Finding The Right Kickboxing/MMA/Muay Thai Gym | What You Need To Know
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- Here is a quick breakdown of what you should be looking for in an MMA/Muay Thai/Kickboxing gym. We cover what someone new to the sport should understand and look for in a gym/instructor. Then I give the fighters with a dream of reaching UFC, Bealltor, ONE, GLORY, etc some tips for finding the right gym.
Without the right gym and connections you have to work your way to the top the same way I did. Trying to email the promotions and hope they get back to you. It's not the best or fastest way to go about signing with them.
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My first gym for Muay Thai was a DISASTER. Some red flags: coach claiming he was World Champion (never mentioned any org), claimed he lived for 10 years in Thailand, full on sparring EVERY SINGLE DAY, injuries were a weekly thing, no mouthguard no problem lol I lasted there for 3 months then moved to a way better gym for almost 2 years now
No mouthguard no problem 🙄😯
Major red flag there for sure.
I'm glad you moved on to a better place.
Damn that sucks bro, So glad to hear you moved at a better place.
Damn i already used to spar 50% without mouthguard. And was forced to sparr with a coach who wants to compete, i want to stop but he count timer for 30 seconds before we doing it again. Until the end of third round. damn thats complete bullying
Maybe it was a surviving apocalypse gym 😂
I've had many people messaging me with questions on finding the right gym. I hope this helps you if you are thinking of starting martial arts or are on the hunt for a new gym/instructor.
Thanks man 🙏 Osu!
Do a segment on not getting punched in the arms, sometimes when I’m in sparring I notice when I’m blocking and get hit in the arm it can hurt a bit
My trainer is one of the scariest looking men ive seen, yet he is speaks in a low volume and is down to earth, he occassional makes jokes which stunned me at first, he is a weapon.
Lmao wtff
First day I decided to start I messaged Liam Harrison and asked his advice on where to go in my area. Told me about two places. Started with one immediately and I have no regrets
Thanks for this idea going to dm him now on insta
who is liam harrison and how do you contact him
When I first started training combat sports it was boxing. I loved boxing but I hated every boxing gym I went to. Lots of lone wolf's in every gym and sparring was life and death. Mma gyms were way more friendly and everyone was willing to teach you
Boxings old school like wresteling or football so you got that old school mentality
I found the opposite in my area but yeh the right gym for you
As a guy currently looking for a Gym this is spot on. Finding a coach and members you get along with is huge. The only thing I would add is to find a place that is close and where their schedule works for you. I loved a gym that was an hour away, but half the time I showed up, the class was canceled at the last minute.
That’s bad business
Oh and also, something my coach told me the other day: regulars (not fighters) are the money pot for gyms so never EVER be afraid to respectfully speak up if there's anything going wrong (smelly bathrooms, more equipment). Gyms NEED regular white/blue collar trainees to reach the end of month
what is a regular vs a fighter? how often do fighters go
you're right and I thank you for pointing this out.
Martial arts gyms have the best and chillest people compared to other sports academies/gyms i've attended
Agreed. Martial artists are generally great people.
And often ego isn't as apparent as other sports.
I guess getting punched in the face helps with that 😅
@@GabrielVargaOfficial exactly hahaha fights humble people
Thanks for this. Trying to figure out where to move as we speak. Since my mother’s death I want nothing… absolutely nothing other than to be world champion, & bring all the belts to her grave
You really set the standard dude. Don’t pin or heart. Just want you to know you’re an inspiration
I'm a simple man, I see another qualified legend imparting free wisdom surrounded in the gold he's one with his own blood sweat and tears, I like, I subscribe and I pay attention.
Blessed to have found Tri-city boxing and muay thai. Love training with Pat White.
finding a gym is really not easy, the places ive been to always were good but also had big cons
Such as? I'm doing MMA rn and there is only one gym available in my area. I have approximately 3 years of training but I utterly suck compared to more experienced, bigger or more talented dudes in there. My coach really treats me with kindness because I show up at every training and I really like him but everytime I got into hard sparring I get fucked up bad, I feel like a heavybag. Should I completely change martial art? Thank you in advance
@@giorgiociaravolol1998 I would say tell them to take it light on you, my first day I showed up to kickboxing it was sparring day and everyone there went light and we got to know each other
6:00 I completely agree. There are exceptions but for the most part people in martial arts schools/gyms are very friendly. I’ve always been fine with martial arts schools but was a bit unsure about weight lifters when I started lifting. Turned out just like you said, very friendly and many are happy to share some workout tips.
