Hello All... This section is for Past Students @ Rawai Muaythai Camp to leave comments, short stories or advise about "Your Experience in Thailand" ..>

Information left here...> should be helpful to new students that are thinking of comming to Thailand for Thai Boxing Training.

Start ..> 30th September 2005

Country: avison1@bigpond.com

I went to Rawai on my own back in July through to September 05, besides the advice Danny had put on the website I did not know what to expect.
On arriving at 9pm on Friday evening I was welcomed straight away at the gym, taken for food and allowed to settle.
I skipped the morning training but took time out to meet the students and trainers, they were pleasant and spoke English this was great as after introductions I managed my first training session on the afternoon without feeling like a stranger.

I found all the trainers and students at the camp great to train with they monitored my level of fitness and skill and helped me reach my goal: to loose weight, gain fitness and better my boxing.

Within 6 weeks I had gone from 87kg down to 72kg, my fitness had improved to a point where I could run 8 to 10 k in the humidity and complete a full session with ease. After my first week I was running in the morning and afternoon followed by 1 to 2 hrs training and plenty of sleep in-between. Importantly I felt my appetite disappeared for a while and I started to eat less, I made up for this by consuming a Protein drink after each session and snacking on fruit and chicken.

To anyone thinking of training in Thailand I would recommend Rawai, as I always say you get out what you put in, you are not at anytime forced to participate if you don’t want to, and you are only pushed if you want to be pushed.
Overall it was a great experience I will go again next year with my family and try and make it a regular holiday.

Thanks to all the staff at the camp and bar.

Country: deepakpatel@blueyonder.co.uk

Deepak
How are you? hope that all is well. i am going to rawai in november..
Thanks for that story! Its a great comfort to know that there are lot of people who enjoyed the experience and achieved their goals.
Did they consult you about your goals before you started? Was the gym always busy? Were you waiting to use equipment? Also, when you got up in the morning what was the routine - do u just follow the crowd or they explain where they are running etc?...i know novice questions but itd be great to know...help help!!

Country: randeep@mailcity.com

Hi Randeep

On my first day there Danny asked what I wanted to achieve, remember it’s a Muay Thai Camp not a health spar, you are trained by title holders and fighters that have top technique in Thai boxing.
Just to answer your questions from my experience (opinions may vary from student to student).

Did they consult you about your goals before you started? Yes they did but visually the trainers could see that I needed to loose some around my waist, also in the first week I could not train like a fighter so their goal was to get me as close too in 6 weeks. (THEY DID)

Was the gym always busy? There were always students training even on a Sunday when it’s an official day off, some days there were 5 students some days there were 25 students. (Depending on the night before)

Were you waiting to use equipment? There are 12 Heavy bags, 9 trainers, floor to ceiling ball, speed ball and some free weights, I trained when there were 25 ++ students and was not left hanging around waiting. (TRAINERS WILL WATCH YOU AND FIND YOU SOMETHING TO DO)

What was morning the routine? Some student will run some don’t, some run 4k others 8k, if you get to the gym for 6.45am at the latest, I found groups and just ran with of them everyone runs at there own pace, some times I ran on my own I think it depends how you feel in the morning. (ENJOY THE HILL ON 4k RETURN)
When you get back the non runners will be shadow boxing, on the bags or in the ring doing some pad work.
See Training Programs
The trainers will then start you in the same process, Shadow, Bag, Pads and Sparring. Take advantage of the steam room and massages you will feel better from it.

Dee
Ps I tried to sleep at 1030pm most nights and wake at 6am then after some food sleep from about 12noon till 3.30pm either in my room or at the beach.

Country: deepakpatel@blueyonder.co.uk

Hi Deepak
That sounds great to me!
I have been given advice about various camps in thailand. So picking the right one is important. Its good to know that the trainers do watch n "train" rather than leaving you to it. I think thats important, especially if you do want to see some progress. I have seen a few different posts here outlining "technique" - maybe you could clarify. Do you go through techniques properly if requested? When do they teach the Wai Kru?
Hope you can help?
R

Country: randeep@mailcity.com

Hi Randeep
Technique is shown properly requested or not, I was taught many new techniques while i was there, while shadow boxing, bag work and pad work the trainers watched my technique and corrected my mistakes or showed me ways to generate more power.
Danny is also a good person to seek advice in most areas while you are there, he showed me how to kick with ease but with power, some new stretches and ways to work the abs.
I read a post that said the techniques were repetative thats true but thats also the same in almost everything you learn,practise makes perfect.

