NewThai

Sometimes our coach will assign a square (either by squares of the mat or with a jumprope square) and we have to spar inside our tiny square - essentially forcing us to stay in the pocket the entire round.

How's everyone doing? Still planning to be there?

***and now that I've trained there*** Kanongsuk Muay Thai Gym is a newly opened gym way up north in the quiet province of Chiang Rai. The short review: Kru Chai is worth the trip. Kanongsuk Muay Thai is a small, humble gym much like the area it's located - but size isn't everything. Kru Chai has a multitude of fighting accolades in several countries, mirrored by many years of training others to fight. His fight IQ is high, his English skills are quite good, and with both he is able to take your current skills and hone both your technique and overall fight game. He also has many connections in the industry, so if you want to fight he will get you booked no problem. Whatever your current level of skill, Kru Chai will make you a better fighter. Conversely, if you are not a fighter and only looking to have fun and get fit while visiting, he won't kill you in overly grueling sessions - just tell him what your goals are and he will set a training plan for you. Most of you have probably never heard of Chiang Rai before reading into this gym. It's a one hour flight from Bangkok, and the airport is about 15-20 minutes from downtown. You can walk to the gym from the hotel. It's not hard to get there at all! Life in Chiang Rai is slow-paced, so you'll have plenty of time to stop and soak in the beauty and culture around you. Chiang Rai is nestled between the mountains with sprawling fields of rice, tea, coffee, pineapple: agriculture is an industry here. You will also find a multitude of temples, some small with large histories, some new that are simply breathtaking. There are open-air markets and night markets same as the larger cities. If you're not inclined to rent a motorbike then you can call a cab with the GrabTaxi app to get around town with ease. If you are looking to visit Thailand and are brave enough to venture outside of the more touristy areas, you won't be disappointed. Contact Kru Chai through email, text, IG, or FB: he is very active on all forums.

I like them. I have tendinitis in my wrist from work so I wanted a nice and sturdy wrist on my gloves for support. I have somewhat small hands and they fit me well.

I have the Top King double wrist lock gloves (neon colors) in 10oz.

I think it's good to push yourself and try for more when you're passionate about it, so if you are passionate about muay thai then see how far you can go with it. Pushing makes us stronger and gives us experiences to learn from.

Muaythaifactory.com also offers custom items made/shipped from Thailand.

Good to know! A lot of US hairdressers don't know how to do them so I didn't realize they were more common here.

Bump

Does anyone have any leads on a salon/person who can braid my hair for me this Saturday? I'm an idiot about my hair.

Chuwattana is a thai gym that does perhaps more boxing than your average thai gym. It may be helpful to check their social media for some video for comparison (Keawsamrit another one).

We are a boxing-heavy gym. I don't think it's bad to focus on hands and head movement so long as it's done with muay thai as it's focus. Like certain footwork and defensive movement works great for boxing, but is very dangerous in muay thai as there are more strikes to defend (i.e. duck down and eat a headkick). If you feel the boxing is true boxing and not with muay thai in mind, then you may need to readjust the schedule so that you prepare for your actual fight. I hope that makes sense.

Found it: TheUpperCutmen@gmail.com @theuppercutmen on IG

James Guccione is part of the Cut Men and they usually go to the tournaments to wrap hands and corner for those guys running solo. Search him on FB and see if he or his partner will be available. My team will be there, but we have a large number of fighters so I don't want to speak for my coach (we've struggled at past tourneys with the coach:fighter ratio).

I'm the smallest super heavy weight in your weight class.

Kru Chay is very active on Facebook, so if you haven't found his page yet I would add him and ask any questions you have: https://m.facebook.com/Kanongsukmuaythai/

I've trained in a boot before so you may be hitting things sooner than you expect. So sorry you got hurt though.

My guess is the gym needs to give you a confirmation letter stating that you've paid to train

My coach has been to several times/sends us to Keawsamrit. I have not been personally, but as a team we are very boxing-oriented in style so your suspicions may be right. Namsaknoi I have heard is drawing TONS of newbie westerners so while he may be amazing as an instructor, the training pool may not be to your tastes. As a dude I think Kem's gym will be a good choice for you. If you search the forum there are already reciews about these gyms posted. Good luck!

I do full conditioning and strength programs in addition to muay thai (we have a strength/conditioning coach as well). If you're new you have to build up to it, but it will definitely benefit you to supplement technique training.

The paper brackets at each ring did not match the paper brackets in the hallway and neither matched the paper brackets in the fighter area. None of my 12 teammates fought at all Day One. Half of us fought Day Two (I was asleep late in the day when I was told my fight was NOW). Then they cancelled the remaining women's bouts on Day Three because they were too behind schedule to finish everything, even though my opponent and I walked from ring to ring begging to be the next fight. It was a very stressful, frustrating experience that we each spent a good deal of cash on. I'm hoping this tournament is nothing alike.

I'm registered. If I remember last year at the WKA tournemant in NY they had maybe 6-8 women in that range/experience (it's not mine so I only remember that my teammate was accidentally listed up in experience in that weight and that they had a few brackets to fight through/have us contest multiple times that she was novice class). WKA tornament is a giant, gaping craphole so I won't be surprised if more people compete at this event because its sister events have such wonderful reviews.

I love sparring differnet faces, so I'm always happy when we have a visiting fighter at the gym.

Reduce power, work on defense and proper techniques. Most people have to train 12-18 months at our gym before they are allowed to spar (varies by their natural ability and if they have prior experience). You can't regenerate brain cells so don't waste them on bad sparring.

Singapore is probably more costly than Thailand for a lot of things, but if you do get to go I hope you enjoy their class offerings!