Looking into joining a gym

[hardcharger]

Hey guys, I'm going to check out a Muay thai gym and I was wondering is there anything specific I should be looking for/asking about? What makes one gym better than another? What should they have/do and what shouldn't they have?

[swisscom]

Well, most gyms should have a certified teacher. An "Ajarn" if you will.
On top of that, (my gym is good?) so i'll just list what we have.

- 24 heavy bags? (a lot)
- Cardio / Weight rooms
- Fighting ring
- Large open space
- Vents to get that horrid sweat smell out of the air
- Showers
- Locker room (guys and girls)
- A store (which sells redbull ^__^)
- Skipping ropes? and other misc things.

ohh ohh and.

One of those punching things, where it's a person... but from the abs and up... yeah every gym needs one of those. or else dont even sign up.. specifically ask if they have that, if they say no, backhand them. LOL oh snap

[hardcharger]

Thanks for the advice, but I was wondering more about the training. I'm pretty new to the striking arts, so I'm not sure as to what to look for, such as pricing (is $15 per class, or $85/month, unlimited, too much?), time length of class, sparring, etc.

oh and uh, if they have those punching torso things, and it's one where it lights up where to hit it, then its even better right??? I'll definitely ask for that...haha

[swisscom]

Thanks for the advice, but I was wondering more about the training. I'm pretty new to the striking arts, so I'm not sure as to what to look for, such as pricing (is $15 per class, or $85/month, unlimited, too much?), time length of class, sparring, etc.

oh and uh, if they have those punching torso things, and it's one where it lights up where to hit it, then its even better right??? I'll definitely ask for that...haha

Well uhh, non members at mine are $10 drop ins
I pay 46 a month, because im a student, when im outta school im going to be paying 65. Well at my gym, you can live there if you want, go anytime, sit around, do what you want. As long as you're paying, the gym is yours.

Hmm, this is the thing I was talking about.

[Python]

Uhhm...a couple points to make here: You don't need a "Ajarn", a Khuen Khru will suffice. If you can only make due with a serious training partner, then do that, but try to get to seminars and training camps where the certified instructors are teaching.

My gym has everything Swisscom mentioned and then some, but all of this is not necessary for Muay Thai training. I can remember the days of "garage training" when all we had was a single car garage, a couple heavy bags, jump ropes, some thai pads, and about 10 serious, tough sons of bitches who just wanted some good training...no attitudes, no egos...just training. Don't get me wrong, I love my gym and would not trade it back in for the garage to save my life, but it is a fact that many Americans are spoiled with the nice gyms.


Advice: The B.O.B. (body opponent bag) that Swisscom has attached...I too thought it was a good bag because you could simulate the clinch, off balance him, crash the knees in to the ribs, etc. etc., but it wasn't long before all the twisting and turning rubbed a hole in the top of the base and if you knocked it over, water would pour out, then not much longer both rivets in back popped out. Now it isn't worth a shit. I only had it for a little over a year and it fell apart. The Century XXL bags are a joke too. I wanted the biggest free standing bag I could find, with the versatility for Karate class, Cardio class, and Thaiboxing....well they are a piece of shit. They cannot stand up to a good solid thai kick. Over the past 2 years, we have broken 10 of them. This past October, Century sent me 5 new bags to replace broken ones (one year warranty), well, all five of the replacement bags have now broken and they said the replacement bags do not come with a warranty. They refuse to stand behind their quality. So now I have hanging bags. The only thing I like Century for is the karate uniforms and sparring gear, and the boxing headgear...everything else is junk in my opinion!

Sorry, just thought I would share my misfortunes with Century while we were on the topic of gyms and equipment.

The main thing is to find a good instructor. The luxury of the gym, while nice and all, should not be your deciding factor, in my opinion.

[Caddock]

Well I have to agree with Python.

The place I train is pretty much the same as garage. It's a basement, so bigger floorspace than a single car but it is cement floor and chilly in the winter. We have a group of folks and enough focus mitts and Thai pads to go around. Combined with lots of sweat and the occassionaly some puking we get the practice in.

We bring our own jumpropes and personal training things. The pads are supplied, I would expect any place I trained to have enough pads to go around and some heavy bags. Numbers depend on how many people are training at any given time.

I would love to have a fulltime fancy place to train with permanent bags and rings and all the goodies. It would make life easier, maybe a little more comfortable, but I am not sure it would make us better Thaiboxers. Though having a place open a lot more nights/afternoons would.

[swisscom]

As Python and Caddock said, you dont need a nice gym with all of these things in it. But, there is one thing about having a nice gym that I can relate with, and that's that it motivates you more. Another thing was the point about the serious training partner, I don't have any friends which are as serious as I am.. maybe one guy I know at the gym who is relativly my size. I realize not everyone at the gym is there for fighting, they are just there to get a good workout. BUT, for example.

Yesterday I was partnered with some lame little 13 year old kid for some
jab-cross-hook-roundhouse drills. The kid wouldn't even try and hurt me, I really wanted to kick him in the head. His attacks weren't even a threat. I hate when people don't even attempt to get a good workout when that's what they are apparently there to do.

Anyway now that I have gotten the complaining off my chest. The point of my statement would be:

"Although having a nice gym, good equipment, etc are not nessesary. The people you are training with are important. Going to the gym with a bunch of slackers is worse than staying home and hitting your heavy bag. So therefor, I guess scout out for people there too? Look around, see if anyone is serious. If no one looks like they really care, you might aswell stay home."

Regarding what Python said about the Ajarn status in his opening statement.

I have 1 Ajarn and 2 Kru at the gym I goto. It's not that the kru are bad teachers, it's that Ajarn knows so much more it seems. I dont really know what im getting at, just yeah I thought I would mention that.

[hardcharger]

Thanks for the advice guys. If an Ajarn is a teacher then what's a Kru? This is the place I'm going to check out http://www.protraininginc.com/.

[Python]

Hardcharger,

Ajarn means "master", which is an example...Ajarn Surachai Sirisute, the founder of the T.B.A of the USA. A Khuen Khru is an instructor promoted by the Ajarn, under the Ajarn. Does that make sense? There are probably over a 100 khuen Khru in the U.S. who are all extremely qualified.

The site you posted is that of Walter Michalowski. I believe he is a Khru himself and has proven ring experience. I would say you are making a good choice of gyms to train and I am confident you will be pleased with the training you receive from "the sleeper" or those who may also instruct at his gym.

[hardcharger]

Thanks again for the advice guys, I'm looking forward to learning MT!