Was wondering whether anyone has had any experience of this gym? Not been able to find much information about them online, or any reviews. I did find a face book page for them, the facility looks at least big and clean.

Any advice appreciated :)

Steve 

my favorite fighters are Yodkhunpon and Muangthai (I love elbows). I know that yodkhunpon offers private sessions in pattaya, and that Muangthai trains at p.k sanchei, but I feel overwhelmed by the choices. It would definitely help me if I had a good list of gyms to look into.

so far my top gyms are 1. fa group 2. Lana Muay Thai and 3 jitti ( I know they changed the name can’t remember what). Any suggestions? I’m not so picky on the location. Thank you so much.

Hi everyone,

I’m 22, currently finishing my Master's in IT in France, but honestly, I feel like my life is aimless right now. I’m stuck in a bubble of comfort and I need to see the world for what it really is. I want to build a real physical and mental discipline and reconnect with nature.

I'm planning to leave on March for a month (or more) of total immersion in Thailand to practice Muay Thaï. I already have few month of experience but I’m still a full beginner. I’m torn between two options and would love your advice:

1. Look Nungubon (Ubon): I love the family vibe and the authenticity of the gym. It feels like the "real deal," but it's in a city neighborhood (no nature) and I've heard they only do one formal training session a day.

2. Kem Muay Thai (Khao Yai): The mountain setting and the nature look perfect for a mental break. But it's expensive (36,000 baht) and I’m worried it might be too focused on westerners/tourists now. I don't want a "resort" experience.

Does anyone have experience with these two? Or maybe a suggestion for a hidden gem in Isan or rural Thailand where I can find that mix of nature + brutal discipline + authenticity and connection with people ?

Thanks for your help.

Thank you.

I've been looking through lists on here and quite frankly, overwhelmed by the choice. Budget-wise, id like to keep the privates down to less than 40/hr

Anyone have recommendations?

I know there are a few topics on Kem Gym already but was wondering if someone got precise feedbacks on running there ?

I'll finally stay at Kem's at the end of the year for 2 months, after few years without training... and specifically without running (hate the roadwork...).  But I recently started to run again to prepare myself before going, in order to fulljoy the training there. Thanks to Sylvie mainly and her runcasts, with the enlightenment to take the roadwork each morning as a mental training as well.

Anyone who trained there could possibly know the elevation for the morning runs around the gym ? So I can adjust my daily routine and not stay focused on flat ground.

(Sorry for my perhaps broken english)

Many thanks

Looking for a good technical/fundamental gym, with active fighters and regular sparring/clinching, That will take me through a 4-6 week camp and match me for a fight.

Want to be near some beaches and relaxing activities for my wife while I train. I created a thread below as well.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MuayThai/s/SVLXJHAgYN

Can anybody make recommendations on gyms/towns I should go?

- I prefer smaller gyms, (10 or less class size) more intimate, less commercialized. Don’t wanna go to Tiger Phuket or anything like that

- Would love to avoid heavily touristed areas/further away from westerners. I can speak conversational Thai so I’m happy to go somewhere that caters less to farang

- Never been to the south but it seems pretty and avoids the smoke

- 90% sure I won’t be fighting while I’m here

- Looking to stay for a couple weeks to a couple months depending on how it is

Thank you for any help!!!!

I’m doing a bit of a gym tour around Thailand and will have a few free days in Bangkok before my flight home at the end of the month. Looking for good private training options, preferably focused on technique rather than conditioning.

Also, I heard Dieselnoi might be available for 1-on-1 sessions—does anyone know where to find him?

Thanks!

Finally doing it. Finally travelling to Thailand and training for 3 months, and fighting (for the first time) - something I've wanted to do for years.

My girlfriend, who I love very much, is coming with me - She doesn't train, but is an artist. She's going to spend the 3 months focussing on art.

The thing is I want to find a gym that's good for bigger bodies (6ft, 80kg) that will give me decent attention, find me a fight - and also is somewhere my girlfriend would enjoy hanging out; other than art she likes nature/hiking, and loves swimming.

Phuket seems obvious (because she would really value being able to swim in the sea) but not sure on places that would give me good attention and be the right place to spend the 3 months.

Anyone got decent recommendations? Any input whatsoever appreciated, it's really hard choosing for something I've wanted to do for years - pretty big decision

Thank you guys, God bless

- Joseph

Manop, Manasak, HongThong, Sit Thailand, Lanna, Santai

Any information or advice about any of these gyms or training in general at all is appreciated, thank you!

