Muay Thai · Houston · since 2014
Learn to fight with all eight limbs.
Fists, elbows, knees and shins, taught the way they are taught in Bangkok: slowly, every evening, with a trainer holding the pads. Your first session is free, and nobody will ask you to spar.
The art of eight limbs
Two fists. Two elbows. Two knees. Two shins.
The eight weapons
Weapon 01 · Lead fist
The jab
Measures the distance, blinds the eyes and sets up everything that follows. Thrown a thousand times a week, mostly at the air.
Weapon 02 · Rear fist
The cross
Power from the back foot, turned through the hip and finished on the ball of the foot. The punch that ends exchanges.
Weapon 03 · Lead elbow
Sok tee — the slashing elbow
Short, sharp and only ever inside the clinch. Taught late, and on pads until it is clean.
Weapon 04 · Rear elbow
Sok ngat — the uppercut elbow
Rises from under the guard when the distance has collapsed. Beginners learn it as a defence first.
Weapon 05 · Lead knee
Khao trong — the straight knee
Driven up through the clinch with the hips, not the leg. The weapon the clinch exists to deliver.
Weapon 06 · Rear knee
Khao chiang — the diagonal knee
Comes round the guard into the ribs. Balance first: a knee thrown badly costs you the clinch.
Weapon 07 · Lead shin
Teep — the push kick
The foot jab. It keeps the distance, breaks the rhythm and tells your partner who is in charge of the round.
Weapon 08 · Rear shin
Tae tat — the round kick
The signature of the art: the shin turned over the hip like a bat. Months on the heavy bag before it lands on a person.
Beginners learn the fists and the teep in their first month, the round kick in their second, the knees once they can clinch, and the elbows last — on pads only, until a trainer says otherwise. Nobody uses all eight on a person before they have been invited to spar.
Programs
Six ways into the ring.
01
02
03
04
05
06The board
Evenings, six nights a week.
Early bagsMon · Wed · Fri 06:30
Open gym · all levels
Fitness Thai boxingTue · Thu 06:30
No contact · all levels
Kids Muay ThaiTue · Thu 17:00
Ages 7–13
BeginnersMon · Wed · Fri 18:00
No experience needed
BeginnersTue · Thu 18:00
No experience needed
Pad work & clinchMon · Wed 19:15
All levels
Technical sparringTue · Thu 19:30
Invitation · full gear
FightersMon – Fri 20:30
Fight team only
Pad work & clinchSat 09:00
All levels
Kids Muay ThaiSat 10:15
Ages 7–13
Sparring daySat 11:30
Invitation · full gear
Open gymSun 10:00
Members
Arrive fifteen minutes early for your first class to borrow gloves and wraps. Beginners, pad work and the fitness classes are open to anyone on a free session; sparring and the fight team are by invitation from a trainer.
The trainers
Kru who have been hit for a living.
Kru Anan Rattanakul
Head trainer · 112–23–4 · eighteen years in Bangkok rings
Fought from the age of nine in the provinces and for a decade in the capital’s stadiums before a knee sent him to teaching. Holds pads for every beginners class himself, and sees the one thing wrong with your kick.
Kru Maya Delgado
Trainer · 24–6 · national amateur champion 2019
Came to Muay Thai from boxing at twenty-three and never went back. Runs the fitness classes and the women’s sparring night, and is the reason half the gym can clinch.
Kru Daniel Osei
Fight team coach · 31–9 · cornered 48 amateur bouts last year
Builds the fight camps: eight weeks, five nights, a plan on the wall. Believes a fighter is made in the quiet rounds nobody watches.
The record
Eleven years under these lights.
I walked in at thirty-eight having never thrown a punch. Six months later I hold pads for the new people. Nobody here lets you feel like a beginner for long.
Sparring is genuinely optional, and when you are ready for it, it is controlled. I have never been hurt here. Tired, yes.
Our son is eleven and the kids class has done more for his confidence than anything else we have tried. He bows to the room now. He bows to us too, which is strange.
Kru Anan sees the one thing wrong with your kick and fixes it in a sentence. Eighteen years in Bangkok rings, and he still holds pads for first-timers.
Tuition
Three ways to train. No contracts.
Twice a week
$129per month
- Two classes a week, any class
- Beginners, pad work and fitness
- Gloves and wraps to borrow for a month
- Pause any month, no fee
The right start for most people.
Unlimited
$169per month
- Every class on the board
- Early bags and open gym
- Sparring, when invited
- Fight gear at cost from the shop
Cancel any time with two weeks’ notice.
Fighters
$219per month
- Everything in Unlimited
- Fight team sessions, five nights
- Fight camps and corner work
- Strength and conditioning
By invitation, after three months.
Tuition is billed monthly and can be paused or cancelled with two weeks’ notice. There is no joining fee. Students and first responders train for twenty dollars less on any plan; ask at the desk.
What people ask before they walk in
Do I have to spar?
No. Sparring is by invitation, after a trainer thinks you are ready and never before three months. Most members never spar and train for years. When you do, it is technical, light and in full gear, with a trainer watching every round.
Will I get hurt?
Bruised shins and sore shoulders in the first month, yes. Injuries are rare: beginners do not spar, pad work is controlled, and the trainers correct bad habits before they cost you. Tell us about old injuries on day one and we will work around them.
What gear do I need?
For your first month, nothing — we lend gloves and wraps. After that, 14 or 16 oz gloves, your own wraps, a mouthguard, and shin guards if you take up sparring. Everything is in the shop by the door, sold at cost.
Do I need to be fit first?
No. The beginners class is paced for people who have not trained in years, and you can rest between rounds whenever you need. The fitness comes faster than you expect; the technique takes longer, and that is the point.
What should I wear?
Shorts or leggings and a t-shirt. Training is barefoot on the mats. Bring water, a towel and nothing valuable — there are lockers, and the showers are hot.
Your first session is free
Come and hit some pads.
Tell us which class interests you and when you can come. We will reply within a day with a session to try, and a trainer will be waiting at the door with a pair of gloves your size.
