Why Gym Loyalty Is Important

Because your gym is your home.  And its members are you family.  Just like home, the gym gives you a space to express yourself.  Just like family, its members will do anything to help you.  Gym loyalty is crucial because your gym should give everything it has into making you a better fighter and a better person.  You should return the favor and strive to honor your gym’s name and reputation.  The only way the system works is when both fighters and the gym are working to simultaneously improve one another.  The fighter fights for the gym’s name and the gym does everything possible to prepare and represent its fighters.

Clearly, there are some cases where you need to move gyms.  Moving to a new area outside of commuting distance from your previous gym is the most obvious reason.  The other is if your gym has a toxic environment and is not helping you grow.  But if there’s no reason to leave, gym-hopping is disrespectful to the coaches and the gyms that invested in you.

Changing gyms every few months is not going to make you a better fighter.  If you do this, you’re always the outsider.  The relationships I have with my teammates is the most motivating factor when it comes to my training.  These relationships took years to build.  They are strengthened by our mutual loyalty to each other as teammates and to T.A.G. Muay Thai as our home.  Even though I now live 150 miles away from my gym, I still talk with my coaches and teammates frequently, and I am still involved in the gym and invested in my team.

Staying loyal to your team and your gym will automatically improve your fighting and your mentality and will make your journey as a Nak Muay much easier and more rewarding.