Lex Muay Thai Review
May 20, 2010 by admin · 3 Comments
So, me and my buddy were driving around on a motorbike looking for the Chay Yai gym. Having just arrived here a few days ago (and not knowing my way around), getting lost was inevitable as we were searching for an area that isn’t even listed on the maps that are passed out at most of the tourism booths throughout the city. We took a wrong turn somewhere (or several) and ended up at a cool temple (in the picture to the left).
From there, we asked some locals for directions and due to the language barrier, they couldn’t really get their point across so rather than giving us verbal directions to follow, one Thai guy jumped on his motorbike and guided us to a camp that was a couple blocks away. It wasn’t Chay Yai, but at this point, we didn’t care anymore as we just wanted to train.
When we walked in, we were told to warm up and that the head trainer would be there shortly. Apparently there was some sort of fight in town and he went to try to mediate things. At this point, the gym was really quiet and following our warm up, my buddy started his pad rounds. While he was doing that, I was just waiting for my turn as they only had the 1 pad holder.
At about the midway point of my friends pad-work session, Lex got back and so did about 8 of his students. Lex (the owner of the camp), then strapped up and hopped in the ring to finish off the rounds for my friend. Once he was worked to complete exhaustion, I got called in. Here’s a brief clip of me training with Lex (note the sick graffiti in the background)..
He was a good trainer and we both got as many rounds as we could handle. As for the actual students/fighters that were training there, the skill level seemed pretty low to be honest. For the most part, it was backpacker-types that were likely passed a brochure somewhere along the moat. That being said, I was only there for the one afternoon so that’s certainly not enough time to judge the quality of the students that roll through the gym on a more regular basis.
As I mentioned, me and my friend both got more than enough pad time from Lex himself and the atmosphere within the gym (with the graffiti and whatnot) was pretty cool. Another plus is that you can jog past the temples to start your training and in addition to the scenery, Chiang Mai has really clean air (unlike Bangkok).
I didn’t stay there long enough to really get a feel for what the training would be like for someone training there on a semi-permanent basis. From my initial perspective, it had its positives (nice running path with temples, cool atmosphere, good trainer) and its negatives (very few trainers, low skill level amongst the students). I didn’t see any on-site accommodation but in Chiang Mai, you can find a room to rent for about 100 usd per month and there’s plenty of rooms available so finding a place to chill and sleep shouldn’t be a problem.
It’s certainly worth checking out if you’re in Chiang Mai but if the purpose of your trip is purely about training, then there are much better gyms (throughout Phuket, Bangkok and Pattaya) that you should base yourself out of. It was a good overall experience though.
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
Initial Impressions of the Hard Training and Wild Nightlife
February 10, 2010 by admin · 8 Comments
Hollywood Disco: The Scene of the Story
Anyway, as I’m sure you know by now, I love it here and I rarely have anything to complain about but there is a downside. I see a lot of people come and a lot of people go. I’m pretty used to it by now but it definitely sucks when it comes time to say goodbye to some of the friends you made.
There’s been a lot of Canadians here at the camp lately and this past month, 4 of us have been hanging out a lot. There was these 2 guys named Matt and Troy from Ottawa (same city as I’m from) and another dude named Ian who’s from Toronto.
Ian is still here, and he plans on staying until he runs out of money because like myself, he doesn’t want to leave. However, as I’m writing this, Matt and Troy are most likely eating shitty airline food in silence while they’re looking at the pictures of broads and beaches that they’ve taken during the past month they’ve spent in paradise. It’s a depressing feeling. I know first hand.
Throughout their time here, Troy was documenting his experience on his facebook page. He’s relatively new to the sport of Muay Thai (with only around a year of training experience) and it was his first time in Thailand. With this place feeling like a completely different world to first time visitors, there was definitely a culture shock.
His entries were pretty long but they were also pretty funny so I’ll highlight certain parts that stuck out. It’s always interesting to see how people react to a place like this when they see it for the first time. Sort of reminds me if my own initial impressions of it when I first came here about 3 years ago.
