Ex Amateur Boxer with 7-4-0 Record USA Boxing Certified Coach since 1996 NASM Personal Trainer CPR Certified All the coaches at T.O.Boxing are dedicated to giving something back and passing on all the knowledge they have to any one who walks through the front door and who is ready to listen and work hard. Between us, we have a wealth of knowledge from all areas of boxing and martial arts and are building a fight team that the whole town can follow. After each fight we will post pictures and let you know how the guys and girls got on, so stay tuned to this site for more information on fighters, up coming fights, schedules, and we will see you down at the gym. Originally from England, got hooked on boxing after first stepping into a real gym at age 19, I was the first to get to the gym and the last to leave, I was extremely uncoordinated and unfit but just couldn’t get enough, it took 6mths of hard training before I had my first fight. I lost 3 of my first 4 fights but didn’t care, I just loved the sport.  In “88”I had an accident and broke both legs. On recovery, I changed gyms and started boxing for the “Triumph ABC”, the training here was hard core and I learned that fitness means everything and I won the next six fights in a row. The Triumph ABC is still around today and has 25 registered fighters and is recognized as one of the best boxing gyms in England. I came to California in 1990 and found the “K O Club” in Thousand Oaks behind Roxy’s Deli which was ran by Gerald Teague. The KO Club was only around for a couple of years but produced some really good fighters. I had only one fight for the KO Club which I won but then couldn’t find the time to train which made it hard to be competitive, so I started coaching. My first real coaching job was at Mark Parras “House of Champions” in Van Nuys, it is a MuyThai, Kickboxing and Boxing gym of which I ran the boxing program. I ran the program very successfully for 2 years and gained experience working alongside professional fighters such as Peter “Sugarfoot” Cunningham, Danny Steel, Hector Pena and Sean Equieba. After HOC, I coached at 805 Fitness and Gold’s gym in Thousand Oaks. While at Gold’s I bumped into an old friend, Randy Khtami, who I knew from back in the days when we worked and fought together at the KO Club, Randy owns the Elite MMA gym in Thousand Oaks with his partner Baz Rutten who is responsible for Kimbo Slices meteoric rise to fame as an MMA fighter. I coached the boxing class at Elite for over a year alongside rising MMA star James Singler; I had back surgery in May 08 and took a short break from coaching.  In the last 14months I have had spinal fusions in my neck and my back due to 20 years working in the construction industry; I now have 3 plates and 6 screws in my back and neck. The procedures were carried out by Dr. Russ Nelson who is an absolute genius with anything to do with the spine, and I have been going to Bernie Budnik for the last couple of years at Westlake Physical Therapy who I highly recommend for any sports injury or rehab after surgery. I got back in the gym after about 4 mths after the surgery and after 9 months I am actively taking part in the kickboxing, jiu-jitsu and boxing classes at T.O.Boxing. I truly believe that having a phenomenal surgeon and physical therapist along with all the stretching and core work we do in the classes has helped in my unbelievable speedy recovery.
I’ve been around boxing for 22 years in one form or another, it’s in my blood, it takes courage for anyone to even walk through the front door of any fighting gym, and it’s the easiest thing in the world to stay as you are, but it takes guts and determination to make yourself a better and stronger person. I have met really interesting people, made life long friends through boxing. Without doubt, the best thing I ever did in my life was to walk into a boxing gym.
My name is Martin Gillitt and I am the head coach at T.O.Boxing.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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