[bojangles]

Man my cardio still sucks after a year of Muay Thai, boxing and BJJ but that's like two hours for 5 days a week at most. You'll be a fine tuned machine soon

[Rick91]

I'v tried a million different things to get better cardio. Truth is there isn't really much shortcuts other than being really efficient with your training. The guy on fight passport says his cardio still sucks after doing training for like a year. He thinks it's to do with when he hits he forgets to breathe and gets really tired this way.

As i'm going to Thailand and plan on actually fighting and have actually experienced complete and utter exhaustion in a fight situation I know there's no way I want to end up in that state again especially not after seeing the damage some muay thai fighters can dish out.

My main cardio routine involves me running about 12 lengths of a football pitch at high intensity with 5 second breaks in between each length. This adds up to a minute overall. I'm building on it and am planning on being able to do this 5 times to hopefully equal the energy input of a muay thai fight. Also wear my mouth guard and try to breathe through my nose.

[scotian]

(11-21-2012 10:54 AM)bojangles Wrote:  

Man my cardio still sucks after a year of Muay Thai, boxing and BJJ but that's like two hours for 5 days a week at most. You'll be a fine tuned machine soon

It probably doesn't help that I smoke a pack a day, I'm gonna work on that. The trainers seem to push the guys hard but don't freak out or anything if you have to take a quick break to regain composure. There's obviously some super fit guys training there but at least there's one over weight guy who's in a lot worse shape than me.

[bojangles]

same scotian, im a smoker too, 10 a day. Breathing technique whilst punching matters a lot Rick.

[pants]

Scotian:


How is the training?

I hope its not just hours of of punching bag.
Is there any grapling/wrestling on the training? I know its not a part of the sport, but it would be nice to learn.

How dose the thai people welcome western?

[scotian]

(11-21-2012 04:49 PM)pants Wrote:  

Scotian:


How is the training?

I hope its not just hours of of punching bag.
Is there any grapling/wrestling on the training? I know its not a part of the sport, but it would be nice to learn.

How dose the thai people welcome western?

The training is as intense or easy as you want it to be, although they will keep pushing your limits, which is good. There's 3 sessions per day: 2 muay thai (morning and late afternoon til evening) and 1 grappling in the early afternoon.

This gym caters to westerners, all of the students were foreigners, mostly Anglo countries and a couple of French. There were about a dozen students at my first class, all were male.

The owners are also foreigners, from the USA and they actively participate in the training. The trainers are Thai, speak decent English, are very nice, friendly and funny.

As a beginner, it was a bit intimidating showing up and being surrounded by all these ripped MMA guys but everyone seemed nice enough and willing to help me out with some tips, advice, etc. Very positive environment and I didn't feel left out on any of the training, I was actually given a surprising amount of one-on-one time with 3 different trainers to work on the basics, which is probably what I'll be doing for the next while, that and getting the cardio up and off the darts!

[WanderingSoul]

Scotian, if you think about it next time you are at the gym, get me some info on their grappling coach and also if they have an MMA team over there yet. Thanks man.

[brg444]

hey guys, might as well post here the information I have been researching for the last month

I myself had been planning to hit a Muay Thai gym in Chiang Mai around February-March but got scared off by the reports online about this whole smoke/fog thing. Beyond Borders I'm sure you can comment on that.

What I finally found and am strongly considering is this right here:
http://www.junmuaythai.com/the-gym.html

The gym is in Ko Samui and you would expect it to be much more expensive but the price there a stupid cheap

I'm talking about 220 US$ (6700 baht) for two sessions a day and access to fitness gym.

5000 baht for the Muay Thai only. For beginners, the one session a day month is 100 $ !!!

This is all significantly cheaper than anywhere I have looked and their installations look brand new.

They can refer you to very cheap accomodations as well (around 5k a month).

Definitely worth checking. As for me I'll be getting my cardio up surfing for about two months in the Phils, I'm getting there next week. I'll be in Thailand around February

[Teddykgb]

(11-21-2012 09:01 PM)brg444 Wrote:  

hey guys, might as well post here the information I have been researching for the last month

I myself had been planning to hit a Muay Thai gym in Chiang Mai around February-March but got scared off by the reports online about this whole smoke/fog thing. Beyond Borders I'm sure you can comment on that.

