Mayor praises members at opening of ‘dojo’ premises

Junior members of The Dojo who received their white, green and yellow belts at their recent grading. Included are Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Council, Cllr. Billy Ashe, who officially opened the club's Woodside Road premises and head coach David Toney. See page 56 for more ocverage of the opening. INBT27-220AC

‘The dojo’ Community Martial Arts Centre, in Woodside Industrial Estate boasts a fantastic 8000sq ft training area, purpose built for improving health and fitness.

Now, thanks to a grant awarded by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council the dojo has now been able to upgrade the main sports hall flooring so that the venue is multi-purpose in terms of being utilised by the wider community for all sorts of activities.

The centre has been hired by Task-all for several training courses, housed Customer Service courses, Yoga and Kettle bell classes, been used for kids parties & teen discos and even had an authentic Cuban Salsa dance class.

David Toney, of The Dojo, pictured with Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Council, Cllr. Billy Ashe, who officially opened their premises at Woodside Industrial Estate. INBT27-219AC

Speaking at the official opening, Councillor Ashe said: “One of the prioiries of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is ’builidng stronger, safe and healthy communities’.

I’m pleased to be here tonight to see what that means for you in the Dojo Community Martial Arts Centre.

I’m pleased that Dojo Community Martial Arts Centre has recently taken advantage of Council’s Enabling Scheme. Through this Scheme they have received funding of over £15,000. This has upgraded the existing flooring, to meet Martial Arts standards and also to facilitate other user groups. This Centre is now able to host National and International events.

Outlining some of the accolades achieved by club members, Councillor Ashe said: “It would also be very remiss of me not to mention that earlier this year, David Toney received the 8th Dan grade ranking.

“I am told that this is the highest award in Ireland. It not only puts him in the top three in the world within the Federation, but also gives him the title of Kai Cho President for World Ju-Jitsu Federation Ireland,” added the Mayor.

The dojo is a community resource - anyone wishing to visit the premises can contact David Toney, Centre manager on 02825638511 or email [email protected] to arrange for someone to call.