I wasn’t sure what to expect when I drove to the corner of Broadway and Cutter Street in Somerville, MA to visit Sityodtong USA. I parked my car across the street and walk toward the back of the building, to a side door that would go unnoticed by most. I opened the door and was greeted by a short staircase that I followed down into the gym founded by Kru Yodmark, or Mark DellaGrotte, as he’s known to the rest of the Mixed Martial Arts world. He opened the school after being appointed the US representative and an international conservator of Thai style boxing by Master Yodtong Senanan of Sityodtong Boxing Camp in Pattaya, Thailand. He soon entered the MMA world as one of the most respected and sought after Muay Thai trainers in the business. He coaches some of the best the sport has to offer, Kenny Florian, Stephan Bonnar, and Travis Lutter to name a few. However, DellaGrotte brings to the table far more than Muay Thai. Sityodtong offers classes in Filipino Kali Escrima, Indonesian Pencak Silat, Jeet Kune Do, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and western boxing making it well rounded Mixed Martial Arts school.
I arrived twenty minutes early for an introductory Muay Thai class. The first thing I noticed was the pictures covered one of the walls. There were pictures of Kru Mark with some of the biggest names in MMA. After making my way past the desk and sitting area I had a look at the rest of the gym. Unassuming from the outside, Sityodtong is a fully equipped mixed martial arts training facility on the inside with a full boxing ring, an MMA training area with two partial octagons, ten punching bags, all the boxing and MMA equipment a fighter might need, a general fitness training area, an equipment shop, and plenty of mat space.
Before class began, I learned that the first timers to a Muay Thai class are separated from the rest of the group and given one-on-one instruction in the basics of Muay Thai. After participating in the warm up, which consisted of stretches and jumping rope, I was taken aside by trainer Rob Dietrich along with two other newcomers. Rob told us that Mark has personally trained each instructor in order to maintain a direct lineage from Master Yodtong Senanan to DellaGrotte to the instructors to the students of Sityodtong USA. For the three of us, the rest of the class consisted mostly of pad work. Dietrich, a great communicator, took us through jabs, crosses, hooks, the teep (a Muay Thai front kick), roundhouse kicks, elbows, and combinations. By the end of the class I had been through a decent workout and a thorough introduction to Muay Thai.
My overall impression of Sityodtong USA was very positive. Though, you certainly don’t need me to tell you that. A reputation like DellaGrotte’s speaks for itself. However, Sityodtong USA is not just about the big names. Kru Mark and the other instructors put a great effort into building up young fighters and cultivating talent. We can expect to continue to see exciting things from the camp. Personally, I can’t wait to go back.
-Frank