If you’re looking for a different type of workout, one that enhances your entire body and helps you develop self-defense skills, LA Boxing is the place for you, according to John Deters.

Deters recently purchased the rights to LA Boxing in Atlanta and the entire metro Atlanta area, with plans to open seven gyms in Georgia by the end of this year. Peachtree City will be the headquarters for all the LA Boxing gyms in the Southeast.

Deters has 30 years of experience in martial arts, taking part in everything from Kempo to Muay Thai, and he has fought competitively for 10 years, winning various Chinese-American championships.

He feels Peachtree City is the ideal location for an LA Boxing, the largest boxing and kickboxing franchise chain in the United States.

“I like the people here in Peachtree City, and I like the town,” Deters said. “The demographic here is conducive to this type of training and fitness.”

The Peachtree City location, which can be found at 303 Kelly Drive, Suites 8 and 9, is a 4,200-square-foot facility packed with features: 30 150-pound Muay Thai bags; four speed bags; a full-size professional boxing ring; a 17x20 grappling mat; Star Trac cardio machines; free weights; nine 50-inch plasma TVs; a sound system that will play up-tempo music; a complete pro shop in which members can purchase gloves, hand wraps, sparring equipment and T-shirts, among other items; and a 2,200-square-foot Mixed Martial Arts training area that includes a specially designed octagon (cage) that won’t open until July 1.

There will be classes for boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, Jujitsu and MMA. All classes provide an hourlong, 1,000-calorie-an-hour, full-body workout. Each person has their own bag with which to work.

Anybody 12 years old or older can participate in all the classes. Children under 12 must be at least 6 years old to attend the two classes available to them, kickboxing and boxing.

“The classes will help people burn fat, tone muscle and learn valuable skills,” Deters said. “People will not just be hitting air. They will learn proper strikes and kicks and build self-defense skills while getting their body into peak physical condition. In addition to self-defense skills, there will be calisthenics — pull-ups, sit-ups and stretching.”

The gym has five instructors — one full time, four part time — and each is a professional fighter; two will be competing in Southside Slugfest Part II June 23 at “The Fred” in Peachtree City, Cory Nestlehutt and Tim Stout, who will fight in the main event and be the Peachtree City location’s full-time trainer. Deters’ 15-year-old daughter will eventually teach Muay Thai at the gym as well.

Deters stresses that LA Boxing is not just for people interested in competitive fighting.

“This is a place for aspiring full-contact fighters, a place to learn fighting skills, but it is not a fight club,” Deters said. “We don’t want people coming here with attitudes. This is a non-intimidating environment. The gym will appeal to families and fighters, men and women, adults and children.”

“We want people to feel a sense of accomplishment here,” said Jim Yaroszeufski, general manager of the Peachtree City location, who fought in the first Southside Slugfest and will be a professional fighter by September. “We want people to feel good about themselves.”

The gym will open June 14 at 6 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Ultimate Fighting Championship star Georges “Rush” St. Pierre, a former UFC welterweight champion, will offer seminars at L.A. Boxing June 23 and 24. The gym’s grand opening will be held July 13 from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The gym’s regular hours will be 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Friday; 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

The class schedule is as follows: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The class schedule could change, as it will be based on demand for certain classes during the gym’s presale, which began June 1 and concludes June 20.

During the presale, a one-year membership costs $708 (after presale it will be $828), and a month-to-month membership costs $79 (the price will remain $79 following the presale). For an extra $49 a month, members can join the Chuck Lidell Fight Team, a training program created by Lidell, one of the most dominant MMA fighters of all time. Other membership plans are available. No money down is required during the presale.

For more information about LA Boxing in Peachtree City, contact (404) 522-6956. You can also visit www.laboxing.com.

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