Anyway, here’s what Troy had to say about his first days of training..
The training here is as ridiculous as the lore of it back home. Yesterday I woke up to go for my morning skip, and my trainer told me I wasn’t allowed to skip anymore for my warm up, and also that I have no choice but to start training twice a day. I have to jog instead (even in the afternoon when the heat and humidity is beyond anything you can possibly imagine). Also, the gym is located up in the mountain, so there’s ridiculously steep hills. I’m talking like an 80-90% incline.
My trainer’s name is impossible to pronounce correctly and hard to remember, but I think he said either Ming or Ning. Or maybe he said Noi, I don’t really know. He calls me Choy, and he sticks to me like flies to shit. I have a problem understanding him, but I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m a potato. My first day, for example, I was skipping and I thought I was warmed up enough so I stopped and started stretching, and he ran over and said: “Five more minutes Choy!!! HAHAHAHA” and kicked me in the ass. He corrects my stance every day, and stretches my legs I’m sure 400% beyond their flexibility.
I probably have at least 100 pounds on him, and the other day I hopped in the ring to spar with him and he beat the fucking shit out of me and thought it was hilarious, throwing his hands up in the middle of the round yelling: “ME MANNY PACQUIAO!!! ME MANNY PACQUIAO!!”….but he would show me what I was doing wrong, and he’s really trying to get me to relax, move and breathe properly when under pressure, which is exactly what I need to improve the most – especially according to how my fight went back home. Just when I feel I’m tired and ready to quit, he’ll tell me to go do 100 situps in the baking sun, or that we have to start jogging up that hill.
While that doesn’t sound appealing to most people. Troy was really enjoying it as indicated by what he wrote next..
I love the daily grind. Getting absolutely SOAKED in sweat and working harder than I’ve ever worked in my life at anything. Training here on a daily basis is almost as hard as my fight was, which is crazy when you think of it. I love the sounds of pads getting smashed as I walk down the hill from my room to the camp. I love the Thai guys yelling: “Ebbou!!” (Elbow) “KNEE!!” “WUN-CHOO” (One-Two) MO POWAH CHOY!!! (More power Troy), I love sitting down and stretching the butterfly while I wrap my hands and tape the blisters on my feet.
I love how fucking TOUGH the Thai guys are here. They fight all the time, and they hardly even train since they spend most of their time training us! They just start jogging about a week before their fights. They literally sleep next to the ring in a little mosquito net, and they use Thai pads for pillows! You know, the same Thai pads that they hold for us to punch and kick during the day.
Even in their down time, the trainers sit there and watch Muay Thai fights on the little TV at the gym. They live and breathe the sport and every time a good strike or especially a good combination gets through, they go crazy and yell: “OHHHWAAAAYYYYY!!!!!”
Thailand is more amazing, dirtier, and comforting than I ever could have hoped for! Tomorrow we go to Patong Stadium to watch our trainers fight. Chok Dee (good luck) to them.
Since I’m really behind on my entries, I just so happen to have some footage of the fights that he’s talking about ..
Anyway, back to Troy’s experience in Thailand. Like any first timer here, he racked up some interesting stories. Here is one of them…
Last Saturday was supposed to be the last time we partied hard here in Thailand, so I wanted to go out with a bang. You can take that metaphorically or literally, whatever you want, to me that night they were synonymous, and I was hot on the prowl for a Euro-chick. Or, in my drunken, perverted slobber: “I WANT SOME EUROPUSSY!!” However, fate had different plans for me. Or perhaps, in the spirit of Thailand and Buddhism, it was karma. Not only did I have the fucking WORST night out in the history of nights out, I got punched by a Thai hooker. I didn’t think it was funny at the time, but Bill, Ian and Matt obviously thought it was hilarious and have convinced me now that it was. Here’s a rough schematic of what led up to this debacle:
Two weekends previous to Saturday, I hooked up with a Thai chick named Daw [Da-oh] at a club called “Hollywood.” I had to do the walk of shame the next morning past all the trainers here at the camp as I brought her back down the mountain. Anyway, I figured she got the message when I didn’t bother to call, visit or even think of her since. I was so drunk that night that I hardly remember anything and I feel as though I didn’t even make the conscious decision to hook up with her myself. So, you can imagine my heart sinking when we walked into Hollywood Saturday (two weeks after that night), and after crushing a bottle of nail-polish-tasting vodka as well as several buckets of alcohol. When she approached me, she attempted to hold my hand and give me a kiss.
