Was wondering if any one on here has ever been out to train in Thialand or anywhere else, how did you find it, any recomendations?
Hey Check Hook, Ive been to jittigym, bankok, thailand thaiboxing and cuba boxing with carlos miranda in havana. I meant to get a post up similar to yours detailing my experiences and asking for others and their' recommendations. I thought that Cuba was better than thailand to be honest, even though they are different disciplines trained as a specialty, the cubans seemed more welcoming, gave more attention to detail and were just generally happier to have you there. Allow me to give a brief synopsis of both training camps and country experiences that way I saw things. Jittigym, Bankok, Thailand; If I could sum up this place in five words, they would be - Cheap, Good Food, Good Fun, Great Training, Strange Gym Owner :-( ....sorry, I'm just being honest here. Jittigym has a nice family feel to the place and since they are used to having foreigners, you will be able to speak with all of the trainers, fighters there on some level. They always have a lot of fighters in training and this is not one of those holiday camp thaiboxing gyms but a serious fighting gym, usually filled with top class (Stephen Meleady, Jono Bracken, Liam Harrison, Andy Thrasher, etc.) thaiboxers prepping for fights and such. The training is great and the trainers, while being nice at the start, will push you to your limits in due course. My favourite trainer there was Rajasak (former Raja Champ), he was an absolute beast on the pads and clinches like a monster and it will show in your kicks, clinch when he is finished with you as he drills the **** out of these techniques until you are blue in the face. There is also many other great trainers there but he stood out for me whereas other fighters may prefer Gaolan, Serm, etc... You will train hard, you will learn a lot and you will test and improve your love for the sport with the grueling 3 hour training sessions in the bankok heat. The only criticism I would have with the training is they are a bit secretive about clinching techniques I believe :-/ ...they don't want to show the westerners too much of this side to their' art. All in all though, great trainers which are nice guys too, greaaat food for cheap home cooked, thai style in-house, plenty of sparring.....happy days .....Now, let me get to the problem with this place... Bankok is a place of distraction thats fo damn sure...even for a guy like me who only drinks 1, maybe 2 times a year max...found myself going out drinking and doing other things hmm mm, evry f'in sat night :-/ ....aside from that there are just general distractions from training such as shopping, cinemas, etc, etc...lots to do aside from train. Secondly, I just didn't get the Gym owner Jitti. He's probably a great guy but me and him didn't see eye to eye and when I questioned him on pricing after I saw a sign in the gym be put up after I paid, which meant I over paid, he was very dismissive and ignorant which I didn't apprieciate. Carlos Miranda, Havana, Cuba; Wow....This place summed up for me; Cheapish, Great Training, Great People, Beautiful Scenery, Beatiful lifestyle. When you arrive in Cuba, the first thing you think is....damn, I feel like a mofo that just went back in time!! The place is so unindustrialized, underdeveloped and in some places dilapidated but I found it so picturesque and beautiful where ever I went..and the women...oh my dear lord, the women whoo ..... Anyway, what really caught my heart about Cuba was the people, not everybody can handle this but....the Cubans are not so used to foreigners yet and it is a big deal for them to see you, they will always try and hustle you, sell you things initially that is but once you get some lingo down and they continue to see you repeatedly they will not hassle you (keywords - No, No Gracias Senor/Amigo, Yo No Quiero Nada - No, No Thank you Sir, I do not want anything). The people will never threaten you so don't worry about that, It's just there situation leads them to struggle to survive. Some of the people will just approach you to talk and practice their' English though, however, and this can be interesting and quite refreashing. The training, trainers and training partners and all top quality and they are so welcoming that they will become people you hold in your heart forever. The instruction was so detailed and intense even with the language barrier, they were able to work around this so well with hand movements, etc.. it was like we were speaking the same language.. not english, not spanish......we spoke boxing!!! The guys whom I was training with and being trained by literally breathe boxing and it was great to see and train in their style of boxing which is very different but effective. You really get extra attention from the trainers and you can literally feel yourself improving by the session over there as small goals are set and you achieve them literally one step at a time. The reason why I said Cuba was "cheapish" is because there is a dual economy running in Cuba. One for tourists and one for Cubans. You can spend a lot of money if you are not careful or you could spend literally nothing when you are more experienced with the place, get to know the locals, cheap places to live and eat and learn a bit of Spanish. When you go to Cuba, ONE THING I MUST STRESS IS THIS BRING CASH WITH YOU......DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT RELY ON A CREDIT CARD OVER THERE! The Cuban banking system is underdeveloped and cards that SHOULD work there do not always. My Mastercard would not work anywhere and I met people with VISAs which had the same issue although some VISA credit cards do work there. Just do not rely on a credit card over there and have enough cash to do you for your stay and be clever with your money too. I had a major pain in the ass with no money for a while but my Cuban friend helped me out, gave me a loan and also helped me transfer money into his account quickly and easily. All in all, Cuba can and will be your boxing experience of a lifetime! In a beautiful country, with lots to do/see and little in the way of distraction...you will become a better, more technical boxer in this country and meet some good lifetime friends. If you guys want anymore info on these places give me a shout yea... oh and sorry for the short story...I tried keep it short but have so much else to say about them...aw well....another time
Sorry I didn get back with a reply on this earlier but a guy from Queensbury Travel called Jon Birch help me organise everything for the trip. hit that dude up for info/pricing or pm me if you have any queries outside of pricing, etc.. He has been there training before and has set up loads of boxing trips there and elsewhere. He was soooo helpful to me and I would recommend him to help you out. His website is http://queensburytravel.com/default.aspx As far as the experience goes, you know man, cuba is a beautiful place with good people, beautiful women, very safe imo (although you need to be vigilant all the same) and the attention to detail from the trainer Carlos Miranda is second to none. All of the training partners I met that were cuban were absolute gentlemen, let me note, they also have nothing and will apprieciate anything that you can afford to give them; second hand gloves, wraps, boxing boots, etc.. and you should give them something... If you want to, but don't feel forced by any means...for me I gave two guys for whom I both bonded and boxed with the most pretty much all the kit I had with me when I went over there. It was all second hand but received very well by the guys As far as criticisms about Cuba go for me, and they must be mentioned even though they are only few; *You need cash with you, this is very important as cuba's banking system/technology with not accept some "worldwide accepted" credit cards. DO NOT EVEN Rely on VISA...I cannot stress this enough as I do not want anyone to go through what I went through over there with my Mastercard. *Cuba is very relaxed (outside of the boxing training), this might sound good, and it is, but can work against you when you want to get things done, get answers, etc.. If you guys want anymore info, pm me yea...if you do decide to go over there to box...you won't regret it if you prepare yourselves right :happy
I trained in Thailand for 8 months in 09. It was really on 2-3 times per week so part time, and went back early this year for a full week.I had mainly just done boxing, so hands ok but my kick is not too good to say the least. But I enjoyed. Trained at KRS Gym. Its a traditional camp in the sense it is not overrun with white guys. Run by thais mainly for thais. No BS ego, just pure Muay Thai. facility is limited, but all that is needed in ring, bags, pads etc, and it has that. Great trainers. Web at www.krsgym.com Also trained at Muay Thai Plaza in Bangkok earlier this year. Very professional set up and gym manager Mr. Pong is deep in the game. Good mix if Thais and white guys, but is run by Thais.
