Training at Hawks Hill
Training at Hawks Hill is designed for adults who want a disciplined, structured martial path. We offer up to 11 classes each week, with morning and evening options, allowing members to train consistently and integrate the curriculum into daily life.
Every class is taught by the chief instructor, supported by senior students who help provide safe pressure, clear feedback, and steady guidance. Beginners progress through the fundamentals, while long-term practitioners refine deeper skills within a unified system.
Taijutsu / hand-to-hand
Our hand-to-hand training is rooted in classical Japanese jujutsu and aiki-based systems, practiced in a way that is direct, functional, and pressure-tested. The focus is structure — how to break it, control it, and protect your own under contact.
We train joint controls, leveraged grappling, striking, and takedowns at realistic speed with real resistance. This is possible because the system prioritizes balance, posture, and spine control before any damaging option is applied. Students learn the mechanics that make destructive outcomes possible without injuring partners in the process.
This isn’t choreography or cooperative movement.
It’s hands-on training where positioning, timing, and leverage determine whether technique works — and where mistakes have physical consequence without being dangerous.
Our training develops:
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practical joint control
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balance disruption under pressure
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striking integration
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weapon-connected mechanics
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clarity and composure in contact
We don’t train for sport or performance.
We train for capability, control, and the ability to act decisively and responsibly when needed.
Consistency is essential. Students are expected to attend at least eight classes per month to train safely and make real progress.
bukijutsu / weapons
Weapons training is a core part of our curriculum. The sword, staff, and knife reveal the origins of our movement, refine timing and distance, and expose weaknesses in structure that are harder to see in empty-hand work.
We train with the jō (staff), bokken (wooden sword), wakizashi (short wooden sword), and tantō (wooden knife) as functional tools — not as performance pieces, ceremony, or sport. Each weapon forces you to move with accuracy, intent, and pressure-awareness in a way that carries directly into our hand-to-hand training.
The bokken and jō clarify the mechanics behind our unarmed work: posture, centerline, footwork, and the ability to control distance. The tantō brings those principles into close-range, high-consequence scenarios where timing and decisiveness matter.
Weapons are not studied to glorify the tools themselves. They are used to sharpen:
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stance and structure
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timing and precision
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spatial awareness
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threat recognition
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disciplined control
Bukijutsu sets our training apart. It develops qualities that grappling alone cannot — making students more capable, more aware, and more grounded in the realities of martial movement.
“The true science of martial arts means practicing them in such a way that they will be useful at any moment.”
- MIYAMOTO MUSHASHI
iaijutsu / swordwork
At Hawks Hill, Iaijutsu is trained as a practical sword-drawing system rooted in classical Japanese combative strategy— not as ceremony, performance, or aesthetics. The emphasis is on timing, structure, and the ability to bring a blade into play decisively under pressure. Students learn the mechanics of a clean draw, a functional cut, and a controlled re-sheathing, using the sword as an extension of posture, awareness, and intent.
Daily training builds precision, composure, and the ability to stay calm and present in moments where a single movement matters. As skill develops, students may also practice tameshigiri, making controlled cuts on tatami targets with a live blade. Tameshigiri serves as a pressure test — revealing whether technique, edge alignment, distance, and body mechanics are truly functional or only theoretical.
Iaijutsu at Hawks Hill is a disciplined, serious study that reinforces the principle of carrying dangerous capability with responsibility and restraint.
zazen / meditation
Zazen at Hawks Hill is not about calm for its own sake — it is training in discipline, attention, and control. By sitting with steady posture and regulated breath, students learn to quiet internal noise without losing awareness. The goal isn’t escape or relaxation, but clarity: the ability to stay present and composed when pressure increases.
This practice develops the same qualities required on the mat — balance, timing, patience, and the ability to act without hesitation or distraction.
Zazen and physical training support one another, forming a complete approach to building individuals who are steady, focused, and capable of meeting difficulty with clarity and self-control.
misogi harai / breath training
Misogi at Hawks Hill is a disciplined breathing practice built on strong, sustained rhythms that challenge endurance and sharpen focus. Rather than ritual or performance, it is a form of physical and mental conditioning — using breath to push through discomfort, steady the mind, and strengthen resolve.
Practitioners learn to expand and control the breath under intensity, developing clarity, resilience, and the ability to stay composed when pressure rises. Because Misogi demands full commitment and steady attention, it is reserved for students who have demonstrated consistency and seriousness across all areas of training.
A Complete Curriculum. A Serious Path of Training.
Your membership includes access to every core class offered weekly.
No upgrades, no hidden levels — just a clear path forward.
Free trial class. No gi needed. Join afterward and get 20% off your first month.
No commitment. Just train once and feel the difference.