Destination: Por Pramuk Gym, Chachoengsao
June 12, 2009 by ldf
Destination: Por Pramuk Gym, Chachoengsao
Laura Dal Farra
The country has always freaked me out. Throw me in some dodgy urban area, in some messed up situation, at night and I’ll find a way to maintain. Send me to the countryside with sunshine, crops and mooing and somewhere in the back of my head, I’m stressing about snares, sociopaths and rabid cows. Rational? Nope, I realize this, but despite that fact, that’s pretty much what hit me enroute to Por Pramuk Gym in Chachoengsao.
I didn’t know what to expect. My original intent was to show up, hook up with friends, and train excessively hard. I had been told the training at Por Pramuk is fierce (“Get ready to run 20 km a day…”), but here I was, on the back of a motorcycle taxi with a broken hand and an irrational fear of getting bitten by a cow. Yeah, I had no idea what to expect, from training to accommodations to how I would be viewed – ie. “What is this mangled chick doing here?” Thankfully, all that greeted me were my friends, some tired looking Thai guys and a few mellow pitbulls. And yes, the stench of pig feces. It’s true, people. Por Pramuk smells, it smells something horrid, but it’s a smell one quickly gets used to.
I arrived on a Sunday and left on a Friday. At 800 and 1,000 baht a day (approx. $24 and $30 USD depending on preference for air con), Por Pramuk Gym is out of my budget. However, despite the pricing and my injury, I was intent to hook up with some people I haven’t seen in awhile, speak some English (whoo!), do a quick border run to Cambodia and get the best that I could out of whatever training they’d give me.
Accommodations
Ladies, no one asked if I wanted a room without air con. I made the assumption that accommodations without it were upstairs, with the boys – I could be wrong. However, I’ll discuss what I do know, and that’s a room with air con. I saw two. Neither had windows, but due to that fact, when I slept, I slept deeply. Like death. I’d wake up and forget where I was. Other than that, cold water and no sink in the washroom. Because the washroom walls didn’t reach the corrugated ceiling, I could hear random Thai guys singing in the shower beside me. Bonus.
Good food.
No bugs (in the room. Bring mosquito spray).
No internet within walking distance.
No complaints.
Training
I’ll reiterate. I showed up with a freshly broken hand. Not knuckles, not finger, just a small crack in my hand. I was training with a new kru at my current gym and despite throwing a correct uppercut; he thumped me hard enough that the pad went over my hand after contact, kissed a bone and snapped it. It is what it is – however, I wasn’t sure what we were going to work. We decided on technique.
Training went as follows – morning run at 12 km. Technique for about half an hour. Then off to the bags and whatever else I wanted to do. For others, from what I paid attention to…..morning run at 12 km. Pads. Bags. Clinching. Etc. Afternoon sessions were similar, less 4 km on the run (we ran for 8 km). I was told I was there during a slow week – it was still good.
So how was training solely technique? Awesome. I didn’t fully realize it until I came back to my current location and noticed the difference. My kicks were higher, looser and quicker. Pretty good considering I had about three full days of training at Por Pramuk. On that note, one of the kids I met up with was someone I met here in Bangkok. We trained together for about a month and a half. I definitely noticed an improvement in his skills, mental as well as physical after about six weeks of training at the new location.
Environment
The culture of a gym is incredibly important to me. Negativity blows and eventually irritates me, thus only adding to it. Generally when I walk into a gym, I try to get a good feel of those around me. Is the gym only interested in my cash? Is everyone serious about training here? Are people supportive? Cool? Chill? Or am I going to be surrounded by insecure ego mongers and bullshit? This includes the Thais as well as the foreigners. If I smell anything, I’m out and off to the next one. Por Pramuk gave me no reason to leave.
Cool people.
Silly times.
Training not compromised due to the above.
Sweet.
