Grassroots to Global: What a 1:30 A.M. United Nations Side Event Taught Me About Community Sport
I have to be honest with you.
It was 1:30 in the morning in the Philippines.
I was feeling under the weather. My eyes were heavy. I was sitting in the dark watching a United Nations High-Level Political Forum side event on my phone while most of Metro Manila was asleep.
I did not make it through the entire session live. Running a fever eventually won. I screen-recorded the remainder and finished watching the parts I missed the following morning. But I showed up—and sometimes showing up at 1:30 in the morning while running a fever is exactly what building something meaningful looks like behind the scenes.
The event was called Grassroots to Global: Community-Based Sport Solutions Advancing the SDGs, organized by the Martial Arts Coalition for Sustainable Development (MCS) as an official side event of the 2026 United Nations High-Level Political Forum in New York.
Arena Fitness Dojo is currently the first and only Philippine institution recognized by the Martial Arts Coalition for Sustainable Development. That made this more than another webinar. It was an opportunity to learn directly from organizations shaping the global conversation on sport for sustainable development.
The session was opened by MCS co-founders Jadir Figueira, Danilo Malafaia, and Ines Crespo. Three presenters followed, each sharing how martial arts and community sport are doing far more than producing champions. They are transforming lives.
Shinsei Academy, United Kingdom — Chris Cluitt
Chris Cluitt opened with a question that stopped me mid-scroll: what happens to children the school system leaves behind?
In England, school suspensions rose from 578,000 in 2021–22 to nearly one million in 2023–24. Permanent exclusions nearly doubled. One in fifty children has a recognized social, emotional, and mental health need—and for excluded pupils, that number rises to one in two.
These are not statistics about "bad children." They are statistics about a system that was not built for every child.
Shinsei Academy works with exactly these young people—those with Education, Health, and Care Plans, those behind on their educational targets, and some who have not attended school in years. Their tool? Martial arts. They build resilience, respect, and bravery not through lectures, but through practice on the mat.
What this means for Arena Fitness Dojo:
The Philippines has its own version of this story. Out-of-school youth, children from underserved communities, and young people who never saw themselves as athletes because nobody ever told them they were one. Our dojo has welcomed them, but this reminded me that we could be even more intentional about it. A formal partnership with Alternative Learning System (ALS) programs or DSWD youth centers is something I want to explore as Arena Fitness Dojo grows.
Ryu Dan Empowerment Foundation, Trinidad and Tobago — Shihan Marva John-Logan
Shihan Marva asked a question I now want to put on the wall of every dojo I ever build:
"Instead of asking how do we produce champions, we asked how do we help children become champions in life?"
That single reframe is everything.
Ryu Dan works with communities where young people need belonging before they need success. Their lessons resonated deeply with me: martial arts is the vehicle, not the destination. Relationships and mentorship transform lives. Communities own sustainable change. Parents are the greatest partners. Leadership is developed through service.
Reading that list felt like reading the unwritten philosophy behind everything Arena Fitness Dojo has been doing since 2023. I simply had never seen it articulated so clearly.
What this means for Arena Fitness Dojo:
The partnership model Ryu Dan demonstrated—working with schools, government agencies, NGOs, the health sector, and faith communities simultaneously—is exactly what Arena Fitness Dojo should aspire to. We cannot simply be a dojo. We need to become an ecosystem. This presentation gave me a clearer vision of what our community partnerships could look like in the years ahead.
Collateral Repair Project, Jordan — Ruba Hattar
This was the presentation that humbled me the most.
The Collateral Repair Project works in Amman, Jordan, supporting refugees and vulnerable Jordanians. Their community centers offer everything from Taekwondo and Zumba to computer skills, Arabic literacy, women's plumbing programs, and a summer camp serving more than 500 children.
More than five hundred children.
In a refugee community.
With Taekwondo appearing alongside Henna workshops and barber training.
Ruba Hattar showed me that community wellness is never just one program. It is an ecosystem of services that meets people exactly where they are—whether they need emotional support, vocational training, a summer camp, or simply a safe place to belong.
What this means for Arena Fitness Dojo:
Our Rizal property—the one we completed payment on this year—suddenly felt even more significant after watching this presentation. A dedicated space is about far more than having a training floor. It represents everything that becomes possible when a community has a permanent home. The Collateral Repair Project's community centers reminded me that physical spaces multiply impact. That property is more than a training venue. It represents the future of everything we hope to build.
The Bigger Picture
Three organizations. Three countries. Three completely different contexts—England, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jordan.
Yet they all pointed toward the same truth.
Martial arts, when practiced with intention and compassion, does not just build athletes.
It builds people.
It builds communities.
It builds futures.
This is what I have believed since I first stepped onto a mat.
This is what Arena Fitness Dojo has been practicing every week at Fisher Mall, at Nerv Studio, at Acropolis Loyola, and through every seminar and demonstration we have ever delivered.
Movement is not reserved for elite athletes.
It belongs to children with Education, Health, and Care Plans in England.
To young people at risk in Trinidad and Tobago.
To refugees rebuilding their lives in Jordan.
To office workers in Laguna.
To a seven-year-old performing Taijishan before a corporate wellness seminar while her mother stays awake into the early morning learning from organizations halfway around the world.
Movement is for every body.
I fell asleep shortly after the session ended, phone still in my hand.
But I woke up with more clarity about where Arena Fitness Dojo is headed than I had the night before.
Sometimes the most important meetings happen at the most inconvenient hours.
What Comes Next?
The conversations from this United Nations side event strengthened my belief that martial arts can contribute far beyond competition.
As Arena Fitness Dojo continues to grow, I hope to build stronger partnerships with schools, corporations, local government units, healthcare providers, and community organizations to make movement more accessible across the Philippines.
Every Tai Chi seminar, every Wushu class, every Aikido lesson, every youth program, and every community demonstration is another step toward that vision.
Movement is for every body.
Arra Jeuneze Corpuz is the Founder and Head Sensei of Arena Fitness Dojo—the first and only Philippine institution recognized by the Martial Arts Coalition for Sustainable Development, a global organization advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through martial arts. Her advocacy, Movement Is for Every Body, promotes inclusive martial arts and wellness programs across the Philippines. https://sites.google.com/view/teacherarra
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