
Muaythai training in Thailand?discover the life of a local nak muay |
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| Muaythai training has a competely different meaning here. In Thailand, any kid wishing to escape
poverty by becoming a professional nak
muay just needs to introduce
himself to a training camp and ask to be accepted. It
won't
be far away
from home as
there are hundreds of such schools throughout the country. Sometimes
they are near the village's wat
(Buddhist Temple), or nearby an army compound.
Aspiring
fighters enter muaythai
training at a very
young age, often as
young as six or seven. Upcountry camps are populated by kids
that
don't go to school too often and instead train, eat, sleep and
grow
up together, like
little warriors. This is perhas the reason why non-Thai
fighters are still struggling to be
really competitive against the Thais and beat them at their own game.
Which kid in the West would stop going to primary school to take on
muaythai instead? Sometimes
orphaned
children, or children from very poor families, may be taken into a camp
instead of being sent to a monastery. Due to this social environment,
training in Thailand is a competely different story than elsewhere. The
instructors are much
more important than the word
implies: the kruu is a mentor, a fatherly-figure loved and
respected by their pupils for life. In an atmosphere of a big,
extended family,
the young fighters grow up and train everyday, fighting aginst others from nearby camps, sharing victories and
discomforts. With time, the cash prizes (always
shared with
the camp's management) will grow, the sponsorships will increase and some will
become professional fighters, earning a living in the ring. The ones who will reach the lights of
Bangkok's Lumpini or Rajadamnern arenas will become quite wealthy by Thai
standards. In the old days, a retired champion either opened a restaurant or a kruu in a trainng camp. Nowadays, there is a lot more money to be made by
fighting outside Thailand, against non-Thai boxers. And
after that, by teaching abroad. It is somewhat puzzling to meet
ex-fighters, who fought at Lumpini durig their heydays, earning
now a living as taxi drivers or gambling on muay thai
fights. Whilst they would be respected in the West as
ex-champions, their place in Thai society isn't so high.
Thais are proud of muaythai and regard it as
a part of their
cultural
heritage, but
middle and upper classes families will be prety much horrified if a son wished to become
a
professional nak
muay instead of going to college. Muay thai is not for the
educated middle classes. uaythai training The
life of a nak muay muaythai
training Below there is an example of a professional muaythai training schedule - not for amateurs! muaythai training Morning muaythai
training Afternoon muaythai
training Boxer's diet So you want to train in
Thailand? muaythai training In comparison to the well known and professional muaythai camps opened in the West, the ones in Thailand appear rustic and more open-air, obviously due to the hot and humid climate. Fairtex camps in Thailand instead mantain very high standards and sometimes appear like "fitness resorts" for well-off tourists. The places where English is spoken are populated by dozens of devoted, passionate nak muay farang, often training for months in Thailand in order to be able to fight and/or teach in their own countries. Some of such camps, like the one opposite Kao San Rd in Bangkok, have updated equipment from the top manufacturers and sell it, too. Many foreign practitioners who became world champions spent years in such environments, training and fighting with other foreigners and Thais, too. But very few non-Thais have actually tried the small muaythai camps upcountry, the ones alive with poor kids and so far away from tourists areas that a farang is still a walking attraction for all the villagers. Such places don't have a website welcoming aspiring nak muay farang to train in Thailand and may be reluctant to take on foreign trainees because of the language barrier. Thais, from all walks of life, always feel shy if unable to speak English. Being naturally kind peope, they may also worry that the foreigner, even though well motivated and passionate, will not be able to endure the harsh living and training conditions of the camp. If you want to test your determination, your humbleness and your fighting spirit, you may try to be accepted. The best way to persuade the kruu to accept you is to learn the rudiments of the language first (it takes about 4 months studying hard in Thailand) and then persuade him with your eloquence. When a farang speaks Thai, all doors may open and Thais will surely respect you much more. However, be prepared for a culture-shock. Forget about the nice, beautiful first impressions you had about Thailand (the land of smiles!) and the kindness of the ever-smiling Thai people. Be prepared instead to be challenged and tested in every possible way, not only physically but also culturally, by everybody. For them, you'll be an intruder, an outsider with a lot of money not necessarily always welcome. Your muaythai training will be the hardest. But the unique experience is worth the struggle. Chok dee (good luck)! The following muay thai
training camps have a website; therefore they're more farang-oriented
than hundreds of other camps all over Thailand. So consider these a
good starting point to check fees, schedules, facilities, etc.
http://www.sinbi-muaythai.com/
http://www.mmaphuket.com/ http://www.martialartsphuket.com/ http://www.kombatgroup.com/ http://www.tigermuaythai.com/ http://www.sitpholek.tk/ http://www.fe-fi.com http://www.horizonmuaythai.com http://www.rawaimuaythai.com/ http://www.fairtexbkk.com/ http://www.lannamuaythai.com/ http://www.jittigym.com/index.html http://www.junglegym.co.th/ http://www.legacygym.com/ http://www.phuket-muay-thai.com/ http://www.siamnumberone.com/ http://www.bestmuaythai.com/ http://www.prapamuaythai.com/ http://www.muaythai-hillcamp.com/ training in Thailand, muay thai camps, boxing gyms, Fairtex camps, Sidyothong, sithpolek, khao san road, training schedule, muay thai schools |
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