The Academy was established in 1989 by instructors qualified in a variety of martial arts and combat disciplines. We offer high-quality, safe and fun classes in a friendly and appropriately relaxed environment. Our three main training programmes are Integrated fighting arts, Savate and Canne de Combat. You can chose to train in one or all of these programmes. Find out more in The Arts. Our instructors are DBS checked and fully insured. You can find out more about our instructors by visiting the Instructor menu, in About Us.
Our Instructors
High quality training, with qualified trainers, is essential to good and safe progression. Our instructors are carefully selected, and encouraged to continue their own development in martial arts. CAMA instructors, who are responsible for running any training sessions, are required to hold a First Aid certificate and be CRB/DBS checked.
Taking Bookings Now for the Cambridge Academy Essentials programme
Improve your fitness and increase your confidence at the same time!
The Cambridge Academy Essentials programme is a new training initiative for adults and teens. It is a ten-week rolling programme which covers around 40 of the most needed and most effective techniques for Self Defence.
Experienced instructors will share the essential skills and training methods in a safe and fun environment. In addition, the Essentials programme provides an overview of the martial arts, and the systems in which Cambridge Academy in particular, are involved. You can gain a solid base in the martial arts by working through the 10-week Essentials programme.
The Cambridge Academy Essentials sessions run on Tuesdays, from 7pm to 9pm, at St Bede’s Gym, and include:
balance & footwork
escapes from grabs and holds
striking skills
defence against strikes
defence on the ground
weapon familiarity and disarms
and much more
Certificates will be awarded to all those who complete the Essentials 10-week course. The fee to attend Essentials sessions 1 – 10 is just £80. Any missed sessions along the way can be caught up the next time it comes around, at no extra cost.
If you would like more information first, email: info.camauk (at) gmail.com
Or, if you prefer to speak with someone, please call Ollie on 077 09 814 422
Venue:
St Bede’s Gym
Birdwood Road
Cambridge
CB1 3TB
Ollie Batts
Ollie Batts is the main founder and senior instructor at CAMA. He has over 40 years experience in the martial arts, and has black belt and instructor grades in several martial arts.
These include: fourth degree black belt in Combat Sombo® (UK Sport recognised), third degree black belt in Doce Pares Eskrima, under Grandmaster Danny Guba, and second level instructor in Jun Fan JKD/Kali, under both Rick Young (Edinburgh, UK) and Rick Faye (Minnesota Kali Group, USA).
Ollie is a Professor in the art of Savate, and internationally recognised as an instructor of Savate Boxe and Savate Defence. Several years ago, he was presented with an Savate instructor diploma by the Federation International de Savate. He was a founder member of the national Savate organisation, and its President for several years.
Prior to 1989, Ollie taught traditional Korean martial arts for many years in Cambridge, holding black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Kuk Sool (one of the UK’s top instructors in 1989). More recently. he wrote a book on Combat Sombo, helping to popularize the art in this country.
In 2012, Ollie was honoured with a top awarded for his services to martial arts. Accompanied by several senior students and members of his family, Ollie was presented with the award at the Martial Arts Illustrated Hall of Fame presentation.
Ollie also conducts private sessions, and self-defence courses and seminars locally, throughout the UK, and abroad. Please enquire if you would like to host Ollie for a training seminar with your group.
Julie Gabriel
Julie Gabriel has over 30 years experience in martial arts, training mainly with Ollie. As one of his senior students, she supported him in founding the Academy in 1989. She holds a third degree black belt in Combat Sombo, second degree black belt in Doce Pares Eskrima, first degree black belt in traditional Korean martial arts, and has been awarded instructor grade in Kali and Jun Fan / JKD under Rick Faye (Minnesota Kali Group, USA).
Julie is a Professor in Savate and was presented with an Instructor Diploma by the Federation Internationale de Savate. She teaches regular Savate, Canne de Combat and Kali classes, as well as private sessions, and self-defence and related topics in schools, colleges and companies.
Julie was
a member of the Great Britain team in World and European Savate Assaut Championships from 2005 to 2009, and was the GB league champion in the 52-56kg category three times. She earned a bronze medal in European Savate Assaut in 2005. She was placed 5th in the European Canne de Combat Championships in Strasbourg in 2006 and 13th in the World Canne de Combat Championships in 2008.
