For that reason, I’ve put together a mini-guidebook called “10 Tips for Training in Thailand”. The book is completely free and I’m hoping you’ll find it useful.

The manual covers topics such as the common scams to avoid, what to pack, tips on where to say and how to save money.

There are also sections in the book discussing basic Thai culture, tips on getting around the country and of course, I’ve included a section on relationships with locals and how not to get played.

Perhaps the most useful section is the information on obtaining the right Thai visa depending on how long you’re planning on staying.

At 10 pages, the book is an easy, clutter-free read that gets right to the point.

If you’d like a copy of it, simply input your name and email into the form below and click “Send It To Me Now!”.

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Nai and his family made headlines at the end of 2010 when his 7 month old daughter, Tuptim, needed a liver transplant in order to have any chance at survival. The $50,000 dollars needed for the operation was well beyond what the family could afford. Nai’s students, coworkers and peers started doing everything they could to raise money and awareness for the cause.

In a brilliant act of desperation, one of Nai’s former students at Tiger Muay Thai, Ben Pittsley, posted a thread in the “UG” (a popular mixed martial arts discussion forum), calling on UFC president Dana White to pay for the surgery. He did! In his own words..

“On weekends I never get on a computer because I’m hanging with my kids. But one Saturday and I remember like it was yesterday, I walked by my computer at home and something just pulled me to it, and I know this sounds fucking weird and I’m not religious, but I got on the UG that day.

Ben talked to me that day in that post in a way that I communicate. He basically said, “Dana, a little girl is going to die in four weeks if she doesn’t have $50,000 for this surgery and you should pay for it.” I read that thing and it was like a punch right in the face and I said you know what “He’s right, I should fuckin’ do this.” And it was two of the greatest decisions I have ever made in my life. 1.To get on the computer that day. 2. To pay for that surgery. One of the greatest things that has ever happened to me!”

– Dana White

Because of Dana White’s act of generosity, as well as Ben’s determination to raise the money, Tuptim is in good health and can be found roaming around the gym with a big smile on her face.

Location

Rattachai gym is located in Chalong, just one street down from Soi Taied – which is where Tiger Muay Thai, Dragon and Phuket Top Team are located. To get to the gym from Soi Taied, you need to exit the road from the Tiger Muay Thai side, hang a left, then turn left again at the first set of lights. Rattachai will be on your right hand side a couple hundred meters down. The address is 49/3 Moo 5 Soi Luang Pho Chuang, Chalong, Muang, Phuket 83000 and the phone number is 0933-986-688.

Accommodation

There is an abundance of accommodation options on, and around, the Soi Taied road to pick from – all of which are suitable if you’re training at Rattachai since it’s so close. There is also an apartment called Nayai Resort which is located directly next to the Rattachai gym. Alternatively, if you wanted to save money, you could just cruise around the area on a motorbike and check out some places in person. The longer you stay the cheaper the rates will be.

Training Photos

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Videos

Rattachai Gym Videos

Rattachai Muay Thai Gym - Muay Thai Techniques #1 Up Elbow

02:02

Rattachai Muay Thai Gym - Speed kick by Kru Chaiyok

00:38

"Rattachai Muay Thai" GYM, Phuket, Thailand

02:52

(OneSongchai)Tukatathong Por.Pongsawang Vs Rattanachai Wor.Valaphol

02:40

Training Info

Like most gyms, there are two training sessions per day at Rattachai. The morning session starts at 8am and the afternoon session starts at 4pm. The sessions usually consist of some skipping and a brief warm up with some shadowboxing, followed by some technique instruction.

Students will then do 3-4 rounds of pad work with either Kru Nai or one of the trainers employed by the gym.

Following pad work, students will either do some conditioning exercises or some clinching to finish off the session. It’s a very laid back atmosphere.

With the growing popularity, they have been able to bring in some very accomplished trainers (details below) and develop a strong MMA fight team that competes throughout Asia and globally.

