Kru Muay Thai — Review

Gym Review: Kru Muay Thai, Kathu – Phuket

I recently trained at Kru Muay Thai, a newly opened gym in Kathu, Phuket. It’s owned and run by Kru Maew, a former elite-level Muay Thai fighter who became a Rajadamnern Stadium champion at just 21 years old. The gym has only been open a few months and is immaculately maintained.

Class Schedule

Kru Muay Thai currently offers three classes per day, each lasting 1.5-2 hours:

• Morning: 8:00–10:00 AM
• Evening: 4:00–5:30 PM and 6:00–7:30 PM

Classes run Monday to Saturday.

As someone who used to live as a digital nomad, I appreciate this flexible schedule. Being able to train in either the morning—or twice in the evenings—would have been ideal back when I was balancing work and training. The opportunity to train up to three hours in the evening makes this timetable stand out.

Class Format

The sessions follow a traditional Muay Thai structure:

• Warm-up with stretching and skipping
• Shadowboxing
• Pad work or bag work (3 x 5-minute rounds)
• Supervised sparring
• Technique drills
• Cool down

During my visit, there were six students in class—four Thai and two European—with two instructors, offering a strong 3:1 student-to-teacher ratio.

Instruction & Atmosphere

Kru Maew speaks excellent English, well above average for Thai trainers. His passion for Muay Thai is immediately evident, and with his championship pedigree and teaching experience, I’d rank him among the top trainers in Phuket.

Who Is This Gym For?

• Serious fighters looking for focused, high-level instruction without being lost in a crowd.
• Beginners who want a welcoming environment and a teacher committed to building solid fundamentals like footwork and defense.

Who Might It Not Suit?

• If you’re looking for a wide variety of sparring partners, a larger gym may offer more diversity in that regard—at least until this gym grows.

Facilities

The gym is spotlessly clean, featuring:

• 8 heavy bags
• A compact ring
• Skipping ropes
• Wall mirrors
• An ice bath

It has everything you need for serious training, with a no-frills but professional setup.

Pricing

Currently priced at 7,650 THB/month for two classes per day, it’s possibly the best value-for-money gym in Phuket. The regular price will eventually be 9,000 THB/month, which still represents excellent value considering the level of instruction and small class sizes.

Overall

When trainers of this caliber open gyms in Phuket, they often grow quickly once the word spreads. Right now, Kru Muay Thai feels like a hidden gem—a friendly, focused environment led by a world-class trainer with a personal approach to coaching.

You can contact the gym via their Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/krumuaythaiphuket

Gym location

https://maps.app.goo.gl/oFAALe7pfAxSvH4dA?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy

10-Point Must System for Reviewing Gyms.

⁠How long is the highest level, publicly available training session a gym has to offer (excluding invite-only or sponsored fight team training)?

⁠• ⁠2+ hours

⁠How many rounds of pads do you get with a Kru per training session?

⁠• ⁠3 rounds

⁠How often can you train clinching?

⁠• ⁠Every session

⁠How often can you spar?

⁠• ⁠Everyday

⁠What is the approximate number of students per session?

⁠• ⁠Low end: 1

⁠• ⁠High end: 10

⁠• ⁠Average: 6

⁠Approximately how many Krus are on the floor during a training session?

⁠• ⁠2

⁠Student to Coach Ratio

⁠• ⁠3:1

⁠Are training sessions mostly self-guided, uniform, or choose your own adventure?

⁠• ⁠Uniform. Everyone gets 3 rounds of pads, bag work and sparring, clinching and technical drills almost every session.

⁠Quality of Facility (1-10 scale)

⁠• ⁠6 out of 10, it has everything you need, but this is not the place for you if you are searching for a huge tourist gym.

⁠Your 2 cents

If you’re looking for elite-level training in a more focused and personal setting, this gym is definitely worth considering.