After watching this I appreciate the time I had at my 1st boxing gym. The equipment was old except for a good 3-4 bags out of 12, there was a slippery spot on the ring, but the people, the coach, and the culture was very damn nice! This new gym I go to the equipment is very nice, but everyone is here to workout only and not learn about technique or fighting, just learn a good arm punching workout you can do with your mom. If you start throwing proper heavy punches everyone looks at you funny.
Great video! one of the points about my coach not giving me enough attention was one of the main reasons I left my first gym despite it being more famous and expensive. Visiting different gyms is fun and I highly encourage it to any beginners as well, you usually get a free lesson anyway
Really great advice! Especially that last one. I wish I had known that when I first started my kickboxing journey. Cuz I wasted my time with a lot of coaches & gyms thinking that they had the connections and sadly they didn't. But eventually I found the right gym for me later on.
My first gym was kinda bad experience...
First off, the main coach wasn't constant of being present. He had like 4 kids which I can understand but as responsibility, it was inconstancy... And sometimes, since he was the "owner" of the gym which was a basement, when he couldn't show up the evenings, no classes, closed! And it happened more enough to piss me off.
Plus, I wasn't in a good place because of the teammates that were either bullies or just having their "cliques" that weren't very welcome.
After less than 2 months, I was out for a new gym where I was more happy. It was a wild area but at least, it was more fun.
Youre a great coach man i hope you open a gym here in BC!
Can you do a video on Mark Hunt and how he sets up power shots and what his techniques are in K-1 and MMA
Watching these videos trying to decide what to do
Great points here to consider before going to a fight gym, thanks for these kinds of videos, very informative!
Spot on, once again. Especially Thailand with gyms in abundance is actually not easy to choose the right gym: Lazy pad-work, bad fight connections, ego-driven sparring,
bad hygiene, gym politics,too strict and hard sessions when fighting, the list goes on. I became literally a gym 'slut' there lol.
Im lucky. I live a quarter mile from a Gracie Barra gym with great instructors whose accomplishments you can google.
One thing I noticed is when you walk in the door how are greeted. Ive been to a few different gyms traveling and there were a few that had tough guy pretty much written on the door. Lets just say i didnt train there lol. It blows my mind that people run a business but dont want members who wont put up with there toxic nonsense. Lot of gyms build tough fighters but not good fighters. Find the place that smells like hard work but has a smile at the door.
Shoutout to VMA! Great video as usual.
You sound like you are an awesome coach
I'd love to hear if you have any advice on light contact kickboxing. I've dabbled in full contact, but I have decided it's too high risk for me, considering it's a hobby, but I love competing and sparring.
Been loving your channel! Thanks for helping me stay motivated!
You are so welcome and thanks for the nice comment 🙏
Been watching your content and you deserve alot more Subs, subbed ty for your content I have found it so helpful 😊
This was a really good video!
I think that you. Need to have instructors who care about the students and aren’t just there for the money. Its a tough sport but the coaches should be there to match ppl up w others that are at their level for sparring, and also supervise that the sparring is there to help
Not people just trying to be tough guys and ahow each other up
True story.
It's nice to make a living but it shouldn't just be about the money.
And sparring should be supervised, especially, at beginner-intermediate level.
The problem is when there’s red flags in the gym but it’s the only place to train in your town 😅😢
Thx for the advice bro I'm currently looking for a gym to train at my first Muay Thai gym wasnt to say the least what I thought it was gonna be
Thank you sir ❤️
Great post! 🎉 I just found a great gym.
Thank-you for this man!!
Great video
seems like i got lucky with my gym :D
Dude your tips are gold. you can hear the experience. I'm glad I got to this channel. Anybody curious about training in martial arts should come across this video and others on this channel. thank you.
Will you please make a video about what it takes to be a great coach? Specifically how, if there is any way, to become a great coach without ever having been a pro fighter?
For sure.
Both my main cornerman have never fought pro and they've done great with me.
I'll think up some points that are very important and make an episode.
*Coach has won major titles or produced fighters that have
*Research how legit world titles and whether the organisation is just giving away belts
*Warm and welcoming fellow students
*Make sure your instructor doesn't just toss in spaaring in the first month without instruction (red flag)
*Find a gym where the instructor makes time to go around and work with everybody, if an instructor doesn't come by at least 5-6 times and make corrections and give you pointers they are not doing their job, it should not be the star of the gyms the only one getting the attention
*Make sure they have good fight connections (if competing )
Thanks Gabriel this was an interesting topic, Im sure it is useful for everyone.
