Head BJJ coach · 1st degree black belt · IBJJF registered
Michael Wood
Michael is an IBJJF-registered 1st degree black belt. He co-founded Kaizen, leads our BJJ programme and teaches Gi and No-Gi classes.
KAIZEN ACADEMY / THE TEAM
Meet the people
behind Kaizen.
Coaching, training and academy life.
Head kickboxing coach · BJJ black belt
Kieran O’Brien
Kieran is a BJJ black belt and co-founder of Kaizen. He leads our kickboxing programme, bringing experience in BJJ competition and professional MMA.
Head MMA & kids coach · Black belt
Joe Butler
A BJJ black belt and British champion, Joe heads our MMA and kids programmes. He brings experience in grappling competition and MMA coaching to the mats, helping adults and younger members develop their skills.
Kickboxing coach
Kenny Murphy
Kenny’s classes are ideal for beginners, with practical, easy-to-follow warm-ups leading into clearly taught, well-paced kickboxing.
Competition preparation coach · Purple belt
Andrea Siem
Andrea helps members prepare for competition. Her Grips and Reps sessions use positional practice to develop technique and decision-making.
Photographer · Purple belt
Laura Jenney
Laura is Kaizen’s photographer and a purple belt. She photographs training and life at the academy.
THE THINKING BEHIND KAIZEN
Good training is a process.
Our outlook draws on Kaizen’s continuous improvement, Total Quality Management (TQM), and John Danaher’s approach to developing martial arts skills. What matters is how those ideas help you learn on the mats.
01
Keep improving.
Kaizen gives us our name and a useful habit: look for the next small improvement. A better stance, a calmer escape, a clearer explanation. Coaches keep learning too.
02
Learn from the result.
TQM encourages us to improve the way we work. We take inspiration from the Plan–Do–Study–Act cycle: choose something to work on, try it, notice what happened and adjust. Feedback gives the next session a purpose.
03
Understand the fundamentals.
Danaher’s emphasis on movement, technique and underlying concepts resonates with us. In BJJ and MMA, we value understanding why something works and how the pieces fit together.
What that means for you.
You’ll have time to ask questions, understand why a technique works and practise it with feedback from your coach. Whether you’re new to training or preparing to compete, you’ll know what to work on next.
Come and try a class.
Tell us what you’d like to train and we’ll help you find a suitable first session.
Book a taster class ↗