Recently I’ve received a bunch of PMs reguarding good gyms in Thailand to train at. I’m making this thread to help answer many of the same questions I’ve seen recently. I know that I will not get everything covered in this post so feel free to add your knowledge and experiences also. Please keep the bullshit to a minimum. I want this to the the question and answer thread. There is another forum that I visit that has a thread similar and it works very well there. I’ll start by asking a few common questions I’ve seen and answering them. I’ll also be barrowing info from other from various sites so don’t be alarmed if you’ve read something somewhere else before. I’m not the guru of muaythai.
The # 1 question.
What is a good gym to train at in Thailand?
There are so many great places to train in Siam that it all depends on you. Ask yourself a few of these questions. What do I wish to achieve by training in the Land of Smiles? Do I want to fight a pro match? Am I looking just to improve my technique and fitness? Do I want to able to train by day and party by night? All these elements come into existence while searching for the best gym that suites you. Once you’ve answered these questions, selecting a gym should not be to difficult.
#2
How much does it cost and how much money should I bring?
Most gyms in the same regions charge about the same price for training, food, and accommodation. If you don’t want to stay at the gym, you can find a room somewhere else but the cost can be higher or lower depending on the accommodation your choose. You always want more than enough spending cash. Thailand is inexpensive for most falangs due to the exchange rates(especially the lucky British bastards! ) If you are focused on training, you will not be spending too much money daily. I’d say not more than 250 baht. That is paying for bottled water, a couple snacks you may pick up between training sessions like those bags of fruit for 15 to 20 baht depending on who you buy from and you may get hungry after dinner is served so you stroll to the closest 7-11.
Another thing to look at while training is going to fights. If you are in Bangkok(BKK), you will be visiting Ratchadamnern and Lumpinee. Possibly some like Siam Omnoi, Tv7 Stadium or Ch 5. Depending on the gym you train at and what night of the week it is, you may be able to get in free to the fights. That depends on how well the gym you choose is connected. I’d say go in expecting to pay and if you don’t have to, great! Total monthly budget should be about 500 USD for the man or woman that is concentrating on training. That includes travel to and from the stadiums for fights by whatever manner of transportation you choose, cover charge to enter, food and drink not provided by the gym, those Saturday nights that may come along where you and your news training mates go out for dinner and drinks and pay you’re your trainers meal.(Don’t let him barrow any money!) and other miscellaneous items.
If you are partying more and on a muaythai holiday, your cost can rise substantially. It’s too difficult for me to do the math on that due to the unknown amount of variables.
#3
How long should I stay to actually improve my skills?
I’d say at least one month. THAT IS THE BARE MINIMUM. That is also putting your all into your training. Putting your all does not mean going 100% at all times on the bags or pads. Westerners have that misconception sometimes. Please don’t skip out on the morning runs or situps either. I understand that it will take a few days for you to acclimate to the time change and heat but once you have, do what you came to do. Many Americans may only get two weeks vacation/holiday time whichs blows but if you still want to come train, do it!! You probably will not be able to improve as much cause of time constraints but you will still learn something and any knowledge is useful if you know how to use it. If you can stay for 2,3, or 4 months, go for it. Your game will go through the roof and upon returning home, I doubt any of your training partners will be able to keep up with you unless they are seasoned.
#4
How is the healthcare if I was to get injured?
Pretty good actually. I suggest getting travelers insurance below you leave home
#5
I use cannabis. How are the drug laws?
Thailand has a zero tolerance drug policy so don’t get caught with anything!!!! You will get prison time.
#6
Should I bring my own gear or use the gyms’ gear?
Bring your own if you have it.
#7
How clean are the the gyms?
This varies camp to camp. All try to maintain a healthy environment for the their boxers but you as a falang may not be immune to certain infections and irritants. Shower right after every training session too. I shouldn’t have to tell you that. When I return in January, I’ll be using this product. Defense Bar Soap
#8
How easy can I get a fight and how much is the pay?
