Kickboxing in Mauritius is a common search, and the north of the island has a simple answer to it — with one clarification. Team Boom, on Casse Ghoon Road, Pointe aux Canonniers, teaches muay thai, and only muay thai. There is no separate kickboxing class here. But if kickboxing is what you had in mind, you will recognise most of what happens in the room: punches, kicks, pads, rounds, footwork. Here is how the two sports differ, what carries over, and where to train in the north.
Kickboxing and muay thai: the real differences
Kickboxing, under its most common rulesets, is built on punches and kicks. Muay thai adds two things: the knees and elbows, and the clinch — that upright grappling phase where you control your opponent's posture, head and arms, and score from there. Hence the name art of eight limbs, against four in kickboxing.
The rest follows from that. Because the clinch exists, muay thai teaches you to hold your ground and keep a strong posture rather than always circling out. Because elbows and knees exist, distance management changes: close range becomes a place to fight, not only a place to escape from. Kickboxing, freed of the clinch, generally rewards volume and continuous movement. Neither is harder than the other; they solve different problems.
Muay thai also carries its own culture — pre-fight rituals, codes of respect towards the coach and the room. None of it is a prerequisite for training, but it is part of the sport you are walking into.
What carries over from kickboxing
- Your hands. Guard, jab, cross, hook: identical work.
- Your kicks. The thai round kick turns the hips more and lands with the shin, but a kickboxer already owns the mechanics.
- Your conditioning. A round is a round: short intensity, short recovery, repeat.
- Pad work. The teaching tool is the same in both sports.
What is new is mostly the clinch, the knees and elbows, and the habit of checking low kicks. That is a few months of work, not a fresh start.
Why the club runs no kickboxing class
Team Boom is led by a single coach, Jonathan Gabriel, and that is a choice: one technical line, the same corrections from one session to the next, no confusion between two syllabuses. Adding a separate kickboxing class would mean cutting up a small club's evenings for a programme that overlaps with muay thai on most of its content. So the club says it plainly: muay thai three evenings a week, taught properly, rather than three labels taught halfway.
In practice, someone who came looking for kickboxing trains in the same class as everyone else and works on the same things, plus the ones kickboxing leaves out. Nobody will push elbows on a beginner in week one: you learn the guard, the footwork, the jab and the low kick first. The full beginner's picture is in our guide to muay thai in Mauritius, and the comparison with Western boxing is here.
Training in the north
The gym is on Casse Ghoon Road, Pointe aux Canonniers 30522, along the coast from Grand Baie, within an easy evening drive of Pereybère, Trou aux Biches and Cap Malheureux. Training runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday: group A at 5:45 pm for advanced members and the competition team, group B at 7:00 pm for beginners and intermediates. Beach sessions and sparring sessions are added to the calendar and announced at the club.
Whatever your background, the same rule applies: no sparring during the first month. Experienced kickboxers sometimes find that strict; it exists so the coach can see your technique before you start taking shots, and it costs four weeks in a sport measured in years. Gloves are lent for your first sessions; shorts, a t-shirt and a water bottle are all you need.
Prices and first contact
Membership is Rs 1,200 as a one-time payment, then Rs 1,400 a month for an adult and Rs 1,000 for an under-18; a private session is Rs 1,500. The pricing page has the detail. If you trained kickboxing elsewhere, say so in your message: one WhatsApp to +230 5981 9849 with your level and your availability, and the coach will point you to the right group.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a kickboxing class at Team Boom?
No. The club teaches muay thai, and only muay thai, three evenings a week. Someone who came looking for kickboxing trains in the same class as everyone else.
What is the difference between kickboxing and muay thai?
Kickboxing is built on punches and kicks. Muay thai adds knees, elbows and the clinch, that upright grappling where you control your opponent's posture: eight limbs against four.
I already train kickboxing — what will I have to learn?
Your hands, your kicks, your conditioning and your pad work carry over directly. What is new is the clinch, the knees and elbows, and the habit of checking low kicks.
Can I spar straight away if I am experienced?
No: no sparring during the first month, whatever your sporting past. The rule exists so the coach can see your technique before you start taking shots.