Seattle Area Kickboxing Gyms

[rabidpanda]

Advertisements needed to know about what is available for kickboxing gyms in the King County area.

I'm not willing to spend $75 a month since I am already spending $70 a month on Kali/Silat.

I want the conditioning and basic striking concepts.

[silapathai]

umm?

So you're asking what gyms are in the king county/seattle area? Kim Messer's gym is in Bellevue off of n.e. 20th/northup way kinda..It's near the Koei Kan karate dojo(same business area). So if you can't find her gym in the phone book look for the Koei Kan karate listing and just drive there but I know she has a site..just do a search on it. She teaches a "eurasion" style, most of her fighters have pretty good hands and solid kicks. Not really known for being proficient with knees but most gyms in WA aren't.
AMC is in Kirkland and there site is www.pankration.com and they're style of kickboxing is somewhat similar to Messer's considering she trained under some of the guys at AMC before she had her own gym. Some of the guys there are good at knees because they have pro fighters out of there camp. Josh Barnett, Ivan Salverry, even Bob Sapp used to train there. Maurice Smith is back there too after closing/selling his school to messer(she now has a bigger location). AMC also has a program going on at the supermall...
There are other gyms too if you search around..MKG is one that comes to mind but I don't know how good they are. I've never seen anyone come out of there camp and compete nor have I fought any of them to judge 'em. They have a site and a add in the phone book too. Chris Clarke's school might be good for arnis but it's "muay thai" isn't all that great. I say this out of seeing some of his fighters fight. I don't think he ever had a fighter even fight with knees allowed so I don't know why he claims to teach muay thai.
In the king county area the 2 biggest most successfull gyms are AMC and Kim Messer's gym, enough said.
If you talk to the right people you can find clubs such as Muay Thai USA which is pretty good traditional muay thai but I'm not sure where they train these days. Master Cairnes(tjakai) but he's near impossible to hook up with to train on a regular basis. Oh yeah in Everett you have Pearsons black belt academy and if you do a search you'll find there web site. Hope this info helped you out.

[rabidpanda]

I checked out RSU and it looked nice just can't shell out another $75/month.

I think I'll just have to work on the basics with a couple friends who have done it.

[fugetsu]

NWKali/JKD

Chris Clarke teaches JKD, Kali, Maphilando silat and Thaiboxing. He does not teach 'arnis." He is a certified instructor under Ajarn Chai and the Washington representative of the Thaiboxing Association of the USA.
Beginning fighters who fight on the venues that you have seen can't use knees. So, it is not an indication of the type of training they get, which is quite good, but the immature state of competitve kickboxing in the US.

[silapathai]

beginner fighters fighting without knees

Actually it has to do with the trainer and/or the promoter allowing the fighters to fight in what's called "a class" under the UFCF(united full contact federation) in WA state. There used to be a lot more a class fights in WA state but aren't anymore, it's more kickboxing now even for experienced fighters. My first fight was A class and I was able to get my first fighters fight A class. It has to do with if the trainer pushes it enough and the opponent's trainer agrees to fight A Class. So I don't know if you're trying to say that no fights on WA state cards have knees, because that's not true. It's more like not many do because most of the new fighters in WA that compete under the UFCF aren't good with knees. A lot of the older group of fighters that either retired from competition or are pro used to go to Canada a lot to compete with knees and/or compete her in WA with knees.
Really the only other fight promoters that throw "kickboxing/muay thai" fights in WA that aren't UFCF are Michael HOaxie of tko kickboxing(www.tkokickboxing.com) and JOel Townsend(Joel is the WA state pankration champion for his weight). I think Anthony Hamlett might have thrown some fights in Yakima but I'm not sure, and they may have been UFCF.
So you got me with me saying incorrect information about Chris Clarke teaching Arnis or whatever I said but the fact is I haven't seen good fighters come out of his camp. I know of many people that think they're good with knees because they can do them ok when they're doing clinching/kneeing drills that deal only with knees but can't apply this when they're sparring. ARe you one of these people fugetsu? Are the people that are good at Chris Clarke's able to apply clinching/kneeing when sparring/fighting? I'm sure you'll say yes since you're being defensive but I highly doubt it.

[rabidpanda]

Do either of you have pricing information?

[fugetsu]

knees and the like

Silapathai-
Thanks for you personal fight history.
Allow me to share mine. I first started training in Japan at Yamaki Gym in 1995. I qualified for a pro-license in 1996 and began fighting. In the 3-round bracket we used everything but elbow--knees to the head were OK. After Japan, I trained a number of years with Khun Kru Mike Walrath. He occassionally brings fighters--like Rey Guinn--to Seattle and Canada for fights. After training with Khun Kru Walrath, I moved to SF and trained at Fairtex with trainers such as Bunkerd and Jongsanan. I trained in Thailand at Jitti Gym. And again in Japan at To-eru Gym. So, while trying not to be defensive, I've put a lot of time into Muay Thai, have fought in the ring, and trained with world champs. My knee technique is fine (although there is always room for improvement). As for Chris's fighters, the reason they were fighting in "no-knee" contests was because they were inexperienced fighters. You sound like you've been around the block a time or two, compare your first fight to your latest. I would imagine a lot of improvement. So, please don't condenm NWKali/JKD people for being inexperience. We all were at one time or another. Anyway, if you are interested in the training there, stop by and see for yourself. Chris is a world class instructor and a very nice guy, needless to say. I'm sure he would be glad to let you sit in on a class or two. After which, I would appreciate hearing about your training experiences there.
thanks
Fugetsu

[rabidpanda]

Where is this place and how much is it per month?

[fugetsu]

NWKali/jkd

try www.nwkali.com
253.838.1414 or info@nwkali.com
they should be able to give you the info.

[silapathai]

fugetsu

hey fugetsu I pm'd you you some info and some of it I don't really want to post in here for others to read. You trained at a pretty well known camp in Thailand, I trained at Jocky gym..Yamaki is another well known gym in Japan, good training..I'm pretty sure you're better than Chris Clarke at muay thai, if not with your experience than I've underestimated Chris Clarke.