There’s a popular video series called Phuket Dreaming (viewable below) that is filmed at, and around Phuket Top Team by Issac Kesington (Genghis Con Films). If you’re thinking about training at Phuket Top Team, or Thailand in general, I’d recommend you check it out to get some insight to what it’s like here.

Location

Phuket Top Team is in Chalong; approximately 300 meters down the road from Tiger Muay Thai and about 200 meters down the road from Dragon. Having so many students living and training in such a concentrated area has triggered developers to build rooms, restaurants, massage shops etc. nearby to accommodate the needs of the hundreds of foreigners training here at any given time.

Accommodation

As mentioned above, there are plenty of accommodation options on the road where Phuket Top Team is situated (Soi Taied), and if you’d like to stay right at the gym, they have a limited number of rooms available on site.

Training Info

Phuket Top Team offers a full schedule of classes and a well rounded program overall. Their Brazilian Jiu Jitsu program is lead by Olavo Abreu; a 4th degree black belt and former head trainer at Brazilian Top Team.

The No-Gi classes are taught by Joao Paulo, who’s another BJJ black belt from Brazil.

The wrestling program at Phuket Top Team is currently being run by Derek Heckel, who was a state champion wrestler and has approximately 18 years of competition experience.

The Muay Thai program is run by an accomplished team of trainers including Nonsai Sor Sanyakorn; a 2x world champion, Lerdsila Chumpairtour; a 3x Rajadamnarn stadium champion, Laemtong Tor Ponchai; former channel 7 champion and Nampon PK; former Rajadamnern and WMC champion. No lack of talent here.

If you’re interested in Western boxing, Phuket Top Team has classes for that as well which are headed by a Thai national and WBC champion named Oleydong “The Deadly Candy” Sithsamerchai – who has a career record of 56-1.

In a typical day, Phuket Top Team offers Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (with a Gi), 2 traditional Muay Thai sessions, strength and conditioning, No Gi grappling and MMA sparring for those getting ready for fights or for those looking to just blend their skill sets together.

Photos

Phuket Top Team

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Son is a South Thailand champion who had previously spent time working at Kiatphontip gym in Bangkok and Sinbi gym in Phuket before opening up a gym of his own.

The training staff at Yodyut all seem to be very experienced, and some quite accomplished. There are multiple trainers here who have captured titles from Lumpinee stadium, including Nongbee, who has two of them as well as a WMC title at 126lbs. Nongbee was brought up in the Yongyut/Top Rated gym in Bangkok and before the move down to Samui, he was working at P. Silaphai gym in Chiang Mai.

Location

The gym is located in Choengmon Beach, Koh Samui. The address of the camp is 76/77 Moo 5, Bo Phut, Koh Samui and you can contact them by phone at 077952621 or 0907974940, or via email: yodyutmuaythai@gmail.com

Accommodation

The gym is located in an area that caters to tourists so there are plenty of accommodation options around the gym. They also have rooms available at the gym as well. The cost for both training and accommodation can be viewed here.

Training Info and Photos

The training at Yodyut Muay Thai follows a traditional 2x per day format consisting of running/skipping, shadow boxing, padwork with one of the trainers, bag work, technique drills, sparring/clinching and then some conditioning exercises to finish off the session.

Sittichai Por Cherdkiat is a veteran of the major stadiums in Bangkok and has been working as a trainer at various gyms in Phuket for years.

Nokweed Davy is a 3x Rajadamnern stadium champion as well as a former WMC champion (a title which he won from Danny Bill of France).

Being so new, the gym is still relatively unknown to most. This may be a positive or negative depending on how you look at it.

I personally view quiet gyms as an opportunity to get more attention.

Considering the skill level of the fighters they’ve brought in to train the students, as well as the location, it probably won’t be long until the gym fills up.

Location

The Maximum training center in Patong is the closest gym to the beach in Phuket, but Nongnapat is most likely a close second.

The gym is located across the street from Rawai beach, and about 5km from the Nai Harn beach.