Wai Kru was taught to me and other students after my first week it was broken down into stages and was easy to learn.

Dee

It was in the Month July.. Finaly i was leaving with my friend to Rawai Muay Thai. We were so excited to go! When we arrived at the airport there were a lot of taxi drivers that wanted us to bring to the gym. While we were driving to Rawai we couldnt believe our eyes. The views where so amazing. Mountains, palm trees, fast mopeds passing by everywhere. Around 7 in the evening we arrived at the gym. Danny welcomed us and took us to the accomodation.

The first thing i noticed was the easy going ambiance at the gym. Located on a hill surrounded by palm trees, the smell of fresh food and peppers sold on the markets, very low amound of traffic passing by.. It all contributed to a feeling that i realy mis here back in this cold country.

Training was very cool. The trainers realy where looking after you and where trying to take the best out of you during pad work. It was magical in some way.. i mean training surrounded with other muay thai enthousiasts and the view of the jungle realy gives you an energy boost and you just want to do an extra round of kicking. Some times we went after the training to Nai Harn beach to have a refreshing swimm. In the evening we went to the Cheap Ass restaurant to have Thai dinner. A lot of students always went there for dinner and everybody was having a little chat about training or something. I realy recommand the chicken ceshew nuts or the big noodle soup ;). At least once a week a trainer or a student hade a match at Bangla Stadium. A lot of students an all the trainers where coming to Bangla to watch together. This is a very good experiance. The smell of tiger oil, the shouting croud by every kick "OOOohhhiii!!", you could realy feel the adrenaline in the air :).....

I think i stop now with writing.. It was just a major good experience, you realy dont want to go back home once you've been there... So why wait longer.. Just order that ticket to Thailand!!!!

..Its only been a few days since I got back to the UK and yet it seems so surreal and almost an eternity since I was there...Its cold here and am already missing Rawai!!

..On arrival to the camp in the evening I was warmly greeted by Diana, Danny and some of the trainers who were just finishing up. I was immediately comforted by their very friendly personalities and also the relaxed atmosphere of the place. I had a quick look around the gym before Diana gave me a choice of staying either at the gym accomodation - which is clean and simple or the Darin bungalows - which are similar but with aircon about 7-10 minutes walk away. I can honestly say that both of these establishments are good, clean, humble and respectable - no frills, rough round the edges but a true insight on how to live like a fighter. I chose the Darin Bungalow after which Danny made sure I savoured the lovely food of the MuayThai Bar for dinner!

I eagerly walked to the camp the next day around 6.45am and took in the lush surroundings - palm trees amongst the backdrop of the hills, friendly locals, little traffic, and absolutely great weather! I was greeted again by more of the friendly trainers and also a few of the students and mixed in straight away. It was great to see people of different levels all training together.

Training itself was great! It fulfilled alot of the criteria I was worried about and had questioned before. The drive and ambition was my own and this was fuelled by the help of the trainers. While shadow boxing - they helped me with simple footwork, combinations and rhythm (being infront of the mirror definitely helps with this!); while on the bag they watched from a distance(initially without my knowledge) and then supported and showed correct technique as and when they felt the need to; when doing pad-work in the ring they keenly assisted with improving basic attack technique and some defence (which was somewhat enhanced in the days to follow).

It was by far a completely serious atmosphere. I must emphasize the easy going, jesting, fun yet meaningful method of training. So please do not be worried about impressing anyone; being disciplined or otherwise. The camp clearly showed it catered for all abilities without making you feel uncomfortable.

Alot of the pad-work was kept to compound techniques - basic front kick, round kick, jab/cross, cut elbow etc. This was repeated on numerous days, im guessing so that it is perfected - before a new technique was introduced. Simple defence was also slowly introduced.

Stretching pre and post warm up is your own responsibility - however, you can get tips from the trainers and other students at the gym. There is also an opportunity to do weights as and when you please.
Do not be shy to ask questions!!

My advice would be that train at your own pace. Compete with noone but yourself. Identify and achieve small term goals and you will definitely see yourself getting better here. You will have ups-and-downs (due to the heat) as I did - but keep up the enthusiasm and drive and eat well!! I was just here for 1 week and I could already see myself improving.
The trainers will help you on an individual basis the best that they can but are not going to spoon feed you... I noticed that they are good at identifying someone who respects the art, the people around them and wants to learn to the best of their ability. Sometimes I honestly thought I was left to my own accord but to my suprise realised that 3 of the trainers had been watching!! You may find that you become a "favourite" of maybe one or a few of the trainers who have a tendency to watch you further and pull you in for an extra round of pad-work!!! Crazy! :)

I hope that this has helped and has been interesting. If anyone has anything they want to ask please be free to do so. I want to thank everyone at the camp for my experience. I shall definitely be returning!!

