I've been doing Muay Thai for 14 years, give or take…read more Most of that time was spent doing it one-on-one with trainers, which was awesome for personal attention and scheduling, but expensive and hard to stay consistent with. But they were able to be patient with me, to explain things repeatedly--I'm very visual and super literary but much less intuitive when it comes to athletics--and this helped me learn the basics of the art of Muay Thai. And then my last trainer got too busy to keep going. So I tried a bunch of Muay Thai gyms, never really finding anything that matched the return I got from 1-on-1 training. Then one day I spotted NELA Combat Fitness on a Figueroa corner and got intrigued. I tried a class and loved the energy of the space. Highland Park is a wildly creative area, and the experience at NELA Combat Fitness mirrors this: The people are diverse, upbeat, inclusive and very dedicated to the art of Muay Thai. You might find a 50+ year old like me training with someone in their early 20s, and this dynamic is always approached respectfully. Ed, the owner, is a true gem of a human being: warm, funny, and with deep history with and knowledge of Muay Thai, and he teaches with a razor sharp eye and the communication skills to help keep things safe and to level up your game. The gym itself is spotless, well-designed and comfortable. One way that the absolute courtesy with which the gym operates shows up is when we go return Thai pads or kick shields: cleaning wipes are shared and pads are stacked in an orderly way. Every teacher approaches class a little differently, but if you show up, know that you are in for a wonderful workout that is easily tailored to your skill level. The music is always different and always good. You will be inspired to push yourself beyond your limits, outside of your comfort zone. You will grow, you will sweat, and you will learn. And you will emerge a stronger person. And about Muay Thai overall? It's the best. I feel elevated and calm afterwards, able to take on anything life throws my way with compassion. That's the irony - punching, kicking, elbowing and kneeing it out for an hour actually makes you a calmer, kinder person. Your baseline is reset and your cardio and strength gets better and better. I truly feel like I've found a gym that I want to stay a part of. Thank you, Ed, and thank you NELA Combat Fitness community.

I have been coming here for about a month and have nothing but great things to say about the gym…read more Always clean and tidy plenty of equipment available. Coach Ed is amazing this gym is truly for all levels from beginners to more experienced. & everyone there is super welcoming and more than willing to help. I totally recommend checking the gym out!!!

The most non-commercial real deal Muay Thai kickboxing facility. In a male dominated sport I am so…read moreimpressed with the awareness of all Instructors with their students within the four walls of class & how they partner students up appropriately by skill level,it's mostly male dominated, but everyone treats you with the upmost respect, including holding you accountable to ensure that you give your All even as a female. I have never felt more comfortable and empowered in my life: I'm used to coach Ariel, who is amazing, and I dare to venture out to and today had Coach ED IN GLENDALE, when I arrived, I thought maybe I was in an advanced class and Coach Simmy held me accountable to believing in myself that I belonged in that class most importantly that I was capable. I don't know if it's the mission statement. I don't know if it's the core or business objectives of MTK, but the blueprint is clear from their NOHO location to Glendale. WINNERS WIN It takes a lot to impress me. I pay money not only to learn the skill, i you pay for the experience. Worth every penny. And you SWEAT LIKE A MUTHA KICKER! lol

My friend and I came in for our free trial class I'm fairly new to Muay Thai and she's has 5 years…read moreof training under her belt. The gym knew both of these things going in. I understand that pad conditioning is a real and valuable part of Muay Thai training, coaches will hold or hit pads to build a fighter's tolerance to impact, sharpen reflexes, and simulate the unpredictability of a real exchange. That's a legitimate, time-tested method, and I went in expecting and respecting that this sport involves contact. What happened here wasn't that. Within the first 30 seconds of class, during the cardio warm-up jog, before any pad work, drills, or instruction had even started, the instructor came up behind my friend and struck her on the back with a pad, completely unprovoked and with no warning, no context, and no setup that this was a conditioning exercise. She turned around and calmly told him not to hit her like that. His response was to grab his things, walk out, get in his car, and drive off. He never came back. He left a room full of students, including a near-complete beginner with no instructor for the rest of class. Sucker-hitting someone from behind during a warm-up jog isn't conditioning, it's just catching someone off guard, and walking out when she objected isn't discipline, it's a tantrum. Another staff member stepped in and taught the rest of class, and she later texted me offering me a complimentary private training session with her to apologize for such a poor experience. I accepted as I wanted to give her a second chance and take advantage of an opportunity to hone my skills. A few weeks later, when I showed up to the session after confirming with her the day before, I found out she had forgotten about it, and was more than a half an hour away. I felt completely disrespected as I'd left work early, driven over, and reserved time for her to make amends for the gym's previous mistake. It was silly of me to give this establishment a second chance as once again my time was disrespected and wasted by unprofessional behavior. What bothers me most is what an experience like this does to someone's first impression of the sport. Muay Thai should be accessible to everyone as it's a discipline built on technique, respect, and gradual trust between student and coach, not intimidation. Experiences like this that can quietly push people away from a sport before they ever get the chance to actually learn it. That's a real loss, because this sport has so much to offer when it's taught well. I have been encouraging other women, and the LA Muay Thai community at large, especially beginners, to not give this place your time or money.