What I finally found and am strongly considering is this right here:
http://www.junmuaythai.com/the-gym.html

The gym is in Ko Samui and you would expect it to be much more expensive but the price there a stupid cheap

I'm talking about 220 US$ (6700 baht) for two sessions a day and access to fitness gym.

5000 baht for the Muay Thai only. For beginners, the one session a day month is 100 $ !!!

This is all significantly cheaper than anywhere I have looked and their installations look brand new.

They can refer you to very cheap accomodations as well (around 5k a month).

Definitely worth checking. As for me I'll be getting my cardio up surfing for about two months in the Phils, I'm getting there next week. I'll be in Thailand around February

I saw that place about a month ago when I was surfing the net for muay thai gyms. It just scared me a little bit seeing as all the gyms were charging 8,000 or 9,000 baht and this one was only charging like 5,000. I will be interested to hear how it is

[brg444]

(11-21-2012 09:07 PM)murrb Wrote:  

I saw that place about a month ago when I was surfing the net for muay thai gyms. It just scared me a little bit seeing as all the gyms were charging 8,000 or 9,000 baht and this one was only charging like 5,000. I will be interested to hear how it is

I'm curious too but their website look legit, they have a LOT of pictures of the place and people training there

I'll make sure to report once/if I get there

https://www.facebook.com/jun.muaythai



does this look like too many people at once ? maybe that's why they're cheaper

[WanderingSoul]

Way too many people training at once, unless they have a lot of trainers. Hard to get any individual attention with that many people. What you are really paying for in Thailand is to have a Thai hold the pads for you. With that many people, you may not get much pad work.

[Teddykgb]

Have you been using this website to look up different gyms?

http://www.muaythailand.com/index.html?page=home

Team quest is running a 20% off for one month training right now. So instead of 9,000 baht its onlly 7.200 baht.

Look under special offer on this page. You might need to create a login to use it.

http://www.muaythailand.com/index.html?pa...ng-mai-ctc

[scotian]

(11-21-2012 05:41 PM)RioNomad Wrote:  

Scotian, if you think about it next time you are at the gym, get me some info on their grappling coach and also if they have an MMA team over there yet. Thanks man.

Here's a clip of the grappling coach, saw him there yesterday, seems like a nice guy:

[Beyond Borders]

(11-21-2012 09:31 PM)RioNomad Wrote:  

Way too many people training at once, unless they have a lot of trainers. Hard to get any individual attention with that many people. What you are really paying for in Thailand is to have a Thai hold the pads for you. With that many people, you may not get much pad work.

Anyone here actually considered training at a real Thai gym in Thailand? One that doesn't cater to foreigners?

I had a couple invitations from locals to come start training with them and think it would be a great way to go. Prices are ridiculously cheap. Consider that for a Thai gym for lifting weights, etc, you pay a measly one-day fee of about 20 baht.

[Beyond Borders]

(11-21-2012 09:01 PM)brg444 Wrote:  

I myself had been planning to hit a Muay Thai gym in Chiang Mai around February-March but got scared off by the reports online about this whole smoke/fog thing. Beyond Borders I'm sure you can comment on that.

Is this a recent thing you're refferring to or just the air quality there? It is bad and I've read that there are high rates of lung cancer in the city because of the way the smoke and smog settles into the valley. Living there, you don't really notice it except when stuck in traffic on a motorbike and sucking it all in.

It was definitely a concern of mine when debating about using the place as a permanent home base.

(11-21-2012 09:01 PM)brg444 Wrote:  

What I finally found and am strongly considering is this right here:
http://www.junmuaythai.com/the-gym.html

The gym is in Ko Samui and you would expect it to be much more expensive but the price there a stupid cheap

I'm talking about 220 US$ (6700 baht) for two sessions a day and access to fitness gym.

5000 baht for the Muay Thai only. For beginners, the one session a day month is 100 $ !!!

This is all significantly cheaper than anywhere I have looked and their installations look brand new.

They can refer you to very cheap accomodations as well (around 5k a month).

Definitely worth checking.

Samui is a fun place to live. Stayed there for about 5 or 6 months and really enjoyed myself. Not much for diving though, if you're even into that, and Chaweng is pretty polluted. I think they've got a great muay thai school in Lamai, but I don't remember the name.

