Camp Recommendations?
November 6, 2008 by nopstar
Hola amigos…
Sorry I haven’t been active this week. My life has generally been sucking pretty hard. I’m in the middle of picking up my life and trying to figure out which way to go. I’ll try to keep updating the site, but my energy is very, very low.
Anyway… so I just got an email from one of our community members who’s heading to train in BKK for a couple of weeks. I know I’ve done a few posts on camps I’m familiar with Ingram etc. I don’t actually know where most of you have trained in BKK or even in Thailand.
So if you wouldn’t mind, where in Thailand have you trained? What did you like or dislike about the camp? Would you recommend it to others? No this is an opportunity to just slap up your camp url… I’d like to hear why the camp warrants a recommendation. Why does it stand out?
ive been to sinbi down in phuket last year, the place was great. i cant think of any cons right now. ive trained there for a month and nothing hold me back to reach my expectations of training in THL.
- great trainers
- some of the trainers really take care of you, and make sure u get what u want if you show them heart. alot of ppl are there because of spontanious reactions, and many beginners. but you can alot of extra time and get really worked if you want to. they are not just standing there holding pads. i got to a point where Ped, one of the trainers followed me 24/7. what i ate, what i drank, where i went, how late i got home, haha, really. great guy.
- great surroundings(running)
- good accomodation, which isnt really important but its nice when u need some solid resting.
- good food close by
- nice and clean environment. f.e. running, they have a fixed course to some lake near the beach which is about 7km, u can extend it to like 13km by taking a part of a mountain track.
- all the people in the area know eachother too. when u go to get a massage, or eat something, people can usually tell that youre staying at one of the gyms, not looking at you like youre some low sex tourist if you know what i mean. people take you serious. u can have nice conversations too, u can even get to know them.
ive been to BKK and its a big difference, where generalization is a big problem.
im going to Khon Kaen in Januari for a week(family affairs), after that im planning to train for 3-4 weeks @ pattaya fairtex just because i really like what ive seen in the slamm 4 trailer.
(http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=CCwcPLpBxPg&feature=related) @ around 7:00
unless people can recommend me another gym ill probably take that one a shot :)
I’ve heard good things about jitti in BKK. Rompo also. I see you have both listed in the camp section.
I trained in True Bee up North in Pai. Very good individual attention there. Cleaner air and a more relaxed atmosphere than BKK or Chiang Mai. A really good focus on technique (which I liked). Less sparring time than I would have liked but this wasn’t a major issue at all. One good sign is that I’m going back there in a few weeks.
Also trained at Sitdabwad gym in Chiang Mai. Very good for fitness and clinch work but you get less pad time / technique correction than at True Bee. Couldn’t fault the place though. The head trainer (phong) is great. :)
I’m going to try out the WMC camp in Samui after I finish up in Pai. Will let you know how I get on.
Sorry, no camp recommendations here. I just wanted to say that we all hope you get to feeling better and back on track soon, Nop. Thanks again for running the site…it’s lifeblood for so many of us!
haha agreed tex.
this site too is the glue for my mental stability throughout my days! get a massage, works every time.
Oh didn’t see the first paragraph, hope u get your self on track too. Mental phases in life like that suck and noone can help you with it, no tips nothing :(
I’ve been there once, and noticed that going to the gym on a daily basis really helped me out over a longer term. But i guess that’s just really situation based.
Whatever your problem is, follow your heart and do what u think is right, no?
Nice site, on my daily RSS. Keep it up :)
First of all, I know how you feel Nop. Don’t let the weight of the world hold you down. Hit the bag.
As far as camps are concerned, Jitti is great. Trainers are solid and the food is outstanding. At one point it got kind of crowded but I still got the attention I was seeking from the trainers. I would definitely go back.
Nop,
I have 2 words for you- Johnny Walker
Thai massages since you don’t drink anymore. You’re a bad influence TP!!
I am new here Nop, but like textmt..keep your head up weve all been there..i appreciate this site.. love going to it at work..been training for almost 2 years now out in LA van nuys muay thai..looking forward to the videos and getting familiar with all the fighters everyone in my gym talks about
I’m headed to Thailand for the first time on Sunday. I’m planning on heading up to Chiang Mai, and training at Lanna…mainly because that’s the only gym that I hear about in the area.
