When William Rivera was six years old, he started learning martial arts. Over the years, the art form inspired and encouraged him to teach others.

“I always loved martial arts. It was always my dream to teach, you know? Open up a martial arts school and teach and get students, see them progress and represent me,” Rivera said.

His dream came true. Now, Rivera is an instructor, or “Kru” in Thai, and owns his own martial arts gym, BX Thaiboxing Academy, at 2832 Valentine Ave. by East 197th Street in Bedford Park.

The room is full of sunlight inside BX Thaiboxing Academy. The floor is covered with red padding and boxing equipment, such as punching bags, lingers in the back of the room. On the right of the entrance, there is a small desk and t-shirts with the gym’s logo hanging on a rack. The room is bursting with energy and feels inviting and comfortable.

Rivera operates the gym under a company called Lion’s Roar Promotions. He runs the business with Andrew Ravitch, one of his former students.

“I was his student in one of his older gyms in Tremont about ten or twenty blocks south of here,” Ravitch said. “I trained with him for a few years, and then I started getting into photography and started taking pictures at his fights for the promotion. That’s when I started doing the photography and the advertising for this gym.”

The building was home to a synagogue, but was abandoned for about twenty years before Rivera and Ravitch opened their gym. “A lot of people in the neighborhood came by when they noticed that something was built here,” said Ravitch.

Since Rivera was influenced positively by his instructors when he was growing up in the Bronx, he wants to impact kids today in the same way, seeing as how he finds that some kids simply “just play video games, or get into gangs, or smoke.”

“I’m 52 years old. I grew up in a rough neighborhood in the Bronx,” Rivera said. “I never did any type of drugs. I never even tried it because of martial arts.”

BX Thaiboxing Academy opened in early February, and offers a variety of classes including Muay Thai, boxing, Tae Kwon Do, and Salsa dancing. Soon, they hope to add Jiu Jitsu, Zumba, and Afro-Cuban dance as part of the martial arts repertoire. 

“This gym is about bringing lots of different martial arts and styles together,” said Ravitch.

BX Thaiboxing Academy wants to provide a holistic experience that not only benefits clients physically, but also mentally. Through practicing mindfulness, developing body awareness, and studying fight psychology, students can learn how to connect their mind and body.

The gym also hosts fights or matchups. “We get different gyms from all over. We get people as far as Virginia,” Rivera said. “They come down and we match them up with other people from other gyms, local gyms or other states. We do like fifteen match ups. We have them fight in the ring. Sometimes we do tournament style too.”

The next fight will be held this weekend, and will feature back to back matches. Other events will continue to happen throughout the year as the gym grows.

Together, Rivera and Ravitch hope to expand BX Thaiboxing Academy and help other people through martial arts.

“I believe martial arts has definitely made me the person I am,” said Rivera.