Training Muay Thai in Thailand Vorapin camp and AKA.
My first trip to Thailand was in 2006 as part of a backpacking trip that I did to Thailand/Cambodia before my first marriage.
But before I speak of my experiences training at a camp, It is important to understand what 2006 was like in Calgary. It was a time when the city I lived in Calgary Alberta, was absolutely booming!
Calgary was a feast for Oil and Gas. Oil prices were over $100 dollars a barrel. House prices were skyrocketing, and the city was growing at unprecedented levels.
That the time, 2006 was the most money I had made at that point in time, and I was pretty smart about it, but I had an itch to travel. I worked full time at an incredibly busy plumbing and heating company and 3 nights a week at the "Palomino by Milestones", an incredibly busy bar in the busiest part of the airport in Calgary! I made $500 to $600 dollars a weekend at a job I absolutely loved.
More importantly, I had already purchased my first home 2 years prior and was enjoying living rent free (in the basement of my own home) with thousands of dollars of extra money just adding up in my account. I was dating the woman who became my first wife and life could not have been better!
November was traditionally a slow month at the airport and I asked my manager for a month off to allow other staff to get the hours they wanted. She agreed and promised me my job back when I returned.
I booked my flight and told my parents and then girlfriend that I was gone for a month, it was truly a life changing experience. I landed in Bangkok after 22 hours on planes and in airports and I loved every second of it. I went to guided temple tours, waterfall treks and walked along the many markets in vibrant Bangkok. Regardless of all the touristy stuff..Muay thai training was in my head constantly..and I could not wait to throw knuckle.
I walked into Vorapin Gym (Gym 1) and it was everything I thought a Muay Thai Gym should be at the time...it was array with various champions in both boxing and Muay Thai..there were foreigners from every nation you could think of training there. When everyone was training, the atmosphere was electric. From pads being hit, to the smell of muscle rubbing ointment, to the trainers yelling...It is an atmosphere I truly relish.
I showed up weighing in at a lean 135 pounds and fairly out of shape. But the workout was enough to whip anyone into shape and quick! 20 minutes of skipping, and a quick shadow boxing warm up before you hit the pads with one of the trainers. I loved every second of it. My trainers were Khru Naan pictured at top with myself and journeyman fighter Chawan Sor Vorapin (pictured on right). Khru Naan was a Rajdamneon Stadium Champion and Chawan Sor Vorapin was a number 3 ranked welterweight.
The basics of the workout were the same for everyone:
20 minutes skipping to start ( in +35 degree heat it was the longest 20 minutes of my life!)
10 minute warm up/stretch led by the teacher
20 minutes of instructor led heavy bag work (usually leg kicks and teeps)
3 rounds of Pao (hitting pads) with one of the senior instructors
3 rounds of boxing hitting pads with the boxing teacher
3 rounds of clinch work with Khu Naan (who would toy with me at will)
The gym had a vibe that could not be repeated anywhere I had been at the time. During class time, all you could hear was the hissing of people punching at pads, and the banging of the bags, it was honestly magical. I got to know the teachers in between workouts and they were lives were interesting to say the least. Khru Naan retired with 150 plus fights. His daughter had tragically drowned in a village and his wife took it incredibly hard and left him as a result. Chawan Sor Vorapin had fought all over the world and had started his Muay Thai career at 14 years old. He was still active at the time and lost to the great Andy Sauer shortly after I had left. I trained there for 3 weeks before coming back to Calgary. My first trip to Thailand was unforgettable to say the least, I talked about it for years afterwards!
I returned to Thailand in July of 2015 and can say that I was a completely different person. I had been divorced from my first wife for 3 years and was engaged to my new girlfriend (we married that August and are expecting our first child at the time of my writing this). I went there to collect my thoughts and remove myself from my daily life. I wanted to find stillness again. The truth is I really didn't find it at all.....but I knew I at least had to try. The beast inside me is much tamer now, and I am glad I let it out my inner anger in a constructive way.
I walked back into Vorapin gym 9 years later and it felt like a zombie movie. All the previous champions that I had known (including the head instructor) had now retired. I was the only one in class (until another Russian girl joined us.) I went through pads and a light warm up with the teacher and he acted as if he was doing me a favour by being there. I was glad to leave. It was a reminder that time truly does move on, and keeping things alive in your memories is the only way they stay alive.
I headed south to Phuket and went to the famed A.K.A. gym and what an incredible gym that was! The gym was run by Ultimate fighter veteran Mike Swick. He was hands down one of the nicest guys I have met. Below is a pic of myself and Mike Swick.
