Torn on what to change

[TechnoJudo]

Hello martial arts community,

I’m new to formus in general but wanted to ask about switching up what I study. Looks like a good space to ask. I currently do Muay Thai and I pay about $180 a month for it, which I’m realizing is a lot. Also, I asked if it’s possible to get any lower, they said they can but then I have to do a contract. There’s a bjj club that goes for the same price as my Muay Thai gym so I got overwhelmed. I’ve learned from some other gyms I looked up, that I can do boxing and judo or wrestling for the same amount or less. I’m just wondering what the community thinks? I would like to continue striking while learning some grappling within a budget. I’ve just heard that boxing isn’t on the same level of striking as Muay Thai and I don’t know how the community feels about judo or wrestling. But anyways I’m interested in changing things up and I’m not sure what’s expected or normal for pricing and if looking for boxing and some grappling could be beneficial. Thanks for any input and stay safe.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I’ve just heard that boxing isn’t on the same level of striking as Muay Thai and I don’t know how the community feels about judo or wrestling. But anyways I’m interested in changing things up and I’m not sure what’s expected or normal for pricing and if looking for boxing and some grappling could be beneficial. Thanks for any input and stay safe.

I'll suggest

- MT over boxing because MT = punch + kick.
- Wrestling over Judo because wrestling has no jacket dependency.

 

[Yokozuna514]

Hello martial arts community,

I’m new to formus in general but wanted to ask about switching up what I study. Looks like a good space to ask. I currently do Muay Thai and I pay about $180 a month for it, which I’m realizing is a lot. Also, I asked if it’s possible to get any lower, they said they can but then I have to do a contract. There’s a bjj club that goes for the same price as my Muay Thai gym so I got overwhelmed. I’ve learned from some other gyms I looked up, that I can do boxing and judo or wrestling for the same amount or less. I’m just wondering what the community thinks? I would like to continue striking while learning some grappling within a budget. I’ve just heard that boxing isn’t on the same level of striking as Muay Thai and I don’t know how the community feels about judo or wrestling. But anyways I’m interested in changing things up and I’m not sure what’s expected or normal for pricing and if looking for boxing and some grappling could be beneficial. Thanks for any input and stay safe.

Welcome to the forum TechnJudo. Although I can understand living within a budget, I would suggest you look for a MA that you enjoy doing at a budget you feel is reasonable. Selecting a MA purely based on how much the gym/dojo/training hall charges may not be the best way to select an art to train in. Although a higher price point does not always equate to higher quality of instruction or better facilities, a successful place to train will charge a price that they feel attracts the customers they are looking to have join. The higher price point could also be due to the availability of higher quality of instruction. As an exaggerated example would be the difference between a Mercedes and VW Beetle. Both cars from Germany but both this distinctly different price points.

I would suggest trial them all and see which place fits you and your interests the best. When you have a couple at the top of the list that suit you then decide if they price of each are worth what you are getting. Good luck.

 

[Buka]

Welcome to Martialtalk, TechnoJudo.

How close are your options for training to you? And how long have you been doing Muay Thai?

 

[TechnoJudo]

Welcome to Martialtalk, TechnoJudo.

How close are your options for training to you? And how long have you been doing Muay Thai?

I have a judo club, a few boxing gyms, and just the Muay Thai gym that I'm currently at. I have been doing it on and off for a couple years now.

 

[WaterGal]

Depending on where you're at, $180/month could be either a lot of money or a very typical price. A school in rural Missouri is going to need to charge a different rate from a school in LA or Manhattan, because the cost of rent, employee payroll, etc will be different.

If you're not happy at your current school, look around and see what your options are.

 

[MadMartigan]

As said, picking your school based solely on price may not be a great long term plan. Sometimes you get what you pay for... the lowest bidder isn't usually providing the best product (obviously there are exceptions).

The other side to this is; why are you training? Are you interested in competition; or are you just in it for the fitness and longterm lifestyle benefits?
Muay Thai is great for effective striking in kickboxing and mma; but if you just love the drills and sparring etc, there are plenty of styles (yes, even traditional martial arts) that accomplish those same ends.

