The Warrior Academy’s Jumeirah Islands dojo nears capacity six months after opening, as the Middle East’s largest martial arts academy marks its official launch
Families joined a waiting list before the doors opened. The academy will cap the site to protect small classes, and remaining places will be released in limited intakes.
DUBAI, UAE, 5th October 2026: The Warrior Academy, the Middle East’s largest martial arts academy and character development centre, marked the official opening of its Jumeirah Islands dojo on 3 October 2026. The dojo opened its doors in April and already has 500 students training each week. Demand has run ahead of the academy’s plans since before day one: families signed up for trials months before the dojo opened.
Jumeirah Islands is The Warrior Academy’s fourth academy in the UAE and its third in Dubai, alongside Al Quoz and Arjan, with Al Wahda Mall in Abu Dhabi. More than 2,300 children now train with The Warrior Academy every week.
To keep classes small, typically 9-12 students, The Warrior Academy will cap Jumeirah Islands at [800] students. Remaining places will be released in limited intakes. Once the site is full, new families will join a priority waiting list.
The opening morning featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony, live martial arts demonstrations from the academy’s world-champion instructors and students, and introductory classes for children. The Warrior Academy programme focuses on soft skill development, with partnerships with leading UAE child psychologists and behavioural experts to share practical strategies parents can use at home to help children manage pressure, bounce back from setbacks and stay focused in a screen-heavy world.
With the new school term under way, many UAE parents are looking for ways to help children settle into routines and handle classroom pressure. A Warrior Academy survey of 2,000 UAE parents found that 61% named building their child’s confidence as their top priority. More than a third (36%) wanted their child to overcome hesitation and fear and build self-discipline, and 28% put concentration and focus first. Bullying was parents’ biggest fear, with 22% wanting to give their child the tools to stand up to bullies.
Sebastian Bates, Founder of The Warrior Academy, said: “As a father of three, I know what I want when I drop my children at any class: someone who knows their name, notices when they’re having an off day, and pushes them just the right amount. You can’t do that in a crowded room. That’s why we keep our classes small and why we’ll cap Jumeirah Islands, even with families still asking to join. The easy thing would be to keep adding students. We won’t, because I wouldn’t accept that for my own children, and I won’t ask any other parent to. We’d rather have a waiting list than a crowded mat. When we hit capacity, we stop.“
At the event, Sebastian Bates added: “The first term of the school year is when children most need structure and self-belief. I was bullied as a child, and I know how much better a confident child is at standing up for themselves and for others. We want parents to leave with tools they can use that same evening, from healthier screen habits to helping a child recover after a tough day at school.“
The Warrior Academy teaches taekwondo through the Warrior Method, a curriculum built on the “three Cs” of Confidence, Conduct and Concentration. Students aged 2 to 17 work towards personal goals broken into daily, weekly and monthly targets, supported by regular conversations with their instructors about mindset and self-talk.
Bates is a former international professional fighter, a philanthropist and the best-selling author of The Warrior Method and Not a Victim. He founded the academy after his own experience of bullying as a child, and after surviving a near-fatal parachuting accident in 2014 he dedicated himself to helping young people build character and resilience. Through The Bates Foundation, Warrior Academy’s scholarship programme supports more than 13,800 children across seven countries on four continents, including Kenya, India, Nepal and Brazil, and is the largest martial arts academy in Eastern Africa.