A: No, you do not. Many of our students have not had previous training in Muay Thai before attending a class.

A: No! Florida Muay Thai welcomes students of all fitness levels looking to train Muay Thai in Orlando. We encourage everyone to go at their own pace and instructors are glad to help in any way possible. We can even provide alternate options for exercises or techniques in class, depending on individual skill levels.

A: Cost is dependent on offerings, trainer experience, location, etc. We often receive feedback that we are expensive compared to MMA gyms.
But, what is considered expensive? Expensive compared to what? We can answer these questions with a few short stories.

Ships story
A Carpentry fable
Knowing which screw to turn

A: For memberships, our dues are very reasonable when you consider the extraordinary credentials of our teaching staff and the overall experience here at Florida Muay Thai. Stop in to watch a class and discuss specific rates for your training. Our long-time members tell us that the confidence, calmness, and success skills they’ve learned while training is priceless!

A: It depends on what the school offers. Martial arts schools in the US may charge anywhere between $84-$445 per month, and each school should offer benefits that justify that price. We’ve compared legitimate martial arts programs around the country and found that a fair price for a month of training at FLMT- taking into account the convenient classes, the expert instruction, and other benefits – is $179 per month. If you visit another school with a higher dues rate, ask what justifies the price.

When you are ready, go to our Contact Us page for specific information on how to sign up.

A: Yes! Training in our Muay Thai classes, coupled with our recommended meal plan, will undoubtedly help you in your weight loss journey. Our members have found that the classes present a thorough, full-body cardio workout that will help you improve your balance, strength, and flexibility, all while helping you burn a significant number of calories. Please take a moment to watch the video below of an incredible transformation journey.

Watch here!

A: Yes, we provide you with a meal plan that’s tailored to fit your lifestyle and assist you in achieving your desired results. Please, don’t be fooled though, this is not “7 Minutes to Washboard Abs”. You will have to follow the meal plan and train consistently to get the results that you want.

A: Absolutely. We are happy to welcome female students to our gym in Orlando. We pride ourselves on our safe, welcoming atmosphere.

A: Our instructors are the best! At Florida Muay Thai we employ legitimate, world-class talents to instruct our Muay Thai classes. Our instructors are champions, coaches of current champions, or trained by world champions themselves. They are truly passionate about their student’s progress and count your triumphs as their own.

A: There is a SMALL chance of injury in all martial arts. The most common injuries are small bruises from a hard grab or the kinds of aches and pains you’d get from any good workout. At Florida Muay Thai we make every effort to keep you as safe as possible. We teach structured classes, warming up first, and start with less strenuous techniques before going on to more challenging ones. We emphasize cooperative practice since everybody is trying to learn and improve themselves.

A: Of course! We are happy to welcome older students to our gym in Orlando. We pride ourselves on our safe, welcoming atmosphere and we believe you are never too old to begin (or continue) your journey in martial arts.

A: In a few words: because we are dedicated to being experts in our field and value extraordinary character. Our instructors are highly trained and motivated to help you learn.

We work hard at helping you achieve your goals, to help you be the best that you can be. We don’t expect you to be a fighter in the ring, but we do expect you to be a fighter in your life. You will not just be joining a gym, but a family. If you want to belong to a family that preserves these values, then you are making the right choice. We will inspire you, cry together, sweat together, laugh together, and help lift each other up.

A: The first thing that makes Muay Thai different from kickboxing is its origin story dating back to 13th century Thailand. Known as the art of eight limbs which includes punches, kicks, knees, elbows, and the final touch being the clinch which is solely indicative of Muay Thai.

Fighters wear the Mongkon (headband), Pra Jiads (arm bands), and perform the Wai khru ram muay before each match. The Wai khru is a ritual dance to show respect to the fighter’s family lineage, the fighter’s main coach and the gym they train in.

Additionally, the actual scoring in Muay Thai is based more on the “style” of Muay Thai and your defense along with balance, is as important as actually landing strikes; in kickboxing it’s always judged purely on volume and power.