As has already been said, pick the school you like and works best for you over just the pricetag or name on the door.

 

[MetalBoar]

Yeah, $180/mo. is the higher end (but not the top) of what I'd expect to pay in a big West Coast city and maybe the top of what I'd expect to pay someplace like small town Middle America, but that doesn't mean it's unreasonable. It depends on what they offer. If it's a full time school with top tier instruction in a really great facility and you get unlimited classes then it might be cheap for that price. On the other hand, if the head instructor is just some guy who went to Thailand once and he teaches 2 nights a week at the local park then it's pretty steep.

Still it's all relative. If they offer full time instruction but you can only make it once or twice a week then you might be effectively paying for a lot of training time that you can't use. If that's the case that's not on the gym, but it might mean they're a bad fit for you. If you really want both striking and grappling and you want to do them both now and you can comfortably afford to pay for boxing plus wrestling/Judo but not Muay Thai and a grappling school then I'd look at the quality of the other schools and think about switching.

To a large degree it also depends on your goals. Do you just want to be a well rounded martial artist who's comfortable at all ranges in a fight? If so then there's no real hurry, if the MT school is good you could train there until you felt you were pretty confident with the kicks and knees and things you won't get from boxing and then switch to grappling or grappling plus boxing. On the other hand if you want to be an MMA professional the requirements are a lot higher, the timeline is probably a lot shorter, and you need to be talking with a real coach who produces real, successful, pro fighters rather than listening to me.

 

[drop bear]

You would be fine combining the boxing, Judo and wrestling. If it is cheaper and the instruction is good.

They are the generally cheaper arts. But you also generally get more bang for your buck depending on where you are.

So it might be a lot easier to find a boxing champion who will teach you than a Muay thai champion. Just because boxing is more common. And the price reflects that common access.

But if boxing is more common. You are more likely to find a better boxing instructor than you would a muay thai instructor.

Now move to Thailand. And you would find a great Muay thai instructor for nothing. But have to pay a premium for, say Judo or something.

 

[MetalBoar]

You would be fine combining the boxing, Judo and wrestling. If it is cheaper and the instruction is good.

They are the generally cheaper arts. But you also generally get more bang for your buck depending on where you are.

So it might be a lot easier to find a boxing champion who will teach you than a Muay thai champion. Just because boxing is more common. And the price reflects that common access.

But if boxing is more common. You are more likely to find a better boxing instructor than you would a muay thai instructor.

Now move to Thailand. And you would find a great Muay thai instructor for nothing. But have to pay a premium for, say Judo or something.

I completely agree about Judo pricing/availability. I've found a lot of fantastic Judo clubs or not for profit schools that charge next to nothing. Unfortunately, at least in the places I've lived, I've had bad luck finding quality boxing instruction. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but as a guy in my 40's (now 50) who obviously wasn't going to be a pro I've found that the gyms that actually box weren't going to do anything but take my money and tell me to go hit a heavy bag and jump some rope. And now there are getting to be a lot of "boxing" gyms where no one actually boxes, they just do boxercise but they don't call it that anymore. I've had a little better luck at MMA gyms but overall I've gotten to be pretty leery of boxing gyms at this stage in my life.

 

[Hanshi]

Hello martial arts community,

I’m new to formus in general but wanted to ask about switching up what I study. Looks like a good space to ask. I currently do Muay Thai and I pay about $180 a month for it, which I’m realizing is a lot. Also, I asked if it’s possible to get any lower, they said they can but then I have to do a contract. There’s a bjj club that goes for the same price as my Muay Thai gym so I got overwhelmed. I’ve learned from some other gyms I looked up, that I can do boxing and judo or wrestling for the same amount or less. I’m just wondering what the community thinks? I would like to continue striking while learning some grappling within a budget. I’ve just heard that boxing isn’t on the same level of striking as Muay Thai and I don’t know how the community feels about judo or wrestling. But anyways I’m interested in changing things up and I’m not sure what’s expected or normal for pricing and if looking for boxing and some grappling could be beneficial. Thanks for any input and stay safe.

The answer posted by Yokozuna514 brings up some salient points. I agree with his take on your situation.