Meet the Coaches Behind Xin Dojo
Every coach at Xin Dojo has lived what they teach. Real competitive experience, real training time, and a genuine passion for helping others improve.
Founder, John Hickey
Train for Life: The Story Behind Xin Dojo
My martial art journey began in London as a teenager. Like many teenagers I had dropped out of school and was engaging in all kinds of mischief, drugs and deliquent behaviour. I started training in amateur boxing and Chinese kickboxing as a way to find positive focus. I got obsessed with it quite quickly, gave up drugs, and just trained all the time. Everybody thought I had gone crazy! One day my coach recommended to train in a camp. So at 18 I moved to China to train full time in Shaolin. I had no idea what it would lead to but it was better than my london life at that time.
I learned a lot training in those camps. The grind of training six hours a day six days a week. Living in the mountains, smashing sandbags, sparring, stretching on a tree, lifting rocks, pushing to the limit, meditating and then doing it daily. It was really tough but it transformed me. I came out of there and found a job in Beijing. I didn't really know what to do with this martial art skill though. So I decided to try fighting and went to Thailand.
At 22 I spent almost a year training in Thailand. In total Competed in Muaythai professionally six times and amateur boxing once. The training was brutal and the fights were tough but the experience was valuable
At 23 an unexpected twist of fate happened. I returned to Uk to start a sport science degree and unfortunately injured by back while training. It was a pretty bad injury that required surgery. This was one of the hardest times in my life as the doctors told me I would never be able to train again. Motivated by the injury I delved deep into my study of physiology, biomechanics , nutrition and neuroscience. Fortunately I was able to use the knowledge to rehabilitate my injury. Eventually even use the lessons learned to create a spine rehab course which is currently helping people to recover and avoid back injuries. This experience was also key in the development of True energy Yoga.
After my injury healed I trained alot of MMA and grappling and I did fight again . However it It just wasn't my destiny anymore. I naturally gravitated towards coaching.
Fast forward to 2022 I opened the Xin dojo. Xin 心 pronounced like "Shin" means heart or mind but I just thought It sounds cool.
So far we have created a community and helped many people get fit, give up addiction, learn to fight, and feel better This is what the ethos of train for life means, enrich your life with training
Illiar Sbragi Kasimov
Illiar began training in karate as a teenager, earning his black belt through competitive point fighting, which developed his timing, footwork, distance control, and defensive awareness.
In his early 20s, he transitioned into Muay Thai and MMA, competing in both disciplines. His coaching combines karate movement with Muay Thai fundamentals and MMA-focused striking, with strong emphasis on defence, positioning, and damage avoidance.
Alongside striking, he has trained Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA grappling for approximately five years. At Xin Dojo, he coaches fighters and students of different levels while also providing combat sports-specific strength and conditioning programmes.