Well, with it being my last night out in Thailand, I decided to be honest and inform her of my intent of sloppy-grinding white chicks on the dance floor. She immediately started crying and her friends started consoling her. Being drunker than an Irishman on St. Patrick’s Day, I just stood there swaying to the beat of the music with a shit-eating grin on my face. I mean, I had only spent a few hours with this girl, and I hadn’t bothered to contact her at any point within the last 2 weeks. However, as the boys have correctly pointed out, this would make me an asshole anywhere in the world.
Anyway, I just left her and continued into the back room, ready to get my mack on. I saw Daw’s friends talking to each other and they spread out like wildfire. In Thailand, it’s like a role reversal when compared to our home countries and we (foreigners) get pursued the same way fit, big-titty blondes do back at home. It’s easy to feel like a pick up artist here because you can usually have anyone you want.
For instance, last weekend, Matt informed me in the morning that the night before I was standing behind a Thai girl grinding and exposing her bra/nipple in the middle of the dance-floor while she had a reach-around going. I’m pretty sure I would get thrown in jail for doing that back in Canada, but instead, some guy from Sweden just walked up and gave me a high-five. However, this time around, every Thai girl I tried to dance with, or even talk too, gave me the cold shoulder. I quickly figured out that Daw’s friends had informed every Thai girl in the club that I was a dick.
All hope wasn’t lost at this point though because my buddy Damian assured me that he’d be able to hook me up with some Australian chicks that he knew. Things we’re looking alright! So, I decided to grab another beer and tour around a bit, at which point, I ran into Bill and he was with the hottest Thai girl you could possibly imagine. We had “creeped” this girl in facebook earlier in the night and I knew it was her because she had the “scorpion boob” (a scorpion tattoo on her chest). I was stoked for him, so I left him alone and toured around some more.
Alright, here’s a brief intermission to the story. He claimed that I was with the “hottest Thai girl you could possibly imagine”, but what good is a claim like that unless it’s backed up with some pictures. Luckily, I just so happen to have some of the infamous “scorpion boob” girl. However, I regret to inform you that I wasn’t able to secure her that night. I know, fuck me, right?
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Anyway, Damian finally introduced me to the Australian chicks and they seemed nice. I was excited and I had a nice buzz going. However, that’s when shit started to turn sour. I suddenly found myself face-to-face with “Daw”, all by herself on a cleared out space on the dance floor. She looked pissed, so I asked her what was wrong. She was yelling broken English into my ear, but all I could hear was the DOOF-DOOF-DOOF of the subs in club Hollywood, and the only words I could make out were “Boom-boom”, which is what Thai people refer to sex as.
I just smiled and nodded, and told her that I didn’t understand a goddamn word she just said. She got soooo pissed! She cocked back her arm and tried to punch me in the jaw. Luckily, I was too tall and she hit me in the sternum instead, then just stormed off. I wasn’t even mad at first, which was surprising, and I just thought to myself “WTF, whatever”, and I toured around the bar again.
I ran into those Aussie chicks that Damien had introduced me too, tried to say hi, and they completely blew me off. Like, it was embarrassingly bad and super rude, I felt like a complete turd. At this point, I was pissed and I just wanted to get out of there. I left the club, got all the way down the street (Bangla Road) and then realized that I had left the key to my room with my buddy Matt (since I was wearing grappling shorts without any pockets).
