RResidents in Japan

Recommendations for kickboxing or Muay Thai (Tokyo)

  • February 4, 2026

I have been a member of Hayato Gym Kickboxing for a few months now, and the experience has left me pretty disappointed.

What I'm used to:
– responsive teachers
– lots of pair work with pads
– hardcore fitness warm-ups that leave you trembling for the first 15-20 min of a 60-90 min lesson
– regular padded sparring practice, about every other day
– plenty of gear for students to use provided by the gym

What I'm getting for about 18,000 yen per month:
– teachers who make no effort to engage or teach, except maybe five min or so per lesson per student
– three people just alternating hitting a bag, virtually no pair work, no pads for students to use together
– no fitness session, apart from one dedicated "class" available once a week
– no community equipment, everything you buy and bring and take home yourself
– no sparring practice, save for once a week for one hour, for "advanced students" only

I don't know if this is unique to Hayato, or the sad norm for Japan, but if anyone knows a gym that sounds a bit more like what I'm used to, please share.

by Leading-Inspector544

4 comments

  1. I used to go to Reversal. They usually had the instructor teach a few sets of moves and then you get paired off to repeat said moves. The class would always end with sparring. They primarily offer kickboxing and BJJ, but I know there was one Muay Thai class when I used to go.

  4. Tokyo is so big that it may be helpful to specify which ward you’re in, unless you don’t care about the time to commute. I went to Kuramitsu Muay Thai near Kagurazaka Station for a while and had a good experience. They had two Thai trainers and another fighter who speaks good English (if that matters). There is sparring every day but it usually starts impromptu. I don’t remember the pricing but it was less than 18,000/month.

    I’ve also heard good things about Phoenix Akihabara and Target Shibuya. The official K-1 gyms are usually pretty decent too, though not all are made equal.

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