Suk Niwet Muay Thai (Bangkok) - family style gym

[Tyler Byers]

Hi all, I've been meaning to write this review for a while but the gym was/is possibly moving locations so I had been holding off. The gym is located outside the city center in Phra Phradaeng. It's a very small family run gym headed by Korat Saknarin, a trainer with over 500 fights. He has fought many big names such as Boonlai and Samingnoi (they fought 4 times with a Korat winning 3 of their bouts) as well as many others.

 

I first met Korat while he was working at another gym and instantly took a liking to him because of his attention to detail and ability to make corrections based on your specific style. Many trainers try to teach you their style and he is much more about figuring out what works for you and figuring out how to maximize that style. So many people at the former gym wanted to work with him that it actually caused some problems with the other trainers and eventually he left after a dispute with the owner (who Korat felt wasn't doing enough to help students and fighters prepare for fights). A couple of years later I found him on Facebook and found out he had started his own gym on the bottom floor of his house in Bangkok.

 

I've now been living and training here for about 3 months. Unfortunately Korat had accepted a position in China just prior to my decision to come back to Thailand. I told him I still wanted to come train with him and he insisted I still come to the gym and he would bring in another trainer for me who he knew well. I wasn't sure exactly what I was getting into with that lol, but agreed to come anyways and check it out. When i arrived he introduced me to the other trainer who turned out to be Dedduang Por Pongsawong who is quite well known throughout Thailand. Korat said I should spend the time he was away working on technique with Dedduang and getting into shape for his return (I was/am a little fat lol).

 

Dedduang was awesome. He worked tirelessly with me, pushing me to my limits daily by extending the time of each round until I was doing 40 minutes of padwork in one round. I was only paying for an hour of padwork but we typically stretched it out to about an hour and a half. After padwork I would go run around the neighborhood for a bit. The area to run isn't huge, but it a loop you can do several times. One loop is about .5 Kilometers. Originally I wasn't going to fight until Korat got back, but Dedduang offered to help find me fights if I wanted. I ended up taking two fights in the first two months I was here, one at a small local stadium and the other at Asiatique.

 

Korat returned from China about a month ago and has been having me work on mixing in Western boxing with Thai boxing. My style is a little bit more Muay Khao based so this helps me setup clinch entry as well as giving me a lot of options to feint while remaining mobile (I get stuck if I stay in one area). After my last fight at Asiatique I realized I needed some more sparring so Korat has had his son sparring with me nightly to help out. Currently we are trying to get me ready to take a fight at Rajadamnern, but I've been sick which has hampered things a bit.

 

To give you and idea of what things are like outside of the training aspect, I have been living here on the third story of the house since January. The whole family has been awesome and super helpful with anything I need. The first week I was here they took me around to show me where all the local stores were (Big C, 7-11, etc.) and made sure I knew the cost of motorbike taxis, song taew routes, and where the local market was. They even went out and bought medicine for me when I got sick, went with me to immigration (several times, I had some headaches dealing with immigration offices for a visa extension), and took me to a nearby boxing shop to make sure I had everything needed before my fight. It's a very fight oriented family and they know how to take care of you. Pi'Dao, Korat's wife, will even cook for you to help manage weight before a fight. They also pay attention to the things you like to eat and will try to accommodate as much as possible. We eat nearly every meal together and it really feels like you are part of the family.

 

So far the only cons from being out here are that it's a little far from downtown if you are someone who likes to go out on the weekends (it's about 200 baht to Sukhumvit no matter which part of Sukhumvit you go to oddly enough), and you won't get the same feeling of gyms who have large group classes. It's very intimate and focused on individual growth. There isn't much equipment since it's such a small gym but it's got all the necessities and Korat will think of some kind of body weight exercise to do if you do end up having to stand around a bit.

 

Rates for private padwork (1 hour) are as follows:

Men - 500 baht

Women - 450 baht

Kids - 350 baht

 

There are discounts available if you aren't doing single sessions or are staying at the gym.

 

If you want to stay at the gym in one of the extra rooms send a message to either Korat or myself (I'll help arrange it if needed). He cuts pretty decent rates that include everything from training to food. His English is good enough for training but he mostly uses Google Translate beyond that. This is a great gym if you are looking for direct one on one training either for fights or fitness. It's also a particularly good gym for folks who want to stay long term and like having a close relationship with their trainer. Very much a family type environment.

 

This is my first gym review so please ask questions I can help answer!

 

You can contact the gym via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/100009897304614

Or feel free to shoot me a message at https://www.facebook.com/636268152

[Tyler Byers]

Tried attaching some pics but can't figure out how to do it from my phone

[Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu]

Adding these photos for Tyler:

 

Map, looks like it's about 40 minutes from Rajadamnern

 

Go to the Google Map link here.

[Tyler Byers]

Thanks Kevin!