[Khongsittha Muay Thai camp , Muay Thai guy, Sean Fagan]

Hi everyone

I'm hoping someone has been on Sean Fagan's, the Muay Thai guy's fighters camp in Thailand?

I'm looking into going next year, Jan / Feb camp, and was hoping someone could tell me a bit more about it

How much you learnt, would you recommend it, how fit or experienced you need to be, how much 'spending' money you took etc

Anything really, I'll be a solo female traveller from the UK, bit scared of the journey to be honest, flying doesn't bother me, but for some reason flying alone does!

Or if anyone is thinking of going to the camp, please let me know

[Gym in central Bangkok recommendations-Yokkao gym any good?]

I don't know whether you might be in Thailand right now or sometime this month, but I've heard great things about Yokkao! I follow them on Facebook too and its nice to see their live videos when they're training. It is pricey but Manop (Saenchai's trainer) is pretty awesome at pad holding and you might even get the chance of meeting Saenchai! (I'm a huge fan of him lol)

In terms of possible recommendation, I will be in BKK from Aug 13-28 to attend Khongsittha Gym's Thailand Training Camp. So I can't really say much since I'm not there yet, but following their FB/Instagram page, I can tell that their atmosphere and trainers is amazing! The training camp is running until the end of August, but I believe you can still attend other classes and possibly inquire if they can offer you a private training with one of the trainers. Here's the link if you're curious! https://www.facebook.com/ThailandTrainingCamp/

Hope everything works out :) 

[Muscle pain, cramps, tightness and remedies]

I'm glad you found the answer to your calf problems! I just scrolled up and found that I posted on this a year ago saying that skipping fucks my calves up. Funnily enough, yesterday I tried out a new gym and their training started with a lot of skipping. As a result, I'm super tight today and walking funny. Lots of foam rolling for me today! I might get in the pool for a bit, too. I've never tried Rock Tape or anything like that, might give it a go. 

Omg this was my issue for the last month up until now. Shin splints suck! My calf muscles were so tight to the point I couldn't even walk anymore. My athletic therapist massaged my shins and also recommended that I wear compression leg sleeves. It has helped - but for now I can't train everyday.... so I have to skip every other day until I'm ready to go back full-time. 

 

I was told that after a long session of training, you can foam roll, massage your legs, have an icebath (just beneath your knees) and see how that goes. Taking some potassium/glutamine works too. But I feel your pain! 

 

Kinesio taping works like a charm (my only problem is the pain of pulling my leg hairs LOL when I peel it off) but I find that using those compression sleeves does some good work too. The one I have is by 2XU: http://www.2xu.com/ca/p/compression-calf-guards/UA1987b.html?dwvar_UA1987b_color=BLK_CPB#start=1 

The material is nice and does not chaff on your skin; sweat wicking too. Plus you can use it for at least 2-3 sessions and throw it in the wash, hang dry it and you're good to go. 

[How to deal with the heat in Thailand and other first-timer questions]

This thread helps a lot with my fear of heat exhaustion going to Thailand this August. I'm from Canada; i may be South-East Asian descent but i much prefer the cool/cold atmosphere. Anything beyond 25C/77F+ i start cooping myself up in my dark room filled with fans and whatnot haha....

I'm planning of bringing some supplements for the 2 weeks i'm training Muay Thai (twice a day) so it'll be ranging from a 1lb bag of protein powder, BCAA pills w/ electrolytes (cap form), glutamine (cap form)and some fishoil/omega 3's. So these supplements should suffice as they're light enough for the trip. 

I was told to not go 100% during the first two days because you want your body to get used to the heat and humidity. Stay hydrated before/during/after training. And you might be even lucky too if they have ice baths :) my gym does! 

[Advice for a shorter visit]

It's not confirmed yet, but I may be attending that camp for a few days. :)

:O! If confirmed, oh my....! do let me know...I would love to also meet you one day Sylvie! <3

[Advice for a shorter visit]

Hey there! I'm actually planning of going to Thailand this summer as well (August) there's this all-inclusive training camp led by Sean Fagan (Aka Muay Thai Guy) at Khongsittha Gym-Nak Muay Nation Training Camp in Bangkok http://www.thailandtrainingcamp.com/  a 2 week camp costs $800.00 USD go check out the link! The dates I'm looking at is Aug 14 - 28 and I hope you can attend this one (I need buddies because i'm solo'ng the trip) Did i mention that you may have a chance of having a seminar with Saenchai, Petchboonchu, Kaew Fairtex. I'm so stoked! It'd be an honor meeting Saenchai! 

I have hoped to go to thailand and train for quite a while now, and I have done a fair bit of reading to find out where you can find suitable gyms. A lot of articles talk about the difference between different cities, Bangkok is said to have better training than Phuket for example. However, I wonder how much things like that matter for those of us that are not very high level? I have trained on and off for a three years, because i enjoy the sport but never with any serious ambition to fight. I'm not a complete rookie, but I stil have lots of pretty basic things to learn and refine. With that kind of skill level, does it really matter much how many top fighters the gym has, since the trainers will still have tons to show me regardless?