This video is excellent 👌👍 been to many places, seen many things as well ....
My gym coach is around my age(27) he is kind of a known fighter here in my little town (in Mexico) I've seen him fight (just one time but I know he has more experiences) and he beat the other dude. I don't think he has any type of championship right now but I know we live in a very shitty state near Guatemala wiithout too much oportunities. I did some sparring 2 weeks into my training(imma about to pay my 2nd month), 2 rounds, one with one dude we went kinda soft (because I saw videos of sparring and they said that u need not to be an asshole) but my 2nd sparing round was with another dude that was trying to kill me, that other dude was lighter than me and younger and I dont think he knows that in sparring u need to go lighter. The coach told him to be more technical and less savage but the mf tried to fucking ko me. He tag me but I took it (the coach told me that he thought I was going down because it was hard but I didnt even really felt it) and I didnt went nuts because i didnt wanted to bring that vibe. At the end I feel like he give me a good punch (swinging crazy hooks with the head down) but I punched in a more technical way. The other sparring sessions (I had 3) had been more cool (even I fight the coach who tags me but no so hard).
I'm going to fight anoither supposedly noob the 25 of september because I told the coach I wanted to fight (not thinking that so early) and he told me that if I want to I could fight in september another noob and I say yes to dont look like a pussy.
The gym is small and we have just 2 heavy bags that we dont use them so often because one is super fucking hard and the other one is like not hanged correctly.
We train just one hour each day.
We are very few so the attention is good.
I hope I go well in my fight, I dont really care of winning or loosing I just wannt to go in and give it all so people in the crowd no matter if I win or I loose can notice that I gave my best.
I feel like my training partners and my coach see that Im a little athletic, have some strenght and intensity and that I can be a lil good if I continue this path, but I dont know how im going to react in the fight, if im going to like it, if im going to perform well, if im going to get my ass whooped, i have so many questions but well, this shit is like this.
This channel is helping me a lot through my MMA journey!!!
Thanks for it and keep going even if u dont have millions and millions of views!! People like me really appreciate it and help us a lot with all our doubts!!!
Thank you!!
Dude you barely just started, you know nothing yet..
Well,the only way to know is to get on that ring! First fight is always a great memorie! I got my ass kicked the first one, because i tought more about a hard sparring that an actual fight, my bad. Just remember that you ll gas out very rapidly, but your rival tmb, so try to control that stressbreathing and you ll be good. Si te acordas avisame como te fue, abrazo desde Argentina!
Most of the Gyms around my city suck because they're very hyped and they only want to hurry anyone in to becoming pro without having an amateur career i know that Because i been in boxing since i was kid and i know how it goes lol plus for being a trainer you need a fighting background and good education at least
I just spent 3 months in a "boxfit" gym
I tried asking one of my coaches for advice on how to defend properly while throwing a hook and he basically said "have you ever boxed in your life" I'm confused cuz it's his job to teach me then he went on a condescending rant on how everything we "learning" is useless and ppl just go there to feel like they're working out...that's 3 months I'm never getting back ;-;
In hindsight the fact that I'm usually the only person in class that can do a push and knows that you should keep your hands up when hitting the bag should've been my qué not to do more than the free trail
Im currently training with joshua fabia
I put a lot of weight of in the testomonials I find on Sherdog.
I was wondering how many other people do too.
I wish I could kickbox but there are no gyms near me 😪
Pardon for bad English. So I went to one of the best MMA gym in my city India. entered and went straight up to the present coach( there are different coaches for striking and grappling) I introduced myself and told him I'm new and it's my first day at the gym and I'm new to MMA never played combat sports before. He in a very mean tone says "ok go and do" I said what to do. With the same tone he replied "Do what they are doing find a partner and perform techniques on them". I was speechless in front of 20 people.(they were doing ground work grappling techniques) I said ok bcz he is the coach he should know better than me. So he gave me a partner ( I am a beginner. Only knows how to do jab and cross. Average build but I played sports and have done a 2 week boxing camp and I know that warm-up is the most important thing before starting any sport). But no warm-up or introduction about the sports or basics to learn before. But i got a partner. My partner was also hesitant to train with me bcz i dont know abcd or any movement.(Its like giving a calculus equation to a history student before teaching him maths) so no student in the gym was ready to train or teach me any technique.(been 30 min of just standing there) So I again asked the coach that what should I do should I do warm-up or something else for basic. In a very mean tone he replied I can't do anything I will only teach techniques here and you will have to find partner own your own and perform them its not my fault that you are not getting any partner. I replied but coach I don't know anything about MMA or combat sports. He replied I can't do anything. and went away.( i was in a state of shock. Like what I'm doing here) but there were a few guys who helped me. But at the end of class I was clueless and in a depressed state.