The trainers at AKA were authentic Thai fighters (some still current) and very nice. Everyone was kind and the training was top notch to say the least. The facility included a restaurant across from the gym as well as another VERY impressive two story building that housed a weight room on the top floor and a BJJ matted room on the main floor. The shower and washroom facilities were top notch (keep in mind that I am a clean freak) and they were working on lodging facilities at the time I visited!
The gym is owned and financed by millionaire Blair Speers (an Edmontonian ex wrestler) who had a douche bag vibe from the moment I met him. He looked and talked like Donald Trump but took a liking to me (like most people do) because I was from the same city as him.
After training one day we all sat in the restaurant and watched Cain Velasquez (The AKA poster boy at the time) get destroyed my Junior De Santos. I had to giggle when the owner Blair kept letting me know why Cain Velasquez would win and then watched all of the A.K.A. guys in horror when he lost in the first round! Below is a pic Mike Swick took on his twitter account, and I am in the photo wearing a white shirt on the right with my hand on my chin (Blair "Donald trump" Speers is on the left with his fists up like a fat guy at a monster truck show).
These trips are never really about the training itself. At my intermediate level, there is nothing in Asia I cannot find in North America and I am honestly not at a skill level where it would make a difference. These trips are about the people I met, and the souls I encountered.
One such soul was Aziz Almatowa. A young and incredible friendly Karateka who also trained submission wrestling with the famed Erik Paulson in Minnesota. He was one of the kindest people I had met on my trip, and we clicked instantly. After training we went to the beach and talked about his life. He came from great wealth in his native Kuwait. He had competed at the world stage in Karate and at the age of only 20, had beaten some big names in his sport. Aziz trained in the full contact style of Kyokushinkai Karate. Kyokushinkai is the closest Karate style to Muay thai, and watching Aziz hit pads was an absolute pleasure. He had the power of a bull and the speed to back it up.
More important than his martial prowess, I got to know Aziz as a person. Through conversation, I had learned how had left a relationship back in Kuwait (that broke his heart) and traveled to the US to learn English. It never ceases to amaze me how kids from other nations are so mature so young! at 20 I was as dumb as a kite and could not get a bank account opened, this kid had already travelled around the world to learn English and fought at the world stage! WTF!
Aziz and I went to Patong beach that day after training, he insisted on my riding on the back of his motorbike and he would not let me pay for anything. We went to a Shawarma place off of Patong beach and his Arabic was so charismatic, other Arabs in the restaurant would listen when he talked. I hope I meet him again, as he is one person I hope to never forget.
Thailand will always have a special place in my heart. I long to go back there, I hope to take my wife and child there one day too!
But before I speak of my experiences training at a camp, It is important to understand what 2006 was like in Calgary. It was a time when the city I lived in Calgary Alberta, was absolutely booming!
Calgary was a feast for Oil and Gas. Oil prices were over $100 dollars a barrel. House prices were skyrocketing, and the city was growing at unprecedented levels.
That the time, 2006 was the most money I had made at that point in time, and I was pretty smart about it, but I had an itch to travel. I worked full time at an incredibly busy plumbing and heating company and 3 nights a week at the "Palomino by Milestones", an incredibly busy bar in the busiest part of the airport in Calgary! I made $500 to $600 dollars a weekend at a job I absolutely loved.
More importantly, I had already purchased my first home 2 years prior and was enjoying living rent free (in the basement of my own home) with thousands of dollars of extra money just adding up in my account. I was dating the woman who became my first wife and life could not have been better!
November was traditionally a slow month at the airport and I asked my manager for a month off to allow other staff to get the hours they wanted. She agreed and promised me my job back when I returned.
I booked my flight and told my parents and then girlfriend that I was gone for a month, it was truly a life changing experience. I landed in Bangkok after 22 hours on planes and in airports and I loved every second of it. I went to guided temple tours, waterfall treks and walked along the many markets in vibrant Bangkok. Regardless of all the touristy stuff..Muay thai training was in my head constantly..and I could not wait to throw knuckle.
I walked into Vorapin Gym (Gym 1) and it was everything I thought a Muay Thai Gym should be at the time...it was array with various champions in both boxing and Muay Thai..there were foreigners from every nation you could think of training there. When everyone was training, the atmosphere was electric. From pads being hit, to the smell of muscle rubbing ointment, to the trainers yelling...It is an atmosphere I truly relish.
I showed up weighing in at a lean 135 pounds and fairly out of shape. But the workout was enough to whip anyone into shape and quick! 20 minutes of skipping, and a quick shadow boxing warm up before you hit the pads with one of the trainers. I loved every second of it. My trainers were Khru Naan pictured at top with myself and journeyman fighter Chawan Sor Vorapin (pictured on right). Khru Naan was a Rajdamneon Stadium Champion and Chawan Sor Vorapin was a number 3 ranked welterweight.
