"FA group muay thai"-camp

[515]

Hi everyone!

Does anyone on here have experiences with the FA group muay thai camp?
All are welcome; own expierinces, heard something, read something, ...
I planned to train there during my second stay in Thailand (30 May - 5 July).

The things I could find on the internet are the following;
https://www.facebook.com/muaythaifagroup (a FB page to contact them, wich I already did)
https://www.facebook.com/f.a.group.muaythai
http://www.muaythaischolar.com/f-a-group-muay-thai-camp-review (a review from Muay Thai Scholar who rates FA group as the number one gym in BKK for what it matters)

Info that I got from chatting with them: (click on the image)

Morning workout starts with a ±9km run at 6am the evening workout starts with a ±6km run at 3pm.
The camp don't provide on-camp-housing for their guests.

 

Thanks for the answers and sorry for the ba English :)

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

I don't personally know anybody who has trained there, but they do have some very good fighters. It's hard to know whether that's because they have the finances to purchase talent or whether it's from their own training because their top-name fighters are at an age where they probably didn't start at that gym. Great clinchers though!

Not having housing available at the gym isn't unusual. Just make sure you can find something within a reasonable distance so you're not having trouble making it to training every day. And I recommend this for any gym: do not pay in advance. Pay for a couple days or a week, then decide after that if you want to stay for a long time and you can pay for a longer stay then.

[515]

 

I don't personally know anybody who has trained there, but they do have some very good fighters. It's hard to know whether that's because they have the finances to purchase talent or whether it's from their own training because their top-name fighters are at an age where they probably didn't start at that gym. Great clinchers though!

Yes, I can't find much about it. But heard that they are good clinchers also (they put time in it!).
I will update this topic with my expierences there to inform others.

 

 

Not having housing available at the gym isn't unusual. Just make sure you can find something within a reasonable distance so you're not having trouble making it to training every day.

They gave me some link to an apartment that is close to them. But maybe it's better to do live-research when I arrive. To see what I can find, unfortunalty I don't speak Thai but I will try to find the best one.

Opinions on their link are also welcome;
https://www.facebook.com/slresidence54
http://www.slresidence.com/contactus-1.html

 

And I recommend this for any gym: do not pay in advance. Pay for a couple days or a week, then decide after that if you want to stay for a long time and you can pay for a longer stay then.

Yes I read (and heard) this before and will follow these rule to not bond me to a gym to soon. Thank you!

[Finn Cartlidge]

Actually I'm pretty sure the gym didn't buy all the fighters, if I understand, one of the owners or trainers had a gym with very good fighters such as Petchboonchu and he basically ran out of money. He went to Bangkok, someone financed for a gym for him and he took his old fighters with him.

Or something like that, I think it's on Siamfightmag, pretty interesting though.

[515]

Actually I'm pretty sure the gym didn't buy all the fighters, if I understand, one of the owners or trainers had a gym with very good fighters such as Petchboonchu and he basically ran out of money. He went to Bangkok, someone financed for a gym for him and he took his old fighters with him.

Or something like that, I think it's on Siamfightmag, pretty interesting though.

 

Thanks for your answer now you posted it I searched it and remind i read it once before (long time ago) yes!

For who's interested here's the link to it:

http://www.siamfightmag.com/en/muaythai-en/reports-en/camps-muaythai-en/bangkok-region-en/722-the-camp-f-a-group-gym

Maybe also fine to read;

An interview with Petchboonchu Benz.

A piece about Panom, I'm not sure that he still fights or only is a trainer at FA Group Muay Thai Gym now.

 

I hope to write more about my training at this camp when I can go back to training.

Edited June 17, 2015 by 515

[Finn Cartlidge]

I hope to write more about my training at this camp when I can go back to training.