Some short info about me

* I plan to go to thailand for a period of 2 weeks this summer
* Not a beginner, but not high level either
* Right now I'm not training muay thai because I have a time consuming job
* I'm keeping in decent shape by visiting the gym though, and the month before I go I plan to run 5 km every day
* My goal is just to improve technique, to get lots of technical sparring and rekindle my passion for the sport

Bearing these things in mind, do you have any advice on what cities or types of gym I should look for?

[A 15% Discount On the Lobloo Female Groin Guard to 8limbs.us Readers]

You can order it directly from the Lobloo website and they ship anywhere worldwide for free... including Canada :)

OH WOW! I did not notice that! That is awesome, I'm glad they do worldwide shipping for free! Conversion isn't too bad either, hurray!

[strange aching feeling in the head when working on heavy bag/pads]

I've also experienced this before and like Sylvie mentioned, it does link to strained neck muscles and I got those occasional headache while throwing those punches. Doing stretches (with the assistance of my physiotherapist) helped me a lot. I don't get it as much as I used to as I'm forcing myself now to take the time to stretch after class. But rest of course does help too! I should also mention, try taking some BCAA's "Branched Chain Amino Acids"supplements  (lots of benefits including help with muscle fatigue and whatnot. Here's a link if you want more info on it, definitely worth an investment and it does taste good too! http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bcaas-the-many-benefits-of-amino-acids.html  :biggrin:

[A 15% Discount On the Lobloo Female Groin Guard to 8limbs.us Readers]

So sad, I don't think I'll be able to get this as its not available in any Canadian stores.  :pinch:

[training with females versus training with males]

haha i get sick of saying sorry..its also very british of me to do it but i try not to bother. it just comes out :) i went to an all female class tonight ( sort of by accident i got the time wrong) anyway i really enjoyed it for a change as i got two good female partners who were not intimidated by me or telling me not to hit too hard. we all got stuck in and mutual respect won out :) i still prefer a male partner but i am trying to appreciate that if i do ever fight it will be with a female and so ii want to get used to training with them. ii think balance is the thing and will try to train with each genders to keep a grip of it...also attacks outside could be coming from anywhere so perhaps it s good to have awareness of both genders moves. mainly i ve been trying trying to work out is it gender, size, weight, what is it that makes a good balance with a partner. I'm concluding thats its all about experience, that an equally experienced partner is best whatever gender.

I'm glad it's working out for you! Thanks for the appreciation, I respect that! :) All about mutual respect and balance - Keep it up.

 

My gym has a lot of females now, I reckon it's around 50:50 most days. The majority have only been around a few months or don't take it super seriously, so when it comes to sparring it's just about gauging where the other person's at and adjusting to their level of skill and intensity. When it comes to padwork, I don't really mind who holds as long as they try. If they can't hold for combinations, I'll just work on speed, technique, etc. I am lucky in that there are at least a handful of women at roughly the same level as me, and many that want to do their first interclubs. 

Naturally, most of the guys do stick together but our coach occasionally tells all of us to find somebody of the opposite sex to spar and clinch with. I enjoy sparring with guys because I feel like some of the emotions that come with sparring women sometimes aren't there (there may have been another thread about this). I think there are a number of guys that avoid going with a female, and that's fine because we have a lot of people to train with.

For me it's important that I train with the guys, not only because there are more skilled guys than women at my gym, but also to show them that women can excel in this sport and they can learn a lot of things from pairing with us too.

In my gym there's a lot of females that are trying it out (even if its for a day, week or month) and only a few ever go full-time and join the team. Those are the ones who only do it for for fun or for cardio. And when they get a gist of what our classes are like (we do lots of techniques/combo/sparring/etc) they tend to get a bit discouraged because its not what they expected. In North America there are many pop-up gyms that do kickboxing classes as a cardio (like those 30-min-hit) just to burn off fat, more targeted to females who just do it for fun. Not my kind of gig personally, i like competition and the nature of contact sports. Some get really timid or shy because they cannot adjust to our mood/environment. I mean we're all helpful/encouraging and try to help newbies as much as possible. Some are willing to try but unfortunately, some just give up and never come back :'( Its too bad because I'm still searching for the best female partner of the same height (i'm short lol) and skill level.

 

But I know that feeling too - but I'm glad that there's a handful that eventually share the same passion as we all do here. 

[training with females versus training with males]

I've actually been pretty lucky with my female/male teammates. We all come in different height/weight when i'm compared to them because I'm short lol. We've all been equal in terms of sparring, holding pads, and learning from each other. I enjoy sparring with my guys because they go "all-out" and don't get all wishy-washy because i'm a girl - but there's always balance. I find that when I spar with girls, some are timid and some are quite aggressive but we both try to accommodate and try not to overwhelm each other so much, where one gets hurt because they 'hit too hard'

Another note, our gym is in Canada and some of us have a habit of saying "i'm sorry....!" when one of us smoke each other on the face/abs etc, hahaha we laugh it off and luckily we try to get back in the fighting mood. Other than that - so far so good with my gym :)