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A Rural Gym With Fight Opportunity

GGraptis

By GGraptis
in Gym Advice and Experiences

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GGraptis Nong

GGraptis

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Hi everyone!!!!
I am biking a flight to Thailand in late October
Myself and some training partners from New York are looking for a gym to train at. We are looking for a rural gym, not the fancy ones but clean.
Some of us fight already here in the states and would like to get a fight in if possible. One of my teammates used to train at Son Vinpor gym, but her friend who still lives in Thailand said that it's a good gym but doesn't produce any fighters or fights.
What gym would you recommend?
Rural, clean great training and possible fight opportunity???
Thank you!!
Trying to get as much info for this trip

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Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu Fellow Traveler

Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu

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Hi everyone!!!!

I am biking a flight to Thailand in late October

Myself and some training partners from New York are looking for a gym to train at. We are looking for a rural gym, not the fancy ones but clean.

Some of us fight already here in the states and would like to get a fight in if possible. One of my teammates used to train at Son Vinpor gym, but her friend who still lives in Thailand said that it's a good gym but doesn't produce any fighters or fights.

What gym would you recommend?

Rural, clean great training and possible fight opportunity???

Thank you!!

Trying to get as much info for this trip

Howdy, late October should allow you to have festival fight opportunities (rural, out in fields) but if you want a stadium fight you'll probably have to travel from a "rural" gym.

Maybe you can clarify a bit about what you want out of a rural gym - like, what are specific attributes you're looking for? Low student to trainer ratio? Nice areas to run? Not a lot of tourists? Small town feel where you can't get real coffee?

There are degrees of difficulty when it comes to how rural your gym is and a lot of the comforts that we as westerners don't realize we miss when we are, in fact, separated from them come about from the things surrounding training and not necessarily in the gym itself. No hot water in the shower? Not a huge deal. Nescafe instant coffee for weeks... amazingly harder than it might seem - okay, you can tell I've been in Thailand a long time!

Sitmonchai Gym in Kananchanaburi province is fully equipped, comfortable enough rooms and good equipment, a variety of trainers, Thai and foreign fighters and they're accustomed to training women. It's located on a rural feeling road and your runs are along big open fields; maybe a 40 minute drive to Bangkok for weekends or a fight.  Then there are gyms in Pai (Chiang Mai province) that are mostly westerners but certainly rural; Santai is in San Kamphang (also Chiang Mai) and the area is pretty quiet, close enough to the city that you can dip in and out. They have Thai fighter and western fighters, have women fighting for them. 

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Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu Mentor

Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu

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Rural, clean great training and possible fight opportunity???

 

How rural do you mean? Do you mean a gym in Isaan with a few bags hanging and maybe a ring? If so our brief time in deal with Isaan we found fights very difficult to manage. Even though Sylvie's an experienced and established fighter it was a very difficult process of getting fights at Giatbundit Gym (which now apparently is defunct). The reason for this is because in Isaan fights are bets. There would have to be an entire feeling out process by such a gym, where they figure out if you are worth putting in fights, and then there is the process of going to matchups where you literally stand next to other fighters about your same size and people haggle over the possibility of a fight. It is not easy to slide into an Isaan gym, train a bit, and start fighting. There are no tourist fights, fights are all ventures in gambling, and culturally gyms are pretty closed.

Forgive me if you did not mean as rural as this, but it's what comes to mind. Not familiar with Son Vinpor. Or did you just mean a gym that isn't in an urban area?

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Finn Cartlidge Nong

Finn Cartlidge

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Forgive me if you did not mean as rural as this, but it's what comes to mind. Not familiar with Son Vinpor. Or did you just mean a gym that isn't in an urban area?

I think she means Sor Vorapin, I think you'll know of this, complete tourist gym now.

 

In response to OP, I'm not sure you can get a lot of fights in any province in Thailand if you're a light weight. I think it's harder for women but if you'll fight anyone and have some baht for a bet if necessary, you can find fights.

The problem with rural gyms (if you mean the tiny Thai rural gyms) is you won't be sure if they accept women or even foreigners - as there will probably be little to no information about them online.

You should specify a province/area so others can help you more in-depth. :smile:  

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