BS Muay Thai in Tucson?

**Larfo** · Posted On: 1/05/2010 1:34pm

A while back I had to stop Muay Thai training since my class and work schedule was getting kind of heavy. I've been looking to get back into it and have been looking up different gyms in Tucson to find somewhere affordable. Most gyms were around the $75 - $100 a month range, but someone linked me to a gym that was only $55 a month.

http://elitekrue.com/index2.php

Looking through their site set off a few red flags to me. I've never heard of a Grandmaster in Muay Thai before. They claim to have lots of experience in competitions, but I can't find anything on their named instructors. The biggest one is the "commitment fees," which reveals that the $55 a month price is ONLY if you sign up a year contract and that's in addition to an initial sign up fee.

Anyway, has anyone ever heard of these guys before or has experience with them?

**dougguod** · Posted On: 1/05/2010 6:44pm

I have no personal insight on this school, nor do I have any experience in muay thai, but after perusing their site I can see why someone may be apprehensive about the place. I share your concern, Larfo, about the year-long contract and the "commitment fee". I also haven't heard of the Grandmaster title being used in muay thai before, but there are a few possible explanations for that. It may be a deliberate attempt to mislead uninformed prospective customers. Then again, it could be explained by a totally qualified teacher who's developed a bit of an ego. Also, it could be a concession to western expectations of what a martial art school should be, like schools that add belts or meditation to a system because that's what the "dumb gaijin" have come to expect thanks to Hollywood. Shrewd marketing, but not necessarily dishonest.

A couple other things jumped out at me as well. The "30 undefeated champions" claim deserves a lot of scrutiny, of course. I'm also intrigued by the line that one of those alleged champions "took the names of both her masters". Is that an accepted practice in any style? Also, the site refers to "Noie-Nyugen Muay Thai System". Are they claiming to be a distinct style unlike "regular" muay thai? If so, in what way(s) do they differ?

**Larfo** · Posted On: 1/05/2010 7:05pm

Originally Posted by dougguod

I'm also intrigued by the line that one of those alleged champions "took the names of both her masters". Is that an accepted practice in any style? Also, the site refers to "Noie-Nyugen Muay Thai System". Are they claiming to be a distinct style unlike "regular" muay thai? If so, in what way(s) do they differ?

That name taking part really stood out to me too. I mean, I've never really heard of something like that being done before.

**Fonzzy** · Posted On: 1/06/2010 12:31am

I was also thinking of checking this place out, I've been "loosely" training Muay Thai for about a year now, so I'm no expert or anything like that. I haven't yet checked this place out, but I do know that they allow you to take two free classes or something like that, if that's the case then you, like me, have nothing to loose checking them out.

**alex** · Posted On: 1/06/2010 2:26am

ask about their fight record... im gonna bet they come back with some vague **** about thailand junglefights. they have a picture from ong bak on their page- i wonder if they got permission for that...

**ironcastknight** · Posted On: 1/06/2010 5:17pm

I found some youtube videos of this Roxy Martin/her students doing some sparring at Und1sputed, and... Well, it doesn't look good. But then again, I don't do Muay Thai, so perhaps some more knowledgeable posters could judge. Of the female fighters in these videos, I don't know which one is Roxy Martin, so hopefully someone has seen her in order to specify.

Edit: Found her facebook and mytucsonbiz.com pages, and she seems to be the woman in the hat speaking to the man with the clipboard. Makes the videos less useful, though I suppose one could judge the skill of the students she felt were sufficient to present before a promoter.

YouTube- Und1sputed gym: Roxy's Muay Thai: Skill demonstration to fight promoter

YouTube- Und1sputed gym: Roxy's Muay Thai: Skill demonstration to fight promoter: Round two

Also, the text blurbs seem to contain her record, copy-pasted here:

Roxy "Rock City" Martin
Group Affiliation:
UND1SPUTED

Experience:
Thai Boxing Champion-Retired Under the direction of Sensei D Noi.

AMERICAN VS- RUSSIA- SERIES 1- Weight Class 135- win-

International Wushu Champion 1990-1993-1994-1995 Under the teaching of Master Huan Quan

Specialized in Bamboo Wushu Quing
Huang Straight Sword

Brazilian Jutjutiue third level Received belts under the direction of Nyugene Vieira VIEIRA ACADEMY
KING OF THE HILL CHAMPION 1989-1991 RETURNED 1997-2000

Und1sputed Tucson
1240 North Stone Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85705
520-882-8788

**alex** · Posted On: 1/06/2010 6:53pm

there is so much wrong, both with those videos and with the following blurb, that it actually caused me physical pain to look at.

ok. in the video of the sparring- are they showing those peoples "skills" to the promoter? they have to be fucking kidding me. first girl would be MURDERED in the ring. no defense. sloppy, sloppy boxing. no checking low kicks. hands flying down to the waist throwing kicks. no lateral movement. no clue about distance. no clue about setting up combinations.

guy in headgear, same really. none of them have any conviction in what they are throwing. hes not as absolutely horrible as her though.

guy in white, slightly better but still sloppy and has awful footwork. as a southpaw i hate watching lefties do that **** with their lead hand, against anyone with half a clue that will get you rocked. i get the feeling he was the one who was above the others in pecking order, because they seemed to be somewhat afraid of him. god knows why.

**waxeater** · Posted On: 1/07/2010 9:09am

That's who they've got teaching muay Thai classes? She looks like she's been training -- casually -- for about two or three months. I've got girls who have been training for less than a year that would bury her.

God help anyone that receives any sort of muay Thai or any other martial arts instruction from that woman.

**Larfo** · Posted On: 1/07/2010 2:54pm

I didn't know they offered free intro classes, though seeing those videos of a "champion" muay thai fighter isn't quite what I expected.

**ironcastknight** · Posted On: 1/07/2010 3:12pm

Unfortunately, if you can't make it to the classes at your previous Muay Thai gym, I think you might be out of luck for as far as actually practicing Muay Thai in Tucson is concerned, as, judging on the quality of her students, Elite Muay Thai isn't seeming all that elite.