Special thanks to Danny and a big hi to Fhad, Eak and the others!!! For existing students -hope all is well!!

Take Care

Randeep
RukThai Camp UK

Country: randeep@lycos.com

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! Rawai!!! What can I say about Rawai Muay Thai.

I would like to start out by thanking evryone who made my stay enjoyable.When I first started looking into the idea of travelling to thailand to train I had no idea what to look for. I knew I wanted to find a clean and safe place to stay and awesome trainers. Rawai camp turned out to be evrything I was looking for and more. From the moment I was dropped off at the camp I was welcomed by everyone, Danny showed me to my new home for the next six weeks and off we went to watch Sharon ( amazing girl by the way) win her title belt. I showed up by myself to Rawai and left with more friends than I have here in the states. I met alot interesting new people.
The training.... absolutley amazing!!!!Everyone has there own experience and I can only comment on mine but the trainers are incredible. I went to Rawai with the realistic intentions of losing a few pounds and sharpening my muay thai skils.Six weeks later I left 25 pounds lighter and with the realization that wasn't as good at muay thai as I thought I was. The trainers , especially Egg,Tuk and Heem taught me how to correct all the things I was doing wrong and how to maximize my strengths. Not to toot my own horn but I feel sorry for the first person who takes one of my knees to their ribs( Thanks Heem !!!)
When you arrive try to watch Egg spar its like watching a cat( a very fast , nimble, dangerous Cat!) Take the opportunity to train with all the different trainers as they will all teach you something different. Fad is very patient and will correct your mistakes until you get it right. Bung will push you to your absolute limit. Egg will make you faster and confident. The list goes on and on...did I mention Heem and the knees? =)
I hope if you choose Rawai you have as good an experience as I did, all you have to do is show up and participate.


Thank you Danny and to all the trainers for my new skills and new body.My girlfrienjd really appreciates the new body =)

,

Country: eddiefmf@aol.com

Hello All

I am a 24 y/o female & traveled to Thailand on my own.
My 1 month of training @ Rawai Muaythai Camp far exceded my expertations.

I met so many new people from all corners of the world and made so many very good friends.

I have been doing Muaythai in Australia for 2 years and was amazed at how differant the training was.
I learnt more in one month of training in Thailand than I had in 2 years of training in Australia.

Their were many trainers @ Rawai Muaythai and each of them had somthing differant to offer.
To watch Sing, Tuk & the other Thai fighters training for their upcomming fights was a added bonus, to see such quality techneque & powerful kicking was a treat to see.

Out side of the training their was lots to do
Going to Nai Harn beach every day after morning training was a wonderful a wonderful experience, the water was warm & beautiful, the sand was as good as any beach I have been to in the Gold Coast @ Queensland Australia

Food.. Most meals @ "Cheap Ass Cafe" were 30 - 50 Thai Baht and very tasty.
Their are hundreads of resturants & cafes close to the gym so meals were never an issue.

Fresh fruit is available @ the market located 50 meters from the gym.
bananas,pineapples,oranges,mangos,apples,sweet corn on the cob were all available and very very cheap prices.

Wheat grass Juice is availabe @ the gym and gave a good energy boost on those slugish morning when every muscle in my body was tired.

Dons Cafe was great for the English breakfast and priced at 120 Thai Baht per breaky.

Shopping for clothes, dvds, shoes was very cheap and my access luagage weight was stretched to the max on my return flight home.

Shared accommodation .. the shared accommodation was great value at 5000 THB a month.
They have a maid that cleans the room every few days, each bungalow had mixed male/female students.
I was worried about sharing with strangers at first but found it turned out to be a good way to get to know other people & make new friends.
The bungalow had Cable TV with BBC news, CNN news, Australian News from ABC tv, DVD players and hundreads of the latest dvds were available at the gym

I hope to return to Rawai Muaythai Camp very again as soon as I can save enough money.

Thank you to every one that made my month of training @ Rawai Muaythai Camp such a fantastic experience.

Good luck & God Bless you all.