Look forward to it, always interesting to see peoples experiences at different gyms. Good luck.  :smile:

[515]

[RamónRivera]

I know people from England (singdayt muaythai) that had some fighters there, perhaps it is a good idea to ask them:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Singdayt-Muay-Thai-Fight-Fitness/182307588457455

[515]

 

I know people from England (singdayt muaythai) that had some fighters there, perhaps it is a good idea to ask them:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Singdayt-Muay-Thai-Fight-Fitness/182307588457455

Thanks for your post.

I hope to write more about my training at this camp when I can go back to training.

Look forward to it, always interesting to see peoples experiences at different gyms. Good luck.  :smile:

I lost this thread a bit, since I'm back in Belgium already a long time.

 

I'm not a good writer (and for sure not in English) but I will do my best.

Gym:
In my eyes FA Group is a really good gym.

A place where woman are also welcomed to train, also in the ring! They also provide a beginners class (wich mostly are woman I think I've seen).
The environment is really good and friendly. Two of the trainers speaks good English and two others can speak a bit basic English but they can make you understand what they mean so that's no problem.
The fighters at the gym are very open and friendly but they don't speak English but you can still make fun and have basic communications. The owner speaks English as well and is very friendly."

They have a matted floor (upgraded to the whole floor when I was there) and a big ring to train in, 5 bags, a wall mounted uppercut pad, a mirrored wall, pull up bar, weights, sit up benches, a stationary bike, ... Not the most clean gym they say but clean enough for sure!! You can bring your own drinks or share the water cups at the gym.

Training:
Training hours: Morning training 6h-10h and afternoon training 15h-18h.

The training starts of with a run always you can choose to join it or not. I would recommend to just do it. They take the van to go to Chatuchak park wich is a really big park in Bangkok with beautiful nature, and a lot of active people from young to old. The park is opened at 4:30 in the morning and closes at 21h and really worth a visit besides training. They have a shop at the entrance where you can get water for 8 baht or a sportdrink. There are is a sort of security at the park and a lot of workers who keep the park really clean.

They run something from 2,5-10 km in the morning and 2,5-8 km in the evening. the good thing is you can rest a bit in the van and can give 100% again when you are back at the gym.
After the running they skip ropes for 15 minutes, than they start clinching for I think 20-40minutes in the morning and 30-60 minutes in the evening.
After the clinching the pad work starts and if you aren't busy on the pads you can work on the bag the same like after your padwork. The rounds on the pads are 3-5 minutes and mostly you get 3 rounds.

After that you are a bit free on your own to do what you like, not like in some other gyms where they order you to do this or that followed by that. So if you want to waste time you can do that or just work on the bag or go for some shadowboxing. The people from the gym will help you with correcting your technique or tell you what to do.
Sometimes you can just follow the Thai's and join in with there training.

If you want to fight and you train good, they can arrange that for you also.

Accommodation:
The people from the gym also can help you to get a room at a residence on walking distance from the gym (SL Residence, 1-2 minutes walking) or a hotel room close by since they have no on-camp accommodation. If you go on your own to SL they will say they are full and there are no rooms available anymore that's because we are farang... If someone of the gym goes with you they have rooms left haha

I would say go for the residence; it is 6000 baht a month excluded from energy- and water-usage.
You get a room with A/C, a balcony, double bed,shower, toilet, desk, one big closet and a small one (TV table thing, without TV).
They also can provide you with bed sheets and pillows for like 300 baht, WiFi for 300 baht and a huge fridge for 500 baht all for a month.

The hotel room is 950-1000 baht a night!! And is not much better then the residence you only have free water on the hallway, clean towels everyday, clean bed sheets and housekeeping (and WiFi and a TV).


Another fun thing is that the gym is located on street away from the studio's of Channel 7, so every Sunday you can go watch the muay thai fights there for free. And another thing is that farang gets the best (reserved) seats right in the view of the camera. Probably because they won't gamble and so that Channel 7 can show that it is crowded with farang on TV, but they are all located in one spot haha

I hope someone has had some benefit from this. If someone wants to know more you just let me know.

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

Wow, clinching so much in AM and PM, no wonder they are so good!

