Dublin Dojo Celebrates 10th Anniversary Amid Unprecedented Year

Empower Martial Arts is celebrating its 10th anniversary of being a martial arts studio where people of all ages can go train.

In their 10 years in Dublin, the dojo has developed a community expanding past its more than 400 students. Every year, the city of Dublin hosts a movie-watching event at Emerald Glen Park. Empower Martial Arts helps sponsor these events. The dojo also partners with local elementary schools to decorate during events like Halloween among other family events.

The dojo also hosts holiday parties, “Mom and Me” and “Dad and Me” parties, and free self-defense seminars geared toward women, but available to anyone in the community.

“We are happy to be in Dublin. I have been in Dublin pretty much most of my adult life and as a resident and as a business owner, I love being part of the community,” said Shihan Shir, the owner of Empower Martial Arts.

The Start

For Shir, starting a martial arts studio was never the plan. She attended college for a degree in integrated biology. Shir taught martial arts as a high schooler, which was where she discovered that she loved it.

“It was always a passion, but never something I thought I would do as a career,” said Shir.
In her junior year of college, Shir realized she loved martial arts a lot more than she loved biology. Shir says she was always told martial arts can be a backup plan, but in college she decided to give it a shot. A year after she graduated college, she opened up a martial arts training facility and offered her first class in August 2010.

“The early days of [Empower Martial Arts], it was just me, I taught all the classes my mom … used to be at the front desk all the time … so it was pretty much just me, a very family run operation and we slowly added on some instructors and staff” said Shir.

Grappling with the Pandemic

Due to the pandemic, all classes have shifted online to allow students to keep training during this uncertain time. Business went down due to this move, but the entire teaching staff was kept on the payroll.

“It is has also provided us with such a great opportunity to completely do these different things and branch out and learn new skills … [this time] has been intense,” said Shir.

The dojo has been online since March, but now the dojo is hosting outdoor classes at Emerald Glen park. Shihan Shir maintains everyone will be distanced and students have to reserve a spot using their online app. Moving outdoors gives students a change of scenery, Shir said.

The Celebration

Every year, for the last 10 years, the dojo has celebrated its students, giving them treats such as cotton candy and celebrating with an annual picnic. Shir credits the survival of the dojo to the creative ideas her team created, but more to the students and the amazing staff. “We realized that we would not be here if it wasn’t for our students … [they are] number one,” said Shir. With the pandemic, the dojo will conduct its celebration online, through the videoconferencing platform Zoom.

Shir is “... really grateful for the 10 years we have been here, and looking forward to the 10, and 10 and 10 more.”

Learn more about Empower Martial Arts here.