The important thing that I’d like to focus on is technique. If anyone knows of other places I should check out, please let me know.
Hope all is well, Nop.
Hey, Mister Nope, only a few month i discovered your blog… I’ m already a fan, good good work in here. So, never been in a thai camp, only a beginner, but just wanted to support you a bit… Forza!!! Bad times should not put you down…
.PEACE.
Nop, please keep your head high! I don’t know what i would do without your site! It’s by far, my #1 to visit! We ALL appreciate your hard work!
As for the camp, i will be traveling to BKK in January and staying at Por Pramuk for 5 weeks. I will let you know the deal as soon as i get back & i will share pics! :)
Hope you feel better
CHORENRIT STADIUM AND MUAY THAI GYM in Thongsala is small good gym if your heading down to Ko Phangnan. Namsaknoi YUTHAKARNKAMTHON was a trainer there when i stopped by last year and it was an unbelievable experience.
Well, I can’t recommend any gyms in Thailand, but I hope to use this info to plan a “vacation” there someday. I join the others in wishing you the best Nop, hold your head high, you do a lot of good for a lot of people here. The MT community is closeknit and needs to stay active to promote the art.
During my last vist I had the best experience in my life staying at a small camp called Sor Penprapa. It is located near Mahasrakham surrounded by patty fields.
The gym realy looked after me well and treated me as family. I must have witnessed at least 20 fights during my stay of which 10 of them I was working the corner. I never payed an admission once.
The air and environment was perfect. No distractions of alcohol and strippers.
The gym has produces some notable fighters. Sagetdao phetprayathai, 2008 fighter of the year was discoverd here as a youngster. Their current young gun Vigo sor penprapa is currently ranked 6th for the Rajadamnen light feather weight and many others.
Its not glamouris like fairtex so dont expect luxury.
All in all, I can’t wait to see them again.
Just want to re-iterate some of the above messages. I speak for the people that visit this site daily & myself when say i hope ‘things’ don’t get to on top of you. This may or may not help, but remember, ‘without the bitter, the sweet just ain’t as sweet’.
I just got back from a week in Sinbi, Phuket. I really lieked, beatngu said it all. The trainers are acessible and caring, showing the same technique 100 times until you got it right. 5 rounds of pad work every train, plus some orientation during shadow.
I whish I could stay longer ….
As a cons Sing is covering the floor with carpet instead of a rubber mat, all I can say is my feet are still burning! :)
I don’t have any gym recommendations as I have never been to Thailand.
Hope you’re OK Nop.
I have trained in tiger muay thai Phuket. That was my first time to thailand and Phuket is really great place to go to. Training was really gr8 at TMT. They have 2 sessions morning and evening each day and its really gr8. The sessions are segregated in to technique focus, cardio warm up, muay thai pad training, sparring and clinching. Theay have 3 rings begginers, intermediate and advanced and by testing your skill level they will put u into a ring. If u r a begginer and planning to fight in thailand u can probably start with the beginners ring and gradually advance to intermediate and advanced. Apart frm muay thai they have this running prgm in the morning where the trainers take u for a 5 kms jog. Also they have yoga sessions going on in the morning.
Another thing is you also have MMA traing there. U can train muay thai in the morning and MMA in the afternoon its up to u. Also u can hve a one on one private sessions with the trianers you want but thats additional cost.
The camp is located in a really quiet and gud location in phuket.
From my experience i can say that its one of the best camps in thailand. I got a chance to train there with the WMC champ Bernung. I strongly recommed TMT.
brownhornet – about chiang mai gyms – i was there for 6 months last year. a lot of people seem to like lanna – it wasn’t my style gym. if it doesn’t suit you, you may want to check out chai yai gym. i trained outside chiang mai in san kamphaeng at siam no.1 (about 20 minutes east on a motorbike). the gym just went through renovations – they have a website. when i was there, training was only 1x a day – however, it was very technical. hope that helps.
fighter x – did you train 2x a day at Sor Penprapa? do you mind expanding on a typcial training day? couldn’t find a website. are there many farang?