Click here to view the address and a map to the gym.

Accommodation

The gym has on-site accommodation available for students and at the time of this writing, they’re building an pool at the facility as well.

The rooms at the gym go for 25,000 baht per month. Alternatively, if you’re on a strict budget, you can tour the area around the gym on your own and try negotiating a deal at a local guesthouse.

Training Info and Photos

It seems as though they follow a standard, traditional form of training here. There are 2 sessions per day, each lasting approximately 2 hours.

The morning session is scheduled from 7:30-9:30am and the afternoon session runs from 4:30-6:30pm.

The sessions consist of skipping, shadow boxing, pad work, bag work, sparring and clinching. Pretty standard.

The website doesn’t mention anything about running but you could always add in a run on Rawai beach before the sessions start.

The costs for training are as follows..

– 1 SESSION 400 BAHT
– 1 DAY (2 SESSIONS) 600 BAHT
– 1 SESSION PER DAY FOR A WEEK 2,000 BAHT
– 2 SESSIONS PER DAY FOR A WEEK 3,000 BAHT
– 1 SESSION PER DAY FOR A MONTH 8,000 BAHT
– 2 SESSIONS PER DAY FOR A MONTH 10,000 BAHT

The trainers she has working here have been working in Phuket based gyms for several years and all have plenty of experience working with foreigners.

“Dam”, who is one of the trainers here (pictured below), is a past title holder at the major stadiums in Bangkok.

The current head trainer is “Kot”, and he’s awesome to work with. Nice guy and a really fluid pad holder as well.

Location

The gym is located in central Patong, right across from the Jungceylon shopping mall on the rooftop of a building called “The Sixth”. Look for the “Lebanese flower restaurant” as the gym is right above that.

Patong is the most populated beach area in Phuket, and it’s where the majority of the tourist oriented nightlife is situated.

The proximity of the gym to the “party” street (Bangla road) may be viewed as a positive or a negative depending on what you’re looking for.

If you’re looking for a conveniently located gym that near a beach and the nightlife, a gym like Nitah Muay Thai may be a good fit. The same holds true with the other Patong based gyms mentioned on this site.

If you want to dedicate yourself 100% to training and you know you’re the type to get easily distracted, it’s possible that you may feel drawn to Bangla road to party (this isn’t always the case of course.. just something to consider).

Accommodation

There’s no on-site accommodation available but Patong is rife hotels, apartments and guesthouses. Look further from the beach for cheaper deals. The guesthouse recommended by Anita is called “Cafe Siam Guesthouse”.

Training Info and Photos

The morning session at Nitah Muay Thai is from 9am – 11am and the afternoon session goes from 4pm-6pm. There’s a supervised run in the morning at 7:30 (one of the trainers joins the students).

The training format consists of the usual 3-5 rounds of bag work, 3-5 rounds of pad work (up to your stamina) and there is allotted time where beginner students will do 3 rounds of technique instruction while the more advanced students shadow box.

The prices for training are as follows..

1 Month (1 session per day) 6,000
1 Month (2 sessions per day) 9,000
3 Months (1 sessions per day) 16,000
3 Months (2 sessions per day) 25,000
6 Months (1 session per day) 25,000
6 Months (2 sessions per day) 45,000
12 Months (1 session per day) 45,000
12 Months (2 sessions daily) 80,000.

One awesome thing about the pricing structure at Nitah Muay Thai is that they offer special rates for expats (just show your work or business visa). The rates for expats are 20,000 baht for 6 months or 35,000 baht for a year. This is something that I wish more gyms would offer.

Location

The Sit Thaharnaek gym is located in the night Bazare area, just outside the moat towards the Meridian hotel. It’s an indoor gym and you’ll find it on the second level of a building nearby the Kalare boxing venue.

Here are the contact details:

Email: sit.thaharnaek.muaythai@gmail.com
Tel:+66(0)87 6342070

You can click here to access a map and the address to the gym..

