Muay Thai Stuff’s Blog

Reviewed by Dawn DelVecchio

In all, there were 26 of us training that day, including a large group from California, four instructors from France, a professional competitor from Portugal and several other women and men from the UK, Australia and the States. People were either striking a bag, working with their trainer on pads, or practicing a unique element of Muay Thai, a stand up wrestling technique with knee and elbow strikes called plumm. Others were doing abdominal conditioning, improving their form, developing their calves by bouncing on tires, getting a rub down on stretching. The group was happy, friendly and yes, sweating and smiling.

Typical of many Muay thai camps, Fairtex offers both a morning and an afternoon training session. Each begins with a warm-up run (one that my group happily avoided on grounds of old age and poor conditioning), shadow boxing, pad work and /or bag work and sparring for those who are interested. Following our morning session, we were served a delicious Thai meal and then had majority of the day for ourselves. At about 3.30, folks began to gather around the rings for an afternoon session. After six hours of rest, we were energized and ready to go. While my friend continued to develop their form and increase their striking power (and caloric burn), I worked with a 29 year old Kai, a man with 130 professional fights under his belt, 114 of them wins.

Fairtex Muay Thai Fitness offers elite training to both serious practioners and those those looking for fun and challenging experience. With 17 personal trainers teaching the techniques of the kingdom’s national sport, Fairtex is expanding quickly. The camp sits on 1.5 rai (2,400 sqaure meters) and offers guests a full range of facilities, including housing, meals, weight room, yoga/Pilates studio and a soon to open detoxification center. Visitor can choose to stay from a half day to months at a time.

Reviewed by Dawn DelVecchio

A new approach to new techniques does not imply a watered down version of the art. While the intensity level of each person’s programme may vary depending on their goals and objectives, Lin says, “at the same time, you are getting elite training with a modern state-of-the-art facility. We are setting the standard for future gyms, especially here in Thailand.”

Training is completely personalized, therefore, students can work out as much or a little as they would like. Fairtex provides a coach for each student, allowing those who stay long term to build a rapport with their trainer over time. These men are either current or retired professional fighters, some of them champions of their weight class. So what is it really like to train at a Muay Thai camp? As a beginner and a retired fighter respectively, my friend and I were not interested in a serious competitor’s regime, we simply wanted some exercise and some fun for a day. We discussed our goals and objectives with Khun Sam who in turn explained our needs in Thai to the coaches.

We began at about 7.30 AM when each of our trainers carefully wrapped and gloved our hands. Once complete, my friend Todd and Fong, who have had no experience with the art, stepped into the ring. Looking a bit sheepish at first, they were relieved when their coaches began slowly teaching them basic moves such as stance, offensive strikes and simple defense. Of the experience, Todd later said, “At first I was intimidated by the sights and sounds of professionals and amateurs training away, but soon enough I was joining them under the guidance of the friendly trainers and accommodating staff.

Reviewed by Dawn DelVecchio

Fairtex Muay Thai Fitness Camps are at the forefront of the trend to use the art as a medium for both martial arts and fitness training. Currently, about 60 per cent of the people (including local Thais) who visit Fairtex are there for non-competitive reasons, including weight loss. Mr Somboon Leelhasuwan (Khun sam), the general manager of the operation, claims that this percentage is actually increasing as more people become aware of the benefits of Muay Thai training for health and fitness. While Fairtex is also home to an impressive stable for fighters, including a number of world class champions, the management has created a training environment that can meet the needs of the growing number of non-competitive practioners. According to Anthony Lin, President and CEO of Fairtex, they want people to enjoy getting in the ring and training on whatever level they are comfortable.

He claims that the face of even non-competitors is changing and they want to meet the needs of this growing segment of the community “ more and more westerners taking up Muay Thai are educated and see their training as part of the overall lifestyle”. In response to this, Fairtex, along with many elite gyms in the USA and Europe are taking martial arts to the new level. “The whole fundamental thing that Fairtex trying to do is to promote the art safely and professionally”. We want to make sure that when people come here, they don’t feel intimidated” says Lin.