In 1993, Sifu McInnes was the first Westerner to be become an official referee at Lumpinee stadium. If you do a search for Ramon Dekkers vs Jomhod on Youtube, you’ll see him working the famous fight.

Sifu McInnes also has an impressive reputation for training fighters, and he received an award from the Prince of Thailand for his achievements.

In 1991, he took on a young 15 year old Thai boy who aspired to become a champion. His name was Yodsanan and after a few years of training with Sifu McInnes, and having never fought before McInnes started training him, he captured the PABA super featherweight boxing title and eventually went on to become a WBA world champion.

At the time of this writing, Yodsanan has a 51-3-1 record (Western boxing) and is working as a trainer at Evolve MMA in Singapore. You can look up Yodsanan “Sityodtong/Sor Nantthachai/3k Battery” or “Yodsanan Mini Tyson” to watch some of his fights.

With Yodsanan showing such dramatic improvements, Yodtong Senanan (founder of the Sityodtong camp and trainer to more Muay Thai champions than anyone else in the history of Muay Thai), requested that McInnes take on another young boy he had at his camp. His name was Yodumlung and under the his guidance, he also captured a WBA boxing title.

Sifu McInnes also had success as a Muay Thai trainer as his teachings helped contribute to the success of Sakmongkol Sithchuchok (5x WMC World champion and 3x Lumpinee stadium champion) and Chatchai Paiseetong (3x Lumpinee stadium champion who represented the Sityodtong camp).

Sakmongkol, who is now viewed as a living legend for his achievements during the “golden age” of the sport, is currently working as a trainer at WKO.

Location

The WKO gym is centrally located on Pattaya Klang, which runs from the main Sukhumvit road down to the beach. If you’re coming from the beach, the gym will be on your right hand side, just after you pass the Big C on the left side. The reverse applies if you’re going down Pattaya Klang from Sukhumvit (the gym will be on your left side before you reach the Big C shopping center on your right). The exact address is 503/16 M9 Pattaya Klang Rd.

Accommodation

The gym doesn’t provide accommodation but with a central location, and Pattaya’s convenient “baht bus” system, you can easily commute to the gym from most areas of the city. Accommodation, both short and long term, is quite easily found in Pattaya.

Training Info and Photos

As mentioned above, Sakmongkol is working as a trainer here so you may have a chance to work with one of the best fighters of his time. Important to note is that there isn’t a morning training session here, which partially explains the low cost for training at approximately 4000 baht per month. Based on my experience, this is very much a gym where you’ll get back what you put in.

You can do drop in session where you just smash pads with a trainer and leave shortly after, or you can explain to the trainers what you’re hoping to get out of the session (focus on clinching or certain techniques) and they’ll accommodate you.

The most comprehensive resource on training at the WKO gym is on Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu’s blog. She has an excellent series on there entitled “training with Sakmongkol“, which documents her time training at WKO.

Most of the students training here are local Thai’s and many of them are quite young. That being said, former Omnoi stadium champion and Lumpinee vet “Por Tor Thor” trains here so if you want a strong Thai to clinch with, I’m sure he would oblige and throw you around a bit.

Roongroj Petchrungruang also trains here and fights at approximately 68-70kg. At the time of this writing, he has a record of 147-48 and recently was showcased on the Thai Fight promotion.

Sudsakorn’s manager, Filippo Cinti, is involved with the gym so there are days when Sudsakorn will come over from the Sor Klinmee gym and help some of the fighters with their training (Sudsakorn is shown in the photo above).

Location

The gym is located in Pattaya, on a quiet street off the main Sukhumvit road. Click here to view a map created by Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu and click here to read the detailed review of Petchrungruang she wrote on her website. If you would like to train here, you can contact Mr. Piyawath @ 08-6147-3166.

Accommodation

Finding accommodation in Pattaya is not very hard. There are apartments near the gym and since transportation in Pattaya is made easy via “baht busses” that circulate the city, you don’t necessarily have to stay right next to the gym either as the commute there for training shouldn’t be too difficult.

