My Experiences at TMT

I spent 3 amazing weeks at Tiger Muay Thai and decided to write this blog for a couple of reasons; one being the experience of writing a blog, which is something I always wanted to do, and the other, to pass on any information I could think of to people around the world contemplating the option of training at TMT .J

Basically, if you are looking for an adventure, looking to train in martial arts or simply lose weight hard core style, you will not regret going to Tiger Muay Thai. I came upon TMT via Google. I Googled the words "Muay Thai Training Camp Thailand", and started reading about the different camps in Thailand that came up. After researching all my options, I finally chose to go to TMT for several reasons. I liked the fact that their web site was extremely informative and professional and that they posted videos of the camp's training facilities and videos of rooms to rent in the camp and nearby. I felt that it looked extremely western- friendly and I also liked what I read about the camp in other people's blogs. All this information made me feel comfortable with my decision to try out TMT.

I flew out to Thailand without having booked accommodation or training. I knew that this wasn’t going to be a problem, as this was during low season (September) and I had emailed TMT asking them if it was ok to come without booking. I don’t know what it's like during high season though, so you may need to check that out.

What I did do was to book the taxi from the airport in advance (see post regarding airport and taxi).

I am glad I didn’t book my training in advance. I really believe the only reason you should book training in advance is if you lack motivation or dedication and are afraid you will quit if you don’t have the fear of losing money in front of your eyes. Otherwise, in my humble opinion it’s a mistake, as TMT have a "no money back" policy in case of injury or if you quit.

True, you do pay less in aggregate by paying in advance, but that’s only if you go to almost all lessons without exception. From what I experienced, and from what I learnt from my conversations with fellow trainees who had paid in advance, it's almost impossible to come to every single class paid for (twice a day). You will experience some days of fatigue or minor injuries, and in those cases it's best to take the day off, to allow your body to recuperate, otherwise you are just going to injure yourself and ruin your entire training experience. Once you miss a lesson you lose whatever savings you had by paying in advance, and you still stand to lose all your money if you get injured and can't train.

I paid for the first two weeks in advance (each week I paid for a week in advance) and then for my third week I paid for each lesson separately. I found this arrangement suited me best, as by week three I definitely needed some time-off.

When I started training, I opted to start out in the beginner's class. I had done a couple of months of Muay Thai about 3 years before, but wanted to have a fresh start at Tiger.  I also wanted to make sure my cardio was up to par with everyone there, and what's more, I didn’t feel like sparring with intermediates from the get go without feeling fully confident. After a few days, I was told I could move to the Intermediate class, but chose to spend a week in beginners to feel more comfortable, get in better shape and perfect my basic technique in class and in private lessons - I wasn’t in a rush J. No one is going to make you do anything you aren’t comfortable with.