If you’ve been looking for Muay Thai classes in Bastrop, TX, you have options. We think ours is the best one. Muay Thai at 10th Planet Airlock runs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7:00 pm. One hour each. Taught by coaches with real fight experience. Oh, and your first class is free.
Here’s what makes our striking program worth your time.
What Muay Thai Is (and Why It Works)
Muay Thai is a striking art from Thailand that uses eight weapons: fists, elbows, knees, and shins. It’s been pressure-tested for centuries and adopted by nearly every MMA organization on earth as the gold standard for stand-up fighting. When you watch a UFC fight and see someone throw a devastating leg kick or land a knee in the clinch, that’s Muay Thai.
At Airlock, our striking classes are focused on the mechanics of a Muay Thai, kickboxing, or MMA fight. Technique comes first. You’ll absolutely get a workout, an hour of Muay Thai will gas you, but the conditioning is a byproduct of learning how to fight. We’re building fighters and martial artists, and the cardio comes along for the ride.
What a Muay Thai Class Looks Like
Every class is one hour. Here’s how it breaks down:
Warm-up: A few rounds of shadow boxing or jumping rope. You’re moving, getting loose, and getting your brain into fight mode.
Technique and drilling: This is the majority of class. You’re learning combinations, defensive movement, clinch work, and striking technique with a coach. The instruction is hands-on. You’re drilling with a partner, hitting pads, and building the muscle memory that makes technique automatic under pressure.
Tech sparring and pad work: Class finishes with tech sparring: light, controlled sparring focused on developing technique and power drills on pads to build real striking power. Tech sparring is something members work up to. If you’re brand new, you’ll spend more time on pads and partner drills until you’re ready.
If you’ve never done any martial arts before, that’s fine. Beginners train alongside experienced members and the coaches meet you where you are. We wrote a full walkthrough of what your first class at Airlock looks like if you want the step-by-step before you show up.
The Coaches
This is where Airlock’s striking program separates itself from anything else in the area.
Mondays are coached by Rei Villa, our head instructor. Rei is a 10th Planet Black Belt and retired 20-year Army Infantry veteran whose background in Army Combatives and Sheepdog Response bridges striking and grappling in a way that very few coaches can. When Rei teaches Muay Thai, you’re learning striking through the lens of someone who has studied what actually works in a real fight.
Wednesdays are coached by Billy Van Dyke, a professional MMA fighter. Billy brings real cage experience to every class. When he tells you how to set up a combination or defend a clinch entry, he’s speaking from the experience of having done it against someone who was genuinely trying to hurt him.
Fridays are coached by Jon Nelson-Griffith, an active amateur MMA competitor whose coaching is sharp, detailed, and focused on making you technically better every round. Jon’s ability to break down technique and communicate it to students of every level is something our members consistently praise.
Three coaches, three nights a week. Each one bringing a different angle to the same art. You’re getting variety in coaching style while building a consistent striking foundation.
An Affordable Way to Start Training
Muay Thai at Airlock is one of the most affordable entry points into martial arts in Bastrop. Because the program runs three days a week (compared to six days for jiu jitsu), the membership cost is lower. If you’ve been thinking about getting started in martial arts but the price has been holding you back, Muay Thai is a great place to start.
And when you’re ready to go deeper, a lot of our members add jiu jitsu to their training and bundle both programs together. We offer bundle pricing for members who want to train both striking and grappling, because that combination is how you become a true mixed martial artist. Most of our serious members train both.
What Gear Do I Need?
For your first class: just show up in gym clothes. We have loaner gear available for trial classes, so you can try Muay Thai without buying anything (except for hand wraps for a whopping $8).
Once you’re training regularly, you’ll want to pick up your own gloves, shin guards, and a mouth guard. That’s the essentials. Your coaches can point you to good options at every price point, and you don’t need to spend a fortune to get started.
The BJJ + Muay Thai Combination
Here’s the part that makes training at Airlock different from training at a standalone striking gym.
We also run no-gi jiu jitsu classes in Bastrop six days a week. Muay Thai teaches you how to fight on your feet. Jiu jitsu teaches you how to fight on the ground. Together, they give you a complete martial arts game, and that’s exactly how professional MMA fighters have trained for decades.
Who This Is For
People who want to learn how to strike. People who want a challenge that’s more interesting than a treadmill. People who are cross-training with jiu jitsu and want to add stand-up skills. People who watched a Muay Thai fight on YouTube and thought “I want to learn how to do that.” People from Bastrop, Elgin, Smithville, Cedar Creek, Lockhart, and East Austin who have been driving past our building on Hwy 71 and wondering what goes on inside.
All of those are the right reason to walk through the door.
Come Train
Muay Thai at 10th Planet Airlock. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7:00pm. Inside Bastrop Fitness Project at 303 Martin Luther King Dr, Bastrop, TX 78602. Right off Hwy 71. Near the Buc-ee’s.
Your first class is always free. No experience needed. No gear required (we have loaners).
Discounts for active duty military, veterans, law enforcement, and first responders.
Book your free trial class at 10th Planet Airlock →
Or call us: (512) 271-5260
Or email: airlockbjj@gmail.com
Check out the full class schedule here.
10th Planet Airlock | 303 Martin Luther King Dr, Bastrop, TX 78602 | Inside Bastrop Fitness Project | Voted #1 Best Martial Arts Gym in Bastrop County 2025 | We Defy Foundation Partner