I'm looking to develop my clinch/knee-heavy style. Unfortunately, clinching is a bit limited here in the US, and so my coach recommended that I go to Thailand to check out a few gyms (which I will be doing this April). 

Does anyone have any gym recommendations in order to further develop my game? 

I've already added the following to my itinerary:

• Jor Apichat w/ Kru Diesel
• Kem Muay Thai
• I was going to visit Keatkhamtorn but I'm thinking of passing based off of recommendations to spend more time with Kru Diesel & Kem
• While I'd love to Lamnammoon, the travel just isn't feasible (but it's definitely a must-go for my next trip to Thailand)

Any other recommendations for a clinch/knee-heavy is greatly welcomed!

Contact on FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571372517312&mibextid=ZbWKwL

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ELoJohV8qcGSSydd6

Sit Kru Thailand (Chiang Mai - contact here) Thailand Pinsinchai is a late- Golden Age fighter, so well rounded in beautiful technique, powerful striking, and a great teacher. He was originally part of the Santai krus, so he has experience with western fighters, but has opened his own gym in Chiang Mai. Importantly, he trains his own son as a fighter, and a handful of young (teenage) fighters who are frequently on Channel 7 and Petchyindee shows. The reason this is important is that gyms can have a sweet spot they hit when a Thai team is being built, which makes them very full of focus. Kru Thailand streams training often, you can find video of it here. The gym is on the premises of a resort, so you have a room right there if you wish. The facilities are nice but not fancy, but mainly Thailand is just an excellent teacher and a funny and sincere man. You can see how great Kru Thailand is as a teacher in my hour long Muay Thai Library sessions with him. Session 1 all about technique, Session 2 on clinch

Jor. Apichat  Muay Thai Gym - Singburi with Kru Diesel (Singburi) Famed Kru Diesel is the big draw of this gym, his best known for having brought up two Muay Khao superstars at F. A. Group (Petchboonchu and Yothin) but he has moved to be the head trainer of his own gym up in Singburi. Kru Diesel is a mastermind for the Muay Khao style, an amazing padman and a truly great teacher. For Muay Khao, this is a top option. Importantly, this is a legendary kru involved in building a legit Thai fight team, who also has lots of experience of training western fighters as well. These kinds of sweet spot gyms that are authentically Thai, but also understand western needs are rare. This session was filmed at FA Group, but you'll get a strong sense of Kru Diesel's teaching: Kru Diesel F.A. Group - The Art of Knees (84 min). A new session is coming to the Library that I've filmed at Fight House in Singburi. Follow Kru Diesel Facebook, he live streams a lot. 

Manop's Gym (Chiang Mai) - For those that want a gym that is a bit more personal in their training Manop's gym in Chiang Mai is definitely something to check out. Manop is famously known as Saenchai's Yokkao trainer, and he's left Yokkao now to start his own life in Chiang Mai. He is incredibly perceptive as a teacher, very, very technical. I'm not sure I've run into a more precise and intuitive teacher of technique, a man with a gentle spirit as well. He also works really well with young western fighters.  If you check the threads of this forum you will find some very positive, thorough reviews of the gym a solid year or more into its foundation. Also it would seem very women-friendly, as Kru Manop raised his daughter Faa to become a fighter and Somrasmee (first Rajadamnern woman champion) trains there. LGBTQ+ students have found the gym to be welcoming as well. You can see Kru Manop's teaching style in my Library sessions with him: The Art of the Teep (90 min), Session 2 - The Art of the Sweep (57 min) We did this quick video edit of the gym in 2020 , but the gym has moved since then.

Sor. Klinmee (Pattaya) - Tappaya Sit Or was Rajadamnern Champion at 135 lbs and was a loved Channel 7 (Kiatpetch Promotion) fighter, facing many top names of his time. He was born and raised in Pattaya, so is a foundational presence in the Muay Thai scene here, which is a much more established region than most realize (most folks think of Bangkok and Isaan). This gym is small but spacious and has produced a great number of fighters over the couple decades since it opened. Tappaya raised all 3 of his kids as fighters (his youngest son still fights), as well as well-known members of his giant Muay Thai family (Sudsakorn, Sinsamut). His nephew has a gym right up the street (Rambaa) and, while Tappaya can come off a little guarded at first, he's a charming and funny man, in addition to being a fantastic and experienced padholder. There are a few active fighters, young Thai nephew of Tappaya and one part-time (when he's on break from University) 20-something fighter, as well as a few foreigners at times. There's not much sparring to speak of and most of the bagwork is just drills, but the padwork is good and their students are good clinchers. The people I'd recommend this gym to are those who already know how to train themselves without a lot of hand-holding (like me, I do my own bagwork, shadow, and conditioning without needing to be told or it coinciding with anyone else doing it), or people who are interested in an intimate version of training. It basically feels like a private class with Tappaya when he holds pads (the rounds are long and timed by your padman occasionally looking at a clock on the wall, not a timer... so I think they're 4 minutes with 1 minute rest, but it varies) and he's a great teacher if you make it clear you are interested in instruction. His Thai fighters range from 52 kg to 67 kg.

