Sparmax Gym in Rosemere

The crew from FightWorld spent a few days at Sparmax in Rosemere, Quebec this past week. We wanted to soak in all this gym had to offer. Sparmax has been in Rosemere for many years now, often expanding to accomodate its members. The owner and head trainer Normand Grimard is a brilliant Muay Thai practitionner who really enjoys what he does and it shows. It must run in the family because his 12 year old son Kevin is a cut above the rest in his punching and kicking skills. What we like about Sparmax is that it concentrates on martial arts, boxing and conditioning. They offer classes for all age groups and skill levels.

Lets start with what attracted one of our editors to this gym in the first place: The Little Dragons. This is a class based on Jeet kune do which is a martial arts system and philosophy developed by martial artist Bruce Lee. This class is for children ages 5 and up... french or english. The instructors are very patient and the class is based on fun and enjoyment of the sport. Kids like it because they will not get drilled or told to be still and quite for 1 hour straight. They learn the moves of JKD, self defense techniques and all this is mixed with excercises, high energy games working the reflexes, some grappling and even light sparring! (the kids enjoy that the most)  They are taught to respect the skills they are learning, which means when and where to use them... or for that matter when not to use them. The class is great for kids with an abundance of energy wanting to be active without sitting and meditating or learning numerous katas and overly complicated combinations... plenty of time for that when they are older.

We would like to thank Chan Rony Lim who teaches the class during the week, Benoit Déringer who is there on Saturdays and Félix Turchyniak who is a talented student from the adult Jeet kune do class that helps with the young children. This class is a must for any young person in the area to come and enjoy. The first class is free! Sparmax also has adult Jeet kune do classes which teach all the techniques of this dicipline with very skilled instructors. It is high-energy and lots of fun.

Sparmax also has great boxing classes with one of the main instructors Gabriel Hébert ''punishing'' his students. His class is intense and by the looks of it very popular because more and more people are joining each week. Tons of cardio mixed with boxing technique and sparring makes this one class you will not go away from without being short of breath... and totally psyched! Gabriel also teaches the Muay Thai Fitness class for the girls. Cardio and toning excercises mixed with punching bag training which is very fast paced and very popular. With music to keep everyone pumped, this is a great class to get in and stay in shape.

Obviously Muay Thai training is on the roster at this gym. We were able to go and observe students passing thier Thai tests last week and it was brutal. Kick after kick, knee after knee, punch after punch... I am actually making this sound like boot camp! hehehehehe... In all seriousness, every dicipline taught at this gym is top notch and 100%. Whether it be MMA classes with XMMA fighter Derek ''The War Machine'' Gauthier, grappling lessons with up and comer Philippe Boudreau to The Little Dragons with Rony... you will not be let down at Sparmax. Remember that the free first lesson applies to all the diciplines!    Sparmax: 235 Boul. Curé Labelle, Rosemere, Quebec.  (450) 437-4114