Be sure to check out the open-air boxing stadium in Lamai on Saturdays. Free boxing matches while you drink beer and make bets with the other expats.

Most importantly, make sure you get a place outside of Chaweng.

(11-21-2012 09:01 PM)brg444 Wrote:  

As for me I'll be getting my cardio up surfing for about two months in the Phils, I'm getting there next week. I'll be in Thailand around February

Great idea. You might consider the Philippines for martial arts though too. They've got more different styles of martial arts there than they do languages, and that is saying a lot.

They're also well-known for their knife-fighting and stick-fighting prowess. I always thought this would be good stuff to know just in case you ever did get attacked with a blade or some other type of weapon.

Look up escrima.

[Enigma]

(11-22-2012 06:13 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

Great idea. You might consider the Philippines for martial arts though too. They've got more different styles of martial arts there than they do languages, and that is saying a lot.

They're also well-known for their knife-fighting and stick-fighting prowess. I always thought this would be good stuff to know just in case you ever did get attacked with a blade or some other type of weapon.

Look up escrima.

Eskrima is definitely something I'm interested in but I've found it more difficult to research online than Muay Thai in Thailand, especially since I plan to spend more time in Davao than Manila or Cebu. I've read that it's less embraced by the culture there than Thais do with MT and it's obviously less popular globally but I'm sure it won't be too hard to find somewhere to train once on the ground.

Very interesting martial art as it also has hand-to-hand and some grappling aspects. Matt Damon's fighting style in the Bourne movies is a form of eskrima.

[Beyond Borders]

[quote] (11-22-2012 07:30 PM)Enigma Wrote:  

[quote='Beyond Borders' pid='313342' dateline='1353626020']
Eskrima is definitely something I'm interested in but I've found it more difficult to research online than Muay Thai in Thailand, especially since I plan to spend more time in Davao than Manila or Cebu. I've read that it's less embraced by the culture there than Thais do with MT and it's obviously less popular globally but I'm sure it won't be too hard to find somewhere to train once on the ground.[/quote]

I personally think you're better off training in some of these places where it hasn't become such a tourist attraction. More of a raw, genuine experience.

For instance, I've heard that muay thai as it exists in Thailand is a very watered-down version of the original sport. I imagine that applies even more so when you're dealing with schools that have a 100% Westerner client base.

For the real raw old-school shit, look into Burmese boxing. Muay Lao from Laos and Pradal Serey from Cambodia are also very much like Muay Thai, and practitioners from these neighboring countries often look down on muay thai as a sensationalized, even weaker version of the fighting style. But Burmese boxing is definitely the gnarliest of all.

I've heard a lot of stories about prize muay thai fighters getting their asses kicked by relative no-names in these other countries, but Thailand is the country internationalized enough to get all the fame in the game.

That said, any exposure and training is going to make you a better, stronger man. Certainly not hating on anyone man enough to get involved. the barrier to entry - language and culture-wise - is definitely lowest at Westerner-oriented Muay Thai schools; just throwing out some alternatives.

[OGNorCal707]

(11-22-2012 07:30 PM)Enigma Wrote:  

Eskrima is definitely something I'm interested in but I've found it more difficult to research online than Muay Thai in Thailand, especially since I plan to spend more time in Davao than Manila or Cebu. I've read that it's less embraced by the culture there than Thais do with MT and it's obviously less popular globally but I'm sure it won't be too hard to find somewhere to train once on the ground.

Very interesting martial art as it also has hand-to-hand and some grappling aspects. Matt Damon's fighting style in the Bourne movies is a form of eskrima.

I've been taking Kali (Escrima) for about 4 months now, and have really been enjoying it. It is a stick based style, but there is also a heavy emphasis on knife fighting, as well as a complete empty hand system, and grappling.

The name of the empty hands striking system is called "Panatukan", and the grappling is called "Du Mog". If you're interested I'd look up Dan Inosanto's videos on Panatukan on youtube.

From what I understand Eskrima is pretty common throughout the Philippines so I'd imagine finding a school or teacher might not be too hard, although I doubt it is nearly as commercialized and geared towards westerners as Muay Thai is in Thailand.