The Yard and Yoshi are excellent. This review will hopefully be helpful as an update to how class…read moreis run (since class has changed a little). First my background: I've trained Muay Thai for two years (first time was in April of 2022). I've trained at 7 gyms: FLMT (Florida Muay Thai , OC MT, Team Oyama, Classic Fight Team, Rising Suns Thai Boxing, NELA Combat Fitness, and Boxing Works. My home gym for the last year was Boxing Works under the instruction of Coach Bryan Popejoy, where I trained 3-4 days a week and did one on ones once a week for about 3 month. I would've stayed there however I recently moved to Northeast LA (Highland Park) and the drive to Torrence for BW was too much (about an hour to an hour and a half drive there and 40 minutes on the way home). Whereas the Yard is a 6-minute drive from me with ample sessions. Second, class style: Classes are Monday through Friday: 8-9:30, 10-11:30, 4-5:30, and 6-7:30pm and then two sparring classes on Saturday from 9-10:30 and 11-12:30. As far as I'm aware, Yoshi teaches each class and he does an excellent job. At other gyms, I feel much more advanced then I do at the Yard. Lots of basic bad habits that I got into are getting fine-tuned and corrected. A typical class is organized in four parts: (1) Cardio: A five minute round of jump ropes and then a 30 minute cardio session where we jog, sprint, do knees, teep across the mats. (2) Bagwork We then do several rounds of shadow boxing where Yoshi will make small adjustments to our form. From there, we all go on the heavy bags and practice whatever we want to work on for several rounds while Yoshi works one on one with us on pad/mitwork. This is where I think the Yard shines. If you go to a class with few students, you are essentially getting a free one on one. When you're not working one on one with Yoshi, you are working the bag. (3): Drills/Sparring From there, we work on a specific technique through partner drills and then light technical sparring. Yoshi is very attentive as he goes around and makes adjustments and suggestions. On Fridays the technique is clinch focused; which is really great. Many gyms in Southern California lack emphasis on the clinch. (4): Burnout/core work: We end with 3 minutes of ab/core work and then a minute plank. Sometimes we will burnout with skip knees on the bag. Overall: An excellent choice. I can't speak to how it would be for a beginner, as I came with two-years of experience. I imagine it would be a great place to start. Potential cons: I do not see people doing drills on thai pads (where one partner holds pads and the other hits). Typically, a Muay Thai class is 1 hour. At the Yard, it is 1.5 hours. Which means its a little more demanding. At this point, I cannot train every day even if my schedule allowed it because my body and cardio is just too shot. I imagine with time, that'll change.

I dropped in twice. First time I didn't stay for any training as the instructor said he wouldn't be…read moreinvolved that day. He said that was typical for weekends. Came back on a weekday and stayed for training... he was barely involved in training that day. I understand how someone might think he is rude but I wouldn't go that far, really he just comes off as checked-out and not interested in his gym / business. The session is about 1/3rd combat sport related. The other 2/3rds is light cardio drills you can do in your own home. The other attendees are more willing to help and with that I would say this place serves more of a sparring club than a serious training gym.

Ive been taking Muay Thai classes for a month and I have had a fantastic time! Ive learned so much…read morealready about Muay Thai in addition to the class really helping with overall fitness and endurance. Coach Mike and Coach Rollie are amazing teachers! They really give you the push you need to go past your comfort zone, while also being very attentive to what stage of the learning process you're at. Theyre quick to notice any bad habits while also offering additional advice thatll help you get even better. All the fellow students are great as well! Theyre all so encouraging, but will also match your pace if needed during practice. Highly recommend this place!

What a fun gym! Mike has an awesome environment at his gym. It's a great spot for anybody to…read moretrain. Whether your an experienced martial artist, or brand new, you will be absolutely happy you chose to train at APEX.

