Gym: Kingdom Fight Gym

Location: Siem Reap, Cambodia

Price: $300 for 1 month (accommodation not included) Mon-Fri x 4 hours, Sat 2 hours

Training video’s: Training Video’s

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I had never heard of Kun Khmer when I researched martial arts in Cambodia. Kun Khmer is an ancient martial art from the Khmer Empire. Kun Khmer shares the same roots with Muay Thai from Thailand, Muay Lao from Laos and Lethwei from Myanmar. There are a few differences that I noticed as a beginner; the traditional Kun Khmer doesn’t drop the arm when you kick so your face is always protected, you lower yourself more when you kick and there is a lot more emphasis on elbows and knees….OUCH!

The Gym:

Kingdom Fight Gym (with Dutch owners Kwok and Mark) was brand, spanking new! I found it on Book Martial Arts when Ernesto Hoost came to give a 3 day training work shop. Unfortunately, I arrived too late to join his sessions but got to meet him which led me to train with him when I was visiting The Netherlands in July. Write up to come.

My trainers were Cambodian Rith and English Daz. Morning sessions were with Rith where we ran, jumped on wheels to perfect the fight stance, skipped, cardio training etc we also trained in traditional Kun Khmer which is very skilled. This led perfectly to the afternoon sessions with Daz,  the master of pad work, who would follow on from the morning and practice with us what we had learned, he also allowed me to adapt his sessions to what I wanted to practice e.g. kicks, self-defence, elbows etc. It meant that every day was different. This kept me interested and focussed.  Overall, the experience was faultless and I lost even more weight. I was so proud to walk around the hostel and encourage people to join me, which I did actively. The gym is flexible in that people can come for just 1 session should that be all they have time for or handle 😉

The accommodation:

Unfortunately, accommodation isn’t included with the training but I am told this is something coming soon. However, Kwok very kindly sent me an email with details of a few places he recommended and I decided on Lub D Hostel. This hostel is one of the best I have ever stayed in; beautiful swimming pool, spotless rooms and bathrooms, the most helpful staff, a great bar by the pool, movie nights, day/night trips and decent food. It is only a 10 minute walk to the gym and is surrounding by cheap eateries if you are on a budget and the night market. Price wise I was charged between $7-$11 USD, Expedia was the cheapest option but speak to the staff about discounts etc this will all depend on availability and season.

The people:

Again, I made so many friends from both the hostel and the gym. The trainers are such great guys as are the kids they train to fight who also work at the gym. Chea was the first kid to join; 15 years of age, the face of an angel, shy, incredibly sweet and humble… then I watched him fight and looks are certainly deceiving, he was awesome.

As mentioned in my previous post, Dutch Luud and American Raven joined me at my recommendation and they were not disappointed. We all agreed this gym suited us better, we trained better, we were more dedicated, we were pushed to our limits and boy did we sweat!

I was also joined by some friends I made at the hostel, so many in fact, Kwok very kindly gave me a free week of training and a gym t-shirt I had been eyeing up! Swiss Silvio ended up staying for a while and trained with me as did German Daniel who returned at one point. English James and Jessicar and Scottish Ryan joined for a session during short stays as did a few others.

Daniel, Luud, Daz, Rith, Silvio, Chea and moi

The kids and me

Raven and myself

Lunchtime

The kids with their new bikes

Hiding from the rain mid run

The team!

Me kicking Luud’s ass

The hostel provided people to hangout with in my spare time and when I was injured to go on a few trips to the floating village, Koh Rong Island, Sihanoukville and during a Cambodian holiday I flew out to Kuala Lumpur which combined as a visa run.

Dutch Kings Day

Angkor Wat

Koh Rong Island

Koh Rong Island

Koh Rong Island

Lub D with Raven and the kids

Sushi With the girls

Dutch Kings Day

Beer and Frickindal with Luud

Floating Village trip

Floating Village trip

Infinity pooling in KL

Blind massage by actual blind people

Angkor Wat

At the gym looking tough 🙂

Lub D swimming pool

Kingdom Fight Gym……I shall return!