Kelly

Country: kle36380@bigpond.net.au

you guys are totally stoking me out with all your awesome stories! i just decided last night that i was going to come to rawai...still waiting to hear back from danny about booking into the shared housing; sounds like alot of you will be my roomates! i'm a 24yr old woman about to graduate from college ready to get my ass whipped into shape by the trainers there. i'll be there starting mid march through the end of may so i'll be seeing you all there.

Country: ryannegerry@hotmail.com

Just a word of thanks to Danny and all the satff @ Rawaii. This was first visit to Thailand and was all good! The first night arriving in Phuket was fight night in Patong....great fights, lots of action!
Arriving at the bungalows, the setup is great, nice and clean and nice staff.
The food in the area is tasty and cheap, lots of choices. Nice beaches and the locals are friendly.
Training is great, two sessions a day give you many choices to make a decent schedule.
I was there only for one week, nursing a foot injury, by the time I left I was ready to turn up the heat and add some sessions and running. It will be for next time.
The atmosphere at the gym is great, friendly and the set up is good. Lots of gear, bags and two rings!
From beginner to advanced, Rawai has something for everybody. Training is high heat takes a week or so to get used to, but once that is done, you can increase the pace....
All the best to the people I met during my short stay.
Hope to visit again soon!
Robert

Country: risingsunintl@yahoo.com

I went to Rawai alone. I had never been to Thailand. The first day I arrived, I met many cool people. I made friends right away and remained friends the whole time. The training is very good. Some teachers work on power and conditioning. Some work more on teqnique. You should find which ever trainers you like best and seek them out. If you already know some Muay Thai, this is a great place to train for a fight. I recommend this place to anyone.. Do not drink and drive. I lost a very close friend. He died in Thailand and his family will never see him again. Be careful and have fun...

Hi, is Marco from Italy.
Thia was the third time I come to Raway and was big experience again! This year I come with two my friend and, of course, with my best friend, my wife Elisa, that is my shadow in my life! We train hard and train lot, of course we are on holiday and we do this too, but if you want (and we want!!!!) you can train hard and in best way in raway without any problems.
best trainer, best friends in this camp, very nice guy and friendly space where you can do what you want without any kind of problem. if yyou ask more training you do more training, if you want train for fight you can do, if you want train for loose weight you can do.....everything
i suggest to all people to go to raway because is very thailandese Muay Thai Camp!
Hi to all my friends!!!! visit my web site www.kbclub.it

Country: kbclub@libero.it

I'm gonna start of with a HUGE thanks to everyone at Rawai! To the trainers and staff at both the gym and my accomodation - i couldn't have asked for anything more!

I was at Rawai for 8wks...only arrived home 2 days ago and i'm already thinking on how to get back there quickly.

Before arriving at Rawai I had only done basic kickboxing and was VERY unfit. During my 8wks I only missed 4 training sessions. I left Rawai 13kgs lighter and feeling a fair amount fitter. Much to the trainers protests I didn't run while i was over there but now i'm home I have started running and will be back at training soon! Things are looking so much better in my life and it's thanks to the people in Rawai

Anyone have questions, feel free to email me. And to all the girls who are worried about traveling and training - there are NO dramas...it's a fantastic experience and you won't feel out of place at all!

Thanks again Rawai!

Country: amypurt@bigpond.net.au

If only I could have stayed longer than my very short 16 day stay! A message to anyone thinking of going to Rawai - stay longer than I did! Don't worry about going along, you'll soon make some of the best friends you'll ever have.
A Massive thank you to all of the trainers and workers at Rawai Muay Thai for making my stay memorable. Somehow all of the practical jokes of landing me on my backside every day has found a way into my heart. You've not seen the last of me!

Country: sarahcompton@bigfoot.com

Well all I can say is that all of the things you are worried about applied to me too.
I'll be honest with you, when I first walked through the gym I thought I was out of my mind and out of my depth but that feeling lasted about 5 minutes!!

I came to Phuket just to do the detox program and only heard of Rawai Muay Thai when I arrived as there was someone from the gym doing a detox.
For the first few weeks I was only going to the afternoon session because the detox place keeps you busy during the morning with yoga at 7.30 followed by a group session and colemas.

I also don't think I would have had the energy to do more than one session without eating!
In the afternoon I would be at the gym from 4 till 6 but that was with me taking regular breaks.
The gym has recently extended so there is now plenty of space for the beginners to train along side those who are getting ready for fights or have years of experience.