[515]

Wow, clinching so much in AM and PM, no wonder they are so good!

They are machines  :ohmy:

 

Something to add in what I write down earlier:

Moslty (in my time being there) they had 2-6 farang training at the gym, and in the afternoons they had a photographer who take pics and video's and post them over here: https://www.facebook.com/f.a.group.muaythai

[Éva Pataki]

It's interesting that they clinch more than spar... or is this "normal" in the thai gyms?

[RamónRivera]

It looks a  pretty solid training programme, specially for clinch, a weakness in almost all farangs (at  least in my country). Thank you for the info!

[515]

It's interesting that they clinch more than spar... or is this "normal" in the thai gyms?

I can't speak for all gyms, but it seems to be normal in a lot of Thai gyms.

I think they spar not so much to avoid injuries because they fight for money mostly and don't want to get an injury from training and be unable to fight.

And they fight very frequently so for them it is not needed that much, I think.

 

It looks a  pretty solid training programme, specially for clinch, a weakness in almost all farangs (at  least in my country). Thank you for the info!

 

Yes in the most western country's there is a lack of clinching in their training (the same for mine).

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

It's interesting that they clinch more than spar... or is this "normal" in the thai gyms?

At my gym(s) way more time is spent in clinch than in sparring. Sparring is generally three rounds, so about 15 minutes, but clinching is rarely less than 30 minutes and often an hour.

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

They are machines  :ohmy:

 

Something to add in what I write down earlier:

Moslty (in my time being there) they had 2-6 farang training at the gym, and in the afternoons they had a photographer who take pics and video's and post them over here: https://www.facebook.com/f.a.group.muaythai

Thanks for the link to the pictures; very cool.

[Éva Pataki]

So, I trained for 2 weeks in this gym. It was awesome. 

I'm really sorry that we travelled to Koh Samui after 2 weeks, because there wasn't a good training (or after this hardcore experience in Fa Group, everything seemed too light :D ), only turists... But we didn't have enough money to go back to BKK :) 
 

We hated Bangkok, seriously, this district (Chatuchak, Mo Chit) is so dirty, crowded, depressive. Nothing to do between or after the trainings, like a prison. 

But the training... I loved it so much. I'm a clincher, so this place was a paradise, even if the youngest,12 year old boy smashed me easily :)  There wasn't other woman, just a russian girl, but she just did padwork and bagwork. So I was the only woman, who gone to the ring every day and clinched with the boys.  It wasn't easy, because they don't use to clinch with girls, so they were embarrassed and laughed, and in the first days they didn't really want to spar or clinch with me. 

But slowly they realized that I wouldn't cry if they throw me or knee me.

After a few days it was better, they said: "You are strong", "muay khao", and it was the best feeling :D 

 

[Phil]

Hi,

first time poster!

Im looking to go at this gym in november for 3 weeks. I have been in contact with someone over there by Facebook but communication is difficult, when I asked if I needed to reserve a place or just show up I was answered with a thumb up. My question is: should I press them or just show up at the gym? How did you get in touch with them?

thank you

[515]

Hi,

first time poster!

Im looking to go at this gym in november for 3 weeks. I have been in contact with someone over there by Facebook but communication is difficult, when I asked if I needed to reserve a place or just show up I was answered with a thumb up. My question is: should I press them or just show up at the gym? How did you get in touch with them?

thank you

 

Just show up will be fine probably, because you need Thai help to get a place at SL Residence (or you can search another place if you want).

I took the railway (from the airport) to BTS Mo Chit and than got to the gym by taxi and then they showed me the way to a hotel close by so I stayed there for 3 nights to be sure that the gym was what I was looking for before renting a room almost next to it for a month and than change to another gym...

If I decided to stay they showed me the way to SL an helped me to arrange the room.

[Phil]

awesome, thanks!

[Bez Collins]

 

 

Thanks for your post.

I lost this thread a bit, since I'm back in Belgium already a long time.

