UFC Gym in Concord
January 26, 2010 by nopstar
I see that the UFC has opened their first gym not too far away from my old stomping ground. Their first gym opened this past weekend in Concord California… I wonder if they are going to have and extra large parking lot and kennel to accommodate all of the jacked monster trucks and pitbulls that are going to be pulling in there.
I did a post on this months ago… according to the promo clip, you can take MuayThai… I’ve got to believe this is going to be good for our sport. My gut says the more people who are introduced to it the better? Is MuayThai going to be the Karate or TKD of the 1980’s? Am I going to pull into a strip mall and see mcdojo’s suddenly teaching MuayThai? If I do is that necessarily a bad thing?
Does anyone know what their fees are like? I know a lot of the big gyms in SF (MuayThai and BJJ) were charging $120+/month for training. I’m sure they’re going to be drawing customers away from surrounding Muaythai gyms.
Have any of you guys been?
Looks fucking horible to me but then I very much doubt im the intended clientele.
I’m def not enthused about this.. WTF!! They got dudes teaching Traditional Martial arts??? Since when do you see anyone in the UFC displaying some kind of traditional martial art. The brutal face smashing is def not traditional.. LOL!! I cannot deny that I am def a fan and an even bigger fan of the fighters that display good overall technique however, i’m not sure if this is a good thing and i’m def not a fan of the guys that go into the Octagon and just try to kill the other guy. I’ve seen fights where the 2 opponents were VERY aggresive but displayed sound technique. I hope that it doesn’t water down Muay Thai to the point that EVERYONE will think that they’re learning Authentic Muay Thai. They’re about to open up a TapOut gym in Union City NJ and i’ll tell you what, they have a Thai teaching Muay Thai but EVERYONE is now going to become an MMA/Thai fighter. LOL!! OHH NOO!!!
Oh yeah and the kicking technique looks like straight shit.. LOL!! I’m not impressed!!
I see it as both good and bad for Muay Thai. Good in that the exposure to Muay Thai will bring people to our art that wouldn’t have otherwise discovered it. Bad because probably 90%+ of those people will not come to it with the proper attitude (think the jacked-up monster trucks and pitbulls Nop alluded to).
You can already see it happening in the states. There are lots of MMA gyms that teach MT as part of their program. And there are lots of Karate-style dojos that teach MT after going to some seminars or studying some under a Thaiboxer. You can definitely tell the difference between those folks and people who go to a camp dedicated to MT and who teaches/adheres to traditional MT principles.
yeah we have one of these pieces of shit opening up in boston soon. Combat Sports (the gear) just opened one up too.
I think it’s good for Muay Thai and yes it is becoming like Karate in the 80’s so I can imagine a lot of Muay Thai enthusiasts feeling resentment towards the “bandwagon”. I can understand the feeling of wanting to keep it as a private members sport and the high horse of superiority but forget all that:) Let’s just enjoy the positives that come out of it, more money for better fighters, more shows, more gyms! MORE MUAY THAI!
I teach & train in Santa Clara at Muay Thai Academy International – word on the street is that UFC doled out a ton of money into that facility. They supposedly brought over a Lumpinee champion to head up the muay thai training program there (there’s no bearing on if the training quality will be any good since MMA waters down everything it touches).
Additionally, I also heard that the pricing is going to be cheap, like 24Hour Fitness cheap. I drove past it, it’s huge, set up for high volume. My guess is that they’re gunning for the 24Hour fitness crowd while undercutting the local MT schools like Fairtex and Team USA in the city. Take a bite out of Fairtex (imho, the first wave of McMuay Thai schools) = good, but overall for the integrity of the style = bad. It’s gonna end up franchised & diluted like krav maga.
Diluted is the word. It’s all about eh benjamins. I don’t see many people actually excelling in any particular discipline (general fitness, maybe)?
more than half of the muay thai gyms are fucking mcdojos already. i dont know where u have been.
you can go to the muay thai camp section on this site, check out their websites, and spot many mcdojos.
haha! Thats an interesting point you made comparing Muay Thai with taekwondo and karate of the 80’s. However, I wanted to discuss the role of MMA in the progress (or regress) of Muay Thai as a sport in America.
I am Canadian but have been living in Europe over the past 6 years. Although Muay Thai in Europe is much more mainstream, or at least well known, the popularity of MMA, although slow, is picking up momentum. I am somewhat anxious with regards to how it will effect the sport in Europe.
At home (in Canada), the old Muay Thai gym where I used to train has become primarily a MMA gym. Mixed events (events including MMA and Muay Thai matches) were once popular, however the past few years have seen less and less Muay thai events because all the fights now take place in cages which is of course, unsuitable for Muay Thai-rules events.
