How ITC New York Stayed Open for 20 Years Without Chasing the BJJ Wave

ITC (International Training Center) is a single-location MMA gym in Astoria, Queens, primarily focused on Muay Thai and Judo, with Sanda on Sundays. Sensei Greg Gutman opened the gym in 2006 in Long Island City, then relocated twice as the neighborhood gentrified—first to another Astoria basement, then to the current location, the first space ITC has ever had with windows.

The gym runs lean: Greg owns and teaches, son Mark manages and teaches, his older brother helps lead the judo program, and every other instructor is a world-class fighter brought in to teach a specific discipline. Mark believes ITC was the first NYC gym to combine Muay Thai and Judo under one roof, though he's careful to add there's no official record keeping to back the claim.

📍 Address: 23-81 21st Street, Astoria, NY (one block from Astoria Park)

ITC New York opened in 2006 in a Long Island City basement when MMA and Muay Thai were still fringe in America. Two decades, two forced relocations, and roughly twenty different gym-management systems later, founder Sensei Greg Gutman—a Russian immigrant who arrived in NYC in the late 80s with no English and a lifelong judo background—still leads Muay Thai Strength & Conditioning twice a week at 67. His son Mark, an attorney by day, manages the gym in the evenings and explains to Alex why ITC refused to ride the BJJ trend, why a Japanese-style dojo culture is the reason they won't open a second location, and what it took to land on Gymdesk before his dad gave up on software entirely and went back to pen and paper.