Julie has been involved in Savate and Canne de Combat at the international level for several years. She was elected as President of the Federation Internationale de Savate in September 2010, and has attended Savate and Canne events in many of the federation’s member countries, from Canada to China, from Finland to Madagascar!
Jon West
Jon West has trained with the Academy for more than 20 years, mainly in Savate, Cane and Kali. He holds moniteur level in Savate and Canne de Combat, and teaches Canne de Combat classes on Mondays and Thursdays.
Jon competed in the Championnat du Monde de Canne de Combat held in La Réunion in October 2004, and was also the main instructor for the Great Britain team. He also represented GB in the World Combat Games in 2013 (St Petersburg, Russia).
More recently, he participated in the World Canne de Combat Championships, taking a Silver Medal in the veteran men’s Individual event.
Morgan Alexander
Morgan Alexander began training, with Julie, in self defence and Kali in 1997. She joined the Academy in 1999, and was awarded her JKD/Kali instructor qualification in September 2006. Morgan was awarded Instructor Level 2 in CAMA JKD-Kali-Silat ‘Integrated Fighting Arts’ in October 2009. Morgan also holds Moniteur status in Savate and Canne de Combat and brown belt in Doce Pares Eskrima.
Morgan competed in the World Canne de Combat Championships in 2004 (La Réunion, France), 2008 (Marburg, Germany), 2012 (St Herblai, France) and 2016 (Varazdin, Croatia). More recently, she participated in the World Canne de Combat Championships in Prague, taking the title of Women’s Individual Vice-champion.
Morgan has been a member of the GB national Savate team since 2006 and was a Bronze medallist in the 2012, 2016 and 2017 World Savate Assaut Championships and World Savate
Combat Championships. She was also a Silver Medallist in the 2015 European Savate Assaut Championships. She also represented GB in the World Combat Games in 2013 (St Petersburg, Russia).
Jacob West
Jacob West has trained with the Academy for more than 10 years, in Savate and Cane. He is a club instructor for Canne de Combat, and teaches classes on Mondays and Thursdays.
Jacob represented Great Britain and Cambridge Academy of Martial Arts® in the World Combat Games in 2023 (Riyadh, Saudia Arabia), and took a silver medal in the mixed team Canne de Combat.
More recently, he competed in the World Canne de Combat Championship held in Prague, Czechia, in July 2024, bringing home bronze medals in the men’s individual and mixed team events.
Cambridge Academy of Martial Arts® – News Update
Dear Members, Parents, and Friends,
First, I’d like to start off by wishing you all a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. I also hope that you have had a good break these past couple of weeks, and that you are now looking forward to getting back into your more usual routine again.
Secondly, I really must thank you all for your past and future support. As a small thank you, please feel free to attend as many sessions as you like this month, regardless of whatever monthly payment plan you are on. We restart training on Monday 6th January. You can find our new timetable here
Please remember to sign up – on the day and in advance – to let us know that you are intending to attend. Knowing who and how many members and other trainees we can expect at class is extremely beneficial for the instructors.
Having a (bona-fide) Emergency Contact telephone number, immediately available to us, is vital. At least one of the instructors present at any class has instant access to the register and will use that evening’s sign-up-in-advance attendance form. We are able to quickly notify contacts of any emergencies and it also benefits Parents to know that we will alert them if their youngster is signed up for class, but has failed to turn up.
Please use the usual link to sign up for your sessions each and every time you are planning to attend. It is important to remember that our sessions are instructor-led, so it would help us to know what you most want to get out of our training sessions. Yes we have a syllabus for all of the arts we teach but we still want to know why our students train with us, and what they most want to achieve by doing so. Your regular (and honest) feedback is, therefore, most welcome.
If your reason for training, for example, is because you would like to compete, be it in Savate, Canne de Combat, or in some other Combat Sport discipline, please do tell us, so that we can provide you with the relevant advice and training.
New trainees and members…
We are currently looking at ways in which we can promote CAMA to a wider audience. As well as creating various ads for use on Social Media, we have also splashed out on advertising in Clinic 14 at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, for 2025. Drop in if you are on-site anytime, have a look, and please give us feedback. Word-of-mouth is one of the best ways to advertise and promote classes, so please mention CAMA to relatives, friends, work colleagues, and/or any other associates who might benefit from training with us.
Healthy numbers in training, equals helping to keep your costs down, even when our costs go up!