Toronto Kickboxing & Muay Thai Academy

In 2004, Warren Lee was a high-school teacher by day and a muay thai kick-boxing instructor on the side. But demand for his private lessons grew, and eventually the one-man business blossomed into a full-time fighting gym. Today, Lee runs Toronto Kickboxing & Muay Thai Academy at two locations, both of which provide friendly atmospheres for students to work up a sweat, shed stress, and learn self-defense. The staff credits its unintimidating and professional attitude with helping to draw an almost even split of male and female students—a rarity in martial-arts gyms.

Both locations feature pristine facilities and include men's and women's changing rooms and individual showers, as well as a boxing ring, grappling mats, thai pads, and an assortment of training equipment. The staff of committed instructors includes Ajahn Amnat Yodkwain, a former professional fighter and muay thai master who has trained in Thailand's combative arts since the age of 7. All of the academy's instructors possess CPR and first-aid certification and participate regularly in professional development. In order to join the team, they must also pass a series of rigorous tests designed to challenge their skills in muay thai, general fitness, and kicking cookie jars off the top shelf.