I think this thread is great and I'll definitely be using it in the future. Bookmarked for sure!
Here's my review on Muaythai Institute:
Address: 317 Pahonyothin Road, Prachatipat Thanyaburee, Pathumthani 12130
Phone: (02) 9920096-99
Web:
Welcome to MuayThai Institute, Rangsit Thailand recognized by Ministry of Education and World MuayThai Council. High-Standard MuayThai training with Certificate & Transcript!!
First, and this is the most important, do NOT come here if you are an EXPERIENCED Muaythai practitioner!! This gym is definitely here for farang who pretty much need to learn from the ground up without being thrown into the difficulties of a fighter camp. To my mistake, I thought it was different than this. However, being here shows me how 'good' this place is for guys who don't know anything or know very little. It's definitely a place that will teach you the basics of Muaythai well and properly. But again, if you know your stuff, do NOT come here.
Location: MTI is about 25 minutes or so (north, I think?) away from BKK in the Rangsit area. There are many things around the area when it comes to food, and entertainment. Future Park Mall is only about a 15 minute walk away, a 8 minute cab ride or a 5 minute motorbike taxi ride away. The mall is HUGE and has everything you'd ever need. Also, there is a Major Cineplex attached to it as well, and a bowling alley. There is also plenty of street vendors about 5 minutes away, with a Makro to buy groceries only a 15 minute walk away as well. To me, being in Rangsit was a little nicer because there are 'barely' any farang around. The people seem generally nicer than the experiences I had in BKK, but you're definitely stared at/giggled at much more here. You get used to it. Also, since this isn't BKK, you won't find near as many people who can speak English, so make sure you at least know some basics. (hello, thank you, chicken, rice, you know...
)
There is also a bar literally 2 minutes away if you are interested in a little Saturday night drinking. Rangsit Stadium is right there as well but unfortunately it is closed for renovations. Normally, they'd hold fights there every Tues/Thurs, which would be nice to see. And a hotel to stay at if you don't wanna stay in the camp dorm. (ie. you want to bring back Thai girls or hookers)
Gym: The training area is very big and spacious and has plenty of equipment. There are probably about 7-8 long heavybags, with another 5 shorter sandbags, some double end speed bags, those fat teardrop bags that I don't know what they're officially called, and two rings. You can also buy any sort of equipment you want here as they have a fully stocked store. I'm not too sure whether or not the prices are fair or not, but they're definitely cheaper than anything you'd find in North America. I'm sure in BKK, you can probably find even cheaper. Shorts are about 500 baht, gloves 800 baht, and you can buy pads, heavybags, etc.
Training: There are 4 sessions per day that you can show up to. 7-9, 12-2, 3-5, 5:30-7:30. They generally recommend you come to 7-9 and 3-5, but if you wanted, you could show up at any of those 4 times to train. One negative here is warming up is very 'light'. You won't be running 8-10km to warmup like a lot of other 'serious' camps. Pretty much running around the training area, jump rope, or tire, for about 20 minutes is what is used for warmup. Depending on your prior knowledge of Muaythai, you will be thrown into different things. New people to Muaythai will begin with basics like jab, cross, kicking, steps, etc. Intermediate will start getting into knees, combinations, etc. Advanced you will get shadow, pad work, then sand bag to generally end the training.
The afternoon class usually consists of similar stuff for beginners/intermediate. Advanced generally will get a couple rounds of shadow, then sandbag, or sparring techniques, sparring, clinching. Overall, none of the sessions are overly difficult. The atmosphere is pretty 'laid back' and fun. The Thai's that train here are not 'serious' fighters. They might be older and past their prime and come to mess around. Others are just there to learn, for exercise, etc. The trainers are all ex-champs I believe except for one, who seems to be relegated to teaching only little kids. The range of English proficiency in the trainers range from very little to fluent. But I think like most people, once you talk to them for a certain amount of time, you begin to piece their English together better and can actually converse/understand eachother.
Overall, MTI is a good camp and it's definitely a place where people who want to learn Muaythai but are too scared to go to one of the more 'serious' camps can flourish here. My recommendation, if anyone is a little weary about a fighter camp, is to come here for a month, learn the basics from the ground up, then go to a fighter camp. 1 month here, if you train enough, is enough to get a good base of Muaythai where you could go to another serious camp without having any problems. However, if you already are experienced, this is definitely not the place for you.