The Full Story

Rei, my name is Paul Rempe and I practised Judo and Jiu Jitsu while growing up in the Netherlands. 

 

The world wasn’t always very kind to me, as I got bullied a lot in primary school, and my domestic situation was not always the welcoming environment that would make a child feel safe. However, martial arts has taught me to overcome my fears and face the challenges I faced from an early age. I credit martial arts as the main factor behind everything I have accomplished, as it taught me to deal with literal and figurative strikes to the face and turn discomfort into ambition and power. Every time I enter a new environment, project, or challenge, I feel the confidence that I have gained on the mat. The resilience that comes from this is a unique experience for martial artists. 

 

When I left the house and moved to Wales at the age of sixteen, I discovered the growing mental health crisis in the UK as a result of young people like myself not having the mental resilience and confidence. This motivated me to get in touch with other martial artists and brainstorm about a solution. We devised an interactive training program to make dojo-quality training accessible to those in need while tailoring the program to fit the seven factors for stable mental health, as set by the NHS: resilience, discipline, exercise, social life, trust, confidence, and goals. 

 

Set-Up Sensei’s foundation lies within the necessity for healthy coping mechanisms and our team’s passion for martial arts. I might have taken the initiative to build an NGO to promote accessibility to the life-changing world of martial arts, but the execution is not to be credited to me. I am extremely thankful for the more than twenty volunteers who joined the initial team of Set-Up Sensei to fight for our mission. 

 

Paul Rempe - Founder, chair