About Us

Karate Academy Oxford is an independent karate school for children, teenagers and adults, founded by Sensei Natasha Pirogova in 2020.

We teach across several locations in Oxford, with classes ranging from our youngest Prep students taking their first steps in karate to experienced teenagers and adults working towards advanced grades.

More than karate

We take karate seriously, but we also care about the person learning it.

Children are expected to listen, follow instructions, work with different partners, look after each other and gradually take more responsibility for their own training. As they progress, older and more experienced students are encouraged to help younger students, lead parts of the class and become role models themselves.

Confidence, discipline and resilience matter, but they are not slogans on our wall. They are things children practise every week: performing in front of a group, trying again after getting something wrong, working with someone they don’t know, preparing for a grading or competition, and eventually helping someone less experienced than themselves.

Training that grows with the student

Our youngest students begin in Prep classes, where karate is adapted to suit younger children while still introducing the structure and expectations of a real martial arts class.

As students develop, they move into more technically demanding training. Classes include kihon, kata, partner work, sparring and competition preparation, with opportunities for students to train more frequently as their ability and interest grow.

Teenagers and adults are welcome too, including complete beginners, returning martial artists and parents who decide that watching from the side is no longer enough. 🥋

Teaching and leadership

Education has always been an important part of the academy. Sensei Natasha is a qualified teacher with an academic background in pedagogy and physical education, as well as more than 30 years of martial arts experience.

Students who show the right maturity and commitment can gradually take on leadership responsibilities within the academy. Older students may assist with younger classes, learn how to explain techniques, lead activities and gain practical experience of coaching.

For some, karate remains a much-loved weekly activity. Others train several times a week, compete, progress through advanced grades or become instructors themselves. There is room for both.

Our community

We want the academy to be somewhere students enjoy belonging to.

Children make friends across different schools and age groups. Families get to know each other. Students grow up, disappear off to boarding school or university, and quite often find their way back onto the mat when they’re home.

Some students stay for a term. Some stay for years.

Either is fine. While they are with us, our job is to teach them well.