Koh Tao training has a great balance of intense work with great Muay Thai trainers who have literally hundreds of fights under their belts, beautiful beaches, and lush mountain jungles for exploring in your downtime. Head Muay Thai trainer, Gon, is a respected former Southern Muay Thai champion who is easy-going but serious, speaks great English, and is enthusiastic about running their Muay Thai camp to maximize the potential of all their Muay Thai trainees.
With a team of experienced Muay Thai fighters behind him, the guys make sure that everyone gets great technique training, lots of one-on-one time with the trainers, and a clear understanding of both attacking and defending Muay Thai. The stable of trainers have years of Muay Thai experience, love teaching their sport, and understand that one of the keys to keeping people motivated is to make sure that they can see their improvements while still having fun. They all enjoy being a part of this Muay Thai gym and take an active role in finding ways to constantly improve the Muay Thai experience.
Muay Thai is a great physical workout both for building muscle and shredding fat. There is a lot of cardio training in a Muay Thai session. For new Muay Thai students, trainers start by going through the basic offensive movements (the eight strikes- punches, kicks, knees, and elbows) and defensive postures (blocking and checking). And then, they will take you on the pads and allow you to get comfortable with all that while correcting your form along the way. Do not worry if you are a beginner to Muay Thai - everyone is a beginner at some point.
Any workout is only as beneficial as the effort you put in, but one of the great things about Muay Thai is that it is easy to push yourself hard because it is such a fun way to burn calories, improve mobility, learn a great skill, and meet new people. Muay Thai is a sport that everyone can practice at any time. It is not necessary to get into shape to practice Muay Thai. Practicing Muay Thai gets you in shape. That is the point of the sport for most people. When you see Muay Thai fighters who have been training for a long time, what most people see are guys and girls who are lean, ripped, and have a great work rate.
That is true of people who have been training regularly for longer periods. What you may not see is that they are also incredibly strong. Anything that you do that can build strength translates well into Muay Thai and other fight sports. Core strength and conditioning training in the gym will definitely complement your Muay Thai training, but it is not a prerequisite. At Monsoon Gym and Fight Club, they are one of the few fight-training facilities in Thailand that offer access to a full-weight training gym to all of their martial arts trainees.
In Muay Thai, strikes are thrown to do damage and stop an opponent rather than to score points for a judge. That does not mean that you will ever need to throw a kick to hurt someone, but you will definitely be trained to. Muay Thai kicks are violent. The trainers teach you to have your leg straight on impact and to drive through the landing area. These kicks are taught to be aimed at the calves, thighs, ribs, liver, spleen, and head of opponents and to come from many angles. Speed is crucial to landing a good Muay Thai kick and you will be given exercises to improve both your speed and power throughout your training.
If you do not have time to train at home, do not worry about it. You will have plenty of time to train Muay Thai once you get to Koh Tao. However, if you are training, things like improving your cardio will be a huge help. Also, core training is crucial to avoiding injuries. In addition, leg strengthening exercises (squats, lunges, burpees, star jumps, etc). They incorporate this into Muay Thai sessions both between rounds with your trainers and as a group at the end of class. The better shape you are in when you arrive, the more you can work on improving your technique for boxing, Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu, etc.
However, you can take comfort in knowing that people are coming through who are at all levels. At Monsoon Gym, the Muay Thai sessions are 90 minutes each. They include a warm-up, a few minutes of shadow boxing (for experienced trainees), alternating bag and pad sessions with the trainers, clinching technique, core training, and stretching. For those who are willing, they do sparring sessions at the end, but it is not required. When you are here doing a camp, they will encourage you to train twice a day, but again, it is not required. Practicing Muay Thai in Thailand is transformative.
It will help you shed weight quickly. It will also allow you to grow muscle quickly. Muay Thai fighters are known for their strength, physiques low-fat and high-definition, and great flexibility. It also transforms your mind by allowing you to achieve goals and growing your confidence and self-belief. All martial arts do this to some degree, but there is nothing like training Muay Thai in the stifling heat of Thailand to truly test yourself If you have to leave earlier than expected, they will figure something out. Each case is different and personal. If that is your case, please let them know and they will talk about potential options for you.
Gym schedule
Muay Thai (every day)
- 08:00 Muay Thai (intermediate)
- 10:00 Muay Thai (beginners)
- 14:00 Muay Thai (beginners)
- 16:00 Muay Thai (advanced)
10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu
- 10:00 Beginner Jiu-Jitsu (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday)
- 16:30 Beginner Jiu-Jitsu (Tuesday and Thursday)
- 17:30 Advanced Jiu-Jitsu (every day)