LAKO has become a sanctuary-like place for me. it's a fun and supportive environment with great…read moreenergy in the air. They play the best music to get you moving and each time I walk out of there with a big smile on my face and feeling so grounded and grateful. Yuichi is a gracious guy and the staff and coaches are amazing people who do a great job of motivating others, and making everyone feel like part of the pack. They offer numerous daily group classes, excellent private training, open gym with great equipment, training camps, and kids classes, just to name a few. They also participate in various community supportive efforts from animal advocacy to families in need, to toy drives....they do it all. Not sure what else one can ask for from one place. Thank you guys, much love

There is no other place in NELA like LAKO. Don't let the fact that it's a boxing gym intimidate…read moreyou. Everyone there from front desk, to trainers, to the other members are not only friendly and welcoming, but they make you feel strong and empowered every time you walk through the doors. And you leave feeling even better. The classes are suitable for people of all skill levels and you have your choice of boxing, kickboxing, bootcamp and sparring. The trainers are top notch (shout out to Justin!). If you're looking to get in a workout between classes, they have cardio equipment and weights. There's a recovery room for sports massage and compression sleeves, etc. Rates are competitive, bathrooms are always nice and clean, music always bumping and if you're lucky you'll get to meet Koko the mascot :)

Great place for kids! My kids really enjoy training at KD MMA. The coaches are friendly, patient,…read moreand make every class enjoyable. We've had a great experience and definitely recommend it!

I've been training at KD MMA for about nine months now, and I came in with zero boxing experience…read more The environment is very welcoming and friendly, and the workouts are intense and different every time. It's a great combination of cardio while also learning real boxing skills and technique, which keeps it challenging and fun. I train with Coach Slava, and he's extremely knowledgeable, attentive, patient, and supportive. He takes the time to teach proper technique while still pushing you to your limits every workout. I would definitely recommend KD MMA to anyone looking to get in shape, stay healthy, and learn boxing at the same time.

I've been training with Axel Gibson for a couple years now and his new place is awesome. There is…read moreplenty of room on the mats so there are no issues with bumping into training partners. The facility is really nice in a cool area. Axel's technique is cutting edge to say the least. Everything I thought I knew, Axel's approach usually has a much better sequence. You're learning modern Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that emphasizes control over the opponent so it translates very well into MMA and self defense and of course grappling tournaments. Axel is well versed in Muay Thai and MMA as well so any concerns outside of a grappling tournaments in terms of technique are easily addressed. He's one of the most well studied Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners I've ever been around and has answers within the meta and the traditional approaches.

Axel is a beast of a coach and def will help your game improve! The overall energy of the gym is…read morefantastic and exactly what I look for when training. Highly recommend training here!

I cannot stress how much I loved my time at Fight Academy Pasadena. I had been training for 5 years…read moreat different gyms (jiu jitsu) before finding Fight Academy and I stayed there for the last 2 years I was based in LA. EASILY the best training, community, vibes, and biggest improvement in my fitness and combat sports training was here. Savant leads an amazing team of coaches!

Been coming here 4 years and it feels like my home away from home. They are welcoming from day one…read moreand the coaches are high level. The owner Savant was a top 10 featherweight in his prime and always pays close attention to each student. Coach Chris though is light work every time

It doesn't getter any better than getting trained by Coach Yager. He's a professional MMA fighter…read moreand knows what he's doing. I've never taken any previous boxing nor martial arts classes before. Coach Yager is patient and makes learning the techniques easy for me. Just after a few weeks I'm already seeing results. The gym is clean, the other members are super friendly, and the atmosphere motivates me to want to train hard. The P.A.R.K. M.M.A. has helped me develop a love for this sport. I always leave happy and highly recommend becoming a member!

From the owner: THE P.A.R.K. MMA is a fun and exciting place to train mixed martial arts for all levels…read more Professional Amateur Recreational Kickboxing

Coach Dan , Coach Daniel Boon are great. Very professional very friendly community for people to…read morecome train and share their love for combat sports. I recommend this gym to all my friends. Very good gym

Very comfy gym with lots of parking. It has a weight room plus tons of kickboxing equipment. I just…read morewent for my first class last Monday morning and I loved it! Not too small and not too big. Trainers were friendly and the vibe is casual although you will work and you will get tired. I recommend this gym to anyone who wants to try Muay Thai for the very first time. They also offer boxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes and they sell gloves! What's not to like?