'If I can save at least one child, I'm happy'

A karate instructor running free street lessons after an increase in knife crime has said "if I can save at least one child then I'm happy".

Shelim Ali, from Knowle, Bristol, first launched Knives Down Guards Up (KDGU) in 2023. Sessions have been held in various locations - including under the M32 flyover - with the next one taking place at Rawnsley Park in Easton at 14:00 BST.

The 46-year-old teaches basic self-defence, karate drills and awareness skills, while also encouraging attendees to talk to one another about their problems.

"The only way to prevent knife crime is to intervene early and try and do what we can to influence by implementing some style of discipline and focus," he said.

Mr Ali - who has a black belt - has been teaching karate, delivering seminars and participating in competitions for almost 30 years.

He grew up watching action films and was introduced to martial arts by his father, before ing Scorpion Karate Academy in Eastville as a teenager.

He now works there as a senior instructor, working with about 60 students.

The father-of-three said he first set up the KDGU initiative in September 2023 following a number of "very concerning" knife crime incidents in the city.

These included that of 19-year-old Eddie Kinuthia, Adam Ali Ibrahim and Mikey Roynon, a 16-year-old from Kingswood, who was fatally stabbed at a house party in Bath in June 2023.

The latest report from the Bristol Community Safety Partnership - published in January - found that there were 400 more crimes involving knives in the city in 2023/2024 compared to the previous year.

Data showed that knives were used in 1,953 offences between April 2023 and March 2024.

Despite the rise, there were relatively fewer violent crimes in the city compared to the rest of England, but the rate of violent crimes that caused injury per 1,000 population in Bristol was higher than London.

The report did however note that the increase in offences with a knife coincided with "increased intensive police operations", resulting in more offences being logged.

Mr Ali said he considered waiting for funding or other community projects to offer help to young people, but concluded that "enough is enough" and took it upon himself to share his skills with youths who are "up against the real world".

With the sessions all held outdoors, Mr Ali said this helps improve visibility as well as accessibility to the sessions - with young people often coming across them by chance.

"There's a lot going on in our city and sadly a lot of people are being misguided," he added.

"It starts off with 'hold this for me', 'can you take this to so and so's house' and next thing you know, they're carrying packages and they're involved in something that they shouldn't be involved in."

KDGU was launched as a preventative measure, providing young people with the skills to recognise and respond to peer pressure and conflict, Mr Ali said.

He added that the response had been "amazing", with some of the youths developing a more positive attitude.

He recalled one student who was "very active and loud" when he first attended a KDGU session, but after a "calm approach" over the space of six weeks, Mr Ali saw a "huge difference" in the boy.

"It's about small steps - you can't apply too much pressure on young people," he added.

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