Zirger Academy

Great training for men ,women, children in protecting your body in all types of situations. Shawn and his community are welcoming and fantastic. Great work Shawn!

Fighting Arts Collective (FAC) (ZAMA is one of several member schools) is something truly unique in the world of martial arts: a laboratory of sorts. It’s a welcoming and absolutely unpretentious space where all kinds of gregarious and quirky personalities come to play and learn and experiment across styles. My partner and I moved to Toronto from Halifax to do our Master’s degrees, so we always knew our stay in the city would be temporary. But until we came to FAC and ZAMA, we had no idea how hard it would be to leave. I can pretty much guarantee that no matter who you are, no matter what your interests or skill level, there is a place for you somewhere at the FAC. For me, that place is with ZAMA!Shawn Zirger, the founder and namesake of ZAMA, is an outstanding teacher who often stops to share the history, lineage and context that surrounds the arts and movements we learn. He’s keenly observant of peoples’ learning styles, knows exactly how to help you understand the material, and is absolutely passionate about sharing and learning martial arts.ZAMA is a Jeet Kune Do school, meaning we synthesize and pull material from several lineages and styles. Shawn goes straight to the source (masters and grandmasters) when possible to learn, and often hosts seminars with global experts from the various lineages we practice at ZAMA, including (and not limited to) Silat Suffian Bela Diri (SSBD), Silat Buka Lingkaran (SBL), Kalis Illustrisimo (KI), Pekiti Tirsia, Balintawak and Jeet Kune Do concepts (JKD). From attending these seminars and the bi-monthly Toronto Throwdown hosted at FAC, it’s easy to tell that he’s well-liked and respected in the martial arts community, a student of guros and sifus globally who trust him with their material and call him a friend. All of the ZAMA instructors, too, are skilled martial artists in their own right, each bringing a unique flavor to the curriculum and focusing on different source styles and student needs across the classes. As much as ZAMA’s instructors and senior students take seriously their training, the classes are unthreatening, lively, and fun.There aren’t enough words in the English language to capture how I cherish this place. It’s my classroom and my second home, full of invaluable lessons and laughter from teachers and people who will be my friends for life. In a short understatement: I treasure the opportunity that I’ve had to learn here, I am devastated to say goodbye, and a piece of my heart will always be there on the mats at 927 Dupont. If you’re in Toronto, whether you’re an experienced martial artist looking to expand your range, or completely new, I strongly urge you to take a few classes at ZAMA and see for yourself!

Shawn and the other instructors were very approachable and welcoming. The training is very practical as well as accessible for beginners to competitors.

Although this is not my home club it is like that when my club comes to do cross club events. We always come to a club hell bent on really good training. There is literally a ton of equipment and always a friendly opponent to spare. There is a wide range of training to do weather it be just for fitness or martial training or even for people who want to be knights. This is a great place to be. Full of good memories of training and just really feeling like one of the family.