Abbe proceeded to teach aikido at his own "dojo" (training hall), affectionately known as 'The Hut,' which was located behind a pub in Hillingdon, London. Training was rigorous and, due to Abbe's poor command of English, he would often make corrections by using a "shinai" (practice sword) to hit the body part that was out of place; Ellis recalled that Abbe would say, "My English is poor but my shinai speaks fluently." Abbe's approach to self-defence matched his no-nonsense approach to training, and was demonstrated when three youths tried to rob him one evening. Geoff Thomson (1998) wrote: