Hey everyone,
I'm flying to Thailand tomorrow to train for about 10 months. I really have no concrete plans, I just packed my mouthguard, shinguards, socks, boxers, laptop, camera and a couple of shirts. I'll be going by myself too since it seems as though most people are scared of the "unknown" and don't want to put themselves outside of their comfort zone. I understand how people find it to be scary but at the same time, it's a big world and we're only here once .. so .. f@ck it!
Anyway, I'll be hitting up a lot of the top gyms around the country and I'll be keeping a training log on here for you guys to read. I'll document the training (of course), but I'll also be documenting EVERYTHING else. If I see somethin' crazy goin on in the streets, I'll film it. If I see a group of money-hot Thai girls walkin' around, I'll film them. Heck, maybe I'll snap some pics of the more convincing ladyboys and post em' up here so you guys can play the "find the ladyboy" game. Test out your transexual detection skills .. haha
Also, for those who have been thinking about going to Thailand to train and you have questions, post them here. Hopefully I'll be able to be of some help. I'll be going to a lot of camps to both train and take video tours of the facilities so people will get a better idea as to what to expect if they come.
Alright, so keep checking back. I have a long ass journey ahead of me. Ottawa --> Chicago --> Tokyo --> Bangkok.
I'll post my first "official" entry when I arrive.
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07-25-2008, 10:03 PM #1
**LIVE FROM THAILAND!!** Muay Thai Training Journal*
Last edited by muaythaiguy99; 07-25-2008 at 10:21 PM.
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07-25-2008, 10:11 PM #2
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07-25-2008, 10:12 PM #3
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07-25-2008, 10:14 PM #4
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07-25-2008, 10:31 PM #5
I done this once before. I went for 3 months. It was insane. I spent most of my time in Phuket and fell in love with the place. As for Bangkok, I didn't spend much time there. I just went there to do some shopping at MBK and extend my tourist visa.
I'm not going to be working throughout the 10 months. Since I got back from the first time I went (Dec. 07), I've just been saving my money like crazy. I'm also pretty tight with the owner of a new site called FightPassport.com so he's helping me out a bit. All I gotta do is keep logs for his site as well. Not a bad deal
Thailand is pretty cheap if you want it to be. I'll be eating mostly "street food" and booking basic long term accomodation. With the help of a Thai, you can find a decent room for around 6000 baht a month in most places (6000 baht = approx. 200 US dollars).
I'm pretty excited. I'm just dreading the super long journey I gotta go through to get there. I'm going to try to stay up all night tonight so I'll be able to pass out on the flight to Tokyo..www.FightPassport.com
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07-25-2008, 10:34 PM #6
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07-25-2008, 10:39 PM #7
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07-25-2008, 10:40 PM #8
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07-25-2008, 10:42 PM #9
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07-25-2008, 10:53 PM #10
I'll most likely be going to Fairtex Bangplee right at the start. The thing about fairtex that sets most people back is the cost. I find that the accomodations are very overpriced so what I'm going to do is book myself into a guesthouse that's located about 15 minutes away. I contacted the guesthouse and they said that to get a metered taxi to the fairtex gym, it would cost 60 baht each way ($2). If I train twice a day at fairtex, it will cost me 650baht, which is approx. $20. The guesthouse will cost me around $12 a night so all in all, not too bad for training at one of the most expensive gyms in Thailand.
I'll be going to Tiger for sure because the owner of Tiger (an American guy named Will) is the one who got my the paperwork I needed to get a long-stay visa. I'll prob. be heading down to Tiger about 6 weeks into my trip.
Before I go to Tiger I think I'll be going to Pattaya and training at Sityodtong and another gym called "Scorpion gym". Scorpion gym is really cheap compared to a lot of the other gyms and they have this one trainer there (Ekapol) that's a former (maybe even current, not sure) Lumpinee and Rajadamnern stadium champion.
Here's his stats..
Fights: 345
Win: 313 (223 by KO)
Draw: 1
Lost: 31
Titles:
Isaarn champion 34 kg
East Thailand champion 58 kg
# 1 IBF (boxing) 115 pounds
# 1 Lumpinee stadium 115-118 pounds
# 1 Rajadamnern stadium 115-118 pounds
Thepprasit stadium champion 61, 63 kg 2006-2007
Pretty impressive stuff.