Training Info and Photos

This is an authentic gym and they follow a typical training schedule. When I was there, the owner was explaining to me that the young Thai fighters train very early in the mornings before they go to school. The available training times listed on the website are from 4pm-8pm, so there’s a possibility that only the afternoon session is available to foreigners (I suggest you give Mr. Piyawath a call or just show up in person if you want more details on that).

For the afternoon sessions, you’ll go for a run, skip, shadowbox and do some bag work and then you’ll get called into the ring for pads. It’s not a very busy gym so I imagine you would get a full 5 rounds (though I’m not entirely sure). Following pad work, you can do some clinching with the Thai fighters if you’d like and then close out the session with some stretches and cool down exercises. The listed costs for training are 300 baht per session, 1500 baht per week and 4000 baht per month.

Location

The gym is in a pretty convenient location about a 15 minute walk from second road in North Pattaya. Here is a map you can use to find it.

Accommodation

The gym is located in an area that’s very easily accessible from central Pattaya so you can pretty much stay anywhere you want in the city and get to the gym for your sessions without much hassle. If you wanted to stay right next to the gym, there’s an inexpensive Thai style apartment directly across the street that probably rents rooms for around 6000 baht per month or so and if you wanted to spend a bit more and get a more luxurious room, you can look into the Navin Mansion, which is located right next to the gym.

Training Info & Photos

There are two sessions per day here and the training is pretty laid back. It’s a new gym (at the time of this writing) so there’s just a few trainers working since they don’t have to accommodate a large number of students yet.

If you want to run before the sessions, you can. You could probably run along beach road if you wanted too. Once you’re at the gym, you basically skip or shadowbox to warm up and then you’ll go through rounds on the bag and rounds with the trainer for pad work.

Once that’s done, Stephane will pair people up and show some techniques. This will be followed up by maybe some light sparring and a cool down. The cost for training 5000 baht per month or 300 baht per session.

The Pattaya location is where Yodsanklai Fairtex trains. Yodsanklai is a 2x WMC champion, WBC champion, Thailand champion and multiple division champion at Lumpinee stadium. In other words, he’s one of the best fighters in the world and you’ll have the chance to train alongside him at the Pattaya facility.

This gym is set up more like a resort than a traditional Muay Thai gym. There is a swimming pool, a fully equipped fitness center, a tennis, squash and badminton court, a basketball court, a rock climbing wall, a restaurant and juice bar, sauna and in terms of Muay Thai equipment, there are 4 full sized rings as well as a large area equipped with heavy bags.

Location

The gym is in a pretty good location that’s far enough from all the distractions that Pattaya is known for, yet it’s convenient enough to easily head to the beach or the central part of the city for some dining and entertainment options. I believe the fighters run along the beach to kick off their training sessions so that gives you an idea of how close it is.

The gym is also along the baht bus route (10 baht per ride) so commuting around the city is pretty easy. It’s in the North end of Pattaya (located along North Pattaya road). Here is a map you can use to find the gym.

Accommodation

As mentioned above, this place is pretty much a fitness resort and they offer on-site rooms. If you’re just in for a short vacation, staying on site would be great but if you’re staying long term, you may be able to save quite a bit of money by touring around the area and looking for an apartment that offers monthly rates. There are plenty of nearby accommodation options and even if you have to venture away from the gym a little bit, it’s not a big problem due to the ease of transportation within Pattaya (gym located right along the baht bus route).

Training Info & Photos

The training at Fairtex Pattaya consists of 2 sessions per day. The morning session starts off with a non-mandatory run along the beach. If you choose to do this, you’ll be running alongside the top fighters. Once you get back at the gym, you’ll go through your pad work (5×4 minute rounds), your bag work as well as some sparring and/or clinching. The morning session follows a similar route only there’s no run along the beach to kick things off (unless you want to do it on your own time of course).

