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Alex Meehan puts the high attrition rate among January gym-joiners down to one factor: boredom. At his martial arts dojo in Dublin’s Rathgar, he is hopeful that once people start training they sign up for much more than a brief flurry of mind-numbing treadmill sessions. Meehan has been teaching bujinkan budo taijutsu for the past 10 years and travels to Japan twice a year to keep his own training fresh. Unlike karate or judo, which date back just over a century, budo taijutsu is a 16th-century Japanese fighting skill, now used in modern military and police training.

The martial art is geared around “self-development,” he says. “And yes, while you’ll get fitter and more flexible, it’s much more interesting than other ways of doing that. It’s intellectually stimulating.” The practice is also the prefect outlet for the adrenalin built up from a stressful desk job, he says. The eight-week introductory course costs €80. And no, they don’t wear all the gear. That’s only dusted down for special occasions, “mostly publicity shots,” he laughs. See www.happobiken.com or call to 67 Garville Lane, Rathgar, Dublin 6 to watch a class.