Krabi Adventure #3 : Muay Thai Experience
Muay Thai is like to Thai like Football is to Americans. Muay Thai is a national sport that uses stand up striking and clinching techniques. This form of martial arts is also known as the “art of eight limbs” because it uses fists, elbows, knees, shins (Wikipedia).
My boyfriend is a martial arts enthusiast and taking a Muay Thai Class in Thailand was on his bucket list. When we were Krabi we found Ao Nang Krabi Stadium about a mile away from the main drag of Ao Nang Beach. This gym is easily accessible by the local transportation “tuk-tuk” and it is about 100 Baht to get there. 400 Baht or $12 gets you a private two hour lesson with one of the experience fighters of the gym. The first hour is training how to kick, punch, elbow, and knee. The second hour is working on kicks on a punching bag with an instructor. I lucked out and received training from the owner of the gym since I told him it was my first time taking a Muay Thai class. He did not take it easy on me...this class is physical and you will get bumps and bruises from al the kicking and punching but it is an experience learning this art form. Few tips: Bring a water bottle or bottles they aren’t sold at the gym; wear short and a tank it does get hot; bring your own hand wraps and gloves if you have it; don’t worry about bring athletic shoes, no shoes in the ring; might be hard to understand because of the language barrier but if you hear “yip” just punch!