About Dapo Martial Arts
Who we are
Dapo Martial Arts, formerly CMAC Dapo, was founded by BasselsJ in 2003 in St. Catharines and has been based in Mississauga since 2005, with a second location in Brampton. We teach self-defence-based Karate-do, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Arnis/Kali and Tai Chi Chuan/Qi Gong, from age 4 to adult.
Our mission
Fighting is part of being human. Our mission is to give people of every age the tools to understand it, manage it and put it to good use, through martial arts training where they learn to direct their own choices, attention and effort.
A child pushing through a hard drill is fighting. So is a teenager standing up for a friend, and so is a kid grabbing a toy from a sibling. We are all fighting, all the time, in big ways and small ones. In training, students learn to see the many ways they fight, and to direct that effort toward what matters, keeping in mind the people their choices affect.
How we teach
We can’t give you a belt. Only your own work can. Here is how we help you do that work, at any age.
Classes are hands-on. Instructors show rather than tell, and they teach by example: nearly every one of them came up through this school, starting at white belt. They also train to teach, through a mentorship that runs from teaching assistant to instructor to senior instructor. Every skill is taught step by step and repeated at your pace, and the belt levels give you a steady path forward, one rank at a time.
Training is hard enough to challenge you, but not so hard that it hurts, and fun exercises keep it from getting boring. Classes have structure, but fighting is messy and unpredictable, so we also step outside the structure and let students practise freely, with control.
Classes are split by age and by level, so beginners get their own instruction and so do advanced students. Within each class, you train in a mix of whole-group work, small groups and one-on-one time with an instructor.
We go beyond technique. Instructors bring in stories, philosophy, history and art, and, especially with children, work through real problems students face, physical or otherwise. Martial arts shows up almost everywhere in life: at school, at work, at home.
For students under 18, parents take part too. What we teach in class should match what you teach at home, so parents mark their child on a Parent Report Sheet: hygiene, homework, keeping their bedroom tidy, screen time and how they treat family and elders.
The people teaching you learned the same way you will.
Who teaches here
BasselsJ is Chief Instructor and leads the school’s faculty and curriculum. He has trained weekly since 1993 and holds a Rokudan – 6º Black Belt in Goju Ryu Karate with the title of Shihan, a Godan – 5º Black Belt in Kobudo, a Laoshi (Instructor Level IV) in Tai Chi Chuan, Qi Gong and Ba Gua Chan, and a Lakan Lima – 5º Black Belt in Arnis with the Master designation. Read BasselsJ’s story
Meet our instructors, from the senior faculty to the teaching assistants.
Beyond the dojo
Our instructors also teach in elementary and high schools, including Humbervale Montessori School, where we have taught every week since 2012. We also run self-defence workshops for businesses and community organizations across the Greater Toronto Area. See School Programs, Corporate Workshops and Community Workshops.
Visit us
Mississauga: 8-1010 Dream Crest Rd, Mississauga, ON L5V 3A4 · admin@dapomartialarts.com · 905-817-0453 · Hours and directions · Reviews
Brampton: Dapo Martial Arts Brampton