It seems the growth and popularity of Muay Thai in America was stunted by UFC’s rise in popularity and acceptance into the American mainstream. At the same time, like you said, MMA can also be attributed for the positive exposure of Muay Thai as the most effective striking sport.
I personally can’t stand the MMA hype, in particular, the attitude and demeanor of many of the athletes and fans of the sport. However, we have to accept that it is the reality in which fight sport is headed . Embracing and capitalizing on the few positive effects MMA has had on the sport (the exposure and ‘popularization’ of Muay Thai) might be the key to surviving or at least competing with the MMA marketing machine.
Muay Thai and MMA existing together as schools may be acceptable, but Muay Thai needs its own events. Slamm is a perfect example of Muay Thai enthusiasts in the western world taking initiative in organizing exclusive Muay Thai events. These events provide a platform giving Muay Thai fighters a reason to fight. We need more organizations with the same commitment to the sport of Muay Thai on both continents.
MT4ever!
my first instinct is to agree with TexMT that it’s both good and bad, but given further thought, it’s just all bad.
i know plenty of people (and i’m sure many other here do too) who train in MMA gyms and learn what is supposedly “Muay Thai,” which in reality is just some weird, watered-down version that has little if anything to do with actual MT. in recent years, with the rise of MMA, the world is now chock full of people who think that if they throw one half-ass kick in the midst of something, they are training “Muay Thai.”
that being said, i can’t assume that they wouldn’t have real or good MT classes there. most gyms nowadays teach a multitude of disciplines, including MMA, and can still have tons of good MT instruction and support (like our gym F&F, but that’s slightly different as MMA and such were added later, instead of the other way around).
i’ve been thinking for years that the rise of MMA would equal a rise in MT popularity, as it’s a (supposedly) major component, but it seems the opposite is true. fewer and fewer people seem interested in purely training MT, but it seems more and more people are willing to flaunt their ignorance about it. that being said, the words “Muay Thai” have crossed more people’s lips in recent times than in many previous years, and maybe in the end, that will cause more people to become interested in real MT. i think for that to happen, though, people are going to have to stop thinking that 99% of anything that happens in the octagon is actual Muay Thai.
hmmm looks like i did agree with the “good and bad” thing after all ;)
very well put war_neungsiam
“very well put war_neungsiam” +1
1. MuayThai has already long been commercialized in the U.S. by all the Surachai Sirisute-affiliated JKD schools (the TBA). There are more certified TBA instructors out there than any organization you can think of. If you live in the US and you look up ‘muaythai’ in your area, I would be willing to bet, 60% chance any given location is TBA related. And JKD schools have long-since reached McDojo status.
2. @donnie@oldstylemuaythai.com: I have seen your videos on YouTube, and I am surprised you mention anything about the “integrity” of MuayThai, seeing as the material you promote is laughable to those who train the real art. Almost certainly, a person would be able to walk into any of these UFC gyms, train moderately seriously, and be able to perform vastly superior in any competitive or non-competitive situation to anyone who partakes the material you promote. MuayThai has way more of a chance of preserving its integrity in the form of a UFC gym than it does in the form you present it.
wow donnie i checked out your vids too on youtube…….as much as i could bare at least
YOU ARE THE MCKING OF MCINSTRUCTORS
horrible.
lol my favorite is donnie b vid is ’street defense against a haymaker punch’
if you want lulz, check that vid out
sherdog.com
to be honest….
if its cheap id love to get exposed to some bjj and use their bags for a promotional rate of $200 for 3 years or some shit.
you cant replace sparring but if your broke and still want to train and hit bags this MIGHT, be of some worth.
i can see myself exploiting their features to my benefit. the only real problem would the excess of douches.
wat is this jargon about JKD and the TBA? im not too familiar with what MT has to do with JKD. like bruce lee JKD?
Wow.. very spirited comments y’all :-p
Sorry.. had to check out the lulz @ Donnie B’s videos. Umm… not to pile on Donnie,he’s probably an alright dude.. but calling Fairtex McMuay? Yikes dude.. not sure how you would have fared, especially at Clementina. I am not a fan, but they still have good instructors.
And that overhand right defense? Yeah its a block, just like all punches have blocks. But if you think this punch cannot work.. see 75% of Chuck Liddell’s punches and Dzhabar vs. Soren on Contender Asia. :-p
OMG… just watched more video.. Speechless..
So.. is the definition of McDojo/McMuay simply number of facilities or.. instructors that seem to learn their techniques from videos and get mail in certificates.. thus propagating a myth that they are somehow qualified to instruct.
Just asking..