I’ve lived in Pattaya for 3 years now and finding good quality, reasonably priced equipment has proven a little difficult. There are a few different shops around, but they’re not very easy to find and the quality can be all over the place. There’s Fairtex over on North Pattaya road, right out in front of the resort complex where the gym resides. I do like the Fairtex brand, something I turn to for things like shin guards, but the shop is very small and everything is, of course, only Fairtex brand. Good quality but can be expensive and there’s not a lot of variety. On the other end of the scale are shops like Florida Boxing, which is down by the night markets on 2nd Road, it’s difficult to find and while there’s a lot of stuff in there it’s kind of random and piecemeal. It’s like the discount surplus store with a few expensive brand names and a lot of off-brand options that are of disparate quality – you can get cheap options, but somehow the volume of what they have feels more like they just don’t have something you’d want.
above, my video walk through the Woody Muay Thai shop in Pattaya
The Woody Muay Thai shop I’m writing about is relatively new, and is I think the best Muay Thai equipment store option in Pattaya. Yes, you may find better options in Bangkok, but in Pattaya it is a pleasant surprise. A few months ago Kevin had happened upon it when he was walking and mentioned it to me as a place we should check out, but we never got around to it. Then my trainer, Kru Nu, was talking about the shop and how he was picking up some very small gloves for his 3-year-old son Nat (he’s going to begin training soon) and some pads and gloves for the gym. I’ve been hitting those Woody pads for the past couple weeks and they’re really nice. The pair Pi Nu has are real leather (like in the video), as are his focus mitts, and the gloves that the boys are using are this beautiful blue color that I love. The Thai pads seem like they’d hold up far better than the last pair Kru Nu bought (he’d agreed to replace the stinky pair I was suffering through if I won my next fight, which I did, but those replacement pads got worn out pretty quickly) and they have a kind of minimal bounce that makes them not too hard, but also – and maybe this is because they’re real leather – the actual surface of them is soft, or supple, so it doesn’t slap against your shin. I like that a lot.
the mongkol and prajet they have for sale
So today Kevin and I decided to go see if this shop had elbow pads, but the minute we walked in and saw how much stuff was in there, and how eye-catching so much of it was, we decided to film a walk-through. The folks at the register were very helpful and nice – I spoke Thai with them but their English seemed pretty good, definitely enough to conduct business in the shop and likely getting orders done for custom shorts or larger orders. The design on a lot of the shirts and shorts were unique, tons of color options on gloves, unique finds like kinesiology sports tape (never seen that sold on-hand anywhere in Thailand), altitude training masks, elbow/knee pads, jump ropes, weight cutting “sauna suits”, gym bags, Namman Muay “Thai oil”, heavy bags, running tights, tiny kid-sized gloves, MMA gloves and shorts, and all of the gloves, pads, bellypads, bodypads, shinpads and equipment you’d expect. And my favorite Lumpinee tank top was there, in stock, and also had a Rajadanmnern seal version, which made me very happy because I’ve never seen that. They have a few different brand names to offer variety, but not to the extent that it’s overwhelming – just a few to choose from and very nice quality even on the lower end of the cost scale. Most of the gloves and pads are Woody brand, which isn’t going to have the brand-recognition of Top King (also in the shop), but it’s a good quality brand and pretty much identical to Top King but with a different logo.
Pattaya is really starting to surge as a Muay Thai training destination with MAX Muay Thai pouring lots of resources into their stadium and promotion, and flagship brand name gyms like Venum or Fairtex trying to up their offering, and new small gyms popping up every few months it seems. It is great to have a nice little shop crammed full of high quality equipment and apparel added to the the growing scene.
Some Woody brand shorts, off the rack
Twins brand shorts, really nice quality and good price – never seen that dragon pattern before
Top King body pads, very cool color and design
Twins bellypad – I just loved this color, like dried blood or kind of burgundy
Custom orders are available, which is a huge plus that isn’t an option at the other shops I’ve seen, as well as wholesale orders. They’re located on Pattaya Klang (Center Road), between 2nd Road and Soi Buakaw. You can see their equipment on their Instagram feed and contact them through Facebook (there aren’t a lot of posts on that page, but they respond to direct messages). You can email at both woodymuaythai@gmail.com or oun_woodymuaythai@hotmail.com – you can contact in English. And if you’re in Thailand and want to call, the number for English is +66(0)800760474
Location – Map
