Gym: Por Silaphai Gym

Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand

Price: £273 for 1 month (accommodation included) (bills not included)

Training video’s: Training Video’s

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My first stop was Chiang Mai for a month of Muay Thai. My goal was to absolutely, 100% dedicate myself to training; 6 days a week, 4 hours a day…….I could do this!! Then I met Linda, my PIC, the little devil on my shoulder, a social animal and now, one of my bestie’s.

The Gym:

Por Silaphai Gym  is well located outside the craziness of the tourist areas but close enough to be able to enjoy a walk to the night market. There are food stalls just outside the accommodation (which is above a 7-11) which offer incredible rice/noodle dishes for as little as $1 USD.

Por Silaphai had 5 trainers when I joined, all excellent in their own way with everyone offering their own styles and expertise. Most sessions were challenging, exhausting and so much fun. We would start each session with a run which got longer and longer as the weeks went by, this was great for weight loss and fitness but started to eat into the actual Muay Thai sessions which, for some of us, started to get irritating because it meant the trainers were not engaging with us. It was the same issue with the stretching. I don’t  particularly enjoy running, especially in that heat! Also, everyday it was the same routine so it was easy to talk yourself out of training knowing what to expect.

The biggest hurdle was the language barrier as no one spoke English proficiently, this was a massive issue if you have never done martial arts before because they could not articulate instructions or correct your mistakes especially within a large group. However, when one of the trainers would take you for one to one sparring they were able to show you how to improve your form and technique which was invaluable. These one to one sessions were the highlights of the camp. You can see my videos so you know what to expect: Training Video’s

 

The accommodation:

This was included in the above price which was excellent for those on a budget. I couldn’t get my own room (I booked too late) but the dorm room ended up being better for bonding with the other fighters so i stayed there for the full 7 weeks.  It also paved the way for future travel knowing I could share a room (I thought i was too old for that kind of set up). The room was large and kept clean, the bathroom had hot water, there are no cooking facilities but there was a kettle, microwave, plates, cutlery etc so you can make a salad/coffee if you want, however, for the price of the stalls outside its more economical to eat there.

Please note: at the end of your stay you will receive a bill for air conditing and water. I was there when the heat was about 30-35 degrees so we need the AC. Budget about 500 baht (£10/$15) per week to be on the safe side. 

The people:

About Linda. Linda arrived about a week after me and we became the best of friends even though we couldn;t have been more oppsite in every way imaginable, this meant we socialised as much as we trained for 6 weeks together. We had so much fun and it made my time there. A friend for life was made 🙂 I will be heading to Nova Scotia in August to visit her.

 

Luud and Raven. Dutch Luud and American Raven both joined me in Siem Reap, Cambodia to train in Kun Khmer. Luud was a driving force behind my best week of training in Siem Reap with his encouragement and friendship, we have since met in Holland for a drinking session rather than training. Raven was so dedicated to her training, her weight loss was even better than mine, she stayed 2 months at Kingdom Fight Club and the different in her martial arts skill and weight was astonishing!

 

 

I made so many friends who made the experience fun, happy and homely. I hope to see you all again soon especially my crazy French Sand 🙂