I think I'm more of a South America kind of guy than an S.E. Asia kind of guy, but I may consider checking out the Philippines sometime in the future. If I could find a sick spot to set up shop in and train some Kali, while banging chicks, and hitting up beaches and dope nature spots, I'd be a happy man.

[Beyond Borders]

(11-23-2012 03:07 AM)OGNorCal707 Wrote:  

[If I could find a sick spot to set up shop in and train some Kali, while banging chicks, and hitting up beaches and dope nature spots, I'd be a happy man.

In Phils? It's just sitting there waiting, Bro. Go get it.

[OGNorCal707]

(11-23-2012 03:13 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

(11-23-2012 03:07 AM)OGNorCal707 Wrote:  

[If I could find a sick spot to set up shop in and train some Kali, while banging chicks, and hitting up beaches and dope nature spots, I'd be a happy man.

In Phils? It's just sitting there waiting, Bro. Go get it.

Ha yeah, I may end up being impulsive and just say fuck it and take off for a month or two this winter. Phils sounds like it's got a lot going for it, but I bet it does get overly hyped a bit on this forum. I'm liking the idea of wrapping martial arts training into a vacation, if that's what you're into, and I'm trying to make it my main hobby. If you travel to another country and post up in a spot without shit to do you get bored real quick and devolve into drinking too much and being too lazy. Training during the day would be a good counterpoint to partying at night and doing your typical touristy stuff.

[Beyond Borders]

(11-23-2012 03:20 AM)OGNorCal707 Wrote:  

(11-23-2012 03:13 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

(11-23-2012 03:07 AM)OGNorCal707 Wrote:  

[If I could find a sick spot to set up shop in and train some Kali, while banging chicks, and hitting up beaches and dope nature spots, I'd be a happy man.

In Phils? It's just sitting there waiting, Bro. Go get it.

Ha yeah, I may end up being impulsive and just say fuck it and take off for a month or two this winter. Phils sounds like it's got a lot going for it, but I bet it does get overly hyped a bit on this forum. I'm liking the idea of wrapping martial arts training into a vacation, if that's what you're into, and I'm trying to make it my main hobby. If you travel to another country and post up in a spot without shit to do you get bored real quick and devolve into drinking too much and being too lazy. Training during the day would be a good counterpoint to partying at night and doing your typical touristy stuff.

Well, if all you're looking for are the things you mentioned above, I don't think it being over-hyped would be much of a concern. Chicks to bang. Beautiful natural surroundings. Beaches. Martial arts. That's 4 easy "checks."

Anyhow, I noticed a lot of guys in Thailand rave about the Philippines too, so it kind of gets hyped everywhere. Can't be all lies.

I completely agree on keeping yourself busy with something like martial arts when on a mini-retirement. Definitely keeps you busy and sends you home with something far more rewarding than a few stories to tell.

If you make it out this winter, let me know and we'll meet up.

[scotian]

(11-23-2012 03:20 AM)OGNorCal707 Wrote:  

(11-23-2012 03:13 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

(11-23-2012 03:07 AM)OGNorCal707 Wrote:  

[If I could find a sick spot to set up shop in and train some Kali, while banging chicks, and hitting up beaches and dope nature spots, I'd be a happy man.

In Phils? It's just sitting there waiting, Bro. Go get it.

Ha yeah, I may end up being impulsive and just say fuck it and take off for a month or two this winter. Phils sounds like it's got a lot going for it, but I bet it does get overly hyped a bit on this forum. I'm liking the idea of wrapping martial arts training into a vacation, if that's what you're into, and I'm trying to make it my main hobby. If you travel to another country and post up in a spot without shit to do you get bored real quick and devolve into drinking too much and being too lazy. Training during the day would be a good counterpoint to partying at night and doing your typical touristy stuff.

I agree 100%, I've been training every day from 4-7pm and after class I"m way too beat to even think about going out partying, which is a good thing. I basically just grad something to eat and hang out in my room then its lights out by 10. Next week, if my body recovers over the weekend, I"m going to bump it up to two sessions per day.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Just a small tip to all of you guys doing Muay Thai or even those not doing: do indulge in the typical Thai massages which are dirt cheap for about 200-300 Bahts for an hour of extremely good massages that make all your pain go away and at the end of it, it's like waking up again, completely refreshed and replenished (And these 200-300 Bahts/hour were in the heart of Sukhumvit in BKK prices, that is gringo prices. I'm sure you can get them for 1/3 of even 1/2 of it in a place like CM). At least that's how I felt after taking those divine Thai massages on a daily basis when I was living in BKK. God I miss BKK and LOS and can't wait to get back there!