The basics of the workout were the same for everyone:
20 minutes skipping to start ( in +35 degree heat it was the longest 20 minutes of my life!)
10 minute warm up/stretch led by the teacher
20 minutes of instructor led heavy bag work (usually leg kicks and teeps)
3 rounds of Pao (hitting pads) with one of the senior instructors
3 rounds of boxing hitting pads with the boxing teacher
3 rounds of clinch work with Khu Naan (who would toy with me at will)
The gym had a vibe that could not be repeated anywhere I had been at the time. During class time, all you could hear was the hissing of people punching at pads, and the banging of the bags, it was honestly magical. I got to know the teachers in between workouts and they were lives were interesting to say the least. Khru Naan retired with 150 plus fights. His daughter had tragically drowned in a village and his wife took it incredibly hard and left him as a result. Chawan Sor Vorapin had fought all over the world and had started his Muay Thai career at 14 years old. He was still active at the time and lost to the great Andy Sauer shortly after I had left. I trained there for 3 weeks before coming back to Calgary. My first trip to Thailand was unforgettable to say the least, I talked about it for years afterwards!
I returned to Thailand in July of 2015 and can say that I was a completely different person. I had been divorced from my first wife for 3 years and was engaged to my new girlfriend (we married that August and are expecting our first child at the time of my writing this). I went there to collect my thoughts and remove myself from my daily life. I wanted to find stillness again. The truth is I really didn't find it at all.....but I knew I at least had to try. The beast inside me is much tamer now, and I am glad I let it out my inner anger in a constructive way.
I walked back into Vorapin gym 9 years later and it felt like a zombie movie. All the previous champions that I had known (including the head instructor) had now retired. I was the only one in class (until another Russian girl joined us.) I went through pads and a light warm up with the teacher and he acted as if he was doing me a favour by being there. I was glad to leave. It was a reminder that time truly does move on, and keeping things alive in your memories is the only way they stay alive.
I headed south to Phuket and went to the famed A.K.A. gym and what an incredible gym that was! The gym was run by Ultimate fighter veteran Mike Swick. He was hands down one of the nicest guys I have met. Below is a pic of myself and Mike Swick.
The trainers at AKA were authentic Thai fighters (some still current) and very nice. Everyone was kind and the training was top notch to say the least. The facility included a restaurant across from the gym as well as another VERY impressive two story building that housed a weight room on the top floor and a BJJ matted room on the main floor. The shower and washroom facilities were top notch (keep in mind that I am a clean freak) and they were working on lodging facilities at the time I visited!
The gym is owned and financed by millionaire Blair Speers (an Edmontonian ex wrestler) who had a douche bag vibe from the moment I met him. He looked and talked like Donald Trump but took a liking to me (like most people do) because I was from the same city as him.
After training one day we all sat in the restaurant and watched Cain Velasquez (The AKA poster boy at the time) get destroyed my Junior De Santos. I had to giggle when the owner Blair kept letting me know why Cain Velasquez would win and then watched all of the A.K.A. guys in horror when he lost in the first round! Below is a pic Mike Swick took on his twitter account, and I am in the photo wearing a white shirt on the right with my hand on my chin (Blair "Donald trump" Speers is on the left with his fists up like a fat guy at a monster truck show).
These trips are never really about the training itself. At my intermediate level, there is nothing in Asia I cannot find in North America and I am honestly not at a skill level where it would make a difference. These trips are about the people I met, and the souls I encountered.
One such soul was Aziz Almatowa. A young and incredible friendly Karateka who also trained submission wrestling with the famed Erik Paulson in Minnesota. He was one of the kindest people I had met on my trip, and we clicked instantly. After training we went to the beach and talked about his life. He came from great wealth in his native Kuwait. He had competed at the world stage in Karate and at the age of only 20, had beaten some big names in his sport. Aziz trained in the full contact style of Kyokushinkai Karate. Kyokushinkai is the closest Karate style to Muay thai, and watching Aziz hit pads was an absolute pleasure. He had the power of a bull and the speed to back it up.
More important than his martial prowess, I got to know Aziz as a person. Through conversation, I had learned how had left a relationship back in Kuwait (that broke his heart) and traveled to the US to learn English. It never ceases to amaze me how kids from other nations are so mature so young! at 20 I was as dumb as a kite and could not get a bank account opened, this kid had already travelled around the world to learn English and fought at the world stage! WTF!
Aziz and I went to Patong beach that day after training, he insisted on my riding on the back of his motorbike and he would not let me pay for anything. We went to a Shawarma place off of Patong beach and his Arabic was so charismatic, other Arabs in the restaurant would listen when he talked. I hope I meet him again, as he is one person I hope to never forget.
Thailand will always have a special place in my heart. I long to go back there, I hope to take my wife and child there one day too!
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