WILLIAMSBURG — The House of Muay Thai, a school that specializes in teaching the Thai martial art to both kids and adults, is setting up a brand-new location in Williamsburg.
Located at 4854 Longhill Road, Suite 10, the interior of the new school is still in the process of receiving final cosmetic touches before the business celebrates an official grand opening, a date that may take place sometime in January 2023. That hasn’t stopped the owner and lead instructor of The House of Muay Thai, Jake Chamberlain, from moving forward with a soft opening, however.
Chamberlain, together with the Williamsburg location’s lead instructor Heather Enyingi, says they have already begun offering classes at the new location. They are inviting those in the Historic Triangle who are interested to sign up for a class to learn more about the unique martial art that originates from South East Asia.
“We have two schools already,” said Chamberlain in an interview with WYDaily. “One is in Norfolk, we’ve had that open for about eight years. We have another gym in Virginia Beach that recently opened up a year ago. So, we want to expand our footprint out this way and kind of gear our program a little more towards families and kids.”
Muay Thai is a full-contact striking art, similar to kickboxing or MMA. The House of Muay Thai aims to offer programs that teach the techniques involved. Once the inside renovations are complete, the school will feature at least ten heavy bags hanging for classes to use. Additionally, there are plans for a more permanent mat flooring to be installed before the official grand opening.
The House of Muay Thai Williamsburg location plans to offer its programs to class sizes of around 20 to 30 students. Chamberlain says that the programs that are aimed at kids are great for character development and that both the kids and adult programs offer a great outlet for fitness and exercise.
“It’s really good for people who want an alternative to traditional workouts,” said Chamberlain. “Somebody who doesn’t want to get out on the road or run on a treadmill or something like that. This is a lot of fun. We’ll teach you some techniques and how to defend yourself. For adults who want to get into Muay Thai recreationally or potentially competitively, we’re going to be focusing on developing students recreationally to see if they’d like to take it to the next level and compete. If they do want to compete, we’re prepared for that as well.”
Both Chamberlain and Enyingi have trained and competed in highly competitive MMA and Muay Thai competitions in the past. The original Norfolk location helps develop fighters who have gone on to compete in Muay Thai, and at MMA competitions regionally, nationally, and internationally. The school prides itself in paving the way for a fighter who competed at UFC events, as well.
“Right now we’re just training,” said Chamberlain. “We’ve opened our gym up to people who want to learn. We’ve got a special rate right now for members that sign up during our soft opening while we’re still putting everything together.”
The House of Muay Thai is open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with plans to expand classes to six days a week as the school grows.
Programs include:
- Kids Class at 5 p.m.
- Fitness kickboxing class (fighter fitness) at 6 p.m.
- Muay Thai Fundamentals at 7 p.m.
The classes at the school are aimed for all fitness levels, meaning you don’t have to be a sports champion to participate. The school focuses on technical and fitness training, striving to make Muay Thai accessible to the masses.
“We’ve got a very diverse program in Norfolk and in Virginia Beach,” said Chamberlain. “The age range for the kid’s program goes from six to 13. For our adults, it goes all the way from 13 to our oldest member who is 67. It goes all across the board.”
For more information on how to register for a free class at The House of Muay Thai Williamsburg location, visit the school’s official website.
