Life is Hard Fighting is Easy LLC - Astoria, New York

senel cool

John is kind, patient, and knowledgeable. After training with him for a few months I was able to achieve some of my fitness goals even after not having much experience with fitness or working out. I still have him as a trainer and will continue to work with him. He’s very flexible and can help people of all levels with exercise and self-defense.

Justin Avila

Me and brother have been training with Coach john for about 8 months and he’s definitely helped us in learning on how to defend ourselves in case a situation escalates in the streets. You never know what can happen. But we feel more confident on defending ourselves and Coach John is also a cool guy too. If you’re looking to learn how to defend yourself, I definitely recommend getting lessons from Coach John.

Joe Weber

Kru John is an incredible person, he is tough but empathetic, which is a good balance when you’re trying to learn self defense and learning to control yourself in stressful and potentially dangerous situations.

I’m not positive he is the person who came up with the quote, but he made me aware of a saying - “it’s better to be a warrior in a garden rather than a gardener in a war” and that was very valuable and perspective shifting for me.

I’m forever grateful for what I’ve learned from Kru John.

Jessica Flayser

I trained with Coach John for roughly eight months and saw tremendous change. I had never done martial arts, but always found it to be a cool way to stay in shape and a valuable self-defense tool. We trained once a week (because of my busy work schedule) but I saw a great change in my core strength, endurance, and balance when doing workouts outside of our training. I also saw a boost in my confidence while taking public transportation or traveling alone.

I highly recommend training with coach John!

Par S

I had met Coach John through a buddy of mine. I had no fighting skills before meeting him. John had built me from the ground the up. I consider coach John to be the “Cus D’ Amato” of martial arts. His way of teaching is like no other, he understands very well on how people learn and is able to break down movements step by step. John is a very patient individual and has helped me when I was undergoing major depression. I consider John to be a great coach and friend. This is an updated review. I highly recommend training with Coach John. He has skills in many martial arts disciplines and has taught me to defend myself which I had a major problem being bullied in my younger years. I’ve been taught to channel this energy towards positive things in life. I have been implementing many of his strategies in my daily life.

pamela borja

Training with John is the best! He’s flexible and adjusts to your schedule. Besides the actual training part, he also offers coaching calls as part of his plan. These calls really help to keep track on what you eat and your other lifestyle habits that can positive/negative influence your progress! John truly offers the full experience of having a personal trainer!

Duy Doan

I've been very impressed with Life is Hard Fighting is Easy. I’ve been taking Muy Thai for over a month and have already learned so much. The owner Coach John is everything you'd want in a trainer. He's knowledgeable, experienced, and attentive. He’s chill but also serious about helping you reach your goals. He really listens and is mindful about where you're at in your process. I've experienced this myself and I’ve seen this with his other students as well. Coach John pushes you to work hard and is good at helping you stick to your goals because he’s encouraging and gives smart strategies. I’ve also really appreciated his attention to detail and his holistic approach — the program isn’t just about learning martial arts; it also focuses on developing good nutrition, functional strength, flexibility, and overall healthy habits. And it’s a fun way to work out! (A few other things…. The gym itself, Woodside Boxing Academy, is an awesome training environment — the staff and fighters/gym-goers are all cool, welcoming people (from beginners to professionals) and the setup is also cool…. Coach John also offers online classes/virtual training sessions that are also great…. And regarding costs: I’ve been boxing for over four years and have worked with several trainers and belonged to numerous gyms. As far as costs go, in my experience, Life is Hard Fighting is Easy is a great great deal.)

Sandra Cumper

Great training environment. John is very knowledgeable and passionate about training. He manages to make everyone feel that the training is geared especially for them, even in a group environment. He is so attuned to every persons need and ability to participate and patiently works with me to “get it”. Thank you John.