What is Muay Thai?
Muay Thai, sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the “art of eight limbs”, as it is characterized by the combined use of fists, elbows, knees, and shins.
Muay Thai Class Descriptions
Fitness & Fundamentals
This class is where everyone at KruFit starts. It’s also our most popular class as it combines fundamental Muay Thai techniques along with a great workout! Whether it’s your first day or 10th year of training, this class is for everyone!
Intermediate Level
Our Intermediate Level class is where we move from using fundamental Muay Thai strikes for fitness into teaching and learning strategies and tactics of fighting. It involves primarily Thai pad and partner work. It’s still a great physical workout, but you’ll also notice that this class will really grow your knowledge of Muay Thai for fighting and self defense.
Advanced Level
This class is where we put it all together in sparring. At KruFit, we have a very “Thai style” of sparring meaning we focus on tools, techniques, targets and timing vs an old school mentality of hard sparring like it’s actually a fight- because, it’s not a fight! Don’t get us wrong, we have a huge fight team full of killers, but even they understand that we all need to be safe to go home to our families, jobs and even our fight team needs to be injury free so they can actually fight.
Kid’s Martial Arts Program
Kids ages 4-12 will build confidence, gain self-defense skills, and make friends in this class. Our energetic coaches combine kid-friendly workout elements, the discipline of good Muay Thai and BJJ form, and plenty of games.
“The energy in this gym is contagious, the coaches are extremely helpful and very well versed in Muay Thai. Very glad to found this place.”
– Adam V. (via Facebook)
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Meet Your Head Muay Thai Coach
Jamie Bradley, Owner of KruFit
Hi, my name is Jamie Bradley and I’m the Founder, Owner, and Head Muay Thai Coach here at KruFit. I founded the gym in 2018 after nearly two decades of training, competing, and coaching in the sport.
Like many of our members, my Muay Thai journey began thanks to a long-running, love-hate relationship with food and fitness. I’m not a “fitness influencer.” I’m a normal person with a normal metabolism.
I’ve played the diet game for many years losing and gaining weight. In fact, depending on when you’re reading this – I might be super fit or super not. I understand the long, frustrating road to fitness as well as that of injury recovery (thanks to five knee surgeries).
My passion for Muay Thai has taken me around the world to learn from some of the world’s top fighters, coaches, and organizations:
- 2005: Began training Muay Thai.
- 2007: Won the International Kickboxing Federation World Classic-Lightweight Division.
- 2013: Began training under Ajarn Buck Grant. He awarded me the title of “Kru” (Thai for “teacher” and where KruFit gets its name).
- 2014: Trained with Kru Alexander Palma, Coach Melchor Menor, and World Champion Kevin Ross – some of the biggest names in Muay Thai.
- 2015: Traveled to Thailand to learn Muay Thai in its most authentic form.
- 2016: Became the first female head coach on the internationally renown and televised Lion Fight Promotion.
- 2017: Began working with the United States Muay Thai (USMF) to promote authentic Muay Thai in the Midwest and give fighters a platform to regularly compete. Also participated in my first Combat Sports Academy (CSA) Coaches Clinic learning from top coaches and fighters including Kirian Fitzgibbons, Barry Robinson, Kru Patrick Rivera, Gaston Bolanos, and Kevin Ross.
- 2018: Took KruFit’s first team of six fighters to Thailand to train for two weeks at Petchsaman FC, Rambaa Somdet M16 Gym, and Venum Training Camp.
- 2019: Returned to the CSA Coaches Clinic in April to learn from Bazooka Joe Valtellini, Mark Dellagrotte (Muay Thai expert and UFC analyst), and Tony Blauer. Also attended in September to learn from Liam Harrison, Damien Alamos, Eddie Abasolo, Kru Alex Palma, Coach “Padman” McGriff, Vinny Shoreman, and Hans Molenkamp (founder of Monster Energy and Triumph United brands). Also attended the first-ever Muay Thai Business Academy to learn how to provide the best experience for our gym members.
- 2020: Promoted and held the first-ever USMF-sanctioned Youth Development League (YDL) event in the state of Indiana.
- 2021: Returned to the CSA Coaches Clinic to learn from 4x (in two weight classes) UFC World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist, Henry Cejudo, multiple-time Muay Thai/Kickboxing World Champion Greg Wooton, American Muay Thai prodigy Charles Johnson, and Mau Sutai, owner of Sutai Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand. Also, Jayden Stafford, KruFit fighter and multiple-time National Champion, became the first-ever fighter from Indiana named to the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) Team USA.
- 2022: Jayden Stafford wins gold at the 2022 World Boxing Council (WBC) Muay Thai World Youth Games in Calgary, Canada. Jayden will also compete in the 2022 WAKO Junior Worlds Kickboxing tournament in Lido di Jesolo, Italy. KruFit also takes a team of nine fighters to the 2022 Thai Boxing Association (TBA) Classic Muay Thai World Expo in Des Moines, Iowa.
I hope you’ll visit us to try a free class soon. I can’t wait to introduce you to the life-changing art of Muay Thai!
See What’s Happening at the Gym via our latest Instagram posts ->
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Why Train Muay Thai?
Muay Thai training is an awesome physical activity. Martial arts in general are known as full-body exercises, but Muay Thai turns things up a notch. It’s also known as “The Art of the 8 Limbs” because of the eight ‘weapons’ in your arsenal: two fists, two shins, two elbows, and two knees (a.k.a. Your whole body).
This means training in Muay Thai is perfect for: losing weight, building strength, lowering your blood pressure, improving your cardio, and working out in a new, fun way. Should you choose to train to become a competitive fighter, you’re in for mental and emotional growth on top of the fitness benefits. No matter why you train, you’ll gain self-defense skills and build your self-confidence.
Part of the fun is that no two weeks at KruFit are exactly the same — you’ll always be working different parts of your body. This variety also means you’ll constantly learn new skills, making Muay Thai excellent for your mind. Think of it as a game of chess, although much quicker and more physical. By balancing offense and defense, combining new skills with old ones, and so on, you’ll build new pathways in your brain (this phenomenon is called neural plasticity). The strategy that goes into Muay Thai makes for a solid mental workout.
At KruFit we place a high value on community which leads to emotional wellness for our members. We foster an open and helpful gym environment and our coaches and members are always ready to encourage and guide you as you work towards your goals. No matter your reason for training, you’ll gain new friends and self-confidence when you become part of the KruFit family.
