Hi,

I've not long stopped doing Karate, and have taken up Jujitsu. While jujitsu rocks, the instructor has made it clear that we won't be doing any striking practice (since we have no equipment), and suggested that I cross-train to keep working on my striking.

It seems that Muay Thai/Thai Boxing might a good option. So far I haven't visited any gyms, but when I do I want to have an idea of what are signs of a good (or bad) gym. Anything that comes to mind will be appreciated, as well as any particular questions I should ask the coach.

Cheers.

Really you've got to ask if their doing Muay Thai or actually modified kickboxing. It's neither here nor there but if that's what you're looking for you should at least know what you're getting into.

The things I look for in gyms are:

Do they compete?
You may not want to compete, but if they compete that means they're picking up new stuff ie. variations on techniques

Do the people who compete train with you?
It's great to have instructors who compete, but I want to train with the competitors. I may not ever be a world class fighter but I want the same training the competition team gets.

How often do they spar?
In striking classes I don't think it's absolutely necessary to spar every class as long as it's once a week and you get a lot of drilling each class.

The things I look for in gyms are:

Do they compete?
You may not want to compete, but if they compete that means they're picking up new stuff ie. variations on techniques

Do the people who compete train with you?
It's great to have instructors who compete, but I want to train with the competitors. I may not ever be a world class fighter but I want the same training the competition team gets.

How often do they spar?
In striking classes I don't think it's absolutely necessary to spar every class as long as it's once a week and you get a lot of drilling each class.

On top of this, look for the equipment they use.

If you're only doing it as a bit of fun then a sports hall with a few focus pads MAY suffice. If you're intending to take your training seriously, you'd be better off if they have punching bags (not just one) and other such equipment. If you intend to compete then you need a ring too.

I say this because lots of "gyms" around my area seem to be once-or-twice per week sessions in sports halls with a big bag of focus pads. Not optimal.

One other thing to look at is the quality of their instruction. Do they warm you up and then let you get on with whatever you want, or do they have a structured class?

The other stuff has already been mentioned, like equipment. For me, I personally look at the level of the students the instructor produces.

Has he produced champions consistently?

I also look at the techniques of the students. Does the instructor allow students to kick without pivoting their supporting foot, even though they've been training 6 months or more? Is he meticulous in correcting wrong technique? Stances?

Then I look at how well the students spar, are they competent and confident? Are they well rounded, or do they keep doing the same techniques?

A good class is typically heavy cardio conditioning, pad and bag work, high repetition of partner drills doing the same thing over and over again, and finally sparring (clinch and normal).

Thanks for the responses.

There's something else I wanted to ask: Are MT gyms just after competitive fighters? Is an instructor likely to put pressure on me to 'get in the ring', especially if he already has title holders and a lot of other competitors at the gym?

In my experience, the culture at a fighter gym will be different from one where fighting is not emphasized. You may not be pressured directly, but your training mates will ask you if you want to fight constantly. You might also change your mind.

In my experience, instructors who train fighters also give more attention to people who want to fight.

If your wanting true Muay Thai, then consider these 10 tips when choosing a good gym.

10 tips on choosing a muay thai school (from the OC Muay Thai school)


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1. Make sure that they teach muay thai. Now this sounds ridcoulus but there are alot of gyms
out there that are really teaching kickboxing and are calling it Muay thai.
If they dont teach Punches, Elbow strikes, Knee Strikes, Kicks and clinch then its not Muay Thai.

2. Ask them if they clinch. And ask them to demonstrate it. Not just hanging on the head and calling it a clinch

3. Do you do pad work one-on-one with a trainer? This is very important. If a trainer doesnt
do pad work with you...then its not the real deal. This is a way that the trainer/teacher helps you develop your skills.
No and's if's or but's!

4. Thai conditioning...again a very, very important part of Muay Thai. Tire training, Heavy Thai Rope work, Road work, Knee body drills, heavy sand bag conditioning...if they don't keep looking.

5. Do they do elbow defense? Not just throwing elbows. If they don't...its not real thai.

6. All they show you is a low "thai kick" and some punching. This is not muay thai.

7. Do they teach throws, sweeps?

8. Do they teach ring strategy? After you develop your striking skills both offense and defense do they train you in ring tatics?

9. Do they teach the "Teep"(Push kick, Stomp)? This is a main staple of Real Muay Thai.

10. The number one tell tale sign...The Muay Thai Stance. If they dont teach it and dont make you nail it until you have it right. Then its not the Real Deal Muay Thai.

There are of course more...but these are just the absolute basics that will help you find The Real Deal Muay Thai training.

Muay Thai teaches throws and sweeps?

yes they teach sweeps from kick catches and there are some sweeps taught from clinching positions.

Thanks for the responses.

There's something else I wanted to ask: Are MT gyms just after competitive fighters? Is an instructor likely to put pressure on me to 'get in the ring', especially if he already has title holders and a lot of other competitors at the gym?

There's probably a lot of variation from gym to gym, so look around, and ask the students at each place about their training.

I can only speak for the place where I train, and here the fighters do get more attention than the non-fighter students. But that is mostly because they tend to train at times when there aren't many other students around (like morning and mid-day), or they take private lessons (which cost more). There may be some sponsorship for the pro fighters, or the ones who look like promising future pro fighters, but I don't know the details of this because I am not a pro fighter and don't plan on becoming one.