Some of the other direct differences is movement in the ring between the two fighters. Muay Thai, when done well, is like a dance where both opponents are in sync with each other’s rhythm while the music plays in the background and the fighters quickly fall in with the typical striking exchanges.
Kickboxing is a Japanese hybrid martial art that only includes boxing and kicking, it’s a hybrid because it has incorporated several martial arts into one, karate, western boxing and Muay Thai. It started when Japanese boxing expert Osamu Noguchi came across the art of Muay Thai and wanted to combine karate, boxing and Muay Thai together. Kickboxing’s main focus is to hit the opponent with multiple different kicks or punches and not get hit, therefore changing the pace and intensity that each of the fighters compete at.

While Muay Thai is part of kickboxing, kickboxing excludes the clinch, elbows and limited knees. Due to the high pace of the competitions, kickboxing fights were cut down to three rounds instead of the five rounds that Muay Thai fighters compete in.

A: Authentic: Adjective

having an origin supported by unquestionable evidence; authenticated; verified
Above is the literal definition of the word authentic. What does this have to do with anything? Well, I personally take this to heart as I have dedicated my life’s work to this sport. I did not start off pursuing any other martial arts and then stumble into Muay Thai. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but my point is that I only have this one viewpoint.

I didn’t have any other habits or skills that needed to be broken from other martial arts backgrounds. I was absolutely obsessed with real, traditional Muay Thai. Not a hybrid version that you see coming out of gyms in the West today. I wanted to be as authentic as possible, even though I am not Thai and don’t live in Thailand. I aimed to learn the skills, style, and the game of Muay Thai just like Thais. I aimed to be better than them at it, then pass on that knowledge to my students so that they could become even greater than me.

Authentic Muay Thai is not just about fighting; it’s about the mindset, the vigorous training, the playful sparring, the smell of Thai oil before training or fights. It’s about the Wai khru ram muay Thai fighters perform as they step into the ring to prepare for battle. It’s about the roar of the crowd yelling “ooweee” as a kick, punch, knee, or elbow lands.

Authenticity, to me, has always been about your time and dedication to a subject matter, whatever that subject matter may be. No one can deny that Kobe, MJ, Goggins, and Tyson were men dedicated to their respective fields of endeavor. Each one of them was 100% dedicated, and in doing so, this made each of them authentic.

A: I can boil it all down to one word, culture.

As the leader of this company, all the responsibility of the gym falls on me. Especially culture, which is everything when it comes to running an organization.
No one wants to go to a place where they feel like they are constantly in competition with their teammates.

I have been in other gyms before and felt the energy – it was very unwelcoming. Therefore I knew when I opened my gym that it was going to be different from others.

Even though competition is a huge part of the nature of Muay Thai, you don’t want to feel like you are fighting in the ring and in the gym constantly with your teammates.

I firmly believe in the fable, a rising tide lifts all ships, and I push that belief down to the members and in turn this helps create the positive culture of the gym.

A: In a simple answer, YES! But, there are two questions I have for you.

The real question is, “Why do you want to fight?”

Why do I ask this question?
Because of the commitment that it takes to compete. The time, dedication, and sacrifice of the time with friends and family. You need to be willing to give up celebrating birthdays, holidays, vacations, etc for a short time. You must give up the comforts of life to be able to compete and win.

It’s always easier to say yes than it is to actually sacrifice and put in the work. In the moment of deciding if you’re going to compete or not, maybe you don’t have any injuries, your body feels great, your confidence is high due to the fact that you might have just had an amazing sparring session.
The discipline comes in not when you’re having your little gym wins, it comes in when you don’t feel like going to the gym. You want to sleep in another hour because you only got 5 hours of sleep last night. You don’t want to go to the gym today because you had a hard day at work, you’re fighting with your spouse, your bills are due, etc – the list of excuses goes on and on and on.

So this is why I ask you why you want to fight… because your “why” to fight needs to be much larger than your “why” you should quit. Because believe me, the quit conversation will happen in your head 40% of the time you’re training, and anything that comes along to support it will just feed into it more and more. You must be willing to shut that off.

How long will it take?

That depends on your time and dedication spent on training. Also, are you new to Thai boxing and still need to learn the basics, or do you have a minimum of two years of training and understand good footwork?
If you are new and train at a minimum of three days a week for six months, then by month eight you should be just about ready to start competing. If you are new to training and are training five days a week, then by month six you should be about ready.
If you have been training for two years consistently, then you should be ready in less than 90 days.