So, I went back, and at the entrance to Hollywood there’s like a steep cat-walk. Anyway, some hot, white, big-breasted blonde American broad decided to go down it drunk in heels. She lost her balance and tried to stiff-arm me out of the way. I was so pissed off at that point, I just stood my ground and basically setup somewhat of a basketball pick (I weigh 235 pounds). As you can imagine, she bounced off me like a beach ball and basically did a flip, ate shit and landed face-down on the dirty, dirty concrete of Bangla road. I turned in her direction and said: “Thanks a lot, Bitch!!”, left her there in all her “glory”, and stormed up the catwalk.
Surprisingly, as I re-entered the club, all the Thai bouncers were laughing, patting me on the back and giving me the thumbs up. If I was in any other mood, it would have been awesome, but I really just wanted to get the fuck out of dodge. To clarify that I’m not a COMPLETE jerk, this girl did this in such a fashion that was obviously very arrogant and super-bitchy, like her shit didn’t stink. In other words, she got what was coming to her. She made it come down to either her or I eating shit, and I said fuck you and stuffed it right down her spoiled-rotten throat. I’m assuming that’s why the bouncers gave me props….either that or they enjoyed the view of her bare ass as she tried to pick herself off the ground.
Anyway, I got the key and grabbed a motorbike taxi home. However, right when I thought the night couldn’t get any worse, the taxi driver took me to the Muay Thai stadium instead of the gym. I was so fucking pissed and in a sarcastic tone, I said “Ya man, thanks, I really wanted to go to the fucking boxing stadium at 5 o’clock in the morning”. But they don’t understand anyway, so it didn’t matter and I didn’t get stabbed. The driver ended up charging me 300 baht for the ride though, which is insane because you can pretty much buy 3 weeks of gas here for that much money. I paid for it anyway and got the hell to bed.
So, while Troy’s night didn’t pan out exactly the way he wanted it too, at least he WE got a funny story out of it. Of course, seeing as how both him and his buddy Matt were living here for a full month, they’re both heading back to Canada right now with a bunch of other stories and experiences (that have happier endings) and most likely – a whole new outlook on things. Hopefully they’ll be back soon and as Troy put it best at the end of his journal ..
“Gentleman, let us always continue to crush pads, pussy and cheap fruit shakes”
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
Our Classy Week in Pattaya
November 23, 2009 by admin · 4 Comments
Armpit Sweat, Testicles, Adams Apples and a Giant Right Hand; Everything You Need For A Classy Night Out On The Town (I'm sure he will regret this picture)
We landed in Bangkok on the 11th, stayed for a couple nights, did some shopping and then headed straight to Pattaya. For those of you who don’t know, Pattaya is an extremely upscale and classy town that’s known for its architecture, museums and art galleries.
Naw, I’m just kidding. Pattaya is known for it’s bars and girls but after spending the last 6 months bored out of my mind in Ottawa, a week of booze and debauchery before I settled in and got serious about my training sounded like a good plan to us all.
Having never seen anything like it, my friends were in disbelief that a place like Pattaya actually existed. The looks on their faces when they were getting swarmed by beautiful girls was priceless. Here’s a quick video that somewhat captures what the experience was like for them..
Now, nobody spends a full week in Pattaya without racking up some interesting stories. It’s non-stop action there and you’re always on the go. There was a point where we were only getting 4 hours of sleep each night and we still felt wide awake.
Our Living Arrangements
We were staying in the apartments above club blue because I had stayed there before and I was happy with the room, the price, the location and the service. It’s right in the center of a party area so it’s definitely not a good place to stay if your planning on sleeping at a decent hour but for this week, we didn’t care about that at all. Here’s a quick tour of the place..
“Fuck White People”
On one of the nights – I believe it was the evening of the Friday the 13th – I had split away from my friends at around 4 in the morning. They were going to an after hours club called MIXX and I just wanted to do my own thing. I was walking outside of “Lucifer” and I heard someone behind me say “fuck white people”.