It’s usually very easy to get a fight since they are happening every night of the weeks somewhere. If you are good, you may be able to get a fight on a weekend card at one of the big stadiums. Don’t worry about the money cause it will not be good. I’m sure you are fighting for the experience more than the money anyway. If you wanted money, you’d be like Floyd Mayweather Jr and take up western boxing and fight for Goldenboy Promotions.
Here is a review of Anorak's gym I've borrowed from from K-1fans.
Kiatphotip Gym -
Here is a review of my 1 weeks stay at Rob's gym last year mid june i think it was, i'll run through a typical days training and an overview of everything else. After emailing Rob for a couple of weeks about location, prices and organising my stay. He picked me up from bkk airport with his wife on a Saturday evening, my intentions were to arrive in bkk on Saturday to sleep of my jet lag the following day (sun) where there's no training and be ready to train on monday. I forgot the length it took to drive to the gym, think i roughly 1hr 1-1/2hr.
Accomodation
Had a room to my self, two bunk beds in my room. Picture below speaks for itself.
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Morning training
Woke up at 6am for a run with all the boxers, the morning run was nice, fresh air good surrondings. On the run, majority is beside a lake, few bikes/cars. Leading the pack was bao, champion of a bloke. Although his eyes are menacing!
Following the run was around 10 mins of shadow boxing up and down the matted gym floors. Proceeded by bag work timed by either Jompop or Liam screaming Liu Liu Liu whilst telling telling me to stay on my toes, mix up the combos etc. After several round of bag work, high reps on using dumbbell, bar bells bit of a circuit of curls, shoulder press, weighted punches. Then a stretch down
Breakfast
Typical Thai food with the base staple being rice, me being Asian. Eating rice at any time of the day is no probs what so ever. There were 2 guys and 1 girl from UK - Deanos Dean Whites gym staying there, and one of the lads had serial toasts etc..
Finished breakfast at around 10am so there was a fair gap between the next arvo training session.
Location
The Gym is about 10min walk from the town, where there's a market which has fresh fruit etc. 7/11, internet. There's a big university in town, so the normal shops are there restaurants etc. Friendly people around the area, some nice Thai uni girls too Very Happy. If u wanted you could use the bike to go there, take less than 2 minutes. Liam took me once, but i didnt want to keep nagging him to drive me to the shop, so i just walked there when i needed some extra to eat or use the internet.
Afternoon Training session
Starts around 3-30pm, run is alot shorter and on a different route.
There were Four trainers at the gym.
Liam
Jompop
Omnoi
Old bloke - forgot his name
Jompop usually held the pads for me, couldn’t have asked for a better pads man. Really solid, and gave me a lot of advise showing me tip and tricks. He mixed things up as well no just kicks but alot of combination.
Forgot to mention Bou (their main stable fighter at the time i was there) worked 1 on 1 with me a couple of times in the morning . which was really cool, we'd do counter drills. Their was once when he showed me a technique, fake back leg step up front elbow, we'd do it back and forth i'd put my hand up and he'd elbow it.
On my last rep, things didn’t work quite well. Back leg fake, step up elbow but only it got his nose. He laughed it off and kicked me in the leg! lol
After 5 rounds on the pads, It was on bag work. There would be a trainer free that would help/show techniques on the bag.
Then it was onto clinching, alot of clinching which was good. I was paired up with a young thai fella, we'd clinch then he'd start kicking me, then heel kicks on the thigh it was fun.
Then warm down push up/sit ups/chin ups/knees/ and finally a stretch.
The boys would usually go longer, loved watching jompop-bou clinch when i warmed down. They'd really go at it.
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Dinner
Was around 7pm, The lady would usually cook some soup, omollette, stir fry. I love my Thai food, and definitely never went to bed hungry.
Conclusion
Rob looked after me, his got a lot of stories to tell about the fight game. I got to even see him on the pads. My only complaint would be that i didn’t stay there long enough.
About
Keatkhamtorn Gym
Keatkhamtorn Gym was established 6 years ago in Khannayao, Bangkok by Teerawat Chukorn, known as Jakae. Many of the fighters were from the gym ThungsongThaksin in the south before they moved to Bangkok. In this short period, of only 6 years Keatkhamtorn fighters have made a great name for themselves at big shows on major stadiums like Lumpini and Rajadamnern.
