Learning Muay Thai in Thailand

I love to try new things when I am travelling, but I can honestly say that learning Muay Thai was never something that was on my list.

I had been to Thailand multiple times seeing the sights, enjoying the food, the lifestyle and weather. I had just arrived back in Chiang Mai from two big trips in Nepal and Mongolia. I had done the 16 day Annapurna trek in Nepal and was feeling pretty good about myself, my weight and my physical abilities. I then did a few horse treks in Mongolia and was feeling pretty strong. When I arrived in Chiang Mai I didn’t want to lose my momentum of physical happiness.

I was looking into gyms since I was going to be here a month. Gyms are what I knew…want to be physically active, go to a gym or join a sport. The thought of joining a gym there was pretty depressing to me, though. Then I started noticing signs to learn Muay Thai. Skykick Muay Thai gym was just up the road from where I was staying, how very convenient!

I went to check it out…talked to the owners and watched others doing a class. I immediately wanted to join as they made it look like so much fun and were patient with new students.  The next day I took out a pass with them for a few days. The first day…Oi, dear god, it is one hell of a workout! Not only are you working your butt off with little breaks, but it is also an open-air gym so the humidity of being in Thailand made me a very sweaty Betty!

I didn’t have many workout clothes with me, so every night after practice I would wash my “gym clothes” in the shower and hang them to dry for the next day. I found, when you find something you love you will make it work.

I was very slow to begin with but I was determined to get better. When it is something fun and I can have a laugh with my trainers, it really made me want to go all the time, so I did. I was in Chiang Mai for a month and I went every single day I was there. I looked forward to going and getting my butt kicked while getting stronger. I got into great shape and I felt better about myself. Feeling stronger and a lot more secure travelling on my own was an amazing by-product that I never even thought of.

Half way through my training here I sprained my ankle, not severely, but I still continued to go. We would work only on the upper body and left the kicking and running till it got better. Classes were 90 minutes long and incorporated a warm up with running and calisthenics. Then we went into punching and kicking training and combinations. It is a full body workout that builds endurance as well as strength and mental capabilities.

I made some amazing friends who I still keep in touch with today. Even though learning Muay Thai was never on my radar, it became one of my favourite things I did. My training didn’t end there either. When I got home I didn’t have to look hard to find a Muay Thai gym to continue to train and meet more amazing people. Every time I go back to Thailand I get my Muay Thai on to keep the training up and will always continue to do so.

So when you travel, be open to things that may jump out at you to try, you never know how it will change your life.