In short, in my experience, dipping into a gym is far different than actually living there. Five days in total with three days of training isn’t going to give me a real taste of what it’s like to immerse myself in the training. Particularly while injured. However, despite that fact, I like what I saw and am happy with what I experienced. Would I go back? Absolutely. I’ve been trying to come up with ways to cut back on my expenses in Bangkok so I can periodically cross train there.
Is there anyone else in the MMT community who has spent time at Por Pramuk? Anything to add?
so you like the thais, eh[pun intended]?
You have good reason to fear Thai cows. They infiltrate even the music videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_oCHrQnjVU
Could you elaborate on the kid’s mental improvement? Sharper or more tactical may be?
Sorry to hear about the hand. Hope you heal up quickly.
hey stack. about the hand, i’ve been hitting the pads for the past two days, i’m doing alright. thank you….and on the mental improvement, i’d say it’s his confidence – he’s a completely different person.
….and something I forgot to add….Ladies, be prepared, women aren’t allowed in the ring.
was there alot of people there? i figured it would be quite touristy being one of the more famous gyms…???
damn thailand looks beautiful….
yeah I hear you SE, I’ve been dreaming about training there for a while now.
I went to Por Pramuk gym……and then when I woke up, I realized that it was just a dream. I really envy you….3 days of training and you already started seeing great improvements in your kicks??.Must be a kick ass trainer.
12 km??….dat’s a shit load of running if you ask me….lol.
Did u get to go swimming in that lake??
Hope ur hands feels a lot better too.
yeah jumping in the lake after training seems SO tempting. do people even do that? was master jude there? i have those por pramuk training dvds on my comp….actually only the first part. i need the second.
Do they really train on plank flooring? ouch..
i can hear my old kru now, “in thailand we train on wooden planks!!!! who cares about the exploding blisters on your feet!”
hey everyone.
por pramuk is anything but touristy. when i was there, there were four of us. it’s a remote place – nothing is in walking distance – no corner store, internet, etc. it may attract tourists, i don’t know, but i’d be surprised if it keeps them.
my trainer’s name was Aht and yeah, he was great. note, my kicks were in definite need of improvement as i was recovering from a sprained s.i. joint (found out my chiro had been spraining and respraining my s.i. joint – i’ve been having an interesting time with injuries lately)…anyhow, he was joking that he improved them after five minutes. no arguement from me.
,,plank flooring and i think poured concrete with exterior carpet that made my feet bleed.
and the lake…..some days you can swim in it, some days you can’t…it can get prettty filthy….one morning a bloated dead cat floated by.
Awesome article!!
Im going to Sasiprapa Gym in a couple of weeks to train for a month and Fight a thai in the end. With 6 from our Gym in denmark.
mmmm….. bloated dead cat.
i hear cat is good with sriracha sauce
My bf & I stayed at Por Pramuk for 4 1/2 weeks earlier this year. It IS really intense training, but it’s well worth it. I can honestly say that Por pramuk is one of the best places on earth – both as a gym and as a group of nak muay that are more like a family. We miss everyone so much already & are already planning a trip back… HIGHLY recommended.
The trainer your talking about, i think you mean Ajarn Od..? i didn’t know an Aht there.
hi ladynakmuay – perhaps it was od – i thought it was aht – pronounciation is so close. thanks!
Well, I’m a female and trained at Por Pramuk this past November…I loved it….I’m going back at the end of the year and can’t wait!
The most memorable thing I remember (aside from getting the shit kicked out of me) is partying with the fighters and seeing a Kimodo dragon (or something hella similar) on the afternoon run…oh, yeah and the shit smell…
Gotta love the fighting fish..;)
I’m planning to train at Por Pramuk gym for 1-2 months in the near future.
The problem is that I don’t speak any Thai!
Will I need to learn to speak Thai or would I be able to manage on English?
Would it be incredibly disrespectful to go to Thailand and expect the locals to speak English?
hi
im off there in 4 months time for 2 weeks.. try and kickstart this old body back into shape.. its going to hurt!!
Nice post. Sounds like an incredible experience. Can’t wait to get out there myself (hopefully in July).