Kickboxing Gym Near Me in Shoreditch: Paragon Gym's Free First Class

Your first kickboxing class at Paragon Gym costs nothing, and the next beginner course starts on Monday 2 November 2026. The gym sits at 6-8 Boundary Street, London E2 7JE, on the Shoreditch side of Bethnal Green, and the Lawson brothers have run it since 1996. Anyone typing kickboxing gym near me from an office on Great Eastern Street or a flat in Hoxton can walk here in under fifteen minutes and be holding pads by 7.15pm.

Paragon opened in 1996, when Shoreditch was, in the gym's own words, far from the cultural hotspot it is today. The founders are the Lawson brothers, and the gym describes all of them as world champion kickboxers. Stuart Lawson writes on the instructors page that he opened Paragon with his two brothers and was crowned world champion three times; another coach refers to John as a co-founder. Three decades later the same family name is still on the mats while the warehouses around it have turned into studios and bars.

The coaching bench carries real competition records rather than fitness certificates alone. Keith lists three British kickboxing championships across WAKO, ISKA and WKA, a WAKO veterans world championship in 2009 and a WKN British full contact title from 2005. Lisa, who teaches alongside him, won the ICO British Ring Continuous Championship in 2019 and then took the ICO World Championship. That mix matters on a Tuesday night: the person correcting your guard has usually defended it under ring lights.

Paragon does not throw newcomers into a mixed room. The gym says plainly that, unlike places where you are dropped into mixed-level classes and left to flounder, it builds foundations first. Beginners join a fixed course: the 7-week kickboxing intake on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7.15 to 8.15pm costs £175 and starts on 2 November 2026, and both courses include an extra Saturday catch-up class at noon.

If evenings earlier in the week suit you better, a 5-week course runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6.15 to 7.15pm, starting Tuesday 17 November 2026, for £125. The standard price list shows £200 for an 8-week course and £150 for a 6-week course, and new courses begin every eight weeks. Missed the start date?

Graduating is where Paragon starts to feel like a club. Intermediate and advanced training opens up only once you have finished all beginner levels, which for kickboxing means Levels 1, 2 and 3. After that a drop-in class is £20, unlimited monthly training is £130 and a 12-class voucher is £180. The kickboxing page notes that intermediate sessions are open to students of red belt standard and above, so belts here mean something about who stands next to you.

The timetable rewards people who stay. Monday and Wednesday finish with Advanced Kickboxing from 8.15 to 9.15pm, Friday has a sparring class from 6.30 to 7.30pm, and Saturday runs intermediate and advanced kickboxing from 11am to 12.30pm. On Sundays, Kickboxing Competition Training runs from noon to 2pm, but attendance must be agreed in advance and the session is for current Paragon students only. Do not turn up for it on spec.

The single most useful rule is that the first class of any course is free. Book the free trial through the website or by phone, then arrive a few minutes early for the 7.15pm Monday or Wednesday beginner slot, which is the class the November course uses. Paragon says there are no sign-up fees. Beginners do not need experience, and the gym says all fitness levels are welcome, so the trial is mostly a way to check that the coaching style fits you.

Opening hours run Monday to Thursday from 7am to 9.30pm, Friday from 7am to 8pm and Saturday from 7am to 3pm. Sunday is one-to-one only. Private coaching costs £80 for one person, £100 for two and £105 for three or four, which works out well if you bring a training partner. Kids' kickboxing runs Wednesdays from 4.45 to 5.45pm and Saturdays from 10 to 11am, at £15 per drop-in or £90 for a month of unlimited classes.

Student reviews on the course page give a good sense of the room. Tomaz enrolled in the Level 1 beginner class and called it the best decision he ever made, praising a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Noelle, who had just finished the beginners course and planned to work up the levels, wrote about great instructors, no ego fighting and a fun atmosphere. Expect a mix of desk workers from the City fringe and people who have trained here for years.

An honest note: Paragon is not the place to drop in for a single sweaty session if you have never kicked before. Without finishing the beginner levels you cannot book the £20 intermediate drop-in, and the Sunday competition class is closed to outsiders. If you only want a one-off workout this week, the free trial class is your route in. If you want to learn properly, committing to the seven-week course makes more sense than chasing drop-ins.

The gym says it is a short walk from Liverpool Street, Old Street, Shoreditch High Street, Hoxton and Bethnal Green stations. Shoreditch High Street on the Overground is the closest, and from there Boundary Street runs north from Redchurch Street, a few minutes on foot. After a Saturday class, walk up Boundary Street into Arnold Circus, the raised bandstand garden at the centre of the Boundary Estate, London's early council housing scheme.

Keep going north-east from Arnold Circus and you reach Columbia Road, where the flower market runs on Sundays from 8am until around 3pm. It pairs neatly with a Saturday catch-up class the day before, or with a Sunday one-to-one session in the morning. On weekday evenings, Redchurch Street and Brick Lane are a few minutes south for dinner after the 8.15pm class lets out.

Address: Paragon Kickboxing and Boxing Gym, 6-8 Boundary Street, London E2 7JE. Hours: Monday to Thursday 7am to 9.30pm, Friday 7am to 8pm, Saturday 7am to 3pm, Sunday one-to-one only. Next beginner kickboxing courses: 7 weeks from Monday 2 November 2026 for £175, or 5 weeks from Tuesday 17 November 2026 for £125. First class free. Graduate drop-in £20, monthly unlimited £130. Boxing courses run alongside the kickboxing ones on the same evenings if a friend prefers hands only.