I've been looking for a club here in Orlando for quite a long time since I've been wanting to train for the AM circuit. When I originally set out in search of one, I had a rough time since it seemed like everything being offered was more for cardio or a mix of MMA/Muay Thai which just wasn't what I was looking for. I finally got in touch with the most legit looking place out of them all and had a chance to speak to the head coach there to find out that there are no council-funded gyms or primary boxing facilities within Orlando. I'm not sure if its 100% true but after doing my research and looking myself, it seems like he's the only one offering something remotely close to the level of training and dedication I'm looking for. He only teaches boxing and nothing else at his gym. My question is to whether or not this guy is truly legit and what I should be looking for in his services as far as for the trainer and its facilities. I'm planning to stop down there this week and give the place a once over and watch one of his classes. http://www.gymratboxing.com/index.htm That's the website for the gym and pretty much all the information for any questions I could think to ask.
Very fancy, Beverly Hills looking gym. My first gym was the second floor or a motorcycle factory At first glance it looked like it was gonna be mostly aerobic boxing and not so much on the fighting and competing with all the fancy pretty girls on the front of the webpage. He does have it listed though that he's a coach of USA Amatuer Boxing which was going to be what I was gonna tell you to look for. Otherwise I would just check and make sure that he actually is. Does he have guys that compete? A fight team? Stuff like that. In schedule though it does say that he has boxing team practices and sparring, so it appears legit. Only one way you can find out...
I know it's a bit of a drive....but if you ever find yourself a bit further west, Dunedin boxing club is quite old-school.....Calto's (Tampa) is OK....(if you like your boxing gym air-conditioned)...
Dunedin to Orlando is about 2 hours each way:dead Maybe there is something around Lakeland which would be a lot closer:think
Yea.. thats all quite a distance from me. I'm trying to go another route at the moment though.. Other day, people asked me at work why my hands were busted up. Told them what I was up to and they pointed me in the direction of an older guy there that had quite a bunch of fights. He's been looking to train someone but he doesn't have time right now for a fighter. He said he knows another 'certified' trainer that works mainly as a barber but is going to check and see if he has the time, if not he'll ask him what gyms are in the area. Other than that, the buddy of mine really seems to know his stuff and is gonna give me pointers in the mean-time. Even just the short one conversation we had tonight, I feel like I learned so much that it blew my head off since I was only running on 3 hours of sleep. I'll keep my eye open to any of your guys suggestions as far as gyms since I'll have to keep looking if everything else falls through. I'm limited on transport so I'm trying to stay as close as possible.
Dunedin boxing has been closed for a couple years now. Quite a shame. 50 dollars bought you a membership for a YEAR.
I suppose this gym is worth a try. As others said its ussually legit if they have sparring and have people that compete.
Looks like I'm going to make a spot down there this week since the other guys I spoke to aren't very reliable. I'll let ya know how it goes.
Well, the good thing is he has two other amateur boxers there that compete. Once I get some cash together for the fees and figure out the bus schedules to get there, I'll finally be in the pipeline.
Definitely looks like everything is on the up and up. I got a chance to sit in on one of his classes before I signed up with him so I could get an eye as to how he treats his fighters and how he trains them. The coach/owner is Todd Drespling and from the talk we had and watching him teach, he definitely look like he knows his stuff. He was a navy x2 champ and was the world champion in the Master's division five years ago. Tomorrow I'll be starting my first lesson with him at 11 AM with eyes open and ears sharp.
