Muay Thai Camp: Week One

For my first month in Asia, I'm doing a Muay Thai camp at Rawai Muay Thai. Muay Thai is a martial art where you strike your opponent with your fists, elbows, knees, shins, and feet. I came to a Muay Thai camp because I knew it would be interesting to learn this new sport, I knew it would get me intensely fit, and I knew I would meet many like-minded/bodied travellers. I came to Rawai Muay Thai because I wanted to be in Phuket near beaches and some nightlife/activities.

This beach is a 5min drive from camp. Image source.

The training layout is Monday-Saturday, 4-8k run in the morning, train with trainers 730am - 930am and 3pm - 5pm. Both training sessions follow the same format:



  • Warmup
  • Shadowboxing
  • 1-1 hitting a trainer wearing training pads / practise on punching bags
  • Drills / Sparring
  • Stretch


    • This is what the hitting pads looks like:




    Many people train as much as their bodies allow, eating / living as healthily as they can. Many people train up to once a day and experience the rest of what's happening in Phuket - world class beaches, decent nightlife, diving, food / culture, paintball, shooting ranges, etc. Both can be enjoyable lifestyles, but you have to respect the tenacity of people training 4-8 hours every day.
    I was fit when I arrived. For the three months prior to coming, I was going to the gym for 1hr, 3-4x/week, and doing 5k in under 28min without any effort. Still, my fitness isn't comparable to many here and I have much to do before I'll be capable of training as intensely as I would like. The training is exhausting: I didn't do any runs this first week so I could be functional enough to do work in my offtime. The heat (28-35C + humidity) is exhausting: I drink 2L of water during each training session, 4-6L of fluid/day. The workouts take a toll on your body: I've gotten blisters on both feet and hands, a bruised knee, elbow, and shin, a swollen ankle, and heavy overheating. The reward for all this stress is a swell in knowledge and muscle.

    My muay thai gear.

    My improvement in strength, physique, and especially technique is noticeable after one week. I've always been an athlete, but a week ago was my first time hitting a punching bag and I've never come close to being in a fight. After getting enough technique down, sparring is fun - getting inside of your partner's head, trying to figure out what they're going to do, then reacting to what they actually do.

    I hope to train every day for the next three weeks. My body may not agree.

    21 Apr 2013