Best gyms in Thailand???

[Babyface Assassin]

Hi guys, I'm looking at training in Thailand for a month and have heard of a few gyms that are good like; kiatphontip, jitti gym, and tiger but just wanted some peoples opinions on the best Muay thai gyms in Thailand or at least the ones that stand out as I understand there are hundreds all over Thailand. If anyone has any good experiences of training in Thailand I would like to hear your opinion!
Thanks guys!

[maz]

Hi guys, I'm looking at training in Thailand for a month and have heard of a few gyms that are good like; kiatphontip, jitti gym, and tiger but just wanted some peoples opinions on the best Muay thai gyms in Thailand or at least the ones that stand out as I understand there are hundreds all over Thailand. If anyone has any good experiences of training in Thailand I would like to hear your opinion!
Thanks guys!

loads of thailand threads on here with info on them that will help you.

i go every year and train at jitti gym in bkk and lamai gym in samui.

if you're in bkk i can only really recommend Jitti's as its the only place i train. its fantastic, very good trainers, accomodation and food. its 2 mins from MRT stations so you can get anywhere in bkk really quickly and soi 19 (where the gym is situated) also has all the shops you will need for everyday stuff.
private lessons are dead cheap (about ten pound) and they have mint trainers there, watcherachai, radjasak, chanoy, serm, berm and of course Jitti. Goulan also trains at Jitti's, he is a muay boran expert and has been in ong bak and loads of other stuff. he is one of the best people i have ever met to spar with. he does all the muay boran demo's at lumpini and raja.
Jitti will get you fights if you want one and he thinks your capable, he knows all the promoters and is very, very good at getting westerners matched well against Thai's.
training is hard as you would expect and there are always top fighters there to spar with, all the bad company lads go there, liam harrison, jordan watson etc and top irish fighters stephen maleady and jonno bracken have been there for the past year and are there till around march time i think this year.
you will be very well looked after!

http://www.jittigym.com/

my friends have also trained at kiatonphip and i heard really good things about there as well but have never been myself.

[ross90]

whens the best time to go maz? I want to go next year but i need to work a few things out before taking the leap.

I'm looking price wise etc and it looks like ill need around 800 quid for flights and accom/training etc for a month. But spending wise whilst Im over there im not sure how much ill need to take. I dont want to go out and live like a king, but i dont want to feel like im counting pennies to eat etc. A pair of shorts and gloves wont go amiss for some little souveniers, but just so i have a rough figure as it may have to be the back end of the year i go (possibly 2012 beginning) to give me some time to save up.

My apprentice wage doesnt stretch as far as I'd like it to.

[maz]

whens the best time to go maz? I want to go next year but i need to work a few things out before taking the leap.

I'm looking price wise etc and it looks like ill need around 800 quid for flights and accom/training etc for a month. But spending wise whilst Im over there im not sure how much ill need to take. I dont want to go out and live like a king, but i dont want to feel like im counting pennies to eat etc. A pair of shorts and gloves wont go amiss for some little souveniers, but just so i have a rough figure as it may have to be the back end of the year i go (possibly 2012 beginning) to give me some time to save up.

My apprentice wage doesnt stretch as far as I'd like it to.


training/accomodation/breakfast will cost you about 28000baht for the month which is roughly 580quid so say 600quid at Jitti's.
if you want evening meal as well then it will be another 100baht a day so about £60 for a months worth.
flight will be around 500quid
spending money...depends what you wanna do but i usually allow for 500 baht a day (roughly £10), this normally covers everthing coz some days you wont spend owt at all and some days (drinking etc) you might spend 3000baht. so for a month about 300.

all in all for a decent months stay i would say about 1000quid (not including flight) but you can do it for way, way less than that but it would mean you cant do as much as you want to and just training, eating and sleeping gets massively boring after about a week, u need to get out of camp sometimes even if its just to the cinema or the markets/malls etc!

[maz]

sorry, the best time to go is defo not april, too hot to train or go out its really fkn hot then! i usually go july/aug/sep times. still boiling but bearable, not too much rain etc. the gym is pretty constant all year round it ticks over nicely, never heaving and if there are times when there is a bigger group come or quite a few people then jitti just brings more trainers in.

[ross90]

jittis sounds awesome, yeah i was thinking that sort of price range so that sounds spot on. I know i wont be buying everything in sight, but a few beers on a weekend cant be too bad.

If its not the back end of the year it will be the very beginning of next (jan-feb) i dont fancy training in excrutiating heat. Just very hot will do nicely.
Is there a website or anything i can save to my favourites to contact the guys there when ive got the money to book up?

Whats the flight like, will a cheap flight have me transported like cattle? Im not TOO bothered, but just so i know what to expect lol.

[maz]

jittis sounds awesome, yeah i was thinking that sort of price range so that sounds spot on. I know i wont be buying everything in sight, but a few beers on a weekend cant be too bad.

If its not the back end of the year it will be the very beginning of next (jan-feb) i dont fancy training in excrutiating heat. Just very hot will do nicely.
Is there a website or anything i can save to my favourites to contact the guys there when ive got the money to book up?

Whats the flight like, will a cheap flight have me transported like cattle? Im not TOO bothered, but just so i know what to expect lol.



www.jittigym.com

i have always flown with china air. not too bad not too good, but comfy enough! i always fly with them simply coz its easiest for me, newcastle to amsterdam, then a 2 hour wait in amsterdam then 11 hours straight to bkk. schiol is a good airport to connect from, loads to do and massive burger king there!!! i have paid between £400 and £700 for a flight with them depending on when i went.

[Babyface Assassin]

Wow thanks for your help Maz you really do know your Muay thai. To be honest it was out of jitti gym and tiger for me because I've heard good things about both. Tiger appealed more because they had cheap nice bungalows on site and the program was good. What can I expect from the accommodation and intermediate training regime?
Thanks for your reply!!

