Pollet's Martial Arts Centre cleaned up at Bathurst's regional tournament

That was the answer given by Pollet's Martial Arts kingpin Ben Pollet when asked how long his family's' academy has been in Australia for.

It was first brought to the country from South Africa and now boasts eight centres nationwide with destinations from Penrith to the Gold Coast.

The expansion didn't happen by accident and neither did the recent results turned in by Pollet's Orange students as the Summer Street academy went big at Bathurst's regional event, a meeting of martial arts students from all over NSW.

Over 10 students returned home with silverware as they competed across three different subjects on the day: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, kickboxing, and full-contact karate.

"Our team came away with the most in the region," head instructor Ben Pollet said.

"It's a traditional martials arts centre but we've always done mixed martial arts. We do a bit of everything."

There's a reason the Orange academy boasts over 150 members and Ben Pollet puts it down to the inclusive and close-knit environment.

"There's lots of camaraderie and respect here," Pollet said.

"We have a reputation for being a tough school but everyone's happy, everyone's cool.

"There aren't any bad attitudes here. It's a professional centre."

Lots of instructors and teachers at other schools might hold down full-time jobs during the day but for Pollet's dojos, it's all martial arts, all the time.

"We're not mechanics or engineers by day then martial artists by night... we're just martial artists," Pollet said.

"I was born into it. I'm 41 years old now.

"If we do anything else we usually work with law enforcement or the military."

Joining a new gym or sports team can be daunting for some but Ben Pollet insists his centre welcomes all newcomers, even if you haven't tried martial arts before.

"When the new guy comes we don't go hard on him, we help him. It's a family centre and we welcome everyone," he said.

"Everyone wants to be negative all the time. You look online, on Facebook, and people want to say bad things for no reason. We condemn that, here.

"This is a place for everyone, kids, parents. It's a spiritual centre and we want everyone to feel welcome. It's a family."