Popular Places to Book a Course
- Bangkok
- Chachoengsao
- Chiang Mai
- Chumphon
- Koh Phangan
- Koh Samui
- Koh Tao
- Krabi
- Mae Hong Son
- Pathum Thani
- Pattaya
- Phang Nga
- Phuket
- Ranong
- Sara Buri
- Surat Thani
- Ubon Ratchathani
Muay Thai Training in Thailand
Would you love to travel to Thailand? Do you like adventure sports? Does the idea of training in Muay Thai appeal to you? If you want to become a Muay Thai champion - then some placements involve living in eco-houses and training with the local champions of the Tha-kan riverside district! Thai Boxing programs provide you with the perfect base to either learn the art of Muay Thai (Thai Boxing), or advance your skills in the country of the sports’ origins.
Muay Thai is the national sport in Thailand and one of the most popular forms of martial arts in South East Asia. Known as the “art of the eight limbs” this sport teaches you to combat your opponent using 8 different points of contact on the body – feet, knees, elbows and hands. It is one of the most physical martial arts, but also one of the most exclusive. There are best muay
Daily Itinerary & What to Expect
You will train in all elements of Muay Thai. Instructors will take you through all the traditional training techniques and develop your overall skills as a Thai boxer. Whether you are an absolute beginner or have been learning this martial art for many years, instructors will be able to develop a training program to suit you.
While your training will look at many different areas, a large part of Thai boxing focuses on agility, speed and balance. In order to develop each discipline of Muay Thai e.g. punches, kicks, elbows etc… you will learn exercises and training drills that promote these 3 crucial components of Muay Thai. Here is a run down of a sample itinerary:
Morning
Begin with an aerobic warm up around the local foothills. Then benefit from a 3 hour one-on-one private tuition session with the local champion trainer. Then escape back to our eco-houses to relax and recouperate!
Afternoon
Either return to the ring for more tuition or head down the foothills and revitalise yourself in the swimming pool before Taek Kwon Do in the evening.
Weekends
Most weekends will be free for you to explore the local area or go to Bangkok. There is also the option to be invited by the instructor to compete with local Thai Boxers dependent on competitive ability (as standards of Muay Thai are exceptionally high throughout Thailand). There is also an opportunity to attend exhibition fights where you will experience local champions exhibiting their best moves!
Requirements
- Minimum 18 years old
- No complaints… no pain, no gain!
- This programme requires you to be highly active, so it is the responsibility of all participants to ensure they can participate in training of this nature
Cost & Whats Included
The price you pay can vary depending on the camp. You will usuaully get all transport, accomodation (3 eco-houses which sleep up to 20 boxers each) and food (traditional Thai influences with plenty of rice to give you that energy boost).
Reviews & Testimonials
14 hours on a plane, 1 hour on a ferry and 20 minutes on a taxi boat - I had arrived at ‘Horizon’ a Muay Thai boxing camp nestled on a hill in between 2 beautiful bays on the lush island of Ko Phangan in Thailand, ready to start 6 weeks of Muay Thai training.
The first week was fairly tough, in the heat – learning all the new techniques of Thai boxing. A morning run, followed by 2 hours of training in the morning and another two hours of training in the afternoon - skipping, shadow boxing, bag work, one to one pad work, ‘special’ sit ups, possibly a swim etc.... My shins, elbows and knees were evidently not used to such abuse changing to a bluey-green slightly mottled with purple colour… but my body soon adjusted and the bruising stopped.
However, after being consistently nagged to fight and after gulping down a few buckets of the locals favourite, infamous, drink, ‘Samsung’ I agreed reluctantly to have a proper Muay Thai fight using the full Thai rules. So my next training session changed drastically. After the usual running, skipping, shadow boxing and punch bag round, I would do 20 minutes sparring or boxing with one of the Thai fighters (who don’t hold back for anyone – hence my split lip and black eye,) followed by a 20 – 30 minute one to one session on the pads with a one minute break.
The most important element to Thai boxing is that every hit has to hurt the opponent, which is why Thai fighters use the power of their whole body to drive a technique and why they kick with their shins and use not only punches but knees and elbows. So the ‘death session’ made sure for 20 – 30 minutes, even though I was continuously going, every single hit counted. If it didn’t a number of things could happen – if I was lucky, I heard ‘no power – again’ if not, I would be grappled to the floor or simply just kicked or jabbed in the stomach. If I didn’t dodge or block a kick or a punch coming to me… no matter how exhausted I was… my trainer wouldn’t stop – just teach me just why I should block… the hard way. To finish, I did a few rounds of grappling with the sweaty Thai fighters and finally 100 – 200 sit ups with a focus pad pounded on to my stomach between each one… and that was all before breakfast!
This intense training carried on twice a day for the next month until the day before my fight when I was given strict instructions to eat and sleep… and nothing else… no complaining there! The next evening, the main town was covered with flyers, posters, bill boards, a van driving around announcing ‘Thai boxing tonight, including a special lady Thai boxing fight.’ The stadium was packed with over 400 spectators from all parts of the world. My fight was one of the highlights and so I was on 6th out of the 7 fights. I sat at the back of the stadium with the other fighters and every now and then I would hear ‘special lady Thai boxing coming up,’ It made my stomach turn, but it wasn’t until the fifth fight when I was getting oiled head to toe and having my wraps and gloves put on that I actually realised that… there was no turning back…
But as I was walking down to my red corner the adrenaline started pumping, the crowd didn’t matter, I didn’t care that my nose might be put in a different position, or I could have an elbow or knee in my face… I just wanted to get in that ring to use the techniques and power that I’d been training so hard to use. I started in the ring with the traditional Wai Kru dance to show my respect to the ring and my trainers, and of which the commentator’s only remark was a very sarcastic, ‘well… she’s quite a mover.’
Within minutes I was called into the centre, the referee struck his hand and said ‘fight.’ I can’t remember so much after that – we grappled, punched, kicked and kneed but when you’re in the ring, the pain is quartered, even the shin to shin action doesn’t seem painful. The adrenaline completely takes over everything. Just before the first round bell went, I threw several blows to the Thai girls head; she went down… and didn’t get up. Being a drama student I certainly enjoyed the stardom after – being photographed, being cheered on, being the winner!
The Thai fighters and trainers were fantastic. Most of them have been training intensely since they were children and so are not only experts at the sport but have an incredible passion for it. At the start I thought it would be a real challenge because of the language barrier, but there are so many ways of communicating because the Thai fighters are so friendly. Although I did learn later on, that they sometimes pretended they didn’t understand what we were saying, so that we weren’t able to give up or cop out of training! Not a bad idea!
The whole time I was there they were so keen to not only teach me, but to make me fit enough to fight five, 3 minute rounds, and to make me a good, confident fighter. Throughout training they threw themselves right into it – so much so that I was allowed to use all my power when fighting them. They regularly came out with cut lips, swollen eyes and bleeding gums… but they still laughed and smiled. They can see people’s individual strengths as fighters and know how to train them to use these. Mine was my kick, so I can safely say that if a 100 kilo weight was to fall on my shins now, I probably wouldn’t even feel it.
I loved every single minute out there. The training is tough but can be tailored to your ability (you’ll only be pushed by the trainers if you allow yourself to be pushed), the food is great, the weather is beautiful, the locals are friendly, the Thai fighters and trainers are not only good fun but are excellent teachers, the location overlooking the flat blue sea - in between 2 gorgeous beaches away from roads and only a 10 minute boat ride away from the town where the nightlife is definitely worth experiencing - is perfect.
By Lily Priggs
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