I trained for a month at the smaller (& original) Fairtex camp in Bangplee, when I was the conditioning coach for Fairtex and the US world cup team in 2004. Fairtex’ Pattaya camp had not yet been built then. Nor had Bangplee’s ‘natural health pavilion’, which offers massage and other health/spa services (though, the only “happy ending” you’ll get there is a colonic up your rear end, should you ask for it). Nothing like a hose up your ass after it’s been kicked around the ring, I suppose… but I digress. Since I didn’t train anywhere else in Thailand, I can’t offer any comparisons. But here’s my experience of Fairtex.
The Bangplee camp is much smaller than the Pattaya sports resort – which is way fancy and offers many more activities than Muay Thai. My Thai trainer, Neungsiam, scowls and says that Pattaya is not a good place for fighters to seriously train, on account of it being so “full of tourists and beaches”. Maybe he meant to pronounce it as “bitches” though, as he was referring specifically to Pattaya’s potentially distracting sex-tourism scene. On the other hand, Fairtex’ top fighters (Yod, Naruepol) are at the Pattaya camp. Kaew and Apidej were also both at Bangplee in 2004, but I’m not sure if they still are (doubt it). Apidej would cheerfully feed the birds each morning and give you a big hug if he saw you. You might wonder if he was crazy… or just enlightened.
Anyway, about Bangplee. Though it is small, it is a fully equipped professional Muay Thai camp. It is also quite beautiful and lush: a nicely crafted pro Muay Thai camp + fitness club surrounded by trees and a river in an otherwise semi-developed region (supermarkets and other businesses relatively close by, Bangkok 30-60mins by taxi). No concrete ring-floors there: it caters to Muay Thai travelers (some English is spoken there) and offers a range of accommodations and amenities: various room configurations (with or w/o AC/TV/roommates/etc); freshwater pool, semi-Western style cafe (decent prices when I was there), Fairtex pro shop (better prices than abroad, but still relatively expensive for Thailand: most of the US fighters preferred the Twins shop at Lumpini), a fitness room (with treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, free weights & machines; and fitness trainer), a beautiful high-ceilinged yoga studio, and clean showers. Overall, the place is very clean, cheerful and familial – many of the fighters’ and trainers’ relatives live and work there, too. Fairtex’ gear manufacturing was also based there and so many of the fighters had custom apparel made for them on the spot.
“Everything is harder in a Thai camp”, said silver-medalist, Evan Esguerra, as we clung to the ropes after another monster 6-minute round of pad training. The Scottish team was also training with us, and one of their fighters, Alex, responded weakly, “Oh, it’s a grrrrreat sporrrt!”
Bangplee has a quad of small rings, and plenty of shin-breaking bags of various sizes and singular hardness (which the skinny 13 year-old Thais have no trouble caving in with their kicks). All of us ‘farang’ noted that a distinctly different sound was made by their kicks (CRACKETY-SHMACK!) than any of the Westerners’ (which went something more like “Bmff”). Humbling. Inspiring.
The twice-daily training was very good, but I was already blessed to be training with Jongsanan, Ganyao and Enn Fairtex in San Francisco. The main difference was that pad-training rounds were 6-minutes long at Bangplee. And the heat. As bad as that sounds, it actually forced everyone to learn how to relax (sabai! sabai!), breathe and keep their cool in the thick heat and humidity. Efficiency and composure are the name of the game, and fatigue can be a great teacher if you don’t give up.
Overall, the biggest benefit for me was not the actual training, but the total immersion in Muay Thai culture. People are very ‘real’ there: simple, sincere and present in their everyday lives. I loved the monk-like lifestyle, with the whole day devoted to refining your self as both weapon and place of peace. Living for a month on a serious camp, surrounded by top pros who live and breathe the sport as their regular day job (including the tiny 8 year-olds, from whom I learned much by watching) teaches you something you can’t learn abroad. It helped me begin to understand the proper attitude and pragmatism that empower Muay Thai: to be simple and natural, cool and patient, awake, at peace and unhesitatingly decisive when it’s time. These aren’t just qualities they put on in the ring: they are part of the every day Thai-Buddhist culture.
If you are open to it, this experience should be available at most decent camps. I would probably visit other gyms on future visits, but I definitely wasn’t disappointed by my experience. I would say that Fairtex/Bangplee is a good first place to train if you want a little comfort around your training (the training itself is still happily uncomfortable).