Accommodation

The gym doesn’t offer on-site accommodation, but with its central location, it’s easy to find a room nearby and commute to training.

Training Info and Photos

There are 2 sessions per day at Sit Thaharnaek. The morning session runs from 9am-11am and the evening session runs from 4pm-6pm.

The rates for training are as follows..

1 Session: 400THB (Morning or Afternoon)
1 Day: 700 THB (Morning and Afternoon)
1 Week: 2,200THB (1 session; Morning or Afternoon)
1 Month: 8,000THB (1 session; Morning or Afternoon)
Private Session: 700THB / hour (between 11:00 – 15:00)

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.

Their current fight team is a who’s who list of some of the top names in the sport. I feel like they have a good chance to capture UFC titles in 3 weight divisions with Cain Velasquez (heavyweight), Daniel Cormier (light heavyweight) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (lightweight).. but we’ll see how things play out.

The notable fighters representing AKA in competition are too many to list, but one name you may be familiar with is Mike Swick. Mike has been coming to Thailand to train since 2000 (I recall watching video footage he uploaded from Sitpholek Gym back in 2001) and now, nearly 15 years later, he’s opened a gym of his own.

Things seem to be off to a good start as they’ve been bringing in some talented trainers. The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu program is being run by a 2nd degree black belt out of the Checkmat camp named Marco “Sharpei” Machado. Marco is a 10x Brazilian state champion, 2x American national champion and once ranked 3rd at the World Jiu Jitsu championship (Mundials), which is the most competitive and prestigious BJJ tournament there is.

On the Muay Thai side, they’ve brought in Fahsuchon Sit-O to head up the program. Fahsuchon has captured multiple Lumpinee stadium and Thailand national titles and was the recipient of the prestigious “fighter of the year” award in 2000. He has a very technical style of fighting and still fights actively against past veterans of the sport on special event cards at Lumpinee stadium. If you have the opportunity to train with him, request that he spend some time working on front kicks because that’s one of the techniques he’s mastered and known for.

They’re just starting out, so they don’t have a big roster of Muay Thai trainers at the time of this writing, but another one of the trainers they’ve brought in was the trainer to Doug Anderson in Ayutthaya on the “Fight Quest” Muay Thai episode (easily found on Youtube).

Mike Swick, who has been fighting for the UFC for nearly a decade, will be coaching the MMA team and they’ve brought in a strength and conditioning coach as well.

Location

The gym is located in the Rawai district of Phuket, within walking distance from a beach. The address is 47/31-32 Moo 4, Rawai and they’ve uploaded a video showing how to get to the gym from Chalong circle via a motorbike..

Accommodation

They have plans to build a variety of on-site accommodations but in the meantime, they’ve partnered with some nearby accommodation providers. They have an overview of some of the options near the gym on their website.

Training Info and Photos

From the looks of their schedule, they have a variety of classes running throughout the entire day. There’s strength and conditioning classes, beginner/intermediate/advanced BJJ classes (both with and without the Gi), MMA specific fighter training and the standard morning and afternoon Muay Thai sessions.

With so many sessions throughout the day, there’s a variance in the pricing depending on what you want to do. You can check out their website for pricing info on the training packages.

The concept is to provide a serious training atmosphere in a tropical environment. All skill levels are welcome, but everyone that trains here can be expect to be pushed during the sessions (to their own limitations of course). There are some kids training at the gym, both foreign and Thai, and its has a family feel to it.

The location in Bangkok is stacked with top fighters (Kem, Sittichai, Bovy, Tongchai) and I believe a lot of the fighters will be going back and forth between the two gyms.

The head trainer at the Phuket location is “Pi Pah”. Pi Pah has personally trained multiple champion fighters during his years at the famed Jocky Gym in Bangkok. A multiple time Raja stadium and Thai national champion himself, Pipa played a major role in the development of champions such as Saenchai (pictured together here), Lerdsila, Somluck, Dany Bill, Kaoklai, Jean Charles Skarbowsky, Silapathai and several others.

