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Hello!! I'm heading back to Thailand from March 25 to April 24 and have firmly decided to train in Chiang Mai for 1 month at Hongthong Muay Thai Gym. After some research and advice from friends, I was told the following: 1) It will be the hottest season during the time i'm there, and that's OK - I just have to suck it up and get used it...Gotta burn this fat anyway lol 2) Burning Season for crops/farmers and worst being from Early March to Mid May. - I think this is the only thing I'm concerned about so I have some questions about this. > For those that have lived/trained in Chiang Mai (I know Sylvie has lived here for many years) what's it like training during Burning Season and did it affect your health, cardio/conditioning, etc? I'm a little worried about this as I've been told that it was so bad, and some said it wasn't as bad as you think. I do have a minor case of exercise-induced asthma but I know this is only triggered when it gets freezing cold (especially here in Canada) I do have a puffer with me that I once in a while take before exercising. And to be honest, when I was in Thailand (Bangkok) It was tough for a few days due to the heat/humidity but eventually, I got used to it. And I felt a whole lot better even though it felt like training in the sauna... haha Anyway, that's all! Let me know your experience regarding training during the Burning Season in Chiang Mai. All the best! :)

Hi everyone , I would love tips and advice from you awesome people espcially those of you who may have been in a similar situation. I am 5'2 ( 160cm ) tall , ( on a good day ) and i am 57kg ( 125lbs ) . I spar with a lot of different people , but there is one I am having trouble with making an impact on , she is 6'0 ( 182cm ) and 100kg ( 220lbs ) . Her stamina is quite poor so I do a lot of moving around to tire her out , but as far as hits go all I manage is lower leg kicks and lower body hits. I also spar with the trainer who is 6'3 ( 192 cm ) he is roughly 85kg ( 187lbs ) , and I feel like I am sparring with a pair of knees lol ! Yes the sparring is all good fun and just light hearted , and not to be taken too seriously , but when I get the ring to start the sparring I already feel defeated , and I really don't know why I bother. I always let my apponent set the pace and then I take it from there. I need hot tips for some great combinations please. :thanks: :thanks:

I train muay thai for 2 years. This year I started fighting, and this means more training, more sparring, running, etc. Before MT, I was a kung fu competitor so the hard training is not a new thing for me. But... in recent months, I don't feel I become stronger, faster or better in technics after all this training. I feel I become weaker, slower. I was a hard-kicker, but now, I don't know, why, but I just can't kick hard, or strong. At my last fight my punches were so weak, they didn't hurt my opponent. I tried my favourite low kicks, but.. no power. Since February I'm not allowed to take any vitamins or protein shake (because of an laser eye surgery). But there are so many fighters who don't take supplements.. So do you ever feel this "losing strenght" ? Should I do more conditional training, crossfit, etc? I'm so frustrated now...

Hi Sylvie, I have two questions for you and if you have time, it would be great to hear your opinion on my situation. Firstly, I am currently training at a gym in Chiang Mai area and my original plan was only to train here for 1 month and then go to Bangkok to a gym owned by a famous fighter in October for 1 month, however, after checking out that gym for a morning session I really did not like the area that it is located in (I'm not sure that I would feel safe going for a run there by myself), and I am questioning if I would be taken seriously there, whether I would get the kind of training that would help me get to the next level rather than treating me like a beginner, so I am now contemplating whether I should extend my stay at my current gym to two months or should I still go to another gym so that I get some variety of technique...To be honest, I like how detailed oriented the trainers at my current gym are and that they are picking up on the small things that I didn't know I was doing wrong (although everything I thought I knew has been corrected so many times that it left me wondering if I actually know anything at all and what it was that I was learning/doing for the last 2.5 years, lol), but I feel like I am not learning any new techniques and only get corrected on the techniques that I already have, so I started paying for private sessions (I've done 2 so far and don't know if I should keep going with that) so that I can learn some clinch, since the group clinch sessions are pretty short (maybe 15 minutes at the end of the afternoon session), and to also do some sparring since there doesn't seem to be much sparring happening and the one session that they called boxing sparring was pretty short too and I got put in a ring with a bunch of complete beginners who didn't know how to control their punches and so it was just me trying to avoid any of the wild haymaker punches, while the trainer that was in our ring was jus watching and not saying anything, so I don't know if this is the norm in Thai gyms and this is how they conduct their sparring sessions so would going to another gym be really that different? Do you think it would be a good idea for me to train at another gym after my 1 month at my current gym or do you think I would be making it worse since the other gym would spend time to teach me "their way" of doing things and I would be basically unlearning again what I thought I knew? Or should I stay here at my current gym so that I can put in enough time to learn one style the right way and continue to do private sessions to fill in the gaps from the group sessions? Secondly, I also wanted to try fighting in Thailand but I have never been in a fight that had the use of elbows allowed (I've only done 2 in house fights so I doubt that it counts for much) and I am wondering if these kind of basic sparring sessions at my current gym would prepare me for the use of elbows in a real fight, or would actually help me prepare for any fight at all. When you do sparring at the gym where you train, do you ever practice throwing elbows (in a controlled way) during sparring or is it something that only gets practiced on the pads? I also don't know if I should bring up the fact that I was hoping to be able to get a fight towards the end of my training at this gym or if I am expected to wait to be asked whether it is something I want to do? I feel almost embarrassed now to ask for a fight after having received so many corrections of my technique which up until now I thought was decent (I certainly didn't think that it was perfect but I didn't think that I needed so many corrections), and it actually left me feeling pretty disappointed in myself since I work hard when I train back home, but it almost now seems like it was all wasted effort and that the training that I was getting at home and thought of as being quiet good is not good enough. Do you think if I mention that I want to fight I would get better/different training or would I be laughed at for even asking? Also, do you know if you might be getting any fights in Chiang Mai? I would love to come and watch at least one of your fights Cheers

Hello everyone, not sure if any of you have ever noticed anything similar in your training, but lately I've been experiencing the following situation in my training and I'm not sure if this is simply a normal part of trying to learn something new or if perhaps I may be having issues with some mental block or whether I'm experiencing a bit of burnout from training too much/not enough rest: I'm usually training 5-6 days a week, with the sparring sessions being later at night, usually the last class of the evening at 8:30pm, and those are the only sessions that I can go to since I work during the day time (wake up at 5am, finish work at 4:30 in the afternoon, start training at 6:15 in the evening). I've been trying to force myself to stay for the sparring classes even when I'm already tired since I would like to get more practice before my trip to Thailand in 4 months, however, I find that I'm becoming slower, more hesitant, and have difficulty incorporating new techniques into my sparring, instead end up using the same techniques over and over, it's almost like I can't beat my reflex in favor of a different technique; I practice different techniques in shadowboxing but it doesn't seem to be translating into practical application...I'm not really sure if this is simply because of not enough sparring practice, or if there's some kind of mental training that I could be doing that would make it easier for me to apply what I know, or am I simply doing more harm than good by forcing myself to stay for sparring when I'm already tired. If you have ever noticed any of those things in your training and if you have any suggestions for my issue it would be much appreciated. Thank you