Kickboxing with Rawai Muay Thai
It is our first day of Muay Thai training in Thailand and I have no idea what to expect.
Thailand is the land of Muay Thai Kickboxing Boxing and no adventure to this country would be complete without doing some training. We contacted Rawai Muay Thai to see if they would be willing to host a couple of adventure travellers from Canada and they were kind enough to slot us in for 2 weeks. After checking out a couple of other gyms that will remain nameless, we are glad that we settled on Rawai. It is an excellent facility with friendly staff located in Thailands most popular tourist beach haven, The Island of Phuket.
We arrived a day early to Rawai Beach to check in and get oriented, but there was a big fight on Phi Phi Island the day earlier so nobody was here. We were on our own until morning.
The morning starts at 7:00 am with a 4 km run. I was very nervous about the run. I am not at my optimal fitness right now and to run in a group with people that train for months at a time or for some, all year long was going to be very intimidating.
We awoke at 6:30 and by the time 7:00 came around there was no one to be seen. We saw a couple of girls walking up ahead so we started our jog in that direction. They were Muay Thai students all right so we asked them if this was the right route to follow for our run. They gave us directions and we were on our way.
Relief.
I breathed a sigh of relief, Ah! Everyone is free to run at their own pace. The slower people left earlier and the quicker ones leave later. We didn’t have to run in a group. The weather was muggy and humid and the run was more than a little difficult for this out of shape traveler. How on earth was I going to finish this run and then complete 4 more hours of training?
We made it back with 10 minutes to spare before class started at 7:30. Just enough time to have our hands wrapped for us since we had no idea what we were doing and to do a little skipping.
Hands are Wrapped and We're Ready to Go
The sweat poured off and I hadn’t even started class yet.
At 7:40 they blew the whistle and we made our way to the sign in and begin our 10 minutes of stretching.
Signing in for Class
Rawai Muay Thai is one of the most popular spots in Thailand for tourists to train in kickboxing. They can have up to 80 students at a time. During our stay, we averaged about 50 people at the gym each day.
The groups are divided into beginners and the rest of the gang that have experience.
We joined Jang, our instructor in the beginners group where he taught us punches, jabs, upper cuts, elbows, knee kicks and side kicks. The drill went on for an hour as he corrected our technique and checked to make sure that we knew what we were doing. It is surprising just how tiring shadow boxing can be! In between drills we had to stop and do 10 pushups before grabbing water. A couple of weeks of this and we are going to be buffed.
Learning moves from our Instructor Jang
At 9:00 am we all gathered together with the advanced students for more stretching.
With a quick bow in prayer position we thanked our instructors for the morning and went to our rooms to wait out the rest of the day until the afternoon session began.
About Rawai Muay Thai
Owner Tuk poses with his photo in The Lonely Planet
Rawai Muay Thai was the first foreign tourist training camps in the area. Run by Diana and here husband Tuk, it is well organized and definitely caters to the western market. It is the most popular place for women to train in Thailand and they have coached more than a few champions in their day.
The rooms are clean and comfortable, there is free wifi, cable T.V., hot water, refrigerator, kettle, dishes and English speaking staff.
It is the perfect destination for foreigners looking to whip themselves in shape while staying in an exotic destination with no other worries but to have wake up, go to the gym and wonder what they are going to eat for dinner. Even dinner is made easy for you. The Cashew nut restaurant just down the streed offers a meal plan of 1800 baht per week for a multi course dinner and breakfast. Their food is delicious and filling. They offer protein shakes and brown rice too!
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
We went back to the afternoon session gung ho and excited about the days ahead. It was tiring to say the least, but it feels good to be forcing ourselves to get back into shape after a year on the road.
Let’s hope we can keep up the rigorous schedule because we have to do it all over again tomorrow.
Costs:
Bungalows At Rawai Muay Thai on the Premises
Delux with Air conditioning:
- Weekly Rate: 5000 Baht ($166 Can/US) that is only $23 per day
- Daily Rate: 1000 Baht ($33 Can/US)
Shared Twin Rooms – Fan Only
- Weekly Rate: 1500 Baht ($50 Can/US) per person that is $7 per day
- Daily Rate: 300 Baht ($10 Can/US) per person
Training
- 3000 Baht ($100 US/Can) per week- $14 per day.
- 500 Baht ($16 US/Can) per day
Training includes:
- up to 3 group classes per day.
- Classes are two hours in length.
- Unlimited use of weights, and training machines.
1 USD and CAD = 30 Baht
25 Responses to Kickboxing with Rawai Muay Thai
Leave a Reply
Sponsors
The Planet D on TV!