Before moving to the Phuket location, Pi Pah spent some time at the original Sitsongpeenong location (Bangkok), where he was working with their stable of fighters. He teaches a very illusive, technical style of fighting (Muay Fimeu), and those teachings are evident when watching guys like Saenchai and Lerdsila in action.

The gym is owned by an Australian named Tim Fisher. Tim has experience both as a fighter and a promoter, and is always around the gym to give feedback and arrange fights for students (should you wish to compete).

In addition to Pi-Pah, Tim has recruited a few other top notch fighters/trainers to work in the camp. Yodvisanu (a former WMC champion) was brought in from the “Sor Kittichai gym”, which is one of the top camps in Southern Thailand.

Prior to arriving at Sitsongpeenong, Yodvisanu was working as a trainer in Japan, where he played a role in the development of 5 champions, one of them being Masaaki Noiri. Masaaki Noiri is currently ranked as the #1 lightweight kick-boxer in the world according to LiverKick.com

Also working as a trainer here is Sayannoi Kiatprabat. Sayannoi captured lumpinee belts in 2 weight divisions as well as a Thailand national title.

There has been a few new trainers added to the roster as well. Pettawee Sor Kittichai; former Rajadamnern, Thailand and S1 champion and Jomyut Pitakkruchaydan; former Lumpinee stadium and Thailand national champion.

A recent addition to the roster of trainers is Pentai SingPatong. Pantai is a 2x lumpinee stadium champion, a channel 7 champion and a Thailand national champion.

For the bigger students, there’s a prospect training out of the gym named Weythern “The Demon” who will be on hand for clinching and sparring. Weythern walks around at approximately 78-79kg and is fighting both at Lumpinee stadium (72kg) as well as internationally (France and Australia so far). Other Thai fighters include Attisak, Sarortong and Tawanchai.

Things seem to be off to a good start.

Location

The gym is located in the Kamala area of Phuket. The area has a laid back, relaxing atmosphere, so there’s little in terms of distractions so you can focus on your training, but if you’re in the mood for some entertainment, Patong (main nightlife district in Phuket) is about a 10 minute drive away. The beach in Kamala is very nice, as are the Surin and Laem Sing beaches which are also nearby. Click here to view a map, directions and the address for the gym.

Accommodation

There’s a small resort complex nearby the gym that houses some of the guests. The complex has has a pool, jacuzzi and WiFi. The rates (including training) are 1600 baht per night or 33,000 baht per month (this price for a King size room, which can be seen by clicking here).

There are twin rooms available for 1050 baht per night or 20,000 baht per month (also including training). Some of the rooms are studios and some have kitchens. Your best bet is to contact the gym to see what’s available.

They also have some bunk beds available at the gym to accommodate those those on a tighter budget, but I’m told that these spots are limited to maintain a high standard of training.

Photos

Sitsongpeenong Phuket

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Training Info

The vision for the gym is to have a serious training atmosphere, much like the gym in Bangkok, only in a tropical location. That being said, you can expect the same focus on intensity at the Phuket location that the Bangkok location has become known for (this means short rest intervals between rounds).

The morning sessions are kicked off with either a 5km run or an 8km run (different routes) and there’s also a route that takes you over the hills from Patong to Kamala. The morning sessions also include technical sparring sessions (mix between Western boxing and Muay Thai), pad work as well as a shorter clinch session.

The afternoon session consists of 30 minutes of skipping, a long clinch session, bag work and 5-7 rounds on the pads with one of the trainers. There is also a conditioning circuit that focuses on developing explosive power implemented into the training routine 3x per week.

They have private lessons available for 1000 baht per hour and day passes for the group sessions for 500 baht per day.

Training Videos

Sitsongpeenong Phuket Muay Thai Highlight 2014

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Muay Thai Training Highlights Sitsongpeenong Phuket 2015

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