Wondering if anyone has tried this, seems like a nice option to stay in Thailand.

Only 180 hours course, 2 hours a day, so only a quarter of the year really. Much lower workload than an learning Thai, the school handles all the immigration visits, and one can stay a whole year for 33k Baht.

Looks more like belly to belly combat from the pictures. Which school is it that you are talking about?

'Hand to Hand Combat School'

http://en.hand2handcombat.com/

Might be popular in Pattaya . What's next for ed visa? Soi dog grooming

It should be popular in Pattaya. All of the guest instructors live there.

Probably a good option if you live in Chang Mai as that seems to be where the school is located.

One can also stay a full year using tourist visas with extensions and visa exempts for a 3rd of that price.

'Hand to Hand Combat School'

http://en.hand2handcombat.com/

33 000 B for the course plus 2000B for the visa plus two visa extensions plus a trip to Laos and Myanmar will bring the cost up to 45 000B + for a year