ABOUT ROOTS MUAY THAI
A Place to Grow Through Muay Thai
Roots Muay Thai Academy is an authentic Muay Thai academy in Barrie, Ontario, where students of all ages and experience levels come to learn, grow, and train with purpose.
Our Approach to Muay Thai
At Roots, we focus on teaching Muay Thai with proper structure, strong fundamentals, and respect for its cultural origins.
We emphasize, technical development over shortcuts, long-term growth over quick results, and respect for tradition and our training partners
Every student is encouraged to progress at their own pace, while being guided through a clear and structured training path.
Our Values
Unity
We train together and support one another. Community matters here.
Respect
Respect for Muay Thai, for training partners, and for the space we share.
Resilience
Training builds more than strength. It builds confidence, discipline, and the ability to keep showing up.
What Training at Roots Feels Like
Training at Roots is structured, supportive, and built on mutual respect. Whether you're attending your first class or preparing for competition, every student shares the same space, learns together, and helps one another grow.
Our Coaches & Standards
At Roots Muay Thai Academy, we believe in doing things the right way, with proper structure, respect for Muay Thai tradition, and recognized standards of instruction.
Our instructors and academy are certified through Muay Thai Ontario and the Nai Khanomtom Association, and we are deeply honoured to be Siam №1 Affiliates under the lineage of Ajahn Suchart.
Our coaching team holds recognized Kru and Poo Choi Kru qualifications, including recognition through the Sports Authority of Thailand, alongside formal coaching and competition-cornering certifications. But our development as coaches doesn’t stop at certification. We remain committed to ongoing education, continued training and preserving the technical, cultural and traditional foundations of Muay Thai.
For us, teaching Muay Thai means more than teaching the system of fighting.
It means respecting where the sport comes from and carrying it forward responsibly.
Kru Art
Owner & Head Instructor
Kru Art has over 10 years of experience in Muay Thai as an athlete, coach and cornerman. His experience has been built through years of training, competition and coaching, including cornering more than 100 fights and helping athletes through the preparation and demands that come with competition.
In Muay Thai, a Kru is a respected teacher and custodian of the art . Someone entrusted not only with teaching technique, but with the responsibility of passing Muay Thai forward properly. Kru Art holds this designation through recognized certification under Muay Thai Ontario and the Nai Khanomtom Association, within the lineage of Ajahn Suchart.
His approach on the mats is built around patience, structure and proper development. He doesn’t rush students or believe in shortcuts. Whether someone is stepping into a Muay Thai gym for the first time or preparing to compete, the fundamentals matter, the details matter, and each student is given the attention needed to progress properly. Art has a deep passion for the technical side of Muay Thai and for understanding why something works, not simply repeating movements. He is constantly breaking things down, refining details and helping students develop a deeper understanding of the art.
Most importantly, Kru Art is a present instructor. He is consistently on the mats, teaching, correcting, holding pads and investing his time into the people who train at Roots. With more than a decade in the sport and over 100 fights cornered, that experience is brought back into the gym and shared with students at every level.
For Art, building Roots has never been solely about producing fighters. It is about developing people, preserving the art of Muay Thai and building a strong community around it.
PC Kru Cait
"Poo Choi Kru"
Assistant Instructor & Women's Muay Thai Lead Instructor
PC Kru Cait has four years of experience in Muay Thai as both an amateur athlete and developing instructor. Her journey has included earning her Blue Shorts through consistent training, competition and dedication to the art, and later progressing to her Poo Choi Kru designation through Muay Thai Ontario and the Nai Khanomtom Association, under the lineage of Ajahn Suchart.
Cait oversees the Kids Program under the guidance of Kru Art and is the creator and lead instructor of the Ladies Only Muay Thai Program. Her approach to coaching is centred around proper development — giving students the guidance, corrections and time they need to build strong fundamentals and progress without shortcuts.
Community is a big part of why Cait teaches. She is deeply involved in making Muay Thai more accessible, particularly for women and girls. Each week, she gives her time to run free community Muay Thai classes for women and girls throughout Simcoe County, creating opportunities to move, learn, build confidence and connect through the sport. That commitment carries into everything she does at Roots from coaching kids and developing the women’s program to helping build a gym where people feel welcomed, supported and connected to something beyond just their training.
Outside of the gym, Cait is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and works professionally as an Operations & Logistics Manager, while continuing to train, compete and further her own development within Muay Thai.
2026 Canadian Muay Thai Open — 48 kg C-Class Champion
Our Standards
At Roots Muay Thai Academy, our standards are simple.
Educated, qualified instructors with no shortcuts, continuous learning and development within the Muay Thai community, and proper safety requirements for everyone involved in the gym.
All instructors and volunteers hold recognized teaching, coaching and cornering certifications through Muay Thai Ontario, the Sport Authority of Thailand and continue to develop through active involvement in the sport.
For safety and accountability, all instructors and volunteers also complete annual Vulnerable Sector Checks and required background screening.
This is part of how we keep training structured, safe, and done the right way, for every student, every level, every time.
