Thep Kasattri

Trainer: "Kick, hit harder, power!"
Dan: "It hurts a bit"
Trainer : (laughing) "no hurt, kick harder!"
Dan: "Err, ok"
Trainer: "Kick higher, punch harder, knee, knee and elbow, yes, yes, jab, hook and uppercut, elbow, faster, faster, faster! 20 push ups, down, and go again"
Dan: ... 😧
Trainer: "Jab, jab, hook, yes, elbow, power, knee, elbow knee and elbow, elbow, left kick, higher, right kick, yes, spinning elbow, 3 kicks, harder, 10 punches, and go again ... and stop"
Dan (...falls over exhausted)
Trainer (laughing) "And go again"
Dan ...😩

It's 30 degree heat, I'm drenched in sweat, my arms and legs feel like they have been hit with a baseball bat, I've done 50+ push ups already and its not even 9.00 AM - and I've willingly paid for a week of this 'experience'.

I have found myself at 'Sumalee Muay Thai' boxing gym on the island of Phuket, and to say training is hard work is a massive understatement.

I've never done anything with such prolonged intensity, the above is just a small sample of a three minute round with a trainer. We do two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon of relentless action, whether that's pad work, sparing, clinching, hitting the bag or general fitness. It's great though and I'm really enjoying it, although my body probably less so - I'm completely spent after every session. I thought having done some martial arts before might have helped - not really, techniques are kind of the opposite here and I'm so out of practice anyway, it doesn't really matter.

The punch bags are ridiculously hard! It's literally like hitting a brick! I'm not even joking, I and most other Westerners can only hit them fairly softly. Watching the Thai's smack them so hard just highlights how tough these guys are. They're slim and lean but their bodies are like steel and they could break even the biggest guys in half. The trainers, although limited with English are really nice guys who have fun whilst pushing you to your limits, and they do really seem to relish testing everyone's limits to the max!

Muay Thai is a brutal sport with very few rules, the aim is to knock out (or score higher than) the opponent, but it's also very respectful and steeped in history. We were fortunate to also learn the 'Wai Kru' an engaging pattern-like flowing movement fighters do to prepare themselves before combat and to mark respect to their opponent and team.

Apart from training there is a great group here and I've met some cool people. The food is amazing and there is a pool and yoga studio too. Randomly there is also a massive pig that sort of just roams around the place - apparently one of staff bought him as a piglet and thought he was one of those micro pigs and wouldn't grow, NOPE, it's huge! I can't bring myself to have the bacon on the menu while he's here.

The camp is set away from the tourist area of Phuket so that people can concentrate on training (it's produced world class fighters - I'm definitely not one of them!) There's a few people here who are staying for months on end to train intensely and fight or get sponsored by the camp. I would perhaps one day like to do similar, although would need a few months before I was ready.

Trainer: "Kick and jab, jab, knee, elbow, yes, elbow, knee, kick, power, hook and punch, uppercut, 20 push ups"
(laughing)
"and go again"
Dan: ... 😣Read more