Our Instructors

Dan Eden

Dan was born in Reading and has been doing Martial Arts since he was three years old. He started doing Karate (Shotokan Style) with his father who was a black belt instructor since before Dan was born. Dan quickly reached brown belt in Karate and competed in many junior competitions representing the Meadway & Apollo clubs in Reading winning several tournament trophies and medals.

Dan joined Shaolin Tigers back in 1997 at the age of sixteen when a friend asked him to come along to the Car Wash Gym in Kennet Street, Reading. Dan was trained by Chief Instructor/Founder of STMA Frank Bowen-Aquilina who helped adapt his style to the Shaolin Tigers Thai-Kick-Jitsu syllabus for him to reach his full potential.

Dan is the Head Coach/Owner of STMA Academy Reading. He is currently a 4th Dan Black Belt instructor. He teaches both juniors/adults in Muay Thai/K1 Kickboxing and Boxing. Dan has also done years of training in Jujitsu/MMA which is part of our Thai-Kick-Jitsu syllabus. He has travelled to Thailand multiple times over the last couple of decades attending many tough rigorous training camps.

He often visits Tiger Muay Thai & MMA Camp Phuket as well as Elite Fight Club, Bangkok. Dan has a full valid DBS Enhanced Checked certificate and has also passed various First Aid and officials courses. He is also England Boxing ‘Level 1’ Qualified and has attended Safeguarding courses. Dan now enjoys teaching the next generation of Martial Artist/Boxing fighters passing on his knowledge and passion for the fighting arts.

Dan has managed to win the below over the last 29 years:

  • KUGB Southern Area Karate (Junior) Championships – Loddon Valley Leisure Centre, Reading – 1994
  • Open National Karate (Junior) Championships – Crystal Palace, London 1995
  • KUGB – National Karate (Junior) Championships – Birmingham, NEC – May 1996
  • WUMA European Kickboxing Championship, 2nd place Men’s 70-75Kg -Middleweight – Cheltenham – 11th Oct 2007
  • Gold Medal (1st Place) ISKA World Kickboxing Championships (Men’s 71-76kilos) – London Excel 29th May 2010
  • Gold Medal (1st Place) – WAKO Bristol Open (Bristol Blue Glass Boxing Glove trophy) – Men’s 75kg June – Bristol – 2010
  • WUMA British Open (1st Place) Men’s Advanced >85 Kilos Kickboxing Tournament – Cheltenham- December 2010
  • Silver Medal (2nd Place) KWON WKA English Kickboxing Open – Birmingham – 19th June 2011 – Men’s Advanced 75-85 kilos
  • WUMA World Kickboxing Title (Winning Trophy) – Cheltenham- Men’s 76kg October 16th 2011
  • Gold Medal at the Kenshiro Muay-Thai Interclub – 80Kg Brighton – 13th Sep 2015
  • Contended for the Light Heavyweight PowerBox Promotions British White-Collar boxing Title – 80Kg – Uxbridge – 23rd March 2019
  • Plus multiple interclub/competitive tournament and normal bouts (at venues such as the York Hall + Excel Arena, London/Guild Hall, Portsmouth/& Rivermead.


Alex Wright

Alex started Karate in 1982 with traditional Wadu Ryu. Then changed to Mugendu kickboxing at 16 and found it far more to his liking.  Alex fought in the 1991 European Kickboxing Championships in light continuous for Northern Ireland.  He then moved to Wokingham, Berkshire in 2001 were he started training at Shaolin Tigers training under the Founder Sifu Frank Bowen Aquillina. Alex’s main styles are kickboxing and Muay Thai. Alex loves sparing and have fought in numerous Interclubs.

Alex manged to complete the 100-man Kumite (one hundred consecutive rounds of sparring) in our recent Black Belt Grading. The 100-man Kumite (Sparring) is an extreme test of physical and mental endurance which originated from Kyokushin Karate. 100 rounds of back-to-back sparring. The practitioner undergoing the test will have to face similarly or higher-ranked opponents and may face the same opponent more than once during the test. Each of the rounds are done under test conditions, where either of the fighters are allowed to deliver knock out blows. It is a spirit test for the mind as much as it is a physical challenge. Very few have managed to complete this in history, but Alex managed to achieve this passing his Black Belt.

