Matt Rudman’s journey through martial arts has been shaped by more than just technique, with mindset, discipline and personal development becoming a major part of both his own career and what he teaches at Cheltenham Martial Arts & Fitness Kickboxing.
Rudman, a fifth Dan black belt in Wado-Ryu karate, has spent years developing his knowledge of martial arts, but believes some of the biggest lessons come away from the physical side of training.
He previously worked on The Inner Power Podcast with his wife Ange Wu, which started around 2022 and focused on spirituality, mindset and belief.
“From my point of view, it was all about digging within because I feel everyone has got so much potential, but we don’t always know it’s there,” Rudman explained. “It was about finding it and then pulling it out bit by bit until we’re doing things that we never thought we possibly could do.”
That mindset has also become a major part of martial arts, with Rudman believing discipline is often more important than motivation.
“There are going to be days when you might not feel like going,” he said. “You’ve got a day at work or a day at school and you think, ‘I’m going to go and train tonight.’
“Then you open the door and it’s raining or it’s snowing and you think, ‘Oh no.’ You’ve still got the comfort of your sofa.”
For Rudman, modern distractions have only made that battle harder, with phones, tablets, games and television all competing for people’s attention.
“There are a lot more distractions in life, so it’s all mindset because you don’t always feel motivated to do it,” he added. “You’ve got to discipline yourself to get out the door and put the shoes on.”
Those lessons can extend far beyond martial arts, with Rudman having experienced his own struggles while continuing to train.
“For my own journey, I was struggling at one point with my mental health, and then things can hit you in life like a massive curveball and it plays into that as well,” he explained.
Rudman’s own development was heavily influenced by his instructor Stephen, who he credits with recognising his potential and helping him move into personal development.
“I wouldn’t be doing this as my career if he hadn’t seen that potential in me,” Rudman said.
“I got so much from him. He pushed me into personal development as well, and that became our USP, I suppose, for what we were teaching kids and adults.”
Despite eventually buying Stephen out and running his own academy, Rudman says the relationship between the pair remains strong.
“I’ve got so much from him,” he said. “We come together for a higher-grade test, so always learning.”
Cheltenham Martial Arts has also evolved over the years, with Rudman launching fitness kickboxing to attract adults who wanted to improve their fitness without immediately committing to traditional martial arts.
“I had so many people who wanted to start martial arts, particularly adults, and they’d say, ‘I just want to get fit,’” he explained.
“Okay, wear this uniform, and it didn’t kind of feel right. So we would lose a lot of people. I had to come up with something, and this is what we came up with.”
Looking towards the future, Rudman wants to see more people in Cheltenham become involved in self-defence, believing the benefits go beyond simply learning how to fight.
“I would like to see more people get involved in self-defence because the world is a bit bonkers at the moment,” he said.
Ultimately, his ambitions go beyond producing better martial artists, with the focus being on helping people develop both inside and outside the gym.
“I’d love to see people driving and just going out and making good times in life, basically.”
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