Rather than being off putting to be surrounded by all these lean mean fighting machines I actually found it really motivating and quite often would watch the trainers putting them through their paces.
After I finished my fast and was on raw food only (endless salads) I came for a cardio workout during the day (about noon) when the place is empty. There are some bikes, cross trainers and treadmills so you can build up slowly - I could not run or last more than 5 mins on cross trainer to begin with!

Over my stay here I have built my sessions up to the morning session, which I do from 7am till 8.30, then I do a VIP from 9 till 10, then comeback at 4 to do the afternoon session.

In terms of the type of the people at the gym I would say that there is quite a range of male/female/young/old - I was the biggest by far but that never seemed to be an issue; the trainers push you to your limits but are also non-judgemental so if you want to stop there is no problem.

There are a few trainers that seem to work with new people and they are genuinely great people who I found to be good at keeping the pace of learning and exercise up at an appropriate level.
Danny (the chap from the forum) has a wide knowledge base and I have found he takes a genuine interest in my progress. He offers helpful and practical advice on a wide range of topics, from nutrition and training to the local area and things to do!

I have a great fondness for many of the Thai trainers and many seem also to be genuinely interested in my progress with lots of support and encouragement.

I have worked hard to get as much out of my time here as possible and think that the trainers focus on that and not on how much I weigh and what my standard is compared with others fitter people at the gym.

There is a nice social side to things as well so you can always chat to someone and they will help you out with anything you struggle with.

I leave here on Sunday and to be honest wish I could do what you're doing and stay here 6 months! As I am a teacher and have to be back in London for the start of term this is not possible at this time but I have no doubt that i will return to the camp in the future.

Best wishes

Michelle Greenland

Michelle Greenland England


August 2007

Michelle has come to Rawai Muaythai Camp for 6 weeks of improved fitness & weigh loss.

Michelle completed the Detox Program & has already lost 12+kg, She will continue to train in the Gym twice a day & it looks like she will exceed her goal of losing 20+ kg of weight.

Country: martnee1@rawaimuaythai.com

Hello to All i meet at the camp!

It has been now 2 weeks since i left Rawai Muay Thai camp. I stayed at the camp for 2 1/2 months. The first month I would be honest and say i was on a holiday and enjoyed Thailand. The last 1 1/2 months I took training allot more serious.

In total I lost 17kgs. What makes training at Rawai Muay Thai different to training at home is
a) that your time there is focused on training. You train twice a day, which you would most likely not have the time for at home.
b) training at the camp is allot of fun, your learning Muay Thai, your doing it with people that have a common interest. It clearly is allot better than going to a local gym. Now that i joined a gym, i have noticed i dont enjoy it at all compared to training at the camp. The atmosphere in the camp is amazing when the music is going, the trainers are yelling, people hitting the bags. I dont think you will get that anywhere.
c) the people you meet at the camp- people like Danny who would give you advice and tips, to pro fighters at the camp who also give you advice. The key is everyone there to get fit and train, doesnt matter what level of fitness you have. Your all got similar aims!

In summary i loved the place, ill be back. Ive met some amazing people! I didnt get to say bye to everyone, my emails bl_100@hotmail.com.

Thanks to the trainers and everyone ive meet!

Thanks Danny. Ill see u again in January!
Bjay

Country: Aus

Hi i thought i would put in my experiance of RWT,

I arrived at the gym pretty late on a thursday night and Noi set me up in a room for the night, the next day Danny took me down to Goongs where i stayed for 1 month in a bamboo bungalo, it was a great place to stay and the ladies where great ( by that i mean Goong and Pippen and i forgot 1 name already :-( ) they treated you like part of the family so it was a great place to stay,


All up i stayed for 2 months, in that time i had 3 main trainers Tang, Ott and Yib, they where great as where all the trainers that where there as they showed lots of comitment to you reaching your goals,

Tang even come along to my fight to do my corner work for me :-)

Anyway to cut a long story short i had a great time and met a great bunch of people at the gym, Dany was a great sorce of information and always willing to give a hand or help if needed and i appreciated that alot,

I look forwad to returning and seeing everyone again

PS in my 2 months there i lost 11kgs and when i got home everyone said i looked skinny ( till i pulled up my shirt to show of my abbs ) first time in my life you could see them ( Yeha )

So thank you everyone at RMT

BJ

Country: Australia

Lets just put it this way, Ive been there twice now and I'm going back for a third time this year. Its all good.

I came...I saw...I stayed...I liked
'nuff said