Comments on: Training in Phuket

By: jameswaters

jameswaters — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:30:02 +0000

hey guys
having trained for 2 months at Rawai muay thai in early 2009 – i have to completely disagree with the assessments given above by Nopstar and others about the gym. Ive met Danny Avison (see his comment above) and completely agree with his comment that Rawai Muay Thai is a quality gym. The training i recieved there was comprehensive and highly personalised (i went there in peak season), with every option and extra effort being made by the staff to not only satisfy, but to exceed the expectations of the students there.

I also take into account the idea that some gyms may not be for everyone – but of the 50- 60 people i met there – 99% loved the place. Of my new friends that i know in australia (that i met at the gym) – all speak fondly of their time there and many wish they were back there training now.
Sinbi is less popular. This is true. Each to their own i suppose.

By: SE

SE — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:31:36 +0000

why does sinbi look korean?

By: Waxeater

Waxeater — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:36:39 +0000

I just found this entry and this picture. I’m actually the guy standing right next to you, with the enormous beard.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:19:15 +0000

Yea, it’s ashame, but that is great everything worked out for you. I am so jealous you are going back again…I want to go back so bad. I actually emailed Sinbi the other day asking them if there was anyway I could order some new Tshirts and a new pair of sinbi Thai shorts. Even though it’s probably going to be a pain in the ass for them, they were very gracious and said they will get working on it right away! Gotta love that place..Have a great time Girlfight!!!!!!!

By: girlfight

girlfight — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 07:47:45 +0000

Way to go, Ryan.
I also went to check out Rawai, and they were so rude that I was immediately turned off. Firstly, they didn’t seem interested in fielding my questions, even when I told them that I was checking out Sinbi and Rawai and deciding which one to spend two weeks at. And when I asked for directions to Sinbi, they said they didn’t know. Guess which one I chose?
I had a great time at Sinbi and have been back for a repeat visit in December, and probably will be back again this year.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:37:43 +0000

First off, it was great to see you at the airport Mai, good luck overseas!
I am going to chime in here about Rawai Gym. I think it’s fair that I give my comments too since I have attended both Rawai and Sinbi in October. I found Rawai on the web and thought it would be a great gym for my first experience in Thailand. They have a blog site where students can ask and give advice on Phuket and the gym itself. My first warning sign was when, would be students, would write in about where the working girls were, could they bring them back to the gym, and some idiot asking where they can get opium in Phuket. So I get to Rawai and spend a week there. Everyone there besides the trainers is a farang. Most were not very friendly and the place was rather clicky. That’s fine, since my goal was to train. The place is a victim of its own popularity. Way too many people there. Alot of the time you are sitting in a school circle waiting your turn to train on a bag or in the ring. When you get the chance to work with a trainer, the whole time they are pushing for you to buy a VIP training package to work extra hours with them for more money. I understand that they want to make more money, but I was there to train and not be pushed into VIP training. When I politely declined, the trainer would say “why, you not like working with me?” Huh, dude I just want to train, I don’t need that crap. The feel I got is that the place is all about making money. Everything in their store is way over priced. Water you can buy at the 7-11 is 10 baht they would charge like 25 baht. The gear is way over priced too and not even good quality. I was just really disappointed with the whole experience there. So I heard from the locals about Sinbi Gym. I checked it out and immediately felt comfortable there. They are a new gym so not so crowded. Only about 10 people when I was there. Very nice facilities and great trainers. Since there were only a handful of students, they really get to cater to you one on one. The trainers are world class. No attitude there at all like at Rawai. Rawai had a bunch of people who thought they were the shit just because they were training in Thailand. Now, this isn’t Rawai’s fault, but it still just adds to the poor atmosphere at Rawai. So, to sum this up…Yes Rawai is a victim of their own popularity, but I feel they have totally steered away from providing great training and more on making money and having a good flow of tourists. Sinbi seems more geared towards providing real, good muay thai training whether you are fighting or just training.

By: 2007 K-1 WGP Elims Seoul - Park Yong Soo vs Jerome Le Banner

2007 K-1 WGP Elims Seoul - Park Yong Soo vs Jerome Le Banner — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 16:26:02 +0000

[...] know Soo has been spending lots of time at Sinbi, and he’s improved since his Kaoklai match… but he’s on the same level of these [...]

By: Up Next: K-1 Hong Kong

Up Next: K-1 Hong Kong — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 19:14:24 +0000

[...] not secret how I feel about Soo. I met the guy while I was at Sinbi. He’s a nice enough guy; I don’t have issues with him as a person. [...]

By: Danny Avison

Danny Avison — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 01:58:07 +0000

Hello Nopstar

I emailed you a few days ago in regards to comments you have made in your article in regards to the training @ Rawai Muaythai Camp.

I was hoping you would ammend your article or delete the crap you wrote about Rawai Muaythai, but I see no change.. Disapointing !

I will fwd your blog to the owners @ Rawai Muaythai and let them deal with it..

For your readers .. below is the comments in question >>>

There were a lot of foreign students who had just recently come over from Rawai Muay Thai: Italians, Australians, English and Americanâ€™s. They were all pretty fed up with scene over there. I was told that unless youâ€™re a pro fighter they werenâ€™t interested in spending anytime on you. I havenâ€™t spent anytime at Rawai, but judging from the number of defections I would have to say there must be some truth to it all.

As the wab site @ http://www.rawaimuaythai.com VERY Clearly shows …. most of the students fighting @ Rawai are NOT pro fighters.
See Fight results >> http://www.patongmuaythai.com

Rawai Muaythai Camp is a very buzy gym with 50+ students every month, compared with Sinbi gym that has 5 – 10 students most months.

The 20 students that defected to Sinbi gym from Rawai Muaythai was because Rawai had more than 30 extra students turn up at the gym with out a reservation, sooo with Rawai being MAXED OUT all month .. the over flow of students went to Sinbi Gym..

Rawai Muaythai is a quality Training Gym and by far the most popular Muaytahi Gym @ Phuket.
check out the web site and judge for your self >> http://www.rawaimuaythai.com

By: Phuket 3 Years Later…

Phuket 3 Years Later… — Thu, 31 May 2007 08:08:35 +0000

[...] you get the chance to head to Thailand and are looking for some beach time while training I suggest you head to Phuket. I think there are better beached else where in Thailand, but I think [...]

By: Bangla Boxing Stadium Phuket

Bangla Boxing Stadium Phuket — Tue, 29 May 2007 08:06:03 +0000

[...] was told by the folks at Sinbi Muay Thai that they are able to arrange fights on short notice and of varying abilities. I think if [...]

By: SpydaMan

SpydaMan — Tue, 22 May 2007 22:10:32 +0000

Oh….lol….my bad…thanx!