Hey,
I live in Thailand doing Muay Thai; I'll give a review on these 2 gyms, but I'm full of other knowledge; if people have questions then don't be afraid to ask.
Tiger Muay Thai and MMA, Chalong, Phuket
Muay Thai, MMA & Thai Boxing training Camp Phuket Thailand - Welcome to Tiger Muay Thai
I trained at Tiger for 9 months. I lived there for 1 month; the other 8 months I had an apartment.
Accomodation:
A few levels depending on luxury. Basic is 5,000 a month; single bed with fan and TV/DVD player; shared toilet and shower facilities.
Better accomodation is available on site with air con and also private toilet and shower and double bed, TV/DVD player.
Many nearby bungalows have slightly better accomodation for the same prices and may also have swimming pool.
Training:
Training is broken into 3 classes; beginner, intermediate and fighter; so you should have partners at your own level.
Start off with either a 30 minute in depth technique class where the trainers will explain slowly very complex techniques and you drill them slowly with a compliant partner; good for learning new things and taking them in.
Or you could do a 30 minute run instead. Up to you.
Then, about 20 minutes skipping or tyre jumping (you can show up late half way through this bit if you're not a cardio enthusiast).
A few warm up stretches.
Shadow for several minutes.
Do some technique work; lets say you have Boxing sparring coming up, so you'll do some non compliant Boxing drills. Muay Thai sparring; do some kick block practice.
Then you do either sparring or clinching depending on the day; Monday, Wednesday and Friday are sparring (Boxing in the morn, Muay Thai in the arvo); Tuesday and Thursday are clinching. Saturday has niether of these exercises.
It's usually 3 - 4 rounds of sparring/clinching. I think about 4 minutes long.
After that, 3 rounds on pads, 3 rounds on bags; about 4 minute rounds.
Then do some drills; maybe 200 kicks on each leg on the bag. 200 knees. Something like that.
Then finish up with about 200 sit ups and about 100 push ups and some warm down stretches.
Then you have to do the gay gym thing, say "1, 2, 3, TIGER" with your hands in the middle with everyones in a circle and throw them up in a huge *** fest as you yell out Tiger... homos.
Morning and arvos are the same drills, pretty much.
I dunno about MMA training; I never did it. But Ray Elbe is both good on teaching fitness and explains grappling very in depth; I watched him training a lot and I doubt you metro assed man huggers will be dissapointed.
So, I thought the training was alright. Most people who're not pro had trouble doing 2 sessions a day. The sessions are 3 and a half hours long, so a lot to do for some newbies. No one's going to stop you if you're tired and wander off half way through the session, anyway.
A lot of people complained it was too cardio intense and not technical enough. I don't really agree. I would prefer more power work, but it's up to you.
The gym also has a professional body builder and an impressive weights facility; he's there to help you in the same times the classes are on to do weights.
Tiger is the biggest gym in Thailand. It does have authentic trainers, but it is very commercial. Best facilities in Thailand, but it is very commercial. You will learn to fight here, but it is very COMMERCIAL>>>
Food:
It has it's own little restaurant on site. Food is okay. They double the price for non Thais; racist bastards. That's why I left; I have a Thai step son. I thought his breakfast looked pretty fucking good, so I ordered the same meal for lunch. It cost him, a Thai, 40 THB. But speacial price for me (even though I'm not a tourist) was 80 THB. I was gone the next day; this kind of pricing is not real Muay Thai. No familyness in the air; Muay Thai gyms, traditionally, are like a commune. Muay Thai is communist; everything is shared round and there's a lot of love. You don't get that at these tourists gyms, and it wasn't what i was after.
But yes, their food is good... maybe a bit small portions, but...
Price:
Price is standrad for a tourist gym. You could stay on site with training for about 15,000 THB a month. Buy your own food elsewhere; a lower class tourist could make it in Phuket at Tiger for 30,000 a month. A tourist who likes to see the sights more might want 40 - 50,000 THB a month. It really depends on you. But I would not expect to make it on less than 30 at this place. Fucking expensive.
Location:
Miles from the beach. The gym itself is very quiet and tranquil with few distractions, but Sinbi and Rawaii are better options for beach lovers.