 

I'm not a good writer (and for sure not in English) but I will do my best.

Gym:

In my eyes FA Group is a really good gym.

A place where woman are also welcomed to train, also in the ring! They also provide a beginners class (wich mostly are woman I think I've seen).

The environment is really good and friendly. Two of the trainers speaks good English and two others can speak a bit basic English but they can make you understand what they mean so that's no problem.

The fighters at the gym are very open and friendly but they don't speak English but you can still make fun and have basic communications. The owner speaks English as well and is very friendly."

They have a matted floor (upgraded to the whole floor when I was there) and a big ring to train in, 5 bags, a wall mounted uppercut pad, a mirrored wall, pull up bar, weights, sit up benches, a stationary bike, ... Not the most clean gym they say but clean enough for sure!! You can bring your own drinks or share the water cups at the gym.

Training:

Training hours: Morning training 6h-10h and afternoon training 15h-18h.

The training starts of with a run always you can choose to join it or not. I would recommend to just do it. They take the van to go to Chatuchak park wich is a really big park in Bangkok with beautiful nature, and a lot of active people from young to old. The park is opened at 4:30 in the morning and closes at 21h and really worth a visit besides training. They have a shop at the entrance where you can get water for 8 baht or a sportdrink. There are is a sort of security at the park and a lot of workers who keep the park really clean.

They run something from 2,5-10 km in the morning and 2,5-8 km in the evening. the good thing is you can rest a bit in the van and can give 100% again when you are back at the gym.

After the running they skip ropes for 15 minutes, than they start clinching for I think 20-40minutes in the morning and 30-60 minutes in the evening.

After the clinching the pad work starts and if you aren't busy on the pads you can work on the bag the same like after your padwork. The rounds on the pads are 3-5 minutes and mostly you get 3 rounds.

After that you are a bit free on your own to do what you like, not like in some other gyms where they order you to do this or that followed by that. So if you want to waste time you can do that or just work on the bag or go for some shadowboxing. The people from the gym will help you with correcting your technique or tell you what to do.

Sometimes you can just follow the Thai's and join in with there training.

If you want to fight and you train good, they can arrange that for you also.

Accommodation:

The people from the gym also can help you to get a room at a residence on walking distance from the gym (SL Residence, 1-2 minutes walking) or a hotel room close by since they have no on-camp accommodation. If you go on your own to SL they will say they are full and there are no rooms available anymore that's because we are farang... If someone of the gym goes with you they have rooms left haha

I would say go for the residence; it is 6000 baht a month excluded from energy- and water-usage.

You get a room with A/C, a balcony, double bed,shower, toilet, desk, one big closet and a small one (TV table thing, without TV).

They also can provide you with bed sheets and pillows for like 300 baht, WiFi for 300 baht and a huge fridge for 500 baht all for a month.

The hotel room is 950-1000 baht a night!! And is not much better then the residence you only have free water on the hallway, clean towels everyday, clean bed sheets and housekeeping (and WiFi and a TV).

 

 

Another fun thing is that the gym is located on street away from the studio's of Channel 7, so every Sunday you can go watch the muay thai fights there for free. And another thing is that farang gets the best (reserved) seats right in the view of the camera. Probably because they won't gamble and so that Channel 7 can show that it is crowded with farang on TV, but they are all located in one spot haha

I hope someone has had some benefit from this. If someone wants to know more you just let me know.

 

 

Hello 515, Thank you for this review. How is the food in the area? Price, Variety etc...

[515]

Hello 515, Thank you for this review. How is the food in the area? Price, Variety etc...

 

You can find really good food on walking distance (or go anywhere by BTS or taxi, also close by).

The classic street eating stalls, a street full. So enough variety and the price over there is 40-65 baht for a dish. You also have some restaurants in the area which mean better seats (or A/C) but they are also a bit more expensive and I like the street vendors' food more.

 

Tapas cafe, at BTS stop Nana got delicious paella :D