Ages 13–17 · Multi-Discipline

Fourteen Is Old
Enough to Be
Tested.

Eagle DS Teen Combat is a structured programme for thirteen to seventeen year olds, built on the same standard that runs through every arm of Eagle DS — physical development, mental development and identity work, running together, at the same time, on the same person. No separate "kids version." No softened standard. Every teenager who walks in is expected to progress, and every teenager who stays does.

Book a Trial Is This for My Teenager?
Teenager training at Eagle DS
13–17Entry
Age Range
0Concussions
Across 900+ Matches
5Integrated Arms
One Standard
24Years
Coaching
Teen Combat session at Eagle DS
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A Typical Teen Combat Session

Talent was never the requirement. Effort, attitude and accountability are the only entry criteria that have ever mattered.

The Eagle DS Standard

Two Teenagers. One Standard.

You Already Know
Which One Yours Is.

The Talented One

Credentialled, capable, and carefully managed by every coach they've had. Good at their sport, and somewhere underneath it, they know good has never been tested against great. They have not yet been put in a position where effort alone decides the outcome.

The Drifting One

On a device more than they're anywhere else, and losing a sense of who they are outside of it. Not a discipline problem. A structure problem — nothing in their week currently demands anything real from them, and they know it.

How Teen Combat Runs

Not a Kids Class.
Not a Watered-Down
Adult One.

Physical

Real Technique, Progressive Contact

Technique is taught to a standard before intensity is introduced. Partner work and light-contact sparring are added progressively, closely supervised, and matched to what each teenager has actually demonstrated — not their age or how long they've trained.

Mental

Trained Under Pressure, Not Just Told About It

Confidence isn't handed out for showing up. It's built by being tested under a real standard, in a safe environment, and finding out what you're actually capable of — often for the first time.

Identity

Who They Become, Not What They Learn

The technique is the vehicle. What a teenager walks out with — the way they carry themselves, what they now expect of themselves — is the actual outcome we're building toward.

Nothing Is Given Away

Every Grade Is
Earned.

Every teenager who trains at Eagle DS moves through a structured grading syllabus — belt by belt, skill by skill. Nothing is handed out for showing up, and nothing is handed out for turning fifteen. A grade means a teenager has actually demonstrated the technique, under the standard, in front of a coach who checked.

That's the whole point of running it this way. A trophy that wasn't earned tells a teenager nothing true about themselves. A belt they had to genuinely work for does — and they know the difference, even if no one explains it to them.

The syllabus is progressive and cumulative: what's learned at white belt still has to hold up at blue, and at green. The standard doesn't get easier to justify — it gets harder to meet, on purpose.

Teen students training across belt grades at Eagle DS
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Two Paths Through Eagle DS

What Happens When
a Teenager Stays.

The Youth Academy Path

One teenager came through the Youth Academy having never trained anything competitive before. Progress was slow at first — it always is — but the standard didn't move for them, and neither did the expectation that they keep showing up. What changed wasn't just technical ability. It was how they carried themselves outside the gym — at school, at home, in the way they spoke about what they were capable of. That's the outcome the Academy is actually built to produce.

The Combat Games Series Path

Another teenager took the competitive route through the Combat Games Series — training toward a real bout, under a real standard, against a real opponent. That teenager went on to place first nationally. The medal wasn't the point. What it proved was already true before the final bell: they had been tested honestly, and they had met it.

Training Paths

Find the Path
That Matches Where
They're At.

Starting Out path
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Starting Out
For teenagers new to combat sport, or unsure whether it's for them.
Fundamentals, structure, and a first real look at what the training involves.
Begin With a Trial
Building path
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Building
For teenagers ready to train consistently and progress through the syllabus.
Multiple sessions per week, graded progression, and increasing technical demand.
Most Teenagers' Path
Competing path
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Competing
For teenagers preparing to test themselves at a Combat Games Series event.
Full training load, competition preparation, and a genuine opponent on the other side of the mat.
Optional, Never Required
Youth Academy path
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Youth Academy
For advanced teenagers ready to train junior students, not just themselves.
Leadership, communication and certified responsibility — the stage where a teenager starts developing others.
Stage Three of the Pathway

Exact pricing and session frequency for each path are confirmed when you book a trial — every teenager starts with an assessment, not a sales conversation.

Where the Competing Path Leads

The Same Pathway
Their Coach Walked.

Coach speaking with a teen competitor before a bout
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Competing through the Combat Games Series isn't a single track toward one outcome. It's an on-ramp — and where it leads depends on the discipline a teenager commits to.

Dafydd Sanders built this pathway from having walked it himself — across more than one discipline, at representative level, not just one. World #10 in taekwondo through multiple Olympic campaigns. WAKO Worlds in kickboxing. WAKO Worlds K1 full contact. IMMAF Worlds in MMA. Karate All Japan Champion against an international field.

That range is the model. A teenager training at Eagle DS isn't funnelled toward a single sport because it's the only one on offer — the competitive pathway is built to open toward New Zealand representative selection across whichever discipline they commit to.

Olympic Taekwondo K1 Light Boxing Light MMA Light Hybrid Light

Before You Book

Questions Every Parent
Actually Asks.

Does my teenager need any experience?

No. Most teenagers start with none. The syllabus is structured so a complete beginner and someone who's trained before are both working at the right level for them from day one.

Is it safe? Will my teenager get hit?

Technique comes before intensity, every time. Sparring is introduced progressively and only once a teenager has shown the control and technical ability required — it's closely supervised throughout. Eagle DS holds a zero-concussion record across 900+ matches. The goal is skill development, not hurting a training partner.

My teenager isn't very confident. Will they fit in?

This is exactly who the programme is built for. A lot of teenagers arrive shy or unsure of themselves. The standard stays the same for everyone — that consistency is what builds the confidence, not a softer version of the training.

Does my teenager have to compete?

No. Competing through the Combat Games Series is one path, not a requirement. Plenty of teenagers train for fitness, confidence and skill and never step into a competitive bout — both paths are treated with the same seriousness.

What do you actually expect from a teenager who joins?

Not perfection. What's expected every session:

  • Effort
  • Respect
  • Accountability
  • Coachability
What should my teenager bring to their first session?

Comfortable sports clothing and a drink bottle. Equipment for the first session is provided — if they continue, you'll be advised exactly what's needed as they progress.

My teenager already plays another sport. Will this help or get in the way?

It almost always helps. Coordination, balance, agility, resilience and mental toughness built here transfer directly into whatever else they play.

Ready When They Are

Book a Trial.
Find Out What
They're Made Of.

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