Tiger Muay Thai
Posted by landoman - 30/03/09 at 11:03:10 pmThe past three months here have been nothing short of fantastic. I had only very basic experience with muay thai before I came to TMT but three months of training has given me loads of experience. Between all the conditioning, technique, and sparring I’ve done I can say with certainty that I have a firm grasp of muay thai. I’m going to give a quick rundown of TMT for anyone considering coming in the future.
Note: long post.
Training Areas
Tiger has four different training areas. Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced, and MMA. Each area has at least four or five heavy bags and beginners and MMA have uppercut bags. Beginners and intermediate also have mirrors to practice shadow boxing and technique and every area has at least one ring. Each section also has padded areas for sparring and practicing. The current beginners area is brand new, having just been completed in early March. Go figure, the beginners get all the new stuff. As a whole, the equipment is a bit beaten up (pun intended) but all of it serves its purpose well.
The MMA section has a normal ring and also an octagon for grappling. The weight area sits immediately beside MMA and houses a wide range of equipment. Two full sets of barbells, two sets of plates, and two sets of kettlebells. There are a few incline benches, a few weight machines, and a stationary bike. My only gripe with the weights area is that the equipment is in poor shape. Either from the humidity or from its age, there aren’t many pieces that aren’t rusting somewhere. This can make exercises a bit difficult when you’re lifting something rusted or when one of the machines grinds from friction.
All in all, the training areas are more than adequate; only a few minor upgrades (mainly to weights) could be used.
Trainers
TMT has about 30 trainers between all the different areas. Most of the trainers rotate between each area monthly so if you’re staying for any length of time there’s a good chance you’ll get to work with just about everyone. As a whole, they’re fun to be around during/after training but they’ll definitely push you if they see you slacking off or if they know you can go harder/faster (which is exactly what I needed). All the trainers have been practicing muay thai since their youth so you’ll be learning from a great source.
But unfortunately, every trainer has his own style and will teach you a lot of the techniques slightly differently than the next guy. This can cause a lot of confusion and frustration. Someone may teach you how to do one thing one day and then another day someone else may come around, tell you you’re doing it wrong, and then have you do it a different way. It can be maddening at times.
I also had a few rather unfortunate experiences after I moved into intermediate. For whatever reason, one of the trainers named Robert Lek decided that his sparring opponents would be his personal punching bag for the day. Normally sparring is done at 50% power/speed but Robert made a habit of going all out on whoever was unlucky enough to get stuck with him. I came out of those sessions with injuries that lingered for a couple weeks.
But in stark contrast to Robert, one of the other trainers named Yon became my new best friend. He was tremendously fun to be around but also pushed me harder than anyone else there. I worked with him nearly every session in March. He’ll be missed.
With the exception of Robert the trainers were great to work with and, overall, are very effective teachers.
TMT Staff
The TMT staff were nothing but helpful throughout the last few months. My luggage got lost during my trip here in January but both Will (camp owner) and one of the staff helped track it down and brought to me in record time. I had a ton of questions that needed answers throughout my stay and everyone was always very helpful. They helped me find medicine, find stores, and answered all my passport questions before I realized I had been given an 90-day VISA. Samai is the guest relations manager and setup a few group activities every so often. And I recently found out that a westerner is being hired as the office manager. My only gripe would’ve been a few confusing conversations that arose because of the language barrier. But that will be resolved soon enough.
Camp Facilities
TMT has a wide range of rooms available to rent. Three types are available: dorm style, standard, and deluxe. The newly-introduced dorm style rooms are the cheapest; they include a bed, small personal area, and a central living area with a small kitchen. Standard rooms are a bit bigger with more privacy; they include a bed, fan, TV, and closet. Deluxe rooms are bigger yet and include all the aforementioned amenities, as well as a bathroom and A/C. Public facilities are located throughout the camp for dorm and standard rooms.
In the middle of the camp there is a small restaurant called the Tiger Bar and Grill. They offer reasonably priced food an drinks and one of the largest menus of all the little restaurants in the area. The food is predominantly Thai for reasons that are currently beyond me but there’s a decent selection of non-Thai food like sandwiches, burgers, salad, and spaghetti. I certainly grew tired of Thai food rather quickly so having alternatives was a life saver.
TMT also has a gear store that recently reduced its prices. You can pick up nearly everything you might need to train muay thai or MMA. Gloves, shin pads, tape, shirts/shorts, protein, etc… They’ve got just about everything you’ll need at [newly] reasonable prices.
Verdict
The two main things that I would like to see TMT improve on:
- Weight equipment is in rough condition.
- The trainers teach techniques slightly differently.
In the end, TMT is the best training I’ve ever had. I was pushed when I needed to be and I learned more in these past three months than I would have in a year of training back in the states. TMT offers extensive training for people of any age level and any previous experience. I would wholly recommend anyone come train here if they get a chance.
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Who is this Robert guy? He will sure be on my s— List!
LOL glad you survived him. Take care and have safe trip home…..DG
Comment by DeeGie — April 1, 2009 #