The biggest red flag I saw is the "mandatory" hard sparring (because nobody knows how to go light and even if you tell them they do not to go light) every day. By 'mandatory,' I mean it's part of the day's program. Either you participate and sacrifice 20 minutes of a 60-minute session and spar randomly because that's what the coach wants or you just leave and lose 1/3.
In Brazil most of the gyms do not have quality control but this was the worst one I have paid for.
A minha tbm é desse jeito mano, o foda é q é a única na minha cidade 😢 talvez eu tenha q mudar pro jiu jitsu
@@trickzord1897 As vezes é melhor mudar do que virar saco de pancada ou pense por outro modo: "Se não é bom, então faz mal pra mim"
@@Dinho675 vdd mano, tmj
I’ve Been in This new muay thai gym (just moved to a big city) for about two months and all i see are red flags. 1)elbows with no elbowpads in sparring2) sparring every day 3) no attention no new students at all 4) instructor never illustrate the drill… etc
Lucky I join a legit gym from the start
Who's the best mma striking coach in your opinion?
Ludwig and Wittman nowadays
I just wish my town had options... We've got tons of BJJ gyms, we've got a few boxing gyms, and a couple of cardio kickboxing places. but we don't have any place that does kickboxing and only one place that does Muay Thai. And even though they do Muay Thai, they're way more focused on MMA and BJJ, and I only do standup kickboxing or Muay Thai so I don't really have any place else to go.
If you can, go out of your town. My town doesn’t have anything great for Muay Thai, but 20 minutes away, is the gym I go to. There is a Muay Thai world champion training there, great coaches, and a great environment. I would say, if this is important enough for you, try to look for gyms about half an hour away (more or less). Search on google Muay Thai gyms near me, and read reviews for all of the high rated ones. That’s how I found my place. Anyways, I hope you find a good place to train, have a good day.
@@dagodlypug2399 when I say my town I mean my town and anything around it for 400 miles. Lol
@PogChamp I live in Idaho, we have like three MMA gyms in the state, one in each corner, so there's really no competition or choice.
@@IdaKicker oh I see. I would pick just take the Muay Thai in the MMA gym until you can’t get anything out of it anymore. Also, are you a teenager or an adult? Because if you can, after you have gotten everything from your Muay Thai gym, maybe you could go to Thailand for a bit and you will improve a lot. And then you could just practice, and perfect what you have, and maybe go on online courses to learn new things.
If your work-life balance otherwise is good in Idaho, be the change you want to see: take seminars and training vacations with proper kickboxing and Muay Thai coaches and offer your knowledge to your favourite gym or start your own.
I’d rather be sparring first month especially just light sparring. I was at boxing gym but want me one year of drills, padwork, heavy bag. It gets boring and I stopped going.
Jackson Wink Academy
It's very frustrating when you don't have many options in your area to change gym... My instructor has won everything with just 5 "real" fights which he lost all and trashes other gyms too... I'm the only female there and I only train and spar with guys . I give as good as I receive 😁💪🏻 but we are not giving the right training to know how to train well.
It's kind of funny that all of the things that make a bad striking gym, from being forced to spar when you can't even defend yourself to mat / ring bullies, are normal in most BJJ gyms. Must be why every BJJ channel has a "why do white belts quit" video, lol.
I think that you should spar in every training, grappling or striking depending on the combat sport. But the sparring must be light and technical with one hard sparring every week/two weeks for the more advande people. Doing only bag work and pad work every training session is boring as fuck and you dont learn anything. The best gyms are the ones that do defensive drills, light sparring and less pad and bag work.
My coach doesn’t even make us spar and we just focus on cardio at the beginning of class with exercises and all that and then near the end we start doing the boxing part, I don’t know if my gym is good or not??..
Im bummed, i found a great gym with heaps of people i like and great coaches, but they dont clean the mats and ive just had to have a month off from ringworm. I went back yesterday toa class and there was still dirty towels from last nights class and some dudes sweaty GI just lying there. Just gross.
Ughhh. Disgusting 😝
You should get some students together and do group cleanups.