Matteo Frascone (MMA/BJJ Coach)

Matteo was born in Italy, he lived and trained for many years in Florence, one of the few cities where fighting is still part of a strong tradition. Thanks to the favourable environment, in his martial arts journey he went through striking and grappling disciplines such as Sanda, Boxing, MMA and BJJ in some of the best academies training and competing for about 20 years. In 2016 he cofounded Warriors Sports academy in Prato (IT) and ran it until he eventually moved to the UK. Matteo is a black belt in BJJ under Roberto De Morales Atalla, and a very well-rounded coach having a deep understanding of striking and grappling as well as a strong passion for skills and performances development.

Graham Corker (Boxing Coach)

Graham began his boxing education over thirty years ago, training and fighting at the Reading Boxing and Boys Club. His continual involvement in the sport has seen him, more recently, move into a coaching role with the Ol’ Man Boxing Society, the Ultra White Collar Boxing organisation and as boxing coach for STMA. Graham has over the years built up a vast knowledge and understanding of boxing technique and his training sessions will often include detailed technical exercises coupled with brutal strength and conditioning.

Tommy Johnson (England Boxing Head Coach)

Tommy has over 10 years’ experience as an Amateur boxer and Semi Pro. He has 25+ years of coaching experience as a England Boxing level 2 coach and level 2 qualified Judge.
Tommy has coached numerous fighters to a high standard who have competed all over Europe in many different competitions. He has had some of his fighters from his original gym Tommy’s ABC turn professional, they have gone on to have long term careers in boxing.

Kru Seardo

Kru Seardo is from Tiger Muay Thai & MMA Training Camp, Phuket, Thailand.  He is an extremely experienced having coached for 20+ years and had over 600+ fights in his career.

Kru Serdao was one of Tiger Muay Thai’s top fighter coaches who trained some of the best fighters in the world from both the ONE Championship & UFC.  He has now joined STMA Academy Reading to help teach our Kids/Adult Muay Thai classes and get our fight team ready.  We are very lucky/honoured to have him in our club.

Julian Polk

Julian Polk has recently passed the England Boxing (Level 1) Coaching Course as well as DBS Enhanced/Safeguarding and First Aid.  Julian has been boxing for over a decade and been a champion in several platforms.  He has chosen to continue his love for boxing by transitioning over to coaching to encourage as many people as possible young and old to get involved in the sport.  It has had a great impact on him mentally and physically and he now wants to help others realise the benefits the sport has.

Stuart Holt

Stuart Holt has passed the England Boxing (Level 1) Coaching Course as well as DBS Enhanced/Safeguarding and First Aid. He is a passionate & driven fitness professional specialising in boxing, strength, and conditioning & sports performance coaching.
Over 12 years of experience as a coach, Stuart has been coaching boxing for over 10 years and worked in some of the best gyms across Los Angeles and London has a competitive background in Football and a passion for boxing & hybrid training. Joining STMA Academy Reading and Scours Lane Boxing Academy as an England boxing coach this year as a part of the coaching team you will also see him training alongside the ‘Ol Man’ Boxing Society.

Dan Stevenson

Dan Stevenson has passed the England Boxing (Level 1) Coaching Course and will be going for his level 2 in the new future. He also has DBS Enhanced/Safeguarding and First Aid. Dan originally started kickboxing in 1998 training at Shaolin Tigers under Frank Bowen and Steve Bennet and graded up to my brown belt. After a fare few years break he got back into training/fitness mainly calisthenics and then on to boxing were he has now trained to become a boxing instructor.

Henry Johnson

Henry Johnson has been boxing on the armature circuit since he was very young.  He has had over thirty amateur England Boxing bouts and holds a good record.  He is due to complete his Level 1 England Boxing coaching course soon.  He now helps pass on his knowledge to our younger members helping them to improve/develop.