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Review: Thai boxing at Spark Fight & Fitness

Review: Thai boxing at Spark Fight & Fitness

Spark Fight & Fitness is a new gym in Hong Kong that’s only been opened about three months. Located on top of Top Shop (in the same building as Pure Yoga), it’s quite convenient if you work in Central or Sheung Wan. I swung by earlier this week as part of my Guavapass trial for the Thai Boxing lunch hour class (1-2pm).

First impression — it’s super clean and nice compared to other ‘fighting’ gyms/studios. There’s no stanky smell of men, wraps, shoes, etc. (yet?) and the gym has a distinct red and black theme. The reception area is bright and shiny, and when you turn in, there’s a small lounge area with seating connected to the padded floor section where boxing/wrestling takes place.

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Lounge area x reception

Behind the lounge area is the fighting cage, and there’s also a dedicated area for cardio machines (including a cool ladder cardio machine), plus an area behind that for weight lifting. Note that the ground is hard as you go into the cardio and weights area.

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Lounge area

The class

There was only one other guy in the Thai Boxing class that day, which was led by a Brazilian fighter by the name of Danino? (forgive my spelling!). His fight video was actually playing on the screen by the lift lobby, so he’s the real deal. Note: he speaks limited English.

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Boxing zone

So, the class began with some jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups, burpees, etc. and after that, we moved onto the bags with some punching and kicking combos. Then Danino put on some padding and we did some more punching and kicking combos with him, alternating and taking a 1-minute break here and there.

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Cardio section

Before I knew it, the hour was up. To be honest, I wasn’t super tired, but I was sweating a bit and my deltoids were burning like crazy from all the punching. A day later, my back and torso became especially stiff and sore, so it was definitely a good workout!

Verdict

It’s still a bit too soon to tell but I really enjoyed my first visit to Spark Fight & Fitness. The gym is super clean and I liked how they have a small cardio section so you can pop on a machine to do a quick workout if you want. The clientele also seemed more civilised than some other MMA gyms, where the men are more (I’m probably going to get in trouble for saying this) ‘brute’ — I know it’s just appearances, but just saying.

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Weights area

I guess you could say it’s more female-friendly, with the clean factor and I did see a good mix of men and women there. The change rooms are also nice, clean and new with electronic lockers; you get a wristband. Towels are also provided free of charge — branded with Spark Fight & Fitness — and they are very soft (and pink for ladies)!

The only downside I can see thus far, is that the gym is usually not open till 10am (on certain days they open at 8am for special classes) so pre-work workouts are out of the question. And the lift is very slow in the building so it takes a while to get down to the lobby. Other than that, I’d consider joining the gym for the new facilities and fun boxing classes.

Disclaimer: I visited Spark Fight & Fitness using Guavapass (limited to 2 visits per month).

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