I clean the mats after our jiu-jitsu practice. It's the student's job at my jits gym.
I think it's important to take care of the training space...although it's nice when the instructors are that ones pointing out how important it is.
@@GabrielVargaOfficial I asked where the mop was and one of the kickboxing coaches grunted it was out in a locked shed! I offered to wipe the mats! I think its absolutely the students job to do it, just need the damn mop haha.
What about your personal favorite or the best gyms in Thailand from what your circle says??
I still enjoyed the training over there. They tried to take my head off more than a few times but they still taught me lots.
Emminent Air was fantastic. I didn't have a great experience at Fairtex. It catered more to tourist who didn't have an interest in HARD training.
Buakaw's old gym was a bit repetitive in it's routine but the clinch work was good and they pushed hard.
@@GabrielVargaOfficial Ive trained there once before in Phuket at PTT with Lerdsilla. But need a new place to go and take young students for real work and an immersive camp for improvement over a month or so. 🙏
Also been recommending this channel insanely to my guys since I’ve found it, you’re doing some great work! And recently everytime I have a conversation about something the next video you release covers it 😆 universe is watching.
@@CoachTC23 I was thinking about going to PTT for the privates, did you take the private classes or the normal Muay Thai classes? I’d appreciate any information on your experiences there.
@@Haidderispro I did groups and daily privates as well the entire stay. It was definitely amazing growth with that attention. Regular classes obviously work skill, but it’s a ton of general conditioning to prepare for fighting/training. The privates were straight skill development! Still very hard of course but completely worth it. Not sure who the coaches will be when PTT opens back now, but I’d definitely recommend privates whenever you can anytime!
Gabriel, do you have an update on gyms to train at at Thailand?
My gym has 3-5 high level amateur competitors at a time but they're only being challenged when prepping for a fight. My coach has much longer limbs than myself and frequently neglects techniques for someone with shorter reach. I love technical sparring, but when we spar about once a month I either spar with people way below my level or so far above that they have no challenge, even when they tell me to go full tempo. I'd like advice from anyone experienced: is this a problem with my gym or should I just change my training habits?
👍👍👍
I’m so shitty, any gym will do
No, this is not true. Still be diligent and do your research on where you’re going. Also evaluate it for yourself, trust your gut instinct & listen to the tips in this video
@@popandlock69 You're right. Don't be cannon fodder for a bunch of meatheads that want to just bang.
Is it a red flag if a gym doesnt have any bags to punch and kick?
what about the evlove mma ?
How hard should you spar? When is it ok to step it up and tone it down
I wanna try Muay Thai but my city only has 3 gyms that offer it lol
Varga plz help yesterday was my first mauy Thai class and I seen a post today which my partner was bloody and bruised along with multiple others the gym is victory mma and I need someone to give a bigger heads up before I end up getting abused along with other kids
The gym I go to has take a step on people’s stomach and right after they do crunches right after and they take like 10 or more steps on the person’s belly is this a bad gym?
What’s your opinion on kickboxing gyms giving belts?
Hello Gabriel. I am going to star my career as a amateur MMA fighter with no fighting background. There is a local gym, where the have won k1 titles and also, they won the national MMA tournament here in Peru. They have champion, amateur champions but there are only few pro fighters with less than 3 fights. Do you think it is a good idea to enter in that gym temporary?
What gym do you train at varga
Okay but what about people who HAVE gone pro but still only teach punching and kick combinations?
Like holy fucking shit, this one place I was there for quite a few months and I only received a single class teaching how to block punches. The rest of it was just punch/kick combos and getting bitched at about my footwork (that they didn't even teach).
I had a problem the other day and still unsure what to do. A muay thai/ bjj gym I went to a trial session the other day, instructors were good and people were nice, but the space was so small it didnt feel like I could train properly? Litterally banging into people, etc. What do you think with that problem?
Space is a nice thing to have but it's definitely last on my list. I could train for a fight in a 8x8 room and be ready.
But I understand what you mean about being cramped and not having enough room to throw proper kicks.
I suppose you will have to access if it's too crowded for proper training.
Thanks for the reply! Yeah I’ve been in two minds since, was just too crowded. Think I’m going to look around and if there’s not a better one, deal with it, as the instructors were good
Hi Gabriel, is the wkn belt a legit belt?
Does someone know good kick boxing classes in Dallas Texas
First
Could I email you about my situation?
I walked past my gym every single day for more than a year before I got the guts to go in... You can find me there 5 days a week now.
Go in. People are nice. Support a local business.