Location

Sitpholek is located in Pattaya up on the main Sukhumvit road at soi 34. Here is some more information on the location. Oddly enough their own homepage doesn’t provide an address.

Accommodation

The gym doesn’t provide any on-site rooms for students but there are plenty of options to choose from within walking distance. Your best bet is to just have a look around the area while you’re there. Pattaya is a very convenient city in terms of transportation (good “baht bus” system that usually costs only 10 baht per ride) so once you get familiar with the routes, getting around is pretty easy.

Training Info & Photos

The first section of Sitpholek is a weight training gym and the Muay Thai section is in the back. It’s not a big training area by any means but it gets the job done and the price is right at just 270 baht per session (including access to the free weights) or just 3500 baht per month.

As for as the training routine goes, it’s not that structured so nobody is going to hold your hand and make you do anything. A bit of self motivation is necessary. If you want to run before training, that’s up to you. Otherwise, you just show up to the gym, pay the training fee, warm up with some skipping and bag work and then a trainer will put you through your rounds on the pads. At which point, if you want to do some clinching or sparring, just partner up with someone else in the gym (usually some high level guys in there) and do your own thing.

Some of the champions produced at Sityodtong are Samart Payakaroon (4x lumpinee champion, WBC champion) who now runs Poptheeratham Gym, Kongtoranee Payakaroon (5x lumpinee champion) who now works at Evolve in Singapore, Nuengpichit Sityodtong (former lumpinee and WMC champion) and Yoddecha Sityodtong (also a WMC champion who now works at Evolve in Singapore).

Many of the champions that have been produced by Yodtong Senanan were orphans who were brought into the camp, provided for and given the opportunity to succeed. Yodtong Senanan won the lottery twice, and spent his winnings on food and shelter for his stable of fighters.

Location

Sityodtong is located in Pattaya, but in an isolated location away from the hustle and bustle of the city. To get there from central Pattaya, head up “Pattaya Klang” road until it intersects with the main Sukhumvit road. Across that street will be Sukhumvit 53, which is the road you would go down to get to Sor Klinmee gym.

Rather than heading down Sukhumvit 53, head down the road to the left of it (if facing the road) and get a motorbike taxi driver to take you to Sityodtong from there (they all seem to know where it is at that point, yet you’ll have a hard time finding a motorbike taxi driver who knows where it is from the city).

From the Sukhumvit road, it’s only about a 10 minute ride. Just pay attention to how to get there so you can get there on your own the next time (if you have a motorbike).

Accommodation

If you want to be where the action is, then stay in the city and commute to training. If you still want the convenience of having a lot of food options (even late into the night), yet don’t want to deal with the temptation associated with staying right in the city, then stay up on Sukhumvit road around the turn off towards Sityodtong, which is a good mid-point between the gym and the city and there are plenty of places to stay here.

Training Info & Photos

The majority of the champions that have been produced here have moved on (they’re either working on other countries or have started up their own gyms). That being said, they are working on producing the next generation of young fighters.

As a foreigner wanting to train here, you just need to show up during the training sessions and book your time with a trainer. You’ll sign in upon arrival, pay the 250 baht training fee (which hasn’t been increased in years) and you’ll get a good amount of pad time in with one of the trainers. Of course, you can run, skip and do bag work before you get called for pads by the trainer (what you do before pads is entirely up to you).

After pads, you can get some sparring and clinching in if you choose too. If the trainers aren’t busy, they’re fit enough to go through the motions with you or if they’re busy, they can match you up with other students training in the gym.

Location

The Golden Glory gym in Pattaya is located between Pattaya and Jomtein beach. To get there, you can either take a motorbike (obviously), or alternatively, you can get there via a baht bus as the gym is situated along the route (this way will cost you just 10-20 baht).

The landmark you should be looking for is Mata Hari restaurant. If you’re heading towards Jomtein from Pattaya, Mata Hari will be on your left hand side and if you’re heading towards Pattaya from Jomtein, Mata Hari will be on your right hand side.

