Sensei Matthew Warde

Sensei Matthew joined Xen-Do as a Sensei in December of 2019, looking for a career and lifestyle change. Since his martial arts journey started, there has been a constant struggle with balancing his training and his working hours, but here at Xen-Do School of Martial Arts they are one and the same.

Falling in love with martial arts at a young age back home in Cyprus, Sensei Matthew took a few karate classes before finally being signed up to a Tae-Kwon Do school at 14 and his martial arts journey began. He was awarded his 1st Dan black belt after 4 years of training and has since trained in different martial arts such as Muay Thai. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Boxing.

Having medalled in both Tae-Kwon Do and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions Sensei Matthew continued his winning streak by bringing home a gold medal at the WAMAI competition in Barcelona in 2022. You can see clips of his fight on our social media pages. This success is just the beginning and Sensei is looking forward to going back into the ring to keep up this streak.

Outside of the dojo and martial arts, he practices and teaches Archery in London. Sensei Matthew has two loves, the first is London. Sensei spends his time finding new areas of the city, whether it’s bar hopping with friends, or walking through the different parks. And the second is for his hometown, Matthew grew up on the warm beaches of Limassol, Cyprus where he loves to go back as often as he can to see friends and family.

“The opportunity to train 24/7 with professional Martial Arts instructors of different backgrounds and with students of all ages has been a dream come true and I walk into the dojo every day with a big smile on my face.”

Fun Fact: Sensei Matthew is a keen Marvel fan with an extensive collection of comics and graphic novels