The Skills For Life Program (SFL) originated in 2004 which was known as the “Get a Kick Out of Life Mentorship Program” where the academy partnered with youth organisations Crossroads West, Mercycare and Step One. The goal was to empower disadvantaged youth to reach their goals and provide an opportunity for these students to study martial arts.

In 2006 the first SFL programs were delivered in the Perth Metropolitan with pilot programs in Bunbury & Morawa. These were delivered in partnership with a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) from the eastern states. The program was originally developed as a VET in schools initiative with students training 1 day a week. Very quickly we discovered that our program cause massive shifts in disengaged youth otherwise known as ‘Youth at Risk’. These are young people who are have been deemed to have either completely disengaged or verging on disengaging from school. The program inspired these young people and provided a unique way of learning.

In 2009 the Ging Mo Institute of Australia (GMIA) was created with Ging Mo becoming a RTO in it’s own right. The RTO is deliberately named after the art that we share as its teachings are the foundation and glue of all the programs delivered.

In October 2009 a program was run in the Gascoyne, this was the first time the course would be delivered in a 2 week intensive training period (Monday - Friday) with the final grading ceremony being held on the final Friday. This proved to have lasting results on the students and teachers who attributed the changes to the duration and style it was delivered. Since then programs have been delivered in this 2 week format with the results following these same patterns.

Since 2009 GMIA has delivered in the Gascoyne (2009 & 2010), the Mid West (2010), the South West (2010) and numerous programs at our Perth location in Jolimont.

To this day we have students from all walks of life, it’s the experience these students share with us that is the inspiration to improve our SFL program and to keep reaching out to the youth who need it most.