#122 Tappaya Sit Or. - Muay Khao Strength In Femeu (82 min) watch it here

Tappaya is arguably Pattaya's most successful local hero (excluding Samart and Kongtoranee, neither of whom were born in Pattaya but trained at Sityodtong), as he was a Channel 7 fighter, as well as holding the 135 lb Rajadamnern title for 3 years (1997-2000), and a WMC champion. Tappaya was a Femeu fighter himself, but he trains his fighters in more of a Muay Khao ethic, to be very strong and very adroit in clinching.

Contact them on FB: Sor Klinmee

Baan Rambaa (Pattaya) - Rambaa is the nephew to Tappaya, and at Rambaa's gym you'll find more of the Klinmee family as trainers. Rambaa's gym is full of little kids, who train sincerely, even though not all of them fight. He has two young-20s Thai fighters, who fight on ONE and Bangkok Stadium shows. Rambaa walks around with a stick, mostly corralling the kids, but he also engages with training as a padman or supervisor. His fighters are known for their resilience, it's a hard-working and hard-hitting style, but he does work technical drills and gives focused attention to visiting students. With Rambaa and Tappaya just 100 meters from each other, you could very easily treat the two gyms as circuit (although you'd have to pay both, as they're separate businesses). Although Rambaa is a traditional gym in the sense of it being a community space, full of kids, and he places importance on traditional technique; he has recently been registered as a "sports school" by the Thai government and has adapted some of his focus to Entertainment Muay Thai styles (combo-heavy, aggressive, high-volume). It's a real mix.

#86 Rambaa Somdet M16 3  - The Art of the Stinging Attack (67 min) watch it here

Contact on FB: Baan Rambaa

Silk Muay Thai(Pattaya) - this gym was founded by a former student of Tappaya Sor. Klinmee. Daniel learned in a traditional pedagogy of Thai style gym, so he has an understanding of Thai methods, but he is connected to both 5 round Muay Thai (for his young Thais) and Entertainment Muay Thai (for his foreign students and a few of his Thai students). He has recently become the "fight camp" location for some big-name Thais for ONE, Yodlekpet and Kongthoranee. Daniel works with his students, holding pads and directing the training programs of his fighters. He has Thai trainers who have been through a few of Pattaya's other gyms (this is common, but it's also great in that they all have a community relationship among them), he has a small number of Thai fighters, and a large group of western students with a variety of motivations. He is connected to the fight promotions both local and in Bangkok, so it is a fighter's gym.

Find them on FB: Silk Muay Thai

Gyms I Haven't Been To in While But Probably Still Recommended

Kem Muaythai Gym - clinch heavy, gorgeous mountain location, run by a great fighter in Kem, access to Isaan festival cards. 

Kem's Muay Thai gym may be one of the best in Thailand, high up on a mountain near Khorat. I call it the Shaolin Experience. Big beautiful resort like grounds, grueling training sessions, at times lots of active fighters. The connection to Isaan fighting is very special, there is nothing quite like festival fighting. It's one of the best experiences you'll have as a fighter. I wrote about the gym a few years ago here: Kem Muaythai Gym: Hardcore, Beautiful, Clinch Gym - You can see Kem's teaching style in the Muay Thai Library: Session 1: Building a System (52 min), Session 2: Mastering Everything In Between (80 min)

Please post all gym recommendation questions you have for me here on this thread, or start your own thread. That way the conversation can develop and benefit others too! (This list and its descriptions will be revised over time)

I'm considering Koh Samui, but I'm not sure if it fits that description, nor do I know anything about the muay thai scene there. Has anyone here fought in Koh Samui, or knows anything about the fight opportunities there? Any gym recommendations? Right now I'm fighting mostly pro-am (semi-pro?) in the UK, so I'm not exactly a beginner, but not a pro either. I walk around at 65-70kg and have a defensive, kick-heavy style.

When I went to Phuket Fight Club I had no issues finding suitable sparring and clinching partners, but I'm wondering whether there are any gyms in Koh Samui that would provide that as well. I'm also open to other location suggestions