I looked back and it was coming from a middle eastern guy who had just come out of the bar. He was walking behind me and looking directly at me so I had no doubt who he was directing his comments towards. I’m not a big fan of getting into street fights – especially in foreign countries – so I just brushed it off and kept walking.
Then I heard his stupid “fuck white people” comment again, only this time, it was louder and when I looked back, he was walking right up to me. Clearly this guy had the intention of starting a fight and since he wasn’t Thai or Russian (don’t get in altercations with either in Pattaya) I just grabbed him and smoked him twice in the face.
The shots didn’t land clean since I was drunk but they were more than enough to scare him off. The whole situation was stupid. It was stupid on his part because lets face it, he doesn’t know me, I could have the fighting skills of GSP for all he knows (although I clearly don’t) and it was stupid on my part because I had to leave walking street right after, which put an end to what was turning out to be an awesome night.
A Round Of Applause
Clap, clap, clap – that’s exactly what one of my friends ended up getting after a night of mixing alcohol with reckless sex. He hooked up with a showgirl on one of our first nights in Pattaya and a couple days later, well, let’s just say he was experienced some undesirable effects from the exposure.
We were all just sitting around watching TV when “it hit” and he rushed to the washroom. He came out with a concerned look on his face and said that he needed to hit a pharmacy a.s.a.p. Being the dirty guy that he is, it really wasn’t anything new for him. He had it before so he knew exactly what he needed to take.
So, a quick trip to the pharmacy and 4000 baht later, he got a “cocktail” injection and he was good to go. As for the morale of the story, well, there really isn’t one. I guess it would have to be to not have unprotected sex, in any form, with Thai prostitutes – but whatever, as harsh as it sounds, it was good for some laughs. After all, him getting “clapped up” added to the classiness of the week.
The Training
The first week was mostly about letting loose and having fun but I was able to get some training in. I did a couple workouts at Scorpion Gym and then decided to switch things up a bit by going to RMB gym since I had heard good things. I only did 2 workouts at RMB but I was impressed with the place and I definitely plan on going back at some point. Here’s an RMB gym review that I wrote up based on those visits.
Training Videos
One of my friends went to the 13 coins gym in Bangkok prior to flying down to the Patong Boxing Gym (which is where I’m writing this from) and he was able to get some footage of Saenchai Sor Kingstar and Orono doing their training. Check it out..
Random, Slightly Creepy Video
Yeah, I don’t really know what to say about this one. We just thought his reaction when he was asked for money was priceless. A little rude sure, but funny nonetheless..
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
Countdown To Paradise!
October 20, 2009 by admin · 4 Comments
Sure beats the Canadian winters..
And speaking of training, I haven’t been doing any boxing since I’ve been back. It’s not the same here and I have no desire to drive all the way across the city to do group class where other students will be the ones holding the pads for me. I figure I might as well just save the money that I’d be paying in membership costs and just put that towards my next trip to Thailand. So instead, I’ve just been doing my regular strength and conditioning workouts.
Today was a good day though. I finally booked my next flight back and I’ll be departing back to the land of smiles in just 3 weeks. I got my usual routing which is Ottawa / Chicago / Tokyo / Bangkok, but what’s nice is that this time I have one of my buddies joining me. Since I’ve been back in Canada, I’ve been talking about Thailand non stop so some of my friends have finally decided to book tickets and see what all the hype is about.
Some are into MMA and going for the Muay Thai training and of course, some don’t train at all and are just going to chill and party. I have a feeling that they’ll end up getting hooked like me either way though. This time around – which will be my third trip back in 3 years – I plan on doing everything that I haven’t done yet. I’ll still be hitting the usual spots (Phuket, Bangkok, Pattaya), but this time I’ll be heading up to Chiang Mai and down to Koh Samui. I also plan to finally visit the Por Pramuk camp and train alongside Buakaw at some point as well.
