Coalition Martial Arts

Meet Keshia Davidson and James Klein, the Owners Behind Coalition Martial Arts in North Bay

Walk into Coalition Martial Arts on Main Street West and the first thing you get is a warm greeting. That is on purpose. Keshia Davidson and James Klein know that showing up to a martial arts gym for the first time takes nerve, so the moment you are through the door, the hard part is over and the club takes it from there. As one member put it in a Google review, "Keshia and James are knowledgeable, patient, and really supportive, which makes learning the techniques a lot less intimidating as a beginner."

Keshia was born in North Bay and grew up in South River, forty minutes south of the city. She moved to Toronto for seven or eight years, and that is where she started training in martial arts. She came back home, built the club with James, and until a few weeks ago she was doing all of it around a full time job as a financial advisor. Now she is at the gym full time. James started in karate as a kid, earned his black belt, and made the switch to kickboxing. The two are business partners and they coach every program together, an even split, and members will tell you the pairing works.

Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in North Bay Since 2021

Coalition Martial Arts has been open for five years, and the club marked the anniversary with a barbecue this past summer. Three years in a row it has won CommunityVotes North Bay. Between them, Keshia and James have more than thirty years in martial arts. Keshia has trained for over thirteen years, holds a black belt in Hapkido, and has competed and won in Muay Thai, kickboxing, and jiu jitsu, including a silver medal at the 2022 National Kickboxing Championship. James took bronze at the 2022 Canadian kickboxing nationals. Both hold purple belts in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and both are certified personal trainers.

The jiu jitsu program trains and competes under Cicero Costa, and the club is affiliated with Troop MMA in Sudbury. Gradings happen there, the Sudbury coaches come up to run seminars, and Coalition members can train on the Troop mats when they are in town.

What to Know Before You Join a Martial Arts Gym in North Bay

Here is the one thing Keshia wishes everyone knew: it is for everybody. A lot of people, especially younger ones, hear martial arts and picture the UFC. That is not what a night at Coalition looks like. The club trains older adults, women, and people who simply want to get in shape and blow off some steam. Fighting is a small part of it. The endorphins, the movement, the discipline, and the community are the main event.

Keshia is proof that size is not the point either. People are often surprised when they meet the owner of a martial arts gym and she is not six feet tall. On the mats, that becomes the lesson. In jiu jitsu especially, a smaller person who knows what they are doing can hold their own against a much bigger one.

Classes for Kids, Women, and Complete Beginners

The kids program runs kickboxing and jiu jitsu for ages seven to thirteen, and an eight week introduction program for four to six year olds, priced as one program with the uniform included. Younger kids do better with a structured start, and when they turn seven they move into the regular classes. Keshia is especially proud that the kids program is sixty to seventy percent girls. Rylan, one of the club's fourteen year old athletes, is competing in Italy right now.

Adults get Muay Thai, kickboxing, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with up to five training sessions a week per program, a Monday fundamentals class for new jiu jitsu students, and a women's only kickboxing class on Friday nights. Across all the programs the membership is a fairly even split of men and women. Strength and conditioning classes, one on one personal training, and private lessons are on the schedule too. Sundays are open mat, when members can come in, drill, roll, hit the bag, and use the space without a structured class.

What Members Say About Coalition Martial Arts

Ask Keshia what she would want a five star review to mention beyond the training, and the answer is the community. Everybody supports each other. Members say the same thing on Google, where the club holds a 4.9 rating. The words that come up again and again are welcoming, respectful, patient, and supportive, from parents of young students and from adults who walked in as complete beginners. A father wrote that his daughter was eased into training with technique before power, and that the coaches made an enthusiastic student out of her.

Martial Arts Classes for North Bay, Callander, Powassan, Sturgeon Falls, and Mattawa

Coalition Martial Arts is on Main Street West in North Bay and trains members from across the area, including Callander, Powassan, Sturgeon Falls, and Mattawa. Classes run Monday through Friday with open mat on Sundays, and more daytime classes are being added for shift workers and students who cannot make evenings. Memberships are monthly, per martial art, with bundles available, and drop ins are welcome for anyone who can only get in now and then.

More Than a Fight Gym

The next step for the club is community. Keshia and James are building recreation programs, day camps, PA day camps, and events, starting with a Halloween party on October 26. The idea is a place parents can bring their kids for an event even if the kids do not train there. A relaxation massage therapist and an esthetician now work upstairs, nutrition services are next, and the long term goal is a full wellness centre, so that when people in North Bay think of Coalition, they think of their health and not just of fighting.

What to Expect When You Try a Class

Your first class is free. Pick a program, show up, and you will be greeted, shown around, and paired with people who remember their own first night. Advanced athletes train alongside beginners in the same room, and the coaches scale every class to the person in front of them. Keshia's own words: martial arts is something everybody should try, because even if it turns out not to be for you, in a good welcoming gym there is always something to take from it, whether that is self defence, fitness, or a community that has your back.