The majority of our regular students don't want to compete. They are the bread and butter of our gym. I have never felt any pressure to compete. I have also never felt that I wasn't getting enough attention from our trainers, but that may be because I haven't trained at a gym where the ratio of teachers to students is 1:1. The list that thaiboxersp posted said in #3 that you should be training one-on-one with a trainer. I have never seen a gym in my area where all students get that level of attention (in Thailand you can stay at one of many Muay Thai camps and get 1-on-1 training from former pro Muay Thai fighters, which is awesome, but I can't usually spend more than three weeks per year at such a camp because of my work schedule).

At our gym, students aren't pushed to compete unless they show an interest, and the trainers think the student is going to put in the effort to get good enough. Most students just come to do pad work, bag work, and conditioning. Class size seems like it is usually about 15-20 students during the evening classes, lead by one or two trainers. A few regularly take the "sparring class," which is twice a week, and consists of free sparring for 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of clinch sparring. It is supervised by a trainer, who serves as ref, and also points out when students are doing something wrong, and gives advice and explanations. Most of us are pretty beginner-level since our gym is only about a year old, and the sparring class just started a few months ago.

Muay Thai teaches throws and sweeps?
Yes, from the clinch especially. You should learn these.

Apparently in Muay Boran, there's also some ground grappling kinda stuff but according to my coach it's not really worth learning. So we just learned to sprawl and if you wanted more, you took the bjj class.

Thaifightersp had some great suggestions.

I'll add a few more tips to tryt to weed out suspicious schools that might simply be trying to capitalize on the popularity of Muay Thai.

Look at the gear the school/instructors use.

They should have Thai pads. These are a must. If someone is claiming to teach Muay Thai but they do not use Thai pads at all (perhaps they only use kicking shields) then it's extremely suspicious. It may be a kickboxing school that is trying to transition into Muay Thai without the proper background / gear.

Check to see if the instructors ever wear belly protection to coach people to push-kick / teep. Some instructors may simply use a shield instead (which isn't necessarily suspicious) but the absence of Thai pads combined with the absence of belly protection should raise some flags.

Check to see if the school has at least one banana bag (a long, thinner heavy punching/kicking bag). This is a staple of Thai training as well. The absence of a banana bag on its own isn't necessarily suspicious but, compounded with the absence of the other aforementioned gear, could be an indicator that the school is new to Muay Thai.

This might seem dumb, but look to see if the instructors have Thai trunks and train barefoot. This principle might not apply if you're training at a "genuine" MMA school where folks tend to prefer board shorts or vale tudo shorts . . . but if all the instructors are wearing kickboxing pants and/or aren't barefoot, this might be another hint that you might be at a kickboxing school that is trying to capitalize on the popularity of Muay Thai.

(I guess, generally, check to see if the instructors are using genuine Muay Thai gear as opposed to kickboxing gear.)

to go further into this thread. try and watch the instructor/trainer work out. watch what they do and how their training goes. i remember when i first got into muay thai about 6 years ago,i had a trainer who was suppossably a muay thai instructor (KRU) but everytime he worked out he always wore long pants and footgear (why i dont know). luckily i came from a full contcat kickboxing backround and moved on immediately. but some people may not know, so watch out

I can only speak for the place where I train, and here the fighters do get more attention than the non-fighter students. But that is mostly because they tend to train at times when there aren't many other students around (like morning and mid-day), or they take private lessons (which cost more). There may be some sponsorship for the pro fighters, or the ones who look like promising future pro fighters, but I don't know the details of this because I am not a pro fighter and don't plan on becoming one.

Yeah.. to be honest, I'd expect the fighters to get more attention (not just because I am one). With us, the fighters will do the same warmup/conditioning part with the rest of the group, and then do their own padwork in the ring or bagwork while the rest take a structured class.

The fighters represent the gym, so they should be trained to the highest level possible at said gym.


The majority of our regular students don't want to compete. They are the bread and butter of our gym. I have never felt any pressure to compete.

Likewise... we have around 8 active pro fighters, and a few amateurs. We have 10 times that many people who turn up regularly and will never fight. They don't want to - their choice. People are encouraged to at least spar, but far more choose not to.

A lot of good points here, just a couple more

See if they are doing the Ram Muay (traditional pre fight ritual dance). It may not happen every class, but if they dont know it, it aint Muay Thai.

When they are doing padwork drills, EVERYTHING should be going in at pretty much full power, unless they are learning or breaking down something. There are very few feints in Muay Thai

When doing the infamous round kick, watch the body position, the hips shuold be open and they should be moving across the target. If they chamber a kick, run away

If they start dropping hands to block kicks, its kickboxing. Muay Thai uses predominantly bone blocking techniques (elbow or shin/knee)

They should be able to tell you the names of the techniques in Thai and how they translate and why.(A lot of the more traditional techniques are very animalistic in nature)

When sparring, they should play that godawful music. Thai boxers are trained to react to the the music, so its like a dance. In traditional rings wher they have the 3 man orchestra, it is the musicians who dictate the pace of teh fight by upping or slowing the tempo

hope this helps some