So, I got my ticket and I’m just counting down the days now (20 days exactly!). Follow along once again and I’ll do my best to make updates at least a few times a week. Also, if you yourself or someone you know is planning on going to another country to train, then have a look at this page. Basically, we’re looking to get a few training journals going at once so there will be something new to read for our visitors each time they visit.
Anyway, if you have any requests, any specific camps you want me to visit, then just list them below and I’ll see what I can do. As usual, if you have any questions about training in Thailand, just hit me up via the “contact” tab above. Next entry will be from Thailand!!!
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
Suwit Muay Thai Review
June 7, 2009 by admin · 7 Comments
Thought this was cool. Rope Climbing; an awesome way to increase your strength in the clinch
Before I came back – and before I even injured myself – I went to the Suwit Muay Thai camp in Chalong for the day to check it out. Actually, I had planned to go to Sinbi that day and despite telling the motorbike taxi driver to take me to Sinbi in Rawai, he dropped me off at Suwit in Chalong. So rather than wasting more time trying to explain the difference to him, I just said fuck it and did a workout at Suwit instead.
The gym itself was nice enough considering the fact that it’s the oldest gym in Phuket and they even have their own stadium there where they host live Muay Thai fights a couple nights a week. Here’s a quick tour of the place..
The daily cost for training was 500 baht (which is overpriced in my opinion) but the monthly training costs are actually really honest. I was given a price list that I ended up losing but if I remember correctly, you could get a month of training and your accommodation for approximately 15,000 baht or so plus any additional fees for electricity and surprisingly, the cost for electricity was billed out at the local Thai rates. That’s actually a major scam here in Thailand – they’ll jack up the electricity rates because they expect that foreigners won’t know any better. It was nice to see that they didn’t do that here.
I actually went to check out the rooms as well and took some pictures and video for those who are interested. They have rooms on site which are somewhat decent but the nicer rooms (same price) are located a couple minutes down the road in an apartment complex that they own. Here’s a quick tour of the place (ran out of batteries)..
As for the training, well – it was alright. Not bad but nothing stood out as being amazing either. I got a full 5 rounds of padwork which is great and the trainers all seemed pretty friendly. After the 5 rounds of padwork, I got to do some clinching with one of the Thai’s – who completely owned me by the way – and then just finished up on the bag after that.
The gym is located in the same area as Tiger Muay Thai. Actually, there’s 3 Muay Thai gyms right near each other in Chalong – Tiger Muay Thai, Suwit and a new one that just opened up called Dragon Muay Thai. They’re so close to each other that you could try them all before deciding on which camp suits you best. It’s all about getting matched up with a good trainer anyway.
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
Fairtex Pattaya – “Be Inspired”
August 15, 2008 by admin · 7 Comments
So, I finally made it over to the Fairtex camp here in Pattaya. I’ll be honest with you, I went to the gym today with the intention of basically picking the place apart based on what I had read in some of the other forums. It seems as though the general consensus amongst the Muay Thai community is that the Fairtex Pattaya gym is nothing more than a resort that just happens to offer some Muay Thai classes.
Upon entering the facility, you basically get treated like royalty. The doors get held open for you, the Thai staff all offer a traditional greeting and of course, the female staff are all quite attractive and dressed in flight attendant-like uniforms. No complains so far. Time to pay for training. “How much?” I asked. “800 baht please” she replied.
800 baht for training? I’m used to paying around 250 baht at Scorpion and Sityodtong. 800 baht by Western standards isn’t so bad (it’s only around 24 US dollars) but this is Thailand. For 800 baht I can get 2 nights in my hotel or 26 meals from the restaurant across the street. Well, I paid the fee anyway so I could do the review for the site.
Before I go any further, check out this video tour I took of the facilities. As you can see, they put a lot of money into this place. Also, look closely and see if you notice the guy who’s training in one of the back rings. More on that later though. As a toured the facility, and saw how nice it was, the daily cost for training seemed to become a lot more justified. This place looked amazing!
