Article: Review of Chalong Chi – Muay Thai Kickboxing Gym in Phuket, Thailand
A not-so-savory first experience with a Muay Thai kickboxing gym in Phuket left me questioning the desire to investigate this ancient martial art any further, at least in Thailand, but in the interest of leaving a lush, tropical paradise on a positive note, I was compelled to reconsider. I consulted a second kickboxing gym within close proximity to the first in an effort to salvage a semblance of proper technique wrought from a grueling month-long, twice-daily dedication to learning kickboxing.
Chalong Chi was started by Sean Douglas and his wife, Paweena Sripan. Sean’s experience as a fighter was key in starting up Tiger Muay Thai before he was edged out of the business and thus opened up another gym nearby. Paweena, affectionately called ‘Bo’ around the gym, is part of the youngest generation of a Thai family with over 200 years of Muay Thai kickboxing experience. Most of Chalong Chi’s students were escapees from the gym where I had trained and not one critical word was uttered, so I decided to venture over and see what all the fuss was about. The nondescript gym is positioned off a palm tree-lined, two-lane road, nestled in between rubber tree plantations and the shadow of Wat Chalong in suburban Chalong, Phuket.
Within minutes of stepping foot on the property, Bo welcomed me and led me over to a gazebo where both Sean and she had been relaxing before the start of afternoon practice. Sean and I discussed my limited training experience over an icy glass of Fanta Orange, specifically what I wanted to gain from such a short-term program. My primary goal was to polish up my skills and technique so I could be confident that my understanding of kickboxing is representative of the time which I had invested in training. If I chose to continue my training back home, I wanted to know that I could practice in a public setting without hearing roars of laughter from the peanut gallery.
Within a half-hour of talking to Sean, I already had a good feeling about his program, his level of experience and expertise, his business and work ethic, and more importantly, general concern for his students. While he doesn’t forbid riding a motorbike in Phuket, the gym does not rent them due to the seriousness and multitude of the accidents which happen routinely on the island. As an alternative, he offers weekly shuttle service to the local supermarket and the weekly fights to insure everyone’s safety while still getting a slice of much-needed independence when you are trapped in Thai suburbia.
In the week that I spent with Sean and the trainers at Chalong Chi, I was able to begin the correction of my bad habits and flawed technique in posture, stance, walk, and handwork. The twice-daily training sessions consisted of a brutal six kilometer run in the morning (the afternoon practice run was shorter); thirty minutes of building up ankle strength by jumping on tires, jumping rope, and shadow boxing; forty minutes of bag work, and three to five rounds in the ring. The cardio alone killed me even after one month of training twice a day under my belt. The unique part of Sean’s training sessions, and the part which I found most helpful, were the thorough explanations of basic boxing mechanics and the theory behind each movement.
The gym’s policy of maintaining a limited number of guests increases the amount of individual attention in the space they provide. With only a week’s worth of time to invest in training, I felt that I had come away with a greater understanding of kickboxing and a sense that the focus was more on the individual and not the almighty dollar.
cristi.farrell