The only thing that's setting me off from Por Pramuk gym is the fact that you only get 2 meals a day. This is bodybuilding.com, so we all know the importance of eating numerous meals throughout the day. From my understanding, there's really not many places around that area to get food either. I'll look into it though.www.FightPassport.com
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07-25-2008, 11:04 PM #11
im very interested in this...ive always wanted to go train in thailand but i had no idea where to start to set up the travel, accommodations, locating gyms, travel for gyms, etc
how much money are you bringing total? how did you go about setting all this up? are you going to compete while youre there?"I dont believe in an eye for an eye, I believe in two eyes for an eye...but thats just me." - Bas Rutten
"YEA BUDDAY!!! LIGHTWEIGHT!!!" - Ronnie Coleman
"You put the Devil on the other side and I will come to fight." - Royce Gracie
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07-25-2008, 11:07 PM #12
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07-25-2008, 11:13 PM #13
Hopefully I'll be able to help you out with that then. I'll be going to as many camps as I can and recording camp tours. I should have enough money to last me but I'm going to be on a strict budget since I'm going for so long. I'm hoping to live, train, eat and keep myself entertained on about $30-$35 dollars a day.
I'm not looking to become a professional fighter or anything. It's mostly something that I want to do just for the experience. However, If I feel like I'm ready, I'd love to take at least one fight. I think it would help me stay motivated with the training and if anything, I'd record it and it would make for a good story in these journal entries.www.FightPassport.com
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07-25-2008, 11:26 PM #14
- Join Date: Oct 2007
- Location: California, United States
- Age: 44
- Posts: 1,466
- Rep Power: 507
Fairtex Bangplee looks ridiculously lavish from what I've seen online, does Ajarn Apidej coach there all of the time?
Tiger is the camp that I wanted to go to a couple of years ago (didn't get the chance), it looks awesome.
Scorpion sounds pretty damn good (from the looks of it Ekapol's beyond accomplished).
Yeah from what I've seen of Buakaw training, Por Pramuk does look like it's in the middle of nowhere. On a river with rural countryside all around.
I will now be living vicariously through you in this thread you lucky bastard hahaha
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07-25-2008, 11:37 PM #15
i really want to go to thailand next year myself... what places would you recommend a 17 year old to stay at?
i'm REALLY adventerous and love new cultures and stuff so i figured the training experiance and just the whole experiance would be amazing... I have a job so i've been saving all my money to go hopefully 6-8weeks.
Where would be a place with awsome instructors but also a decent place to stay and a place by nature would be awsome, like a river near by or forest or something..
thanks, reppedbulking to 150
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07-25-2008, 11:51 PM #16
Maybe Tiger Muay Thai just off the vibe I get from them. I think they keep a 3-to-1 student to trainer ratio at all times and there's lots of foreigners there as it's the most heavily marketed camp online. You'd make friends there pretty quick. It's also surrounded by trees and it's near (a couple KM I think) from the beach.
I'm going to be visiting so many different camps while I'm there and I'll keep your question in mind. Hopefully I'll find exactly what you're looking for and report back to you.www.FightPassport.com
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07-26-2008, 12:09 AM #17
thanks im on the tiger site right now and have a couple questions,
how many baht=1 american dollar?
they say they have muay thai and mma training 2x a day-does this mean 1 mt and 1 mma? because i'm going there strictly for muay thai.
so if it is 2x muay thai, would you recommend 2x a day muay thai and then i'd get maybe 10 private sessions or something?
thxbulking to 150
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07-26-2008, 12:10 AM #18
Did you get some kind of international/travel health insurance? If you did, make sure they are compatible in the areas/camps you'll be staying. Last thing you want is getting a serious injury and not be able to treat it because of insurance issues. Good **** bro, I'm actually one of those 'scared' people who aren't ready to commit to an overseas trip all the way to Thailand.
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07-26-2008, 12:11 AM #19
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07-26-2008, 12:23 AM #20
subscribed!
Should be hitting Thailand next year. We just had a thai coach come to our gym in Aus for 3 months to train with us. His name was rhino haha, small little guy but he could tear some **** apart. Over 100 fights. He always used big guys legs in the gym as a boost to jump up and elbow them on the top of the head (for fun haha)
Going to find out where he coaches and surprise him next year!Life Athlete.
Muay Thai fighter, not a bodybuilder.
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07-26-2008, 12:26 AM #21
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07-26-2008, 01:46 AM #22
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07-26-2008, 02:05 AM #23
1) $1 US - approx. 33 Thai baht (for up to date conversions, just go to www.xe.com)
2) They offer both muay thai and MMA. You can mix it up and do both or you can train strictly muay thai twice a day.