From Mata Hari, just head straight down Soi 15 and you’ll see the Golden Glory gym about 100 meters down the road. Here is a map you can use if you get confused.

Accommodation

According to their website, they are building on-site rooms with air conditioning right at the gym but given the location, and how easy it is to get there via the baht busses, you can stay all over the city pretty much and still be able to get to the training sessions fairly easily.

There are condos available for rent right by the gym (I imagine for around 15,000 baht per month or so) and if you want a less expensive alternative, there are plenty of options.. just walk around the area and see what kind of deals you can negotiate.

Training Info & Photos

The training here is priced quite fairly. Unlike a lot of gyms, they give you the option to pay for 1 session per day instead of forcing you to pay an all inclusive rate. For unlimited training, the price is fairly standard at 8000 baht per month but if you’re only training once per day, you can pay 4500 baht for the month.

As far as the training goes, nobody is going to hold your hand here and guide you through the workout. As the standard, you’ll get your pad time with the trainer (usually 5 rounds) and everything else is pretty much up to you. You’ll do the warm up on your own, the bag work on your own, the pad work with the trainer and from there, you can find a partner to do some clinching or sparring if you’re up for it. The trainers will spar with you providing they’re not busy at the time.

The gym itself is rather modest (a bit run down, 2 rings and a couple bags) but the quality of the training is what matters and that’s the main focus.

Location

The Cho. Nateetong gym is located up off Sukhumvit soi 31 (here is a map). It’s in a quiet, residential area away from the crazy nightlife that Pattaya is known for. If you want to focus entirely on training with any distractions, it may be best to stay in the area near the gym but if you want to have more entertainment options, you can stay closer to the beach area and just commute up to the gym for training (getting to the gym isn’t that difficult once you find your bearings and familiarize yourself with the area).

Accommodation

As mentioned above, whether you choose to stay up near the gym or down towards the beach area (which is more lively and provides more entertainment options) depends entirely on your needs.

For a distraction free training environment, you’ll be able to find inexpensive accommodation up around the gym. Alternatively, if you want to mix a little partying (and general convenience) in with your training routine, stay in the central area and just commute to the gym for your training sessions.

Training Info & Photos

The training here is run 2x per day and 6x per week (Sunday as the rest day). The morning session runs from 8am-10:30am and the afternoon session runs from 4pm-7pm. The training sessions consist of the usual (jogging, pad work, bag work, sparring etc.).

Thappaya’s brother was a Lumpinee stadium champion as well as a WBA boxing world champion. It doesn’t stop there though; Thappaya is also the uncle to Thai fight veteran Sudsakorn Sor Klinmee (world champion) and Rambaa Somdet (K1 vet and MMA fighter who currently holds a 10-2 record). In short, you don’t want to be the guy starting shit at their family reunion.

Accommodation

As mentioned above, the gym is located on the outskirts of Pattaya so you can either stay by the gym or in the city and commute back and forth. If you’re comfortable on a motorbike, either option will be convenient for you (your selection would just depend on what your priorities are).

There is plenty of affordable accommodation options all along Sukhumvit 53 (plenty of food options as well) and the gym offers accommodation as well. The cost for accommodation at the gym ranges from 5000-7500 baht per month depending on whether or not you choose a fan room or a room with air conditioning.

Alternatively, if you choose to stay closer to the beaches and commute to training, you’ll have plenty of options from low cost Thai style all the way up to luxury condos.

Training Information & Photos

Like most Thai style gyms, the listed training regime seems grueling but keep in mind that it will be adapted based on your fitness level and you won’t be obligated to follow the routine exactly. The training routine, as listed on their website, consists of two sessions.

The first session runs from 5am-8am (because the young kids have to get to school) and the afternoon session runs from 4pm-7pm. The morning session consists of mostly running (13km) along with some technique and conditioning. The afternoon session consists of a shorter run (6km) and from there, the routine is pretty standard and includes 5 rounds on the pads, along with some sparring and clinching if you want it.