Jessy

Hi Priscilla, I know it's a while back but this is my experience : In January 2020, I went to Chiang Mai to train for two months. Sadly, COVID arrived and forced me to come home 1 week sooner. When I arrived in Chiang Mai, I visited both gyms. I arrived at Hong Thong between sessions, I guess, because it was completely empty. I didn't train there so I can't give any advice. I ended up training at Santai. It was a particularly busy time and they had 8-10 coaches. Some of them were still fighters so they would purposfully pick women to train and just do the basics. There was 1 coach who refused to train women altogether because 'Not strong enough'. instead of mentionning that to the person in charge of pairing, he would just swap with another coach and make the women feel like crap. 1 coach was completely jaded and didn't even look at us when holding the pads. There were 4 coaches I liked because they actually cared in teaching you something. Poye and Sak were my favourite. Sak mainly trained fighters. I know quite a few have left over the last two years but I don't know what the situation is right now. Not being a fighter yet, I often felt I was put in the 'women tourists not worth training' category. My experience there was bittersweet, especially that I went to Thailand only to train. Also, this might not be an issue at all but information worth knowing 1. Being beside a temple, women are not allowed to train in a sports tops. 2. The morning sessions were at 6am. As for the accomodations, they varied depending on the building. One has a nice pool. The mattresses in the rooms were hard and plastic-covered, but I think that's common. Many washing machines available. Quite a few restaurants within walking distance.

I've read a similar post on how to improve conditions for women at the gym but I haven't quite found what I was looking for. A few years ago, I started to train Muay Thai. At first, I didn't feel the gender inequity because I was just working out. But now that I want to get ready for my first fight, I've hit a wall. There are not many women in Muay Thai, much less in advanced categories. I usually train with the same 2-3 women that are somewhat advanced and that I feel we can make each other better. However, I train 6 times/week. They train much more sporadically. So I'm often left to find other partners that are usually beginners which is fine once in a while but when it's 75% of my training, I quickly feel like my progress is stalling. Sometimes, I train with my boyfriend who is certainly up to par to help me progress. However, I'm 5'2 120 lbs and he's 6'1 180lbs. When I hold the pads for him, with 180lbs of muscle, his blows are too powerful. I always end up with a massive headache (from the vibrations on the pads) and pain in my forearms (from his kicks), even when he doesn't go full force. I'm afraid that it will either cause micro concussions or a stress fracture. And even if it doesn't, it's more than an inconvenience. The reason I mention women and not just general people in my weight category is because I feel that the bigger issue is the gap in women's progress (also, not many people in my weight category in general). So recently, I asked the head coach for a solution, explaining the situation (which of course he already knew because I've mentionned it before). His only solution was for me to go to beginners' class, where most of the women are. He doesn't have a mean bone in his body but he doesn't always understand the struggles. I was very displeased, especially that we were planning my first fight before the last shut-down we had in December because of COVID. I must say, my gym is very inclusive and I feel safe. I'm just frustrated I can't progress as much as I want. The thing with most women at my gym is that they do it to get in better shape but not many actually want to get better in their technique. Because they've never been told they could? Because they think getting better necessarily means they need to fight? Maybe, I don't know. I'll for sure talk to them about it. I've been offered the opportunity to coach at that gym. I think that is one way to change women's mentality and help them progress and at least make them feel they can progress if they choose to. I want to bring forward a class or program that would make women more comfortable in progressing (many have told me that titles like 'advanced' lessons intimidate them , especially with the majority of really tall men that attend). I feel like my post is a little scattered but I wanted to explain where the problem stems from. So, my aim is to help women exploit their potential and make the male coaches more proactive when it comes to gender problems. I was thinking of doing a women-only class tailored to the needs of those who attend, but that's as far as my idea goes. I would really like having a great plan to present to the owners and other coaches. I'm hoping you can share your tips and tricks. I look forward to reading your feedback, solutions you've witnessed, whatever you think might help.