[maz]

Wow thanks for your help Maz you really do know your Muay thai. To be honest it was out of jitti gym and tiger for me because I've heard good things about both. Tiger appealed more because they had cheap nice bungalows on site and the program was good. What can I expect from the accommodation and intermediate training regime?
Thanks for your reply!!

tiger is in phuket and totally different to gyms in bangkok. tiger is in a lush place but is a big commercial gym. i have heard loads of different reports on it, some people loved it some hated it but general consensus is that its big and filled with tourists. but the trainers there are decent and they have a big mma set-up there too. but its designed for volume of people.

training in bangkok is completely different to samui/phuket etc. its just proper muay thai training at the gyms in BKK, its a different kettle of fish. the gyms there, inc jitti's all have current stadium fighters training with them and its just completely different training. very, very worth it though if you are serious about learning thai boxing.
but...if you wanted a proper holiday at same time then you would probably enjoy phuket more as its obviously a much nicer place to spend a month than bangkok!!!


accomodation at Jitti's is really sound. there sre dorms for the lads that are actually in the gym. and just up the road is a house owned by Jitti which is gorgeous. its more expensive than the dorms but you get your own room in a really nice house that has everything you need. just tell jitti when u email which you would prefer. they do usually keep the house for the girls training there, but there has been lads staying there before when i've been there. the house is air con too but the dorms are fan!
the accomodation is super clean in both house and dorms. jitti's sister in law does all the cooking and cleaining and will wash all your clothes etc for very little baht. she even irons your socks! she is ace! her food is outstanding too. you got no worries on any of that :)

[maz]

ps-training is fantastic whatever your level. the thais will watch u a bit first then one of them will commit to being your pad man. you will just do everything that the fighters do but not as intense, u will do all the same shit as them but whoever is training you will adapt the rounds/intensity etc to suit your level. they teach all levels from complete novices through to stadium champs. Jitti is very good at evaluating what you will be capable of at that time, but you will leave a different person, and will deffo have a different out look on training! you wont have to spar or clinch if you dont want to, but whoever you spar with will go at your level. you will probs just watch the sparring and clinching for a few days first, then u will want to join in and you should, for your own development, u will feel like ur shit to begin with, but as the days/weeks go by u will develop at a real fast pace!

[ScubaD]

Hi Maz, thanks for the quality of your replies. Haven't been back to Thailand for a few years now and will def check out Jitti's gym. I've heard some good things from others too. I note your restraint about not slagging off Tiger. I haven't been myself but have got mates who have been and it's for tourists only. As far as I can tell it's for newbies and sex tourists. My mate had to fly home a week early from a one month stay because he got Staph so bad they couldn't treat it in Phuket!!!
I'll stay in BKK for a while until the concrete city boredom sets in next time I go, then head up north. Any good gyms you'd recommend up there?

[Xanthic]

I went to Phuket in August/September 2008 and December/January 2009/2010 for 5 weeks at a time on both occasions and trained at Tiger Muay Thai. They have solid Muay Thai coaching boasting a roster of ex national and world champions. The MMA side is enough to keep you ticking over when abroad too.

Both times I went over I paid £500 - £600 for a return ticket to Bangkok (but then had to pay/book for a separate domestic flight to Phuket once I got there). I used My Vacations (http://www.myvacations.co.uk/) for my ticket the first time I went out (£500) and Southall Travel (http://www.southalltravel.co.uk) the second time I went (£600).

I flew with Etihad both times and they were great. Can't complain at all about the service whatsoever.

The first time I went out I spent £1500 all in including my domestic flight, accomodation, moped rental, food, training, gifts and tourist stuff like white water rafting, elephant trekking and abseiling down the side of waterfalls.

The second time I went out I spent £800 and that included domestic flights, accomodation, training, moped rental, a trip to Koh Phangnan for New Years Eve and of course food. Oh and a tattoo.

Bear in mind that I don't drink and the 2 times I went, I didnt go out on the lash so I saved alot in comparison to others who were partying every night. I think I went out a couple of times on both occasions and didnt stay out long - it isnt really my thing.

Bangkok is a little cheaper compared to Phuket but you could definitely do the trip with £1500 including the flight over for a monthn and be comfortable. But it's all dependant on whether you're going over there to TRAIN or to 'train'.

At the time I was working at a dead end job and saved £320 a month for 6 months so if you've got a year on an apprentice job - £160 a month/£40 a week and you'll be fine.

:)

Ste

[ross90]

Cheers for that xanthic, ive saved them sites to my favourites, along with jittis gym site for future reference. Your right, the saving isnt hard, the time it takes to save is though :P good things come to those who wait though ey, ill keep training thai over here as much as possible so i can get the most out of it over there.

[Soreshins]

I've not trained in BKK so cant compare but if you fancy Phuket I would recommend Sinbi. I've been there 5 times now - longest time was for 6 months and have always received great training and had a great time. I'm planning my 6th trip for November. Pot, Ped and Sing himself are all great trainers. There has been some turnaround of the other trainers but I have heard good things about them too.

If I was 10 years younger I'd go to train at Jittis in BKK but i'm an old fart and need my relaxation/comforts as well.

[maz]

yep Sinbi really good gym. Also home to Seanchai at the moment!!

[duffyMMA]

http://fightpassport.com/

very in-depth guide to a fair few gyms in Thailand

[RedBaron]

dragon muay thai FTW!

[maz]

and another one, was sceptical about dragons, but my mate went there and said it was good, she really had a good experience!

[Shaun.R.]

id say dragon, they seem to have upped there sessions aswell, went there the other week and had a awesome session. for me its the best gym in phuket, i havent done bangkok so i cant really say about them