I have been doing some training in Thailand within past couple of months.
I started muay thai about 2 years ago, took it seriously pretty much 6 or 7 months ago, and am primarily a grappler. But I really fell in love with muay thai and nyc was cold so I decided to get out and train some.
In bangkok I trained with Poptheeratham.
Structure: Run one of three routes, a 20-25 minute short one, 35-40 minute medium one, or about an hour long one.
Very quick shadow boxing, then either you work with Kru Ni on technique/shadow for a while then pads.
Pad rounds were random, sometimes I would do one 15 minute round it seemed like, and then a shorter second round. Sometimes 3 rounds of about 5 minutes (don't know if they were timed).
Then kick bag for a while, and spar or clinch.
This gym was SUPER technical. It seemed that everything I did was corrected. I learned a lot of tricks and the fighters were very good. Also they have you shadow and hit pads from both southpaw and orthodox which was good and unique.
I lived on camp site, and I didn't miss a training and worked hard but ended up gaining weight! This is due to the food being so good that they make for you if you stay on camp.
Now I am at Sinbi in phuket, some people run and others just take class. Class starts with 10-15 mins of skipping or running around the gym, then a group stretch, then two rounds of shadow boxing. While you shadow box, sometimes a coach will come up to you and have you hit into their palms and work on some technique.
After, it is very structured. People separate to either do pads or do bag work. 5 three minute rounds, everything by the clock. After you are done with one or the other, you switch. After finishing both, you do one of the three : clinch, spar, or work calisthenics / technique with other people.
The training is good and very cardio intensive. They are extremely structured and have like 15+ coaches. Mostly foreigners though, a couple of thai boys sparring sometimes too.
Hope this helps some people!
