Fighthouse

the muy thai & jiu jitsu classes are good. A pretty proffesional serious ambient, not the whole meathead/​wanna bee/​chatterbox ego on high/​hostile feeling that you encounter from spots with members who watched some ultimate fighter, and then ultimately lost thier mind, and are ultimately annoying to be around. Fight house is a clean facility, tiny shower, good mats and sparring mates. Enjoyable training experience.
The best thing about it all is no contract/​flexibility also. yay!

I trained at FH for about a year before they were temporarily closed by the city. They’re a good bunch of people, but I don’t feel comfortable giving them a great review since the major shakeup in their Muay Thai teaching lineup. Kru Brandon Levi is no longer there and, although I encourage people to check the place out (it is definitely one of the less expensive gyms in the city for this sort of thing), the Muay Thai there is less cohesive than it was under Kru Levi.
Although I will always have happy memories about FH, I’ve personally moved on.

FYI– Brandon Levi’s not there anymore, he opened up his own gym, Evolution Muay Thai, not too far from the Fighthouse location. All the info’s on his website:
Fighthouse is great but I just wanted to put that out there for all the diehard brandon fans!

I can’t speak for the space really, since I mostly practiced with Brandon Levi at the YMCA, but if you are looking for a great, fun and challenging trainer in NYC, I can’t recommend him enough. While there are dudes in the class who are training to destroy other dudes, there are also plenty of women and men who are of an intermediate and beginner level of fitness, so you will be paired up with someone near your level.
You can pay by the class and I’ve never been pressured to buy a package.
If you’re starting out or continuing a program and want to laugh a little while getting in great shape, go find Brandon at Fighthouse. He’s the one with the funny accent.

The Fighthouse has an impressive amount of different classes going on here at any given time. boxing, Muay Thai, Kung Fu, etc. You name it, they’ve probably got it. It’s like the movie Bloodsport come to life minus the blood and Jean Claude’s corny lines.
I came here for traditional boxing sessions with Danny. The way that boxing works here is that individual boxing coaches utilize the space but are essentially individual contractors. Meaning you have to pay a gym fee to Fighthouse AND on top of that pay for your coach. So that meant paying $ 35-​$ 50 for your trainer and on top of that $ 15 for a day pass that goes to Fighthouse. Not really too economical. During the time that I was there, they only offered personal boxing sessions and no group lessons, so there weren’t any cheaper options.
I adored Danny, so that was the only reason I stayed there for as long as I did before my wallet just couldn’t handle it anymore. He runs Boxing4Geeks (
). He is FANTASTIC!!! I completely recommend him. From the way he meticulously wraps your hands to his killer workouts (up and down 4 flights of stairs with a weighted vest on). Woo! I love him. One thing I would suggest is to book sessions directly with the trainers instead of doing it through Fighthouse (just because they can charge you ridiculous fees). Plus, you’ll always have choices in regards to which trainer you want instead of just being assigned to one.
While Danny and the other boxing trainers are top notch, the actual facility and management is not the best. Ms. Chau at the front desk is cold as ice and rarely cracks a smile. For the high price they charge for monthly/​daily passes, you’d expect lockers, towels, the works. The shower and the changing room are pretty scary… kinda dingy and filthy. I hope they get their shit together because that place is huge and has lots of potential.

Fighthouse offers the best prices in midtown as well as one of the friendliest environments. There’s no politics, the sign up process is so simple, it’s all about training, (you can sign up in under 5 minutes.) Many of the other martial arts schools in NYC are based around one super star fighter that rarely teaches group classes and charges hundreds for one hour privates. Fighthouse isn’t like that, it carries a greater talent pool spread across many great trainers at really competitive prices in a very positive learning environment.
For instance unlimited MMA, Muay Thai, or Brazilian Jiu-​Jitsu starts only at 138 a month with only a 3 month commitment and you can cancel with a 45 days notice who else offers that in midtown Manhattan. They also have special packages when taking multiple disciplines and discount packages on privates, which are very competitive compared to the rest of the fitness industry in NYC.
check out the class list, FAQs, instructors
Enjoy!!!

Guys, please don’t kill me.
There are some very passionate people at Fighthouse, and Kru Brandon Levi has got to be at the top of them for teaching 25 classes a week. He’s got an awesome personality that makes class fun, while being approachable if you have any questions.
What also makes Fighthouse pretty great are the wide variety of classes you can take here: Muay Thai, boxing, Russian systema and kettlebells, Jiu Jitsu, MMA, and more.
But there were a few things that pulled down my experience here.
Class size can be ridiculously huge to the point where there’s no space to move without bumping (possibly knocking out) the person next to/​behind you. This is only a problem for the Tues/​Thurs classes that are back to back. Intermediate students come to the earlier Basics class as a warm-​up before sticking around for their more advanced class.
Don’t use the equipment unless you want to get ringworm. Seriously. I –highly– suggest you have your own gloves because the ones available are pretty old, worn out, and absolutely reek of years’ worth of accumulated sweat and BO. Anytime I used them, I couldn’t get the stench off even with multiple washings. With soap. And sanitizer.
For beginners in Muay Thai, it’s a little difficult to get started here. You’re thrown right into the class with everyone else with no real introduction on how to do proper basic techniques. In the handful of Basic classes I’ve been to here, Kru Brandon Levi likes to do 60 second drills of various punching/​kicking combinations. If you’re new, by the time you figure out what you need to do, the drill time is already over and they’re moving on to the next one.
I have to give credit for Brandon taking the time out to make sure I was okay and correct technique a bit. But the fast-​paced class made for only a 10 – 15 second check on me before moving on.
Despite the fact the space at the school is pretty big, there are many other classes occurring simultaneously, so if you need to get anywhere, you’re probably walking through/​around students in another class, which I just feel bad for doing.
There are a bunch of cubbies with doors, so make sure to bring your own lock. Theft has apparently been occurring a lot recently. If you don’t have a lock, you can bring your bag to class and place it off to the side.
Pricing! Everyone wants to know this stuff.
This was definitely one of the things I like best about this place. You can pay PER class!
Before you get started, you can try one class for $ 15. After that is a $ 50 registration fee, and each class is then $ 25. Monthly tuition is $ 140 I believe. And no contracts here, guys. The guys who work here are laid back and friendly, and I didn’t feel pressured to join and/​or pay a ton of money.
Even though my experience here was okay, there are a lot of die-​hard Fighthouse students here who wouldn’t go anywhere else. I simply suggest trying a class for $ 15 and making up your mind from there.

Think the Bar sence in Star Wars. You walk in and there’s a big empty room with a boxing ring in the middle. On each side of the ring there are groups of people doing different martial arts. Guys in Muay Thai shorts on one side, guys with foam swords on the other, another side has Brazilian Jiu Jitsu people, then there are Russian guys in military outfits on the fouth side. Every corner has something else going on.
You have to check it out for yourself to decide if it’s for you. Pro — You can pay per class instead of monthly membership. Con — Not the cleanest.

Though Fighthouse itself houses several martial arts schools, I can only review the Muay Thai school within Fighthouse, Evolution Muay Thai. Though the head instructor, Kru Brandon Levi, is Aussie, he’s one of the most authentic Muay Thai instructors I ever had (I’ve trained with Thais before). Excellent work out, instruction on proper technique and footwork (which I would say what makes him stand out). I give him 5 stars. He’s also a pretty funny dude, though his brand of humor may be crass for some but I dig it. If the place had more showers, I’d probably bump this review up.