Learning Muay Thai.

[Yong]

Greetings everyone!

The name's Yong and im pretty new around here, hope you guys wouldn't mind an inexperienced person to shoot a few questions.

I have been browsing the internet and other sources in Singapore for some time, trying to learn more about Muay Thai in Singapore. Obviously, there aren't many places where they teach Muay Thai here, but im extremely willing to learn.

Firstly, at 16 years of age, without any experience with any kind of martial art, and of above average fitness, do you think it is physically possible for me to take up Muay Thai? I know this is a very general question, personally, i think i am up to the challenge with some conditioning and training, but i'd like some general opinions.

Secondly, i am interested in learning Muay Thai not only for self defense or combat, but also to learn more about it's history and the culture. I don't want to join a school which merely concentrates on the physical aspect, but also on the mental aspect. Is it still possible to find such places today?

Lastly, i'd like to know whether anyone here is from Singapore as well. It is to find and locate any Muay Thai schools because they don't advertise much.

It is alright if you do not wish to answer all my questions, i hate lists as much as you guys do. But i'll really appreciate any help or advice you can offer to a person interested in learning Muay Thai. Thank you!

[gregimotis]

Welcome to the forum.


Muay Thai is getting this rep for brutal training and conditioning that I think is a little unwarranted. I mean it can be tough, but so can football (both of them).
The thing that seperates MT from some other styles is that it primarily a ring sport and therefore heavy on contact (which can be stressful at first) and cardiovascular fitness. As long as sweating and bruises don't bother you, You can do Muay Thai.


Mauy Thai has a lot of culture and tradition wrapped up in it, but you may not see this aspect for a while unles you seek it out. There is some info on these forums - and of course google can tell you a lot about Krabi Kabong and Muay Boran et. al.

Good luck with Singapore - can't help there.

[Damian Mavis]

Hi Yong, like Gregimotis said, the training is tough but not so tough that a young fit athlete like you would find it too dificult. We don't beat on eachother until we are screaming or anyhitng crazy like that, it's just hard work with some contact training.

You will have to visit a few Muay Thai academys to see if they offer the traditions of the art, some schools do and some don't.

Singapore Muay Thai

Try that link, it lists the names of a few schools in Singapore.

My advice is... you aren't too far away from Thailand, maybe on a vacation or school break you could go there with you parents or friends and you could train at a Muay Thai camp for a week or more. Trust me the training is not going to kill you, it's hard training but most camps are very nice and friendly and eager to teach you Muay Thai. I have a great time at the camps.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

[Yong]

Thanks guys, i really appreciate your help.

Damien, you said you have been to camps before in Thailand. Ive seen some of your posts on the board and if im not wrong, your considering going professional, all the best in that. I can only speak English and Chinese and not the least bit of Thai, will that hinder my ability to learn in a training camp in Thailand? Also, will they accept a total beginner like me? Im almost missing out in, say, 8 years of training, considering the fact that most of the Thai boys have learnt Muay Thai at the young age of 8...

I'll definitely join a school, and i hope to learn more as time goes by. Im not afraid of sweating (Sweating in Singapore is practically part of life here in the tropics, no winter, no autumn, no spring, its summer summer summer here! ) or getting bruises, and im willing to endure as long as i feel i am learning.

Once again, thanks for the help!

[Gentlerock]

From a Singaporean to another

Hi Yong,

I'm a Singaporean too and will try to answer some of your questions from a Singaporean's point of view.

There are actually 5 or 6 places in Singapore where you can learn/practice Muay Thai. Some are gyms, are are just a group of friends who gather to practice (they welcome others) and some are free-lance teachers.

A good teacher will of course find out your fitness level and abilities before throwing the whole book at you, so don't worry. Many local men and women have started Muay Thai and they come in all ages, shapes, sizes and clumsiness. They all cope.

The thing you MUST realise about local Muay Thai schools is that there are some quacks around. About 3 years ago, someone introduced Muay Thai to Singapore and suddenly, people pop up everywhere claiming to be masters, grandmasters, supermasters, mother of all masters of masters and whatever else they can conjure up with their vocabulary (no doubt with some influence from movies as well). I wouldn't be surprised if some of these self-proclaimed masters have been to Thailand only for shopping!!

Being only 16 and still a student, I understand that its not easy for you to just pack up and go to Thailand. Also, you'd probably need an exit permit (from home and state ). Furthermore, if you're like the majority of other students, cost would probably be a very big consideration for you. So would distance from your home be. In short, I think going to Thailand is not quite an option for you.

Having said that, if you do have a chance to go to train Thailand for a while in the future (after NS), you should. I love that country.....great food, nice people, affordable massages, best service standards, etc. I'd migrate there if I had the chance.

I would recommend joining one of the local clubs first. Try it out, see if your interest sustains, the make your next decision after NS. Sure, the quality of instructors matters, but it takes two hands to clap and its also the students who play a major role in the learning process. The wonderful thing about arts like kickboxing is that it leaves some to your own creativity and abilities. Even after going through exactly the same classes, no two kickboxers emerge the same. Its also up to yourself, Yong.

Please check out the following websites (placed in order of my own preference, most preferred first):

(1) http://www.bxgfitness.com - recommended. Expensive, but its a nice, friendly place in the east coast (at Big Splash). Members of all ages. Easy training for beginners.