Posts
- New Tools for Planning the Perfect Summer Trip on May 16, 2012 by debndave - 1 Comment
- Win a Trip for 4 With Intrepid Travel on May 15, 2012 by debndave - 1 Comment
- Travel Inspiration – Abandoning The Status Quo on May 14, 2012 by debndave - 8 Comments
- Meet The Planet D’s New Social Media Manager on May 13, 2012 by debndave - 6 Comments
- Honesty, Fear and Triumph – Dear Reader on May 27, 2011 by debndave - 166 Comments
- Petra by Night in Photos on May 4, 2011 by debndave - 149 Comments
- What’s With All the Hatin’ in Travel Blogging? on October 29, 2011 by debndave - 127 Comments
- So You Want to Be a Pro Blogger in The Travel Business on November 14, 2011 by debndave - 126 Comments
Online hotel reservations
Fascinating!
Something I’ve started recently has been Muay Thai, though in the dreary UK. Not the fittest, did you have any experience of it to begin with?
Rhys recently posted..Gigg Lane – FC United
No experience with Muay Thai, but we did have the P90X video at home:-) And yes, we are not at our optimal fitness at the moment after Blogging and traveling for a year. When we cycled Africa, that is when we at our optimal fitness. It is difficult to live up to the shape we were in after 12,000km on a bike:)
Pingback: Tweets that mention Kickboxing with Rawai Muay Thai | The Planet D: Around the World Adventure Couple -- Topsy.com
Wow, My hat is off to you both! Good on you!
I can’t wait to hear more!
Melanie recently posted..Jan 15- Las Vegas Trips – With so many amazing Las Vegas restaurants- Las Vegas attractions and hotels- Las Vegas offers excellent romantic vacation ideas
Such an awesome workout!!!
Andi recently posted..Happy New Year!!!
Wow that is so cheap and sounds so aweswome!!! I cant wait to see the last post for the super buff awesome “after” photos!
Cailin recently posted..Interview with Fellow Travel Video Blogger – Matt Stabile of The Expeditioner
You guys are my heroes! 4km run AND 4 hours of training sound like an impossible feat for me! *gasp*
Looks great! I am excited to hear more about your Muay Thai training. All the street food that’s been going into my body and I think I might need some training asap.
Migrationology recently posted..How Growing Up in France- Congo- Kenya and America Taught Me to Travel
That is exactly how we were feeling. All this travel can make a person soft, every once in a while we have to check in and get back in shape:)
I am impressed that you guys went to train in kick boxing, that would be the last thing i would have done. and it sounds like too much work for me
Not really something I’m particularly interested in trying, but I know Jack would be into this sorta thing. it does look like a good/fast by to get fit though.
Jill – Jack and Jill Travel The World recently posted..Clarion Alley- A Mural Lover’s Playground
I love that you are doing this and writing about it so I don’t have to experience it myself. It looks like such an adventure but oh so tough!
ayngelina recently posted..Would you buy a 500 turkey AKA Have you met Andres
Hi Ayngelina, Yep, we will be writing on how it goes. We’re looking forward to whipping ourselves back into shape for sure.
Sounds like a great (and very challenging) way to quickly get into shape. I’m impressed and can’t wait to hear more!
Thanks Ali, It is a great way to get into shape quickly. The instructors and fighters are in phenomenal shape.
This looks fun… in a torturous kind of way
And so cheap. Might check out if they have something similar in Chiang Mai and spend some time learning Muay Thai while I’m there in April. Good luck guys!!
Rebecca recently posted..Top tips for getting clothes tailored in Asia
It is definitely cheap Rebecca. I asked another student from New York if he was going to continue training when he got home and he said he would love to but wouldn’t be able to afford it there. The same can be said for Toronto. You can train for weeks here for a very reasonable price compared to trying it in the west. I believe that there are a few schools in Chang Mai and that they are just as reasonable.
Thanks for this excellent article. I was looking at Rawai Muay Thai myself to slot in around a trip to New Zealand. Their website certianly sells them well and it was reassuring to read your genuine and positive account of your experience. I’m looking forward to reading your updates!
Hi Mike. Yes, Rawai Muay Thai has an excellent website. Diana takes pride in running a solid site as well as a solid school. It can be intimidating joining a program like Muay Thai, but we felt very comfortable hopping on board with Rawai. Good luck with your trip!
Pingback: Muay Thai Kickboxing is all about Kicking - The Planet D: Around the World Adventure Couple
Pingback: Hot and Sweaty at Rawai Muay Thai - The Planet D: Around the World Adventure Couple
Pingback: Muay Thai Takes a Turn - The Planet D: Around the World Adventure Couple
I wish I read this post first… I’ve been trying to convince the Mrs. to take a trip to Thailand for years and now my quest is in overdrive. This looks like a blast.
Pingback: Dear Mongolia
Top King Muay Thai/MMA gear is now available in the US.
Please visit:
http://www.tigertrailsupply.com
and
http://www.topkingboxingusa.com