What to Look for in a Good Muay Thai Gym

Amongst all the debates online over Tourist Gyms vs Fight Gyms, gyms in Phuket vs gyms in Bangkok, I just wanna make one thing clear - Most gyms in Thailand are gonna be pretty good especially if you train 6 days a week one or two times per day. There's only a small handful or gyms where you might get a bad experience.

That being said what do I think makes a gym better than the rest? I think there are some signs that can help you determine whether a gym is better than the rest. Here's what I look out for:

A Strong Roster of Competitive Fighters

One of the best indicators of a good gym is whether they have a roster of Thai fighters competing at a decent level. If a gym has fighters regularly competing in high-level stadiums like Lumpinee or Rajadamnern, it's a great sign that the training is of the top level. Be wary though because some gyms will claim that you are training with top level fighters but actually they are just foreigners competing on the tourist scene and this is not what I'm talking about.

There is a popular gym in Phuket that is probably the most dominant on social media, but in over ten years they have never produced a single fighter to compete on the Bangkok Muay Thai scene. You are not getting the best training at gyms like this!

Young Thai Kids Training

Most good gyms will have kids training daily, but reputable gyms tend to attract more of the young local talent. Families send their kids to these gyms because they trust the quality of the training and the trainers. If you see a strong presence of Thai kids training, that's a good sign your at a good gym.

It's also a massive investment from the gym to spend 5-10 years training kids (Usually free of charge) and shows love for the sport and dedication from the owners, (you rarely find this at tourist gyms)

Experienced Coaches with Fighting Backgrounds

It’s not a rule that the best fighters make the best coaches, but high-level gyms typically employ trainers who have fought at the top level. Coaches who were former champions or competed at the elite Muay Thai stadiums bring a depth of knowledge and experiece that’s hard to beat. There are a few foreign owned gyms in Thailand with trainers who have never trained or fought Muay Thai before. Do your research into who the coaches are at the gyms you want to go to.

Trainers Who Live at the Gym

This one’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it's kind of true: the best trainers live at the gym (They usually have a small bedroom on site). They live and breathe Muay Thai and they’ll be at the gym from the start of the day until the end, leading classes, teaching privates, and supporting fighters when they're going to the stadium! When they're done they're off the bed which is usually somewhere at the gym!

A Close Family Unit

A good gym functions like a family. When one of their fighters is competing, the whole team shows up to support them. It’s a great sign when you see former champions passionately cheering for a beginner in their first fight. You tend to only find this at the smaller and medium-sized gyms. Gyms that have over 100 members at the group class tend to only send a tiny amount of people to support a fighter at the stadium, smaller and medium sized gyms tend to send everyone from the gym to support a fighter!

Running is Non-Negotiable

'No run, no Muay Thai.' In high-level gyms, running is essential, and fighters won’t be allowed to skip it, especially if they’re preparing for a serious fight. Some tourist gyms may make exceptions, but real fight gyms take running very seriously.

Daily Clinch Training

If you want to fight at a high level, clinching is essential. Good gyms will have clinch training every day or atleast a structured clinch program. If a gym avoids teaching it, it’s likely a tourist gym (some gyms in Thailand will claim to teach the clinch and don't!). You won’t develop the full skillset you need to succeed in Muay Thai if you are not clinching everyday.

I would argue if your gym is not teaching you any clinch work you're not training at a proper Muay Thai Gym.

Connections to Stadiums and Promoters

Top gyms have strong connections to numerous stadiums, promotions, and organizations, both in Thailand and internationally. If a gym is sending fighters all over the world, it’s likely because they’re producing world class talent.

If a gym is claiming they can get you fights, don't be afraid to ask them what the last big event was they sent a fighter to - Gyms that are only sending fighters to the local stadiums are not top tier gyms, but be wary gyms will lie to you. Do not be afraid to ask the tough questions!

Class size? Not to Big!

In Thailand the common consensus is that you get better training at the smaller and medium sized gyms than at the bigger gyms. Theres a few reasons why but briefly:

• Smaller gyms offer more pad rounds, giving you extra practice.
• Smaller gyms you'll get more focused attention from the trainers
• You'll develope a better rapport and relationship with your trainers
• Larger gyms tend to treat students more like customers than dedicated fighters.

Authentic Cultural Experience

This could be a controversial take but if I'm going to travel halfway around the world I want to train at a gym that offers something different from the gyms in my home country. I want to experience some of what Thailand can offer, that I can't get at home. I want to train where the Thai kids train, eat the food they eat, hang out and live at the camp like they do. I don't really want to turn up at a gym to see thr class 95% foreigners but that's just me.

Clean and Well-maintained Facilities

While facilities vary greatly across gyms in Thailand, especially in some of the more rural areas - a clean and safe environment is very important. Look out for gyms where there are a lot of outbreaks of staph and other infections. Although I will admit the better gyms I've trained at in Thailand have never been the cleanest and I would probably sacrifice some cleanly-ness for better training, as long as there's a working shower I can use at the end of every class!

Attention for Beginners

Training beginners isn't as rewarding as just polishing up the skills of someone already competing at the top. Only trainers with a true passion for Muay Thai treat all of their students the same and a good judgement for any gym is how well they treat their beginner students. I've wrote a little bit about it here, breifly if you are a beginner you want to make sure your gym will take the time to teach you the basics and not try to palm you off by teaching you an elbow combination that you'll never use in an amateur or professional fight!

Muay Thai Lineage

This is probably just advice for the Muay Thai Purists who still respect the old culture. Does your gym owner/trainers come from a good Muay Thai Lineage? Did they train during their own fight career at one of the top gyms from the golden era? Sityodtong, Jocky Gym, Lukbanyai etc.

It's not easy to find the right gym, but I want to re-iterate - Most gyms in Thailand are gonna be pretty good! These are just some of the factors that I look for that seperate some of my favourite and least favourite gyms.