Given Tiger is remote for Phuket, you'll want to rent a small motorbike (many people do this, it's not hard to learn to drive these little scooters, don't be scared, but do be safe). I think about 5,000 a month for one of these thingys in automatic. Manual is cheaper.
Iff you don't have a motorbike, taxi price will kill you every time you go out.
Overview:
Many people are happy with Tiger. It did not grow to be the biggest gym in Thailand by being a shit gym. But I was not very happy. The training wasn't bad and some of the trainers were cool guys, but it just wasn't my style. It's modernized Muay Thai and I don't like leaving the tradition behind.
I suspect a lot of you American MMA fans will like it a lot. People who're more consumerist capitalist dicks, like Americans. I mean, the owner is an American. But for those who're more interested in authentic Muay Thai and learning about the Thai people, stay away from Phuket for fux sake. I'd recommend Kiat Phon Thip, which already has a review here, if you want a tourist friendly yet still traditional camp.
But yeah, it's good for the right person.
Muay Thai Institute, Rangsit, Bangkok
Fuck me. What a fucking shit fight of a gym.
I'm not going to properly review this place, as it does not deserve it, I'll just give you the basic run down:
The gym is a McDojo; it provides packaged training for foreigners and gives them certificates of achievements to prove their "qualification".
I learned Muay Thai basics here; I did their first 3 courses. After that, I met someone on the internet who told me a lot about Muay Thai, and then I moved to Tiger.
You should not accept certificates of achievement for Muay Thai; it is not traditional and it will eventually contribute to the McDojoization of Muay Thai. If a gym is offering certs, fuck off from there.
There were no pro Thai fighters at the gym. The foreigners who came to fight there would fight other people from the gym (the gym doubles as a stadium, and they host dodgey Muay Thai shows for retarded Chinese tourists who come on tour buses). So you fight your friend; real cool.
The training itself, I did not do much sparring. I don't like sparring, anyway. But I think I only spar 3 times there.
You will learn to kick and punch correctly, but you will not learn clinching. You will not learn complex techniques or tricks.
The training is okay for fitness, actually. The pad rounds are 5 minutes long and you get 3 every lesson.
They did teach me some good drills, but this was not enough to make up for the other stuff.
The accomodation was fucking expensive; 500 THB a night. That's 15,000 THB a month. Get fucked.
They also gave my passport details out online to a nobody who randomly asked for them coz they new I trainer there. Get fucked.
The only thing the gym is good for is they offer courses to become a "qualified" instructor. This is pure McDojoism, and I don't like it. However, it can be a lot easier for a Western man to get his insurance in the West if he's got a official certificate recognized by the ministry of education, Thailand.
However, you should understand, they will "qualify" you as an instructor after only 5 pro fights. No Thai kid would learn from you if you only had 5 fights; they'd laugh at you. In Thailand, there is no official qualification, but no one will pay attention to you if you've less than about 100 fights.
In my view, you're not a qualified teacher in the West if you've less than 30 pro fights.
So yeah, this gym ain't proper.
Also, look at this shit:
Welcome to www.muaythai-institute.net
Welcome To www.muaythai-institute.net
Ity does not take Miss Katie Estigher to figure that they're pretty fucking racist in pricing; but most gyms are. Yet I had a particular disgust for the bodacity of this shit.
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So what gyms do I recommend?
Por Pramuk, Chachoengsao
::: Por Pramuk Gym :::
Kiat Phon Thip, Bangkok outskirts
KiatphontipGym Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) Gym :: Home
Why? They check the following boxes which are what you should be looking for when looking for a gym in Thailand to learn authentic Muay Thai:
Traditional
They have pro Thai fighters WHO ARE NOT TRAINERS fighting hardcore to set and example to you
Non commercial; family atmosphere that will make it much more pleasant and is the key to a fighter gyms success in Thailand (communism!)
Other stuff like this. But you'd be surprised how many gyms fail to tick important boxes like these (Tiger and the MTI don't tick these boxes).
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As for me, I ended up in a backwater gym out in the sticks where I could train for free and live cheaply and fight professionally; career development is different than being a Muay Thai tourist and requires different advice. Ask if you want it.
I like the gym I'm at now better. Traditional and Hardcore Muay Thai.