While on a company trip, my colleagues (whom I also do Muay Thai with) and I took the opportunity to take a Muay Thai lesson in the country of this great sport. We began lessons in Singapore a few months ago and our instructor recommended this gym when we told him we wanted to try Muay Thai in Bangkok.
It wasn’t hard to find. We dropped off at Phrom Phong station and walked about 5 minutes to Sukhumvit Soi 39.
I felt SUPER NERVOUS when we arrived. Haha. Nervous and excited!! 😀
These were taken at the end of the lesson, when our clothes were all SOAKED in perspiration and our hair looked crazy. LOL.
I know the instructors didn’t train us hard because we're amateurs, but it felt more exhausting than a typical lesson at our Muay Thai studio in Singapore. It was non-stop execution of various drills. The 2-minute break in between each set was barely enough for me to catch my breath. The CRAZY HOT weather contributed to my slight dizziness at some point.
My coach, seeing how out of breath I was, asked “When was the last time you trained?”
I replied, “Er, one week ago”
He thought he heard wrongly and asked again, “No, when was the last time you trained?”
I replied, “Ya, one week ago”
“Then why so fast tired??”, he asked with a shocked face.
LOL! Poor stamina!! XD
We did jump rope, A LOT of padwork, a little on the bags, knee work on some padded pole, shadowboxing with weights, and crunches. It was all very similar to our lessons back home, but kinda different too.
For 800 Baht (SGD32), you get a one-on-one instructor. You can drop by anytime from 0900-2000, there will be coaches on hand.
Gyms such as Chakrit Muay Thai School are catered more for foreigners who want to experience Thailand's national sport. They accept boxers of all standards. However I do think that it might be a little too ‘shiong’ for newcomers. A one-hour lesson will not be enough to learn the basics either.
Some people come here for months where they pay 6000 Baht for 15 sessions to get some training experience in Thailand and go back to their home country to fight. I think if you’re really into the sport, training in Thailand is a great experience. When you are there, you are free of all the other distractions in your life. All you do all day err day is train, eat, and sleep. Haha.
If you do it for months, you will drastically improve your technique and overall level. We spoke to a girl from Hong Kong who has been training for close to 3 months and can speak simple Thai. How cool is that!
I brought my own handwraps and boxing gloves. They weren't the most travel-friendly but I don't regret bringing them. My friends used the gloves provided by Chakrit Muay Thai School. I think most fight camps in Thailand, especially those in developed areas or for foreigners would provide these essentials.
Muay Thai training is fun, but even more fun with friends! 😀
If you've watched the movie Beautiful Boxer, you'd know their training camp looks nothing like this. In provincial training camps, poor Thais see boxing as a means to escape poverty. They earn and feed the family by winning fights. They train under harsh conditions, like kicking trees and metal poles to toughen their shins, jump rope for like 1 hour, and practise on sand or rough surfaces - not on cushioned floormats.
One of our Singapore instructors is a well-known figure in the Muay Thai scene and his shin is so hard it feels like a metal pole. When I hit his ribcage, it's like hitting a tree trunk. I HURT. Lol.
Love the drawings of Muay Thai techniques on the walls.
My instructor could converse in simple English while my friends’ could only manage key words for instructions, not that it mattered much though coz Muay Thai is about action, and not theory.
- Champion -
Eeeee that is someone else's pool of sweat, not mine! >.<"
I would recommend anyone to go for at least one lesson of Muay Thai in Thailand, be it Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya. It's an experience that is way more memorable than shopping. And coming from me, that's a big deal. 😀
Address:
Chacrit Muay Thai School
15/2 Sukhumvit Soi 39
Klongtan Nua, Wattana
10110 Bangkok
http://www.chacritmuaythaischool.com/
Nice! keep it up girl