(2) http://crane.50megs.com/index3f.htm - recommended. There is no gym and they train outdoors in public areas, just like in ancient times. So called "fees" are cheap (almost nothing) - more like a token amount to pay for equipment used, etc. Your mental and physical endurance had better be good if you're gonna join this class, but seeing that you're 16, it shouldn't be a problem. There are some young guys here too. They train at Bukit Timah area, at the hill with the WWII memorial.

(3) http://www.singaporesport.com.sg/boxing_com_sg.htm - if possible, avoid. This is run by a 43-year-old female freelance instructor and I don't think this place has a gym. Claims to have trained and fought for years in Thailand, but her students have some doubts. I have never met her and I'm only repeating what I've heard, be it true, false or exaggerated.

(4) http://www.geocities.com/muaythai_fitness/ - if possible, avoid. This is the biggest Muay Thai gym in Singapore, but I feel that these guys there are money-faced fakes with big stories. They are at the former turf club area in Bukit Timah. They used to make students call the instructors masters, make students bow to masters, bow to the photos of Thai royalty, etc.

(5) Some other freelancers who know a few moves and claim that they're masters. One of them is teaching at the Orchard Road area (some hotel gym) and the other is free-lancing around somewhere. Both are fakes and spin-offs from (4). I heard there are also one or two ang mohs freelancing similarly, but I don't know who they are.

PLEASE DO NOT, under any circumstances, believe everything the instructors tell you. Personally, the ones I trust either fully or partially are (1) and (2). (2) provides the best training.

It should also be mentioned that although (2) provides the toughest training, it is still less than half of the daily fighter's routine in Thailand. In Singapore, we can never put in as much effort as they do in Thailand. They are professionals. As for us....well, we have to study/work in the day and come for training at night as an excuse to have some time off from our spouses/parents.

As for the history of Muay Thai, etc., you can always do your own research, discuss with other enthusiasts, read books/magazines, etc. The internet helps.

Hope I'm not too late in replying and have helped

Regards,
Gentlerock

[Damian Mavis]

Yong, not many of us foreigners to Thailand speak any Thai, they are used to it and you'll learn just fine. People do go to camps as total begginers so I wouldn't worry about that, but I would train in Singapore first if you could. You're 18! Heh I started Muay Thai at 27... but I did start martial arts at 17, my point is unless you're Thai you didn't miss 8 years, 18 is an awesome age to start training. Wish I'd started Muay Thai at 18.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

[Yong]

Greetings to a fellow Singaporean, Gentlerock!

I do have a few queries once again...

I see that Bxg fitness is not a bad place to start, but seeing that im just a student and paying everything out of my own pocket, the price is without a doubt, pretty steep. I doubt i would be joining BXG fitness.

Looking at option two, im pretty interested. I might not be an intensely fit guy, but if NAPFA can be a judge, i've only attained a silver medal this year. The website is pretty intimidating, to tell you the truth, stating that it is for the truly "hardcore". Im not really sure how hardcore the training is, but im definitely going to take a look.

Oh yes, i need to know what language Master Johnnie teaches in... English or Mandarin is alright with me, though i speak poor Mandarin. Also, i have never been to Bukit Batok Nature Park, despite living in Woodlands. How do i get there? As in what buses lead to the place?

Sorry for the unrelenting questions, it's just that im really very interested. If possible, i would visit the place after my O level exams are over, on the 22nd of November.

[Gentlerock]

Hi again Yong,

Ask as many questions as you want. Its really OK, so please don't worry about it.

Johnnie is around 50 now. His style is actually a mixture between Muay Thai with a tinge of some kind of Chinese Kung Fu.
He teaches in Mandarin only, but don't worry because he has Malay students who don't speak a single work of Chinese and they make it too. There is not much talking needed because (1) the only words youll need to know are "punch, kick, elbow, knee, block, harder, faster" (2) you'll be too busy catching your breath.

Johnnie would usually let you try it out for 1-2 sessions first to see if you like it, to see if you can get along with his other students, etc. Its also about friendship....and Johnnie is known to have rejected students because they were unfriendly, arrogant, etc.

As I wrote earlier, please don't believe everything you read or hear. The training is tough, but its sort of enjoyable too. Johnnie has his own strange but effective way of making you wanna do things. Before you know it, you'll be looking forward to the next training session. In fact, you'll feel a nice sense of achievement each time you've completed it.

His training is 3 hours at a time (3-6 days per week) and tougher than NAPFA.....but for a 16-year-old, you shouldn't be worried about tough. You've got the advantage of youth. I've seen young guys there who couldn't even run for their lives when they first joined. But give them two weeks, and gosh......like magic, they were completing the circuit in half my time.

I wanted to give you Johnnie's phone number, but I just realised that I've lost his name card. The last time I spoke with him was about two years ago already.

The most sensible thing I can say to you now is......if you don't start now, but this time next year you'll be asking us "I'm 17 and realise I'm 9 years late in starting Muay Thai, do you think I still can take the training?"

Keep in touch and if you need anything else, just ask. Er....for now, I think you'd better just study and complete your exams first. Talk about Muay Thai afterwards.

Gentlerock