[Enigma]

(11-23-2012 12:00 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

I personally think you're better off training in some of these places where it hasn't become such a tourist attraction. More of a raw, genuine experience.

For instance, I've heard that muay thai as it exists in Thailand is a very watered-down version of the original sport. I imagine that applies even more so when you're dealing with schools that have a 100% Westerner client base.

For the real raw old-school shit, look into Burmese boxing. Muay Lao from Laos and Pradal Serey from Cambodia are also very much like Muay Thai, and practitioners from these neighboring countries often look down on muay thai as a sensationalized, even weaker version of the fighting style. But Burmese boxing is definitely the gnarliest of all.

I've heard a lot of stories about prize muay thai fighters getting their asses kicked by relative no-names in these other countries, but Thailand is the country internationalized enough to get all the fame in the game.

That said, any exposure and training is going to make you a better, stronger man. Certainly not hating on anyone man enough to get involved. the barrier to entry - language and culture-wise - is definitely lowest at Westerner-oriented Muay Thai schools; just throwing out some alternatives.

I agree on the training aspect.

I wasn't familiar with Burmese boxing but it does seem pretty brutal. I checked out some Youtube videos and it struck me that the fighters seemed bigger and stronger on average than Muay Thai practitioners, which I like. Definitely something I will be interested in checking out.

(11-23-2012 03:07 AM)OGNorCal707 Wrote:  

I've been taking Kali (Escrima) for about 4 months now, and have really been enjoying it. It is a stick based style, but there is also a heavy emphasis on knife fighting, as well as a complete empty hand system, and grappling.

The name of the empty hands striking system is called "Panatukan", and the grappling is called "Du Mog". If you're interested I'd look up Dan Inosanto's videos on Panatukan on youtube.

From what I understand Eskrima is pretty common throughout the Philippines so I'd imagine finding a school or teacher might not be too hard, although I doubt it is nearly as commercialized and geared towards westerners as Muay Thai is in Thailand.

I think I'm more of a South America kind of guy than an S.E. Asia kind of guy, but I may consider checking out the Philippines sometime in the future. If I could find a sick spot to set up shop in and train some Kali, while banging chicks, and hitting up beaches and dope nature spots, I'd be a happy man.

Nice. Yeah, from what I've read online it doesn't seem like it'd be hard to find a place to train once you're on the ground but it's definitely not like Muay Thai in Thailand where you can actually book accommodations through the gym beforehand, etc. Not that I need or want that, I was just searching around to get an idea of pricing, gym reviews, or anything of that nature that I could find.

I checked out some of Dan Inosanto's videos on your recommendation. Also watched this episode of "Human Weapon" about Eskrima via Youtube the other day after being inspired by this thread...if the training facility they visit at around the 30:00 minute mark doesn't make you want to visit the Phils, I don't know what will:

Human Weapon: S1 E2 Eskrima

[Beyond Borders]

(11-24-2012 09:39 PM)Enigma Wrote:  

I agree on the training aspect.

I wasn't familiar with Burmese boxing but it does seem pretty brutal. I checked out some Youtube videos and it struck me that the fighters seemed bigger and stronger on average than Muay Thai practitioners, which I like. Definitely something I will be interested in checking out.

In professional Burmese boxing matches, which still go on in villages throughout the country, fighters that get knocked out are revived and asked if they want to continue the fight. I've read it's not uncommon for a guy to be knocked out three times and still come back to win.

That, my friend, is tough.

Of course, most of us first-worlders would never have what it takes to compete with that kind of tenacity, but it says a lot for the strength of the people and the ferocity of their martial art. I'm sure even light training under someone there would be awesome.

On another note, the country of Burma itself is such a fascinating place to me. I can't wait to do some exploring there now that's they're opening their arms to foreigners again. A truly untapped corner of Asia. Surely a poosy paradise as well.

My only concern at the moment is poor internet connection, as I work online.