We’re finalists in the Family Business of the Year category at the National SME Business Awards. The category looks for businesses that combine passion in business with shared family values. The finals will be taking place on Friday 1st December at Wembley Stadium, the judges will be looking at how businesses grow while keeping core family values at the centre of everything they do.
Family connections
Mr Nicholson manages instructor training, curriculum, and teaches. His wife, Mrs Jas Nicholson, is responsible for finance, HR, safeguarding and office management. Their daughter, Teegan Jones, is responsible for ReactionSport and the Proaction Facebook and Instagram accounts. Between them, Mr and Mrs Nicholson have four children, two are black belts and two are coloured belts.
Nic Frost manages all things memberships, events, and marketing. Her mum is our oldest member (64 years). Her son, Alfie, has been training with Proaction since the age of 4, is a qualified Junior Leader and one of the most successful members of the competition and development team.
Mr Tony Hill, 5th degree instructor, has 23-years martial arts experience. His daughter, Jazmine, recently qualified as an instructor. Mr Tony Hill also met his wife, Rebecca (3rd degree instructor), through the club.
“My dad is my inspiration for joining Proaction. I remember going to competitions with him. It made me so proud. At the age of 5 I knew I wanted to get involved.” Jazmine Hill
Mr George Hill, 4th degree instructor, and his father Mr Simon Hill are both experienced instructors. Mr George Hill has been a student of Proaction since the age of 9 and began his martial arts journey under the instruction of Mr Nicholson. He has been an instructor with Proaction for more than 8 years and established the club in Coventry in October 2017 while at Coventry University studying photography.
Importance of family values
Our family values of honesty, integrity, respect, and trust are vital for teaching combat sports. We ask our members for your unwavering trust, to teach martial arts and keep you safe. We know it can be hard for parents to encourage children to spar, putting them in harm’s way, but our members know that we have their best interests at heart and will look after them like our own family.
We care personally about both our members wellbeing, and overall experience with Proaction Martial Arts. We do this by:
- Conducting periodic check-ins with members to discuss their progress, address concerns, and understand any specific needs or challenges they may be facing.
- Providing open lines of communication for members to express thoughts, concerns, and feedback, ensuring voices are heard and valued.
- Ensuring responsive customer service that assists members with any queries or questions.
- Creating an inclusive and welcoming environment where members of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels feel comfortable and supported.
Career development to create family legacies
We’ve changed the lives of so many of our staff and instructors who would have otherwise been marginalised in a traditional workplace. We believe our MAIU (Martial Arts Instructor University) program is the most advanced Martial Arts business training program in the UK. This year (2023) we’ve got our biggest cohort of students.
We’ve added a mentoring element to support our instructors’ career development. Plus continued professional development such as training to better understand and include neurodiverse children, and children with special educational needs.
We’ve defined a career pathway for younger members with our Junior Leadership program. Qualified Junior Leaders can now follow in the footsteps of their parents with paid work experience and be fast tracked to becoming instructors when they turn 18.
This year, the MAIU 2022 cohort graduated giving us more family instructor groups than ever before:
- Bex Timms, 5th degree instructor, with her children, Luis, and Jazz. Harry her stepson is part of the MAIU 2023 cohort.
- Steven Wrigglesworth, 3rd degree instructor, and his daughter Kaylee.
- Tony Hill, 5th degree instructor, and his daughter Jazmine.
- Brother and sister, Jeet and Ayushi Ganpatlal.
- Richard Pitt recently graduated as an instructor. His son, Stephen, is a Junior Leader with us.
Our members are at the heart of everything we do. What better way to involve and engage them, then by employing them. Our office team has grown exponentially. Our communications manager has two children training with us, our cleaner’s three sons train with us and our compliance manager’s son trains with us.
Below are some of the family groups that are insturctors and also train at Proaction:
