Located at the Tiapapata Arts Gallery, the Kalika Dojo officially opened its doors to the public. It is a dream come true for second-degree black belt judoka, Ben Percival. 

"It was always a dream to have my own dojo, my own space and be able to teach the kids and youth. To inspire others to do martial arts not just judo, but all of these sports that are good for your body. A dojo is basically like a martial arts training hall," he said. 

"I'm doing judo classes for kids, adults and youth. I'm also getting help from my brother's wife. She's a fourth-degree black belt, so she's pretty good.

"And then my brother is a first-degree black belt. I'm also doing the Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu. I'll also be getting some help from some friends to help out with teaching. There's also Mixed Martial Arts, I'll be helping in running that class but it will be further down the line. 

"We also have yoga, siva samoa classes, krump and so forth. That's what the dream is, to have the space to be able to share the talent and spread the knowledge."

Percival hopes to inspire the next generation to train and hopefully become the next champions of Samoa. Ben believes that Samoa has raw talent but needs direction, the right training, great facilities and more opportunities. 

"I want to see more Samoans making it big on the international stage, not just for Judo, but even in MMA and UFC which is the biggest competition in MMA. The dream is to pave the way for them to get to those places."

He was fortunate to get help from the Olympic Committee. He applied for a six-week learning program called the International Olympic Committee Young Leaders program. Out of the thousand people who applied, only 25 were accepted and he was one of them. 

"I get mentoring from experts in this IOC program. I want to make this space affordable and a place for everyone to be able to access, to come and train but we also have to consider my family's business," Percival said. 

"I have to pay back all that was invested into this place. There is still a lot to pay back but fees are pretty affordable. Most classes are $10, some are $15, even the judo uniforms, you can buy them pretty cheap."

He also offers a scholarship programme which will be awarded to a dedicated student from a low-income household. It is for a local who cannot afford the fees but is very dedicated. He or she will be allowed to train for free. With the newly established Kalika Dojo, he is helping to promote the Sustainable Economic Goals. 

"My project is to use judo and martial arts as a way of addressing the culture of violence. There's a lot of violence in Samoa, domestic violence, abuse and gender-based violence," he said. 

"My project is to tackle those issues by training women and girls by empowering them, even for violent people. They can use their energy in martial arts where they have discipline, and respect, and then the other issue is non-communicable diseases."