(I haven't been to Tiger yet. When I'm there, I'll be able to answer any question you have. From what I've read/heard/been informed of .. I'm pretty sure you can train twice a day in just muay thai.)
3) Normally in Thailand, you DO get a lot of one-on-one pad time with the trainers. Last time I was there, I was doing between 5-7 rounds with my trainer. I think that's just because I was always his last session of the day so we went a bit longer. Mind you, that wasn't at Tiger Muay Thai. It was at a place called "Patong Boxing Gym" which is also in Phuket. With that being said, training sessions in Thailand aren't like your training sessions here in the west. If you're training twice a day, you'll be completely exhausted by the end of that. My personal recommendation would be to start with once a day training (especially at the start) because of the intensity and not only that, Thailand can be extremely hot/humid so it will take about a week or so for you to acclamitize (spelling?) to the heat. From there, you can then move to 2 sessions a day.
When I arrive there, anything you want to know/see .. just let me know. Even if you want to see the accomodations, tell me and I'll record all the different rooms and upload it for you to see.www.FightPassport.com
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07-26-2008, 02:42 AM #24
That's one thing I sort of dropped the ball on. However, I looked into it and since I'm Canadian and live in Ontario, I will get re-embursed for any medical expenses I accumulate down there for up to 7 months and I'll see if I can get private health insurance for the remaining 3 months.
I'll have to pay out of pocket initially but that's alright, as long as I get refunded when I return to Canada. Healthcare is pretty cheap there compared to a lot of other countries. I went into the clinic when I was feeling sick and the doctor spend about 30 min. with me and gave me 3 different medications. The entire visit cost me approx. 30 US dollars. Not only that, but I waited for only about 10 minutes and both the receptionist and the doctor appoligized for the "wait". The service was excellent if I must say so myself.
One thing I should avoid while I'm there though is the motorbikes. In Phuket, motorbike accidents are the leading cause of death with about 1 person dying from a crash every 2 days - and Phuket really isn't very big.www.FightPassport.com
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07-26-2008, 04:25 AM #25
- Join Date: Sep 2005
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
- Posts: 21,492
- Rep Power: 1368331
I wish you the best on your trip....and I'll just add this.
Guys, I don't regret being married at all....but if you have any desire to do a trip like this....do it before you get married. Just save up the money, jump out there and DO IT.
I wish like MAD, I would have done stuff like this 10-15 years ago...
Jump out there, live and do what you love....
looking forward to a great journal!
."Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard"
The more I workout at commercial gyms, the more I hate commercial gyms.
Psalms 144:1
Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.
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07-26-2008, 04:57 AM #26
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07-26-2008, 08:08 AM #27
If you're thinking about visiting Chiang Mai, try and head out there somewhere between December and February. I'll be at Chay Yai again. It would be cool to meet, and life is cheap as hell there. Nice town but with Isarn prices.
Last week of Feb Im going on vacation with my gf to Puket and the islands, so I was thinking of scoping out Tiger for one day to see if I wanna head there in the future.
How was Will aboot giving you your long term visa? Does he only do it for guys who trained with him in the past? You had trained with him before right?
Id really like to train at Tiger when I com again next June for six months, so my grappling skills dont drop.
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07-26-2008, 09:45 AM #28
If I told my wife I wanted to go and train in Thailand for a year, she'd have the flights booked and bags packed by the time I finished my sentence. We've been there a couple of times and its one of her favourite places. We don't have any kids or a mortgage though, and I'm not 65, so I guess thats different than you too.
OP, I spent about a year in Thailand a couple of years ago, so if you have any questions I might be able to help you out.
The only think I would say you 100% have to do regardless of anything else is make sure you're in Chang Mai for Songkran.*When the man is confused with the legend, the myth is born*
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07-26-2008, 09:55 AM #29
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07-26-2008, 10:00 AM #30
- Join Date: Sep 2005
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
- Posts: 21,492
- Rep Power: 1368331
I was waiting for that part....schmuck...lol.
Well, we don't have any kids...just three dogs and four cats...and my wife is VERY close with her family. I wouldn't pick her up and move her unless I was sure that's what we were supposed to do.
So, if I said "Honey, I want to go and train in Thailand, she would probably have the divorce papers drawn up before I finishe my sentence...lol.
Now, if we were some how called on a mission trip there....hmmmmmm......lol
."Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard"
The more I workout at commercial gyms, the more I hate commercial gyms.
Psalms 144:1
Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.
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