After having a solid stable of great fighters, Keatkhamtorn now also train foreign fighters, to fight in and outside Thailand.
Fighters
Keatkhamtorn figter stable consists of ~15 local fighters, with different age and experience that fight at different stadiums in and outside Bangkok. There is usually 3-5 foreign fighters training at Keatkhamtorn at the same time. Some of them just for fitness, some of them to prepare
for their first fight, while some of the foreign fighters train to fight at Lumpini and Rajadamnern.
Training
The training is the typical thai training regime, with runs and skipping twice a day before training, pad- and bagwork and different technique/sparring drills followed by clinching. The clinch and knee training is a very big part of the training, and the strong knee fighters use to clinch for an hour after every training session. To build a strong knee, and train for endurance in the clinch the fighters do up to 1000 knees on the bag after the run, and 50-200 pull-ups, followed by neck exercise after each session.
Something that I find very great about this gym is that the fighters have the same passion for teaching, and train with you as the trainers. There's nothing like you have to take a ticket, or train hard for a few weeks before you can be sure that you can hit the pads every session. That's a part of the routine, and unless you're injured you have to complete it, TWICE a day Smile Some of the trainers, are strong and have good distance to give you intense pad training with a lot of encountering, while there is some older teachers with a lot of experience and a great eye for technique.
One of them is Lae, who could stay for hours watching the bags, and see me do the same mistake for hours, but still
encourages me to correct my technique.
If you want to fight, you may tell Jakae and he'll make sure that the trainers will put in a hard effort to evaluate
where you can fight, and what weaknesses you need to work on before.
Facilities
The gym is equipped with 8 bags, 2 full-size boxing rings, chin/pull-up bars,
uppercut bag, weights, and all accessories needed for training. In the building there's a kitchen where the fighters eat and look TV, on the second floor there's four big rooms for the guest boxers, with CableTV and Hi-speed Internet computers outside. The Thai fighters live at the third floor.
The rooms are big, with a lot of place for storage with both fan and air conditioning.
Food
Fresh food made by the cook at the gym, Ying are served twice a day after training. The food are nutritious and well composted for a fighter training in Thailand. You won't have to worry about going hungry, since they will serve you heaps of food. If you're not a heavyweighter you may have to tell them that you are fine with a smaller amount of food Smile If you go hungry between sessions, there's a food stall on the other side of the street, where you can get a Tom Yam Goong soup, together with a PatKaprao
and bottled water for less than 50bth. There's a Tesco Lotus, with everything you need, a food court, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Swensens five minutes from the gym.
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A small list of fighter achievements
Former S-1, Lumpini and Thailand champion, Nopparat Keatkhamtorn
Former Lumpini and Thailand champion, Yuthagarn Thungsongthaksin
Former Lumpini champion, Denkiri 13 Rianresort
Lumpini International boxing champion Daothai Keatkhamtorn
and WBC Asia-Pacific International boxing champion, Oledon Gratingdaeng
WBC MuayThai Champion, Yassotorn Keatkhamtorn
S-1 Champion, Detsuriya Sittiprasert
S-1 Champion Laemthong Thor Ponchai
Price
25,000bth / month for room, training 2x day, food, CableTV/Internet, airport transfer
nice work mate
only thing I would add regarding the fight nights, these can work out expensive and unfortunately you wont be able to get in free at Lumpini or Ratchadamnern, but should get a discount through your gym if they have a fighter on the card and are connected enough. I can get a discount for all of the shows for people, not a huge amount, but it helps. Channel 7 is free and usually pretty good fights, but get there early as it gets rammed out in there. Omnoi which is just outside of Bangkok and holds the channel3 fights saturday is just 200 baht and also well worth a trip as you get some big names fight there too. Im pretty sure the channel 9 fights on a sunday are also only around 200 baht entrance so worth a trip, the channel 5 fights are at Lumpini so you have to pay the same price as any other show there 2000 for ringside
