Kru Hope

From unconventional beginnings, Kru Hope’s journey as a Muay Thai practitioner, has inspired her to build Short North Muay Thai - a school where her mission is to bring out the very best in each student so they can realize their ultimate potential. Her goal, her focus and her training style are designed to develop mind, heart, and body which she recognizes as the essence of the Muay Thai Warrior Spirit.

Hope’s story is one of self discovery. In 1993, Hope met a man who would eventually become her Muay Thai mentor — Master Lek. Growing up in Thailand, Lek was a highly regarded Muay Thai fighter. He moved to the United States, eventually opening a Thai restaurant in Columbus. Hope began to casually work out on a bag that hung in a banquet room used primarily for weddings. For more than a year, Hope trained on the bag, with Master Lek occasionally providing tips and instruction.

Unbeknownst to Master Lek, Hope entered the ring for the first time later that year, and without any formal training, went on to complete three rounds. It was then that Lek realized he had a serious student on his hands, and their master/student relationship began. Hope trained hard for a year, and went back to the same tournament the next year, this time with much greater success. Of nearly 200 fighters in the tournament she was awarded best fighter of the night. Hope fought for over a decade winning several national championships and titles. In 2001 she earned her spot on the US team and represented the US in Thailand for the Queen’s Cup (world championships).

She began teaching private clients in Columbus in 2000, and established SNMT in the fall of 2004. Classes took place in a converted four-car garage in the Short North. In 2006, Hope received the honor of being given the title “Kru” by Master Lek. This was his formal acknowledgement (one only bestowed by one’s Master) that Hope had earned the right to be an official instructor of Muay Thai.

On January 2, 2007, Kru Hope welcomed students to a beautiful, new, 2,500 square foot facility in Grandview. While long-time students fondly remember the small garage-turned-gym on Wilbur, the Grandview facility allows students to learn the art of Muay Thai utilizing modern equipment, including practice in an actual ring.