Good gym advice with tall thai trainers and fighters

[Simon]

Hi,

My name is Simon and im from Sweden. I'll be going to Thailand soon and im looking for a good gym where there are a lot of big and tall thai fighters and trainers. I am 197 cm tall and fight in -86 kg so this has been a problem for me in the past.

Im not looking for a "farang gym" (and i think you know what i mean by that), i rather want a gym with high quality pad work, clinch and sparring who also has active big fighters, thai style.

I've only heard good things about Kems newly opened gym, any information on this gym would be great as it is on the top of my list right now.

I would also like to thank Sylvie who responded within minutes after i messaged her with the same question, and directed me here for more information. Keep up the good work, i can only speak for myself but it really is appreciated.

 

Thanks a lot, take care.

Simon from Sweden

[NewThai]

Chuwattana used to have a big guy (Kanongsuk) but now he's in Singapore with Evolve. I know Sitmonchai has a big guy holding pads as I follow Kru Dam and see him in their videos.

 

I'm not sure if Sean Fagan (Muay Thai Guy) is active on these boards, but he has been setting up some camps in Thailand and has looked around at gyms there. He may also be a good person to ask.

[Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu]

Chuwattana used to have a big guy (Kanongsuk) but now he's in Singapore with Evolve. I know Sitmonchai has a big guy holding pads as I follow Kru Dam and see him in their videos.

 

Sitmonchai has a pretty strong reputation, whether it is deserved or not, for not being a clinch oriented gym. It's a great gym, one that I know Sylvie recommends often, but as a striking gym it is known for more training getting out of the clinch.

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

Hi,

My name is Simon and im from Sweden. I'll be going to Thailand soon and im looking for a good gym where there are a lot of big and tall thai fighters and trainers. I am 197 cm tall and fight in -86 kg so this has been a problem for me in the past.

Im not looking for a "farang gym" (and i think you know what i mean by that), i rather want a gym with high quality pad work, clinch and sparring who also has active big fighters, thai style.

I've only heard good things about Kems newly opened gym, any information on this gym would be great as it is on the top of my list right now.

I would also like to thank Sylvie who responded within minutes after i messaged her with the same question, and directed me here for more information. Keep up the good work, i can only speak for myself but it really is appreciated.

 

Thanks a lot, take care.

Simon from Sweden

 

I'm going to Kem's gym on Monday I think. I was really impressed with them when I visited to film with Yodwicha a month or so ago. It's strange but I have gotten several tall person gym clinch questions lately, it's the opposite of my small person needs. It is a very clinch heavy gym, and has some of the best clinch fighters in Thailand. But for those who are taller, Yodwicha is the reason to go. He is an incredible clinch fighter and is very tall for a Thai. Not only that, he is incredibly kind and a very good instructor. I'm small, but we filmed 30 minutes of clinch instruction with him, and he was able to communicate all the technique despite all the angles being wrong. This is very difficult to do, and only the best can do it. Dieselnoi was like this when I trained with him.

You can see our size difference here:

He isn't an instructor there, he's a top level fighter, but I'm sure he would help technically if you had any questions. From what I saw they clinched a lot, and the padwork was very good. I've also heard that they are a very pro-fight gym for the westerners there finding fights not only around the Khorat area, but also on MAX and other promotions. It's in the middle of mountains, incredibly beautiful. I'll be putting up footage for my supporters and also writing a blog post about the gym for everyone in the next weeks. 

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

a small note on Kem's gym, it's a fantastic gym as far as I can tell, but it may not be the best gym for solo female travelers. I've heard complaints from a few women who have had problems with aggressive flirtation/harassment from one particular trainer there, something that may not be easy to deal with or avoid.

[Simon]

Thanks for the incredibly fast and high quality answers!

I think ill be aiming towards Kems gym, and i dont think ill be dissapointed since you (Sylvie) just confirmed what ive been hearing about both Yodwicha and the rest of the gym.

I just have one more question and this is a silly one: are there lots of dangerous mosquitos in the area? Or is that more up in the north? Havent had all my shots and turns out some of them are really expensive ..

Once again thanks a lot, and take care :)

Simon

[Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu]

Thanks for the incredibly fast and high quality answers!

I think ill be aiming towards Kems gym, and i dont think ill be dissapointed since you (Sylvie) just confirmed what ive been hearing about both Yodwicha and the rest of the gym.

I just have one more question and this is a silly one: are there lots of dangerous mosquitos in the area? Or is that more up in the north? Havent had all my shots and turns out some of them are really expensive ..

Once again thanks a lot, and take care :)

Simon

 

Just read your mosquito question aloud to Sylvie, she says she doesn't know. Most of the malaria problem I heard was up North, but maybe Google around with "khorat" or "korat" as a keyword.

[Patrick Prive]

A bit of an old post, but I was wondering if malaria was an issue in Chiang Mai. Does anyone use anti-malaria pills such as malarone in this area? On the internet, it seems that most people says you're fine with repellent, long sleeves, mosquito net at night, etc. What do you think?

To put you in context, I was looking to train in Chiang Mai for maybe a month and I don't want to take malarone for 1 whole month for nothing. Don't want ot take useless risks either. Here in Montreal, travel clinics seem to push malarone as soon as there's more than 25 trees in a whole contry. 

Thanks!

[Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu]

A bit of an old post, but I was wondering if malaria was an issue in Chiang Mai. Does anyone use anti-malaria pills such as malarone in this area? On the internet, it seems that most people says you're fine with repellent, long sleeves, mosquito net at night, etc. What do you think?

To put you in context, I was looking to train in Chiang Mai for maybe a month and I don't want to take malarone for 1 whole month for nothing. Don't want ot take useless risks either. Here in Montreal, travel clinics seem to push malarone as soon as there's more than 25 trees in a whole contry. 

Thanks!

 

I don't know anyone who was taking anti-malaria in Chiang Mai, and we lived there for 2 years. Not going to say nobody was, but it did not seem to be a thing.

[radarjam]

A bit of an old post, but I was wondering if malaria was an issue in Chiang Mai. Does anyone use anti-malaria pills such as malarone in this area? On the internet, it seems that most people says you're fine with repellent, long sleeves, mosquito net at night, etc. What do you think?

To put you in context, I was looking to train in Chiang Mai for maybe a month and I don't want to take malarone for 1 whole month for nothing. Don't want ot take useless risks either. Here in Montreal, travel clinics seem to push malarone as soon as there's more than 25 trees in a whole contry. 

Thanks!

That's quite funny because in Vancouver (I noticed they like to push all sorts of vaccines when travelling too) I went to a travel clinic back in August and got shots but I didn't take any anti-malaria at all (doxycyline was my recommendation by the pharmacist) I was in Bangkok at that time so they said it's not needed UNLESS you head to the northern part of Thailand. 

However, I'm heading to Chiang Mai in less than 2 months for 28 days......... and I don't think I'm going to take any of that :\ I am just going to slap on some mosquito repellent...not that it will be 100% effective though.. I also just asked my friend who's there right now in CM (for about a year already) and they said they didn't take any anti-malaria either. But if you want to have some piece of mind, might as well? 

[timmothysmith01]

Hey Simon! It’s great to hear that you’re heading to Thailand and looking for a gym with big and tall Thai fighters and trainers. Kems’ newly opened gym sounds like a promising option. While I read reviews from other fighters who have trained there. Best of luck with your training and enjoy your time in Thailand! Take care and stay safe!