As I was checking the place out, I was greeted by a guy named “Ted”. He spoke perfect English (which was a nice change of pace) as he’s originally from Los Angeles. I’ll go out on a limb here and say that “Ted” is one of the nicest guys I’ve met since I’ve been here. After a quick meet and greet, I started my skipping and bag-work.
After about 20 minutes or so, I was called into the ring for pads. One thing I noticed immediately is that above the ring, there’s a fan that that blows moist air downwards. Since the rounds at Fairtex are 4 minutes, rather than the 3 minutes I’ve been doing at Sityodtong and Scorpion, the fan helped for sure. That extra minute makes a huge difference.
As for the quality of the pad-work, I have to say, the trainer was awesome. For everyone that posts in the forums claiming that the trainers at Fairtex Pattaya just run you through “tourist pad-work” without focusing on technique, that’s not what I experienced at all. He corrected my stance, he corrected my switch-kick technique and he was really good and holding the pads during the two rounds of pure boxing we did.
When my session started off, I was in the ring with two foreigners (one Japanese girl and another white dude). After the third round, the foreigners had finished so I was in the ring by myself. I then saw a Thai guy step into the ring out of the corner of my eye. I looked again and WOW – it was Yodsanklai!
For two full rounds, I was sharing the ring with Yodsanklai Fairtex (one of the best Muay Thai fighters in the world). I try explaining it to my friends who don’t know who Yod is by saying it’s “like shooting around with Micheal Jordan” or like “being stationed next to Tiger Woods at the driving range”.
It’s one thing to see Yod hitting the pads in a Youtube video but when you’re standing 10 feet away from him while he’s training, it’s just unbelievable. I really don’t know how to describe it. It’s like he’s some Muay Thai robot or something. He’s technique is just amazing. He kicks the pads and you just cringe at the thought of being on the receiving end of the shots.
One thing I noticed too is that in person, Yodsanklai is very built. His calves are massive which I’m sure makes the kicks even more devastating. I took a couple videos of his padwork, here’s one of them..
So overall, I had a really good experience today at Fairtex Pattaya. The facility is top notch, the atmosphere is very friendly, the trainers are great and you get to train alongside some of the best Muay Thai fighters in the world. The Fairtex catchphrase “be inspired” certainly rang true today as I was training 5-10 feet from Yodsanklai Fairtex himself.
The Big Question: Is It Worth The Money?
I’ll admit, I was pretty stoked after today’s training session. I got to witness Muay Thai at it’s highest level and it’s actually pretty “inspiring”. I’ve been telling all my buddies at home about the “Yodsanklai sighting” today to make them jealous (geez, I sound like some Muay Thai groupie!)
At 800 baht a session, it’s a little out of my price range since I plan in training every day and staying here in Thailand long term, but if money wasn’t an issue, I would absolutely love to train here again!
If you’re staying for a longer time or if finances are a concern, you can easily find quality training for under 300 baht a workout and you can find a quality room for about 400-600 baht per night. Even then, I still recommend at least a visit or two to Fairtex Pattaya simply for the experience.
By the same token, if money isn’t an issue and you’re staying at the Fairtex Pattaya resort, I also recommend that you train at some of the gyms off the beaten’ track like Sityodtong for a less luxurious, but an “authentic” Muay Thai experience. Overall though, I’d absolutely recommend training at Fairtex.
On Another Note..
I finished off my last entry right before heading out for a night on the town. As predicted, it was a wild night and wow, the things you see in Thailand! I was eating at a Thai food stall when a big fight broke out. By the time I saw what was going on, stood up and got my camera out, the majority of the fight was over. However, I did manage to get at least a little bit of the end on video. I’m pretty sure that the “girl” being attacked is actually a ladyboy.
So, that’s it for now. Either tomorrow or sometime next week I’ll be visiting a camp here in Pattaya that offers Muay Thai, Western Boxing, Sambo, BJJ and MMA. In my next entry, I’ll also share some inside info. I got today on a potential fight between Yodsanklai and Baukaw.
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
