top of page

vision                                                                  MISSION       

BirdsNest Ministry and Martial Arts (MMA) is to be a member/ leader of the community in western Massachusetts. We want to encourage all children and young adults to become good citizens of the community and the nation. Between the life skills and discipline that are taught through martial arts, these young citizens will learn to have self-control, as well as increase their self-confidence and awareness. The programs offered will be of great value to their growth towards adulthood.

MR. HERON BRITT, SBN

JidoKwan is the style of martial arts being taught at BirdsNest-MMA. The system is Kenpo Karate, our karate applies techniques from multiple martial art disciplines. Currently Mr. Britt teaches classes in downtown Athol, there are three programs, for adults you can choose either JidoKwan Karate or Kickboxing and for teens JidoKwan Karate; he volunteers and serves as a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in the Civil Air Patrol squadron located at the Orange Airport.


Mr. Britt has taught as a substitute in the Athol Royalston School District since 2017 to 2021, also working with YARMS and Project Purple through the Athol YMCA. This year Mr. Britt is not substituting, but is looking forward to working with school districts to implement programs available through BirdsNest-MMA which allows for him to still be involved in the children’s growth process. Helping children and youth be the best version of themselves.

BirdsNest-MMA, LLC— As an organization, our role is to reach as many children and youth in the communities of western Massachusetts’ as possible. To achieve this we want to train young adults (juniors & seniors in high school and college students) who are going into the early education, secondary education, psychology, sociology and health and fitness career fields an opportunity to get hands-on experience teaching, mentoring and leading youths in their community. BirdsNest-MMA wants to partner with school districts, community organizations, and at-risk youth organizations throughout western Massachusetts.

TNT-SkillZ4Kids is our Child Development, Dynamic Martial Arts Program. By training young adults to teach this program is the first step to reaching as many children as possible. We want to introduce this program into the elementary schools and provide quality instruction and growth in the areas of physical, intellectual, emotional, and social attributes to the children.

THE JIDOKWAN PHILOSOPHY

The JidoKwan philosophy is a code of ethics to promote, and to practice goal setting, self improvement, and confidence— which all are essential in motivating the youths. These skills will help students achieve greater success in school and in life.


Through the practice of martial arts students become more motivated in every area of life. This includes more time/effort spent on homework at school (will be visible in academic performance), following directions from parents at home and overall behavior and attitude in the community.

Jidokwan Karate Adult:

DO YOU NEED HELP 

IN ONE OF THESE AREAS?

  • You want to be able to defend your family
  • You struggle to be confident in your abilities and strengths and want a healthy way to decrease stress and anxiety
  • You want to shed extra pounds and cultivate a positive body image

BETTER YOURSELF WITH EVERY CLASS!

Our martial arts classes for adults can help you build core strength, increase your flexibility, learn how to defend yourself and the people you love, or lose weight.  They're also a great place to make new friends.  Whatever your fitness goals are, you can achieve them in our classes.

THE ADULT JIDOKWAN CLASS WILL CONSIST OF FOUR MODULES:

  1. Martial Art
  2. Kickboxing
  3. Weapons
  4. Self-Defense

Classes will be available twice a week every month. We will rotate between the four modules; by rotating the modules it will eliminate boredom and burnout. Adult classes 60 minutes. Classes will consist of a warm-up and stretching, practice of basic techniques, practice of forms, short break, partner work drills, pads and targets, and conditioning drills. Not all categories will be in every class.

KICKBOXING (16+):

DO YOU WANT TO BECOME 

THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF?

  • You need a way to combat stress and anxiety
  • You want a workout that will burn a ton of calories and help you lose weight 
  • You're worried about losing flexibility and strength as you age

YOU WILL GROW WITH EVERY CLASS!

Kickboxing combines the discipline and focus of martial arts with an intense, body-toning workout that can help you lose weight, improve your cardiovascular health, and minimize your stress and anxiety.

THE KICKBOXING CLASS WILL CONSIST OF THREE MODULES:

  1. HIIT/Yoga
  2. Introduce and review proper technique of kicks and punches.
  3. Self-Defense

The class is 90 minutes, going through all three modules. Setting the class for 90 minutes allows members to participate in one or all tree modules. Each member comes to BirdsNest-MMA for different reasons. With the three modules back-to-back, you knock out all your training in one class vs coming for three separate classes—this saves time and money; both we may have very little to spare.

Jidokwan Karate Youth:

DOES YOUR TEEN NEED HELP 

IN ONE OF THESE AREAS?

  • They make hasty, poorly-considered decisions and need to have better judgement
  • They're being bullied at school - or they're the one doing the bullying.  they don't get enough exercise or need to lose weight
  • They have low self-esteem and seem to be down all the time.  They give up when things get difficult and fail to meet their goals

YOUR TEEN WILL GROW WITH EVERY CLASS!

Teenagers who study martial arts learn the benefits of self-control and discipline with every lesson.  Our classes emphasize core values like discipline, respect, and persistence.  Students learn that the way they treat others - in and out of the dojo - reflects on them as people and effects their ability to achieve their goals.

THE YOUTH JIDOKWAN CLASS WILL HAVE FIVE SECTIONS OF CURRICULUM TO COMPLETE AT EACH BELT TEST

  1. Combinations (punching and Kicking)
  2. Forms
  3. Sparring Strategies
  4. Self-Defense
  5. Technical Kicks

The Karate class has a rotating curriculum, different than the rotation of modules in the adult class. What this is, is that we group the curriculum into Beginner, Intermediate, and Advance; there will be three belt colors to each group; each belt has four Stripes. Regardless of belt color, all students are tested on a per session and skill set requirement.

ADULT RATE

$170

$17 PER SESSION

1 hr session x 10

JIDOKWAN KARATE

HIIT

YOGA

SELF-DEFENSE

YOUTH RATE

$120

$12 PER SESSION

1 hr session x 10

JIDOKWAN KARATE

TORCH TAEKWONDO 

(SPORT AAU)

TNT-SKILLZ4KIDS

SMALL GROUP / PRIVATE

$885

1-6 STUDENTS 3 MONTH PROGRAM 

1 hr session x 24

SMALL GROUP

INDIVIDUAL PTP


M80 FAST TRACK PROGRAM

bottom of page