Tell tale signs of a good muay thai gym

I know there are some tell tale signs of good tae kwon do and karate dojos(big windows, wrong flags and trophies everywhere are no nos) but i was wondering if there are things i should be looking out for when i search for a place to train muay thai this summer.

I have one place in mind that's right by my house and another that is much further away. There's another one in skokie i might give a call if this first one looks shady.

i think equally as important as the place, are the trainers and the other students that you will be training with. perhaps you can watch a class or take a trial class first?

personally, i trained in a little bit of Muay Thai a few years ago here in NYC (at Chau's) and the trainers Coban, a multiple time Muay Thai champion, and his wife Sandra, who was no joke either, were both gentle and soft-spoken but when it came time to fighting they were the real deal.

while there certainly is a spiritual core in Muay Thai it can also get pretty brutal, so it's important that you come away fortified and strengthened from the experience as opposed to getting hurt.

i have a friend who the latter happened to; this was at a different place he trained and they were hardcore with a pro camp approach.

you know if you are a student or work fulltime, then maybe you train between 1x and 5x a week for maybe an hour or two at a pop, and sure it's an integral part of your life but unless you've competed as an amateur and are that well conditioned or skilled, i'd be careful how far you push it.

my friend was doing hardcore sparring and got hurt badly enough that he couldn't train for a while.

i have another friend that trains in Kendo that the same thing happened to.

it's critical in any ma or mma training or any physical activity in general (but especially activities with contact and sparring) that everybody has safety as their top agenda.

a saying from Yoga has always resounded with me: don't conform to the pose, have the pose conform to you.

another words push yourself, but not to the point of breaking...

The trainer seemed really nice in his email. He said i should stop by so we can talk and i planned on doing this.

I plan on being very careful but also pushing myself to get into better shape. I know you can't train if you're hurt(experience has taught me more than the obvious ) so i'll stop if my body is telling me to do so. I plan on training once a week and then doing cardio and weight training at least 2 more days a week. Cardio probably every day.

I also plan on dropping the other gym in my area an email when i get back home. Still at school for just a bit longer, then back to my parents house.

I also might continue with my training when i come back down to Central Illinois for college. I'd have to drive 50 minutes to either bloomington or Champaing but it would be worth it if i really like muay thai.

that sounds like a great plan; see if you connect with him personality and vibe-wise.

as for classes, i've found most places give away the 1st one or discount it pretty heavily. it'd be great if the teacher is nice and a good teacher, too, and the place is safe and clean and the other people cool.. but you'll only know by delving in further.

it's often said that (by who i don't remember), "it's not what works if you can stick to it but what you can stick to that works" or something like that. what i'm getting at is find something you enjoy doing, and you enjoy the results; that way it's just as much fun as work (if not more).

btw, the funny thing (maybe more ironic than funny?) is you can train hurt (and it sounds like you may have in the past, too); i have (and i'm not proud of it). it's dangerous because you can end up getting more hurt than you were to begin with, i have definitely done so on more than one occasion being the exercise junkie i am; actually it was probably more like my ego and masochistic "no pain no gain" mentality overriding my better judgement and self-compassion?

nowadays i base my training on how i feel, i'm not afraid to go lite or easy or even take a day off (something i never used to do), if that's all i can do.

sounds like you been down that road, too.

although he's not a Vegan, self-proclaimed "near-vegetarian" bodybuilder Clarence "Ripped" Bass famous for getting down to like 2.6%BF while eating peanut butter sandwiches for lunch everyday has a saying that i love: if it's too easy you get bored, if it's too difficult you give up... so you need to challenge yourself (or something like that).

take care with it and be safe.

Make sure the gym is clean and their bags and pads are in good condition. When you go talk to the instructor and (hopefully) watch a class observe the level of respect that the students show each other, their instructors and you, the newcomer (also the respect that the instructors show the students, keeping in mind the tough love thing common to most martial arts). Discipline and respect are vital in any combative art. If it's a free for all or an ego-fest, walk away. As far as training hard and pushing yourself - you won't get anywhere if you don't push. You have to push past your own limits to progress. It will hurt. Obviously there is good and bad pain, but you'll learn to differentiate the two pretty quick. Keep in mind that Muay Thai involves a lot of conditioning - of arms, thighs and shins, and the body, eventually your head too. If it's a good school, they'll ease you into it. Getting knocked out in your 3rd class isn't going to teach you anything. Neither will waking up unable to walk from bruised legs from leg kicks by more experienced and tougher fighters. Lastly, go there with an open mind and no expectations.

As far as trophies and belts everywhere go, instructors with titles to their credit may lend them useful experience to pass onto you, but just because they are or were a good fighter, doesn't make them a good teacher. It's kind of an irrelevant factor as to how good the school will be.

Good luck and have fun!

Trev

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm really looking forward to going to the gym on June 1st.