Manx Lottery Trust, through its smaller grants scheme, has awarded St John’s Aikido Club a grant of  £1500.

The martial arts club, based in St John’s Methodist Hall, provides self-defence and martial arts training for adults and teenagers living in the west of the Island and has put the funding towards the purchase of 20 new mats.

At present the instructors, who work on a voluntary basis, teach five regular students and have received growing interest to set-up a junior club, however up until now the lack of mat space has meant they are unable to accommodate.

To practice the sport in accordance with the British Aikido Board guidelines for safety, each student needs access to two mats which has limited the club to accommodate only five students at a time. The new mats will allow 10 more students to learn Aikido and 15 students to practice safely.

David Halsall from St John’s Aikido Club, said: ‘Aikido techniques consist of entering and turning movements that redirect the momentum of an opponent's attack, and a throw or joint lock that terminates the technique. It is a fantastic sport that is great to learn for both youngsters and adults.

‘We are incredibly grateful for the generous support we have received from Manx Lottery Trust. Its funding will not only allow us to hold weekend courses and start a junior club – something we have been keen to do for some time – but give us the opportunity to grow and become self-sufficient. This will benefit the western community greatly and I can’t thank them enough.’ 

Earlier this year, thanks to the arrival of the new mats, the club were able to hold a grading weekend and welcomed students from Dyffryn Nantlle Aikido Club in North Wales. The standard was very high and, due to its success, the club have planned another course for the 22^nd and 23^rd September.

Manx Lottery Trust Chairman Sarah Kelly added: ‘St John’s Aikido Club is run by a small but hard working team and the Trustees felt they were very deserving of an opportunity to grow and increase their capacity. It is a great community club and we are pleased to support it.’

To find out more about the work of the Manx Lottery Trust visit: www.mlt.org.im.