Hello Paris,

I’ve just spent 6 weeks travelling around Thailand. In Vietnam now. I hear there are good camps in the south.

You may be better off finding a local Muay Thai gym and asking if they have an association with somewhere in Thailand. I know clubs from Melbourne send groups to Thailand all the time….

Saw an ad for Australia VS Thailand in Chiang Mai. hehehe

Hope that helps. I can ask the Thai people I know if you wish.

Hey Andrew,

thanks for the help mate

Yeh ive seen some internet sites from camps in the south and they look great so i may go to one of them but i just want to make sure i pick the rite place before i spend all the money on going there. Have you ever herd of any realy “bad” training camps or places i should watch out for?

Ive never done any thai boxing before but i have done some boxing on and off for a number of years but to be honest the main reaosn im planning on going isnt to become a great fighter its more just to enjoy a holiday in another country while takeing part in some intense exersize and i think this would be a great way to do so. Do you have any other ideas on a place to holiday while training alot?

thanks again for the help Andrew

Paris

From what I hear of the training camps in Thailand they are pretty hardcore and I wouldn’t really consider them a holiday, and then ones that are catered for tourists in your situation may leave you wanting.

I met one dude in Melbourne that went over there and he said it was brutal. Some of the guys at Guardian Defence have been to Thailand too and the stories they’ve told me were a little scary. Like playing around with air rifles…...

Don’t know much about training whilst on holiday, unless you consider jumping a flaming skipping rope on a beach for free buckets training. Although I did spend last weekend doing some AFL training. Hah!

I would still stick by my first recommendation and ask some local Muay Thai clubs that have sent people over. Thailand is a place you can get screwed over quite easily, and the best info comes from those who have done it before.

“Thailand is a place you can get screwed over quite easily, and the best info comes from those who have done it before. “

your definately rite there
i agree ill get soem advice from some muay thai clubs and take it from there,

yeh ive herd a few stories and read a few things about how hard the training can be and to be honest thats exactly what i want to go there for

thanks for your help and advice mate ill keep you updated about how i go over there and what its like

cheers,

paris

Hey Paris.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Thailand now (about 5 months over three different trips) and mostly up north around Chiang Mai. I was interested in doing some Muay Thai training over there too, and even though never got around to it, did some research.

If you are up in Chiang Mai I know of two.  One is called Lanna Muay Thai and if you search for it on google you should find there website with all the info you need.  I went and watched them train once but never got involved.  It is mostly foreigners training there but the training still seemed intense.  Al levels are welcomed.  They train twice a day for three hours each time, I would recommend the AM class as it’s getting hotter there right now and may be too hot to train in the afternoon.  The cost is 300B (about $10) Australian per session.

I have a brochure of another camp located in Thailand which I could take a photo of and email to you if you gave me an address.  It’s called ‘Por Piyachai Gym’.  This one doesn’t mention a price but once again there are two daily training sessions (8am and 2pm).  They invite you to come and watch before you make any decisions to train there and they run a 1-2 day beginner course that you can do before joining in with the proper training sessions.

So sorry but I have to make a correction to things said earlier.  After spending so much time in Thailand I completely disagree with the idea that you have to be on guard because there are people left, right and centre trying to take advantage of you.  Maybe that’s the way it is down south (I’ve never been), but up north it just simply is not like that.  The people are friendly, helpful, genuine and proud of this.  I can personally assure you that these above operations are genuine and teach Muay Thai for the love of it and not to pull a scam and I am certain that this would go for at least 95% of the schools that run over there.

If you need further advice I would agree that contacting local Muay Thai gyms would be a great source of information.  You can also use lonlyplanet.com’s thorn tree post to submit your question there and you should get feedback from travellers who have the “been there, done that” experience.

Ad.

Hey Adrian,

Mate I am very jealous that you have had the chance to spend so much time in such a great place! One day ill hopefully have the time and money to do the same thing you have in Thailand and really get to know the place!

I understand what you’re saying about chiang mai and how it may be different from phuket, and all my comments so far have just come from stories from people who have not been to Thailand but from people who have friends who have been there so i can accept there probably not that accurate

Ill definitely look into the training camp you suggested as it sounds great and I would defiantly prefer to go to chiang mai than phuket (which is where most gyms seem to be)

And if you could email the brochure about the other camp that would be great
My emails:paris_l@hotmail.co.uk

thanks mate

Paris

Hey,

I agree with Adrian about the people in the North being quite trust worthy. Although I got sold a ticket on a boat to Laos in Chiang Mai for a boat that did not run… but that’s another story all together.

As for the South, they are a totally different people, I would have a hard time trusting them until I had evidence. The Tuk Tuk drivers in Phuket have just been had for price fixing. Basically forcing people to take an extravagant fair to get from beach to beach. Don’t know if the same can be applied to gyms.

I am catching up with a Thai girl that works in the tourism industry next week, i’ll ask her or her mum if she knows of anything. But if you got something in Chiang Mai I would think that would be better. So much more chilled compared to the islands and resorts of the south which are pretty intense. I could spend a month in Pai just relaxing, where as after a week in Koh Phi Phi I was a mess.