Love ATT Fort Lauderdale! Let me preface by saying that I started out doing Muay Thai and…read moregrappling while living in LA and went to several martial arts gyms over the years. When I moved to Florida, I was searching for a place where I could continue training in an environment that valued respect, had a good philosophy on life, discipline, and fighting, and where I would least likely to be hit on (I took the availability of kids classes as an indication that this was a safe place.) After reading all of the reviews online (google), checking out their extensive Facebook and instagram pages and giving them a call, I started taking group Muay Thai classes a few years back with Coach Luis. Due to a move, I stopped my membership for a couple years but when I contacted ATT again several months ago to take private Muay Thai classes, I was welcomed back warmly.
I have only good things to say about ATT Ft. Lauderdale, the instructors (Coach Luis), front desk (thank you Filipe and Caroline!), and even fellow students whom I've met while there. Although I have not participated in the events (Halloween night for kids, End of the Year party at the beach and even a birthday party for Coach Junior), the environment is incredibly family friendly and community-building. And when I say family friendly, I mean they have a rocker and changing table in the lounge area right before the womens bathroom, and one dad felt comfortable bringing his infant in a carseat/stroller to class - the baby hung out on the side and throughout the class, different guys went over to check on the baby.
When my daughter turns 3, I hope to bring her to try the kids classes. That's a testament to how comfortable feel about this gym.
Here are some additional thoughts:
- Great workouts with Coach Luis where I'm never bored, always sweaty and sore afterwards, and always learning new techniques. He keeps me interested, motivated and excited for the next class by changing it up between holding pads, bag work, stations, cardio, abs, etc. and working through "what if" scenarios if I have questions. He tailors workouts and pushes me to improve.
- They really try to accommodate my schedule for private classes which made it possible for me to get back into Muay Thai.
- Facilities are kept clean (did a deep clean one Friday morning while I was there and all the furniture was moved around). After returning from my hiatus, I found that they made improvements to the space. Seems like they are always trying to improve.
- Front desk is super friendly, responsive, and accommodating when I had questions or had to reschedule private classes. They text! I'm always greeted at the door and they know students by name.
- Seems to value feedback for improvement - they sent out a questionnaire and I don't know if it's a coincidence but something I commented on was addressed a couple weeks later.
- Parking can be tricky depending on when/what day you go. There are some spaces available in front of the gym or you can chance it and park on the gravel across the street, next to the train tracks that says permit only.
Overall, I found ATT Ft. Lauderdale to be a great place to train and would highly recommend it.
