Lanna Muay Thai - is it still worth to train at?

[Bartek94]

Hi!

In next 2 weeks I'm going to Thailand to train muay thai, I have 2 months there. I'm thinking about Lanna Muay Thai, but I've read some negative opinions about this gym after the management changed. Has anyone of you visited it recently? Ot maybe you recommend another place in Chiang Mai, like HongThong Muay Thai? I'm amateur fighter, I've been training for couple of years and have had some amateur fights.

P.S. Sorry for mistakes, I'm still learning english ;D

Edited July 28, 2019 by Bartek94

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

18 hours ago, Bartek94 said:

Hi!

In next 2 weeks I'm going to Thailand to train muay thai, I have 2 months there. I'm thinking about Lanna Muay Thai, but I've read some negative opinions about this gym after the management changed. Has anyone of you visited it recently? Ot maybe you recommend another place in Chiang Mai, like HongThong Muay Thai? I'm amateur fighter, I've been training for couple of years and have had some amateur fights.

P.S. Sorry for mistakes, I'm still learning english ;D

It's hard to say whether it's "worth it" to train there or not, as giving generalized gym advice is hard because every person is different, has different needs and expectations. I haven't trained at the new Lanna Muay Thai, so I can't give first-hand experience, but I've heard from people who are training there recently that it's crowded and more "class" structured. How busy a gym is changes ALL THE TIME, so I can't say whether that's the case at this moment or not - it's low season in Thailand. Kru Daeng is still there and he's always worth training with. He's fight-oriented, experienced, knowledgeable and a great guy. But you could always take a private with him if the gym itself is not what you're looking for.

Hongthong is another that I've never done regular training at. Both Gen and Joe are 100% worth taking private sessions with, but regular training is something that I can't comment on from experience. Both Lanna and Hongthong are gyms that can get you fights, if that's something you're interested in.

Manop's gym looks good and Manop is a great trainer. Looks like they have a good group of people training most of the time, so you have clinching and sparring. It's a bit out of town, so you'd need to get a motorbike or be happy staying put most of the time.

In general, I advise people to try more than one gym and make their longer-term plans based on their own experiences. None of these gyms are so far away from Chiang Mai that you can't take a few days to try each of them and make your decision from there. You'll know better than anyone what feels right to you, and there's no reason to commit before arrival.

You might find this thread helpful: 

 

[Ricenbeans27]

I trained there in November 2016 - I guess during the old management? - and did not like it at all. I was with a fighter friend of mine, we were there for 5 days straight, they never gave us any attention and acted like they hated being there.

We ended up going to Santai and learned a lot.

[Xestaro]

A bit to add about Hongthong: as far as I'm aware, Gen (Hongthonglek) is still training/fighting/teaching in Australia these days