A Reflection on Year One
If you’re looking for the TLDR:
We love this place and our members. Everything continues to hit if not exceed our expectations. It isn’t easy but it’s more than worth it as long as we remember to enjoy the process, relish the little wins, and chip away at the big goals. Thank you all for a great first year! We hope this place is a positive force in your life. We look forward to many, many more years.
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A Muay Thai gym isn’t a normal business. First off Muay Thai is a martial art, and true martial artists--regardless of the discipline--have a general set of rules and codes that they follow.
I break them down into three core ideas:
Respect your lineage and the coach(es) that brought you success;
Give exceedingly to the students and fighters that commit themselves to your gym;
Teach the sport authentically and honestly.
That level of integrity is something that Joe and myself hold very dear. Though I come from a business background, I cannot fathom the day where I see Juniper solely based on growth and profit margins. Fighters entrust us with their physical health and careers. Parents with their young children. Every member expects, and deserves, a gym that is safe, fosters a sense of community, and pushes them to achieve their goals--whatever those goals may be. Ultimately, you can’t ‘play’ Muay Thai. It’s a fight sport. A real martial arts gym is not a normal business.
When Joe and I opened the gym, we set clear benchmarks. One was to hit 120 students by the end of Year 1. We are exactly there, +/- five students. We also set clear expectations for what we wanted our gym to be: A gym large enough to support us financially, but small enough that we taught the vast majority of classes. A gym where anyone--regardless of goals, fitness level, race, experience level, sexuality, or gender--could train, and a gym that produces extremely serious, dedicated, world-class fighters. As we continue to push towards these goals, the gym itself will continue to evolve and solidify its identity.
Coach Casey with her baby, Sloan, leading a Women’s Muay Thai class.
There are some pills that have been, and will continue to be, hard to swallow. Members, fighters, and coaches alike will make mistakes. We will test out new schedules or ideas that will flop, give speeches that fail to hit the issues we attempt to address, or workouts that push people too hard or too little. What we won’t do is become stagnant or complacent.
Juniper can be a gym where you come in, have a great workout, learn a new skill, and go home. For many, it is a gym the same way an LA Fitness or Planet Fitness is. Arrive, workout, go home. For others, it is much more than that, as it was and continues to be for the coaches.
Juniper MTG fighter, Chris Joynt, landing a left body kick
Personally, Muay Thai was my saving grace. Not A but THE reason to stay on the straight and narrow. Literally, nothing has had a more positive impact in my life than this sport. I met my best friends in the gym, I curbed drinking because of the gym, I became physically and mentally strong because of the gym. It gave me purpose, and community, broke me down and built me back up. For years all I cared about was making my coach proud and accomplishing the job he sent me out to do. I was and still am obsessive about the sport.
Coach George (center) after a successful fight, his Coach, Rami (right), and Rami’s Coach, Aziz (left). Respect the lineage!
I already see many of these traits in our members. I’m noticing some of our kids, teens, and novice fighters catching the bug. I’m noticing women in the Women’s Muay Thai classes become more confident and vocal, members from all classes tell us about how they cut out drinking, lost weight, or incorporated regular exercise into their lives for the first time since their childhood years. Folks have been unbelievably generous in donating to the fighter’s travel fund and hosting going away parties for our members that have left Philly.
One of our teenage students competing in her first bout.
Muay Thai is a long game. It takes years to build real community, years to build fighters; hell, years to even become proficient in the sport. But, I feel like we are off to a good start and only improving.
Thank you all for a great first year. Everyday I’m excited to open up the gym and that’s in no small because of the community that you all have helped to build.
Coach on!