SHE might be only 5ft 3 and a half, but feisty Jo Frend can still pack a good punch when she needs to – just ask her husband Adam!

For the couple, who have been together for eight years, are both martial art fanatics and they often have a sparring match in their garden.

“I think our neighbours are used to it now but we never hurt each other,” laughs Jo, 30, who lives with Adam and her 12-year-old son Ashley in Poole.

“I just curl up in a ball and wait for her to finish,” jokes Adam, 28, who has been practising martial arts since he was five and now teaches Quan Zen Dao Chinese boxing at Fitness First.

“There are quite a few couples in our classes – I think it is quite a bonding thing to do because you learn to trust the person you are working with,” says Jo. “ It’s been good for our relationship – we have been together for eight years now – it’s important to have a shared interest.”

Adam agrees. “You learn more about your partner in martial arts than in other situations. You learn how a person moves, how a person reacts under pressure. Jo still amazes me at times because although she is small she can deliver so much power!”

Adam explains that Chinese boxing refers to a method of lethal combat governed by a particular philosophy and set of principles.

“It’s about skill, not strength. The cornerstone of Chinese boxing is the study of energy. It seeks to generate power and to control oncoming force without depending on physical size or strength.

“Western boxing uses only the hands, which the boxer is required to sheathe in gloves. Chinese boxing has no constraints. It’s an all-round martial art which uses the entire body as a weapon.”

Adam started martial arts when he was five, beginning with judo then on to karate and kung fu and various other forms.

“Chinese boxing is how martial arts originally started – it’s a pure form of what we know as kung fu, which just means hard work.”

Jo adds: “It’s more about fighting and defence and it gives you more self-confidence. We need to be able to defend ourselves against anyone so we learn to defend ourselves by good form and technique.

“At whatever level you’re at you learn everything – nothing ever hidden or kept until you reach a certain level.”

Adam says unlike other martial arts, they don’t have different belt grades which he describes as a mark of hierarchy.

“Hopefully our students make their goal to develop themselves and their art form rather than gain belts or trophies.

“We have fabric patches which are sewn on the trousers. Any student can try to achieve any patch at any point of their development. As Bruce Lee once said: ‘The only thing belts are good for are to hold your trousers up’.”

And he says it’s good for people of all ages and abilities.

“The male/female ration in our classes is almost 50:50 – we also teach children from the age of five through to adults up to the age of 60. Everyone should be able to get what they want out of martial art.”

One of Adam’s adult students, Simon Brown, adds; “I have been practising martial arts for 31 years but this is different – it’s fresher. It also helps to keep you fit and flexible, which isn’t bad considering I’m nearly 50!.”