s an outstanding Judo club in Wolverhampton, which is just a short commute, there’s also a club in south Stafford too, near Hyde Lea village, which may be convenient for you if you don’t wish to catch a train or drive too far. Run by Graham Benson, 2nd Dan, Stafford Judo Club is here to help you practice Judo locally in Stafford.
Learn more: Judo in Stafford
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
You don’t need to look further than Stafford’s Active Arts centre for two distinct schools of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). There are also classes held at The Sports Shed near Stafford’s Tesco Extra. At Active Arts, one class is led by Dave Briggs, which takes place on Monday evenings, and the other class is run by Chris Paines of Stone’s Fighting Fit centre which has extra emphasis on grappling and takes place on Friday evenings. At The Sports Shed, classes take place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and are led by Martin Jones.
Learn more: BJJ in Stafford
Boxing
You can join boxing classes at The Sports Shed near Stafford’s Tesco Extra, which are led by Anthony Bailey from the Stafford Fight Factory. Anthony is an experienced martial artist of multiple disciplines. Various classes are held at The Sports Shed throughout the week in order to cater for different age groups (adults, children, etc) and for different skill levels (casual, amateur, professional, etc).
Learn more: Boxing in Stafford
Further afield – nearest large towns
The following travel info is tailored to those travelling by train.
Stoke (15 mins northbound), Wolverhampton & Walsall (15 mins southbound)
If you don’t mind going a bit further afield for more options, there’s considerably more choice in Walsall, Wolverhampton or Stoke – all three of which are five times more populous towns than Stafford. Stoke and Wolverhampton are both only a 15 minute train journey away, due north and due south respectively, while Walsall is just a short hop further from Wolverhampton.
Further afield – nearest big cities
Birmingham (30 mins northbound) and Manchester (1h northbound)
There’s an enormously wider set of options if you’ll travel south to Birmingham or north to Manchester – both cities being twenty times more heavily populated than Stafford, accessible by a 30-minute train journey direct from Stafford to Birmingham New Street (calling only at Wolverhampton on the way) and a one hour train journey from Stafford to Manchester Piccadilly via Stoke, Macclesfield and Stockport – all of which will have their own facilities.