If you love Muay Thai, I hope you will find a way to train in Thailand, sooner than later. Every day, there’s a part of my heart that asks: “When will we go back?”
*wai*
Good write up, Mark. I trained over at the “original” Fairtex camp too- Neungsiam was one of the trainers there, Coke was still fighting and Kaew was a talkative skinny kid that showed some promise. I can attest to the hardness of the bags! Damn! I don’t think there is anything – save for the sand filled bag at our gym that can compare to the “Thai” heavy bags.
that was pretty solid mark. Myself and fellow gym members will be making our way to fairtex banglpee and pattaya in mid march to early april for some training and possibly a fight. Suffice it to say, I cannot wait.
Tong Po: Yeah, man – on the first day there I nonchalantly kicked a heavy bag and promptly rendered my leg useless for 3 days.
Also, you taste like Mai-Lee.
Jake: I envy you. It’s going to be amazing. I’ll look forward to hearing your comparison of Bangplee and Pattaya in terms of training quality. I’d normally prefer a more hardcore training environment, but I’d love to ‘train’ simply by watching Yod and Kaew all day…
Mark, I second that! I love observing the champs go at it in training!
But I digress- Mai Lee good fu*k!
I’m a Tiger Muay Thai fan-boy.
I agree with everything koolkick said.
I particularly liked the private lessons. I had a heap of them. The dude showed me a lot of techniques that he thought would best suit my natural attributes—old and slow ;P He also showed me the best fighting strategies and techniques to use as a southpaw.
I can’t wait till I go back!
Hope you feel better soon Nopstar. Going through shit isn’t fun, but at least you’ve got the best Muay Thai site on the internet! No other site comes close.
Cheers
I have read you´re site regularly for a little over a year now and I agree with writers above, you have definately got the best muay thai site there is, your doing a great job.
I have only trained at one camp in Thailand, J. Prapa in Phuket we I have been twice, great atmosphere but during high season sometimes a bit crowded.
Great people aswell, with Jomhod Kiatidisak the most well known trainer there.
All in all a nice place that I can wholeheartedly recommend, im going back there myself in little over two months
I went to Lanna in Chiang Mai both of my trips to Thailand. I’ve heard a lot of negative things about it, but I disagree with most of them.
Lanna kind of has a “you are in charge of your training” policy. And the trainers react to your dedication (they get A LOT of fly-by-nighters).
My first trip for 2 months I trained but not as hard and dedicated as I should and my training was what I would call average.
My second trip for 7 months I trained as hard as I could twice a day. The trainers spent more time with me and helped me a lot more, got to know me as well.
A lot of people (in my very humble opinion) that complain I think are either expecting too much or expect to be “ushered” along in their training…if that makes sense.
So keep in mind, if you train at Lanna, you have to basically prove yourself to the trainers, go twice a day six days a week. If you need help ask! They have always been more than helpful to me. When I go back next year, I’m planning to go to Lanna for a third time.
But also, I have heard nothing but good things about Chai Yai gym.
Either way, Chiang Mai is a wonderful city, I’m not big on big cities and I didn’t enjoy Bangkok that much. But, that’s just my opinion once again.
went to thailand in summer ‘07 and trained at siam no. 1 in chang mai and jitti in bangkok…both were ETREMELY cool and accomodating to this boxer trying muay thai for the first time…norbert at siam made sure that someone was there to meet me, even tho it was a sunday (phon, who gave me a lesson in clinching) and jitti made special arrangements for me both days i went (i had early flights both mornings and serm met me at the crack of dawn and kicked my butt teaching me shin kicks)…i highly recommend both and serm’s wife porn made me awesome brakfasts both days too..:)
I was in Thailand in December 2007 and in October this year. In the 2007 I went to Chorenrit to train with Namsaknoi. A very good trainer. In October I went to train to Samui in Chaweng Stadium, because Namsaknoi moved there. He is a very good trainer, very technical.
For more info: http://nsnclubmuaythai.blogspot.com/
I miss my sand bag. Maybe I can arrange visitation rights with Chris and Bunkerd hahahaha
Anyone been to Por Pramuk or Kaewsamrit? I was thinking about spending a good amount of time at those camps, but wanted more information.
Last time I was in Thailand I spent all my time in Phuket. The training was good, but I think I was on the beach more than I was at the gym.