About South Sound Martial Arts

Lok Gru Srab Sroeuy is the founder and head instructor of South Sound Martial Arts (SSMA). SSMA was first started in 1996 in Lok Gru Srab's home gym in Lacey, WA. For the past 12 years he has instructed students on traditional Pradal Serey Kickboxing and Tae Kwon Do in the Thurston County. Lok Gru's Pradal Serey training started in Cambodia at a very young age. He trained for years under his uncle , who was a Pradal Serey fighter in his homeland. In 1981 he's family moved to the United State in the city of Tacoma, WA. He noticed that the city did not offer any traditional Pradal Serey gyms and he vowed one day to open one up and show the city that Thailand was not the only southeast asian country that offered kickboxing. Twenty seven years later, the time has come and his dream to open a school in Tacoma, WA became reality. With the help of instructors Kru Lo Heit, Lok Gru Boa Thangkeo, and his son Spencer Sroeuy, we are now the proud 2nd floor tenants of The Soccer Center.

Lok Gru Boa Thangkeo is our second Pradal Serey/Bokator instructor. Lok Gru's interest and love for Pradal Serey Kickboxing started in Cambodia while attending his cousins fights. Before he was able to undergo his Pradal Serey training in his homeland, his family relocated to the United States, arriving to Providence, Rhode Island in the winter of 1980. Growing up in the Rhode Island during that time period was very tough. He faced constant racism, and physical intimidation, almost on a daily basis. As a result, Lok Gru starting learning anything that he could from relatives and friends, as a means of self-defense; his formal Pradal Serey training started in 1989 under the tutelage of former Pradal Serey champion, Heiv Ey Peouv, also known as Bunsong Seng. In addition to Pradal Serey, Lok Gru Boa also trained in Bokator and Hapkido under Grandmaster Seng. He earned his 4th Dan in Hapkido in 2008.  With 18 years in the martial arts, as an instructor and a student, Lok Gru Boa continues train with Grandmaster Seng in Utica, New York on an annual basis.

Kru Lo Heit is our part time Muay Thai instructor. Just like Lok Gru Srab, Kru Lo's initial southeast asian kickboxing training started at a young age. During the time when Kru was getting into a lot of trouble, Kru's mom decided to ask his uncle (a former Pradal Serey Fighter from Cambodia) to teach him Pradal Serey to keep his mind focused. He's uncle taught him basic Pradal Serey techniques, which he later applied in the streets to see if they worked. In 1999, Kru Lo's official Muay Thai training started under the tutelage of Master John. His Muay Thai training lasted for seven years and in 2006, Kru transition into teaching. He was asked by Lok Gru Srab Sroeuy to help him train a small group of students to form what is now the USEACA fight team. He has been instructing students every since then and continues to learn more about the art as well as help SSMA students learn the beautiful art of Pradal Serey and Muay Thai.

We invite you to come and visit our 2,500 square feet training facility located on the second floor of 2610 Bay St E, Tacoma, WA!! Consider enrolling in one of our outstanding programs such as Youth or Adult Traditional Pradal Serey / Muay Thai Kickboxing or Competition fight training.

SS Martial Art is a proud member of United South East Asian Cultural Assosciation (www.USEACA.com) and also the new training facility for USEACA fight team.

Thank you for visiting our website

We hope that we have provided you with enough information to help you in your search for a Martial Arts training facility. We hope to meet you in the near future.