As the taxi pulled in at Rawai Muay Thai butterfly’s filled my belly as I realized that all the talk was about to become reality. We had made no booking (not sure if this was due to lack of commitment & being terrified of actually doing this) but it did not matter. The girls in the office had us sorted in no time. There are many accommodation options at Rawai so you will never be stranded. We had decided on a deluxe bungalow – if we were about to experience the most intense week of our life we deserved a bit of luxury to retreat to…right?!
The bungalow was equipped with flushing toilet (a luxury for us compared to everywhere else our budget has allowed us to stay), t.v with a few english channel’s, air-conditioning and fridge. We were set! Next stop, Muay Thai shop to buy all our training gear. Authentic Muay Thai Shorts, shirt, shin pads, boxing gloves, ankle straps and hand wraps – soooooo many things to purchase as all the rental gear was already hired to others. We weren’t counting on having to buy all the gear but we figured we might as well just do it – onwards and upwards and the new gear would leave us with some great momento’s.The next morning we awoke nervous and excited – day 1 of training was here.
We both felt like we were getting ready for some sort of ‘Dress-up’ party putting on our Muay Thai shorts that first morning, such foreign clothing to what we are use to!
Our hands were wrapped by an instructor then it was time for warmup skipping. We done surprisingly well skipping but this was only the warm-up and we were already dripping in sweat. We had no idea at this stage what we were in for; but now looking back we can both say with 100% certainty that neither of us had ever sweat as much as we would in the following week at Rawai!We completed the warm-up stretches and then they called the beginners to another area – whew!!! We spent the next 2 hours practicing jab’s, punches, knees, elbows and other crazy moves that we never really understood the names of. The morning session was intense, fun and challenging. Exactly what we dreamed this experience to be.
Back to the room , shower and straight to Cashew Nut – the best restaurant in town. It turned out we ate at Cashew Nut every meal, every day for 6 days. They are closed on Sundays and we didn’t know what to do with ourselves!!! Seriously, no other food could compare and on the Sunday (with Cashew Nut being closed) we ended up having the worst meal somewhere else – we both could not wait to see Sai (the owner of Cashew Nut) on Monday morning for our usual ‘Healthy Breakfast’ including fruit, yoghurt, poached eggs, baked beans, toast & a protein shake – The perfect meal after morning training!
Home for a sleep – nothing beats a nana-nap after a morning training at Rawai. A nap became part of our daily routine and our bodies would have not coped without it.
Then it was onto the Afternoon session – it was similar to the morning but we had a hand wrap lesson. This was something we both wanted to be able to learn to do ourselves pretty quickly so it was intense concentration from us. This evening we were in bed by 7pm. An early bedtime of 7pm became the usual for our time at Rawai.The following days were similar however on day 3 we graduated. Moving from the beginners to normal class. In with the big boys!!! We were in the rings with the trainers doing pad work, on the bags working on our technique and on occasions sparring with other students. It became the most intense physical challenge either of us have ever faced and we loved it.
There were moments of laughter, moments of tears and moments of pain. This is no walk in the park. The trainers push you as far as you can go and yes, Kim broke! Kim turned into a blubbering baby feeling so frustrated during one of the sparring sessions with one of the trainers. She didn’t know what to do to correct what she was doing wrong and was worked to exhaustion by the trainer – it wasnt long and it all became a little much. After 4 days of intense 5 hour a day training sessions you get tired and it is easy to become overwhelmed. You find a passion for something you never thought existed and all you want to do is be the best you can be … And in the environment of being pushed, pushed, pushed and challenged at every turn this will make or break you!
The next afternoon however Kim came back with vengeance. The trainer was not letting her off lightly, 20 repetitive kicks right, 20 left, 20 right, 20 left – on and on. Kim was physically exhausted, could hardly walk and every part of her body hurt but it didn’t matter – she would focus and kick, kick, kick. That is what this place does to you, makes you dig deeper each day to make you stronger and more focused. It makes you reach beyond the pain, beyond the fear and dig deeper than you ever thought possible and achieve results you never thought you had in you.
Duane’s Muay Thai Journey was similar in the way of routine to Kim’s but beyond that you could not compare how the experience was for us personally. Duane thrived under the pressure and never missed a beat. He pushed himself harder than he ever thought he could and every day he felt stronger and more confident in his abilities. Duane spent a few rounds sparring other students and picked up all the skills quickly. He would then give Kim secret lessons when training had finished to help her along!
Duane’s time at Rawai was unlike any other challenge he had encountered and quickly realised he is capable of much more than he had ever given himself credit for.
Rawai is a beautiful sleepy section of Phuket far away from the chaos of the usual Phuket Holiday. The food (we recommend Cashew Nut!) is fresh, healthy & so yummy, the people are extremely friendly and there are many amazing cheap Thai Massage shops around (we recommend Bee’s Massage).
Its best to hire a scooter (you can hire from the camp) to get around Rawai as there is a beautiful beach nearby that most students visit on a daily basis (but not us because we were always having a nap!). Kim had an encounter with a scooter but we will save talking about that for the next Lesson of The Week post – as it was definitely a lesson learnt!
Rawai was an amazing experience that put us so far out of our comfort zones and made us work hard for our results. We found in just 1 week the results were amazing, we felt fitter, stronger and proud of what we had achieved!
Wow. I think you both learned about Thai Boxing! What an experience. At least now you have even more fit body to continue your journey. Have more fun… Go Wrights! ^_^
It was such an amazing experience Ranty and we left feeling fitter and stronger than ever – the challenge is to keep the fitness up on the road!
Wow. What an opportunity! Funny thing was I saw the exhaustion but also the amazing way you coped. I am so proud of you both xx
It was the biggest physical challenge either of us have faced, feeling utterly exhausted all the time but we must say … our bodies started to adjust and by the end of the week we started to feel like we had a little more energy
Awesome guys, congratulations on surviving a week of Muay Thai training! I can definitely empathise with Kim breaking down, getting into the ring with the trainers could be frustrating as hell and simple things like keeping your leg straight when kicking became impossible. And sometimes it felt like those trainers were just messing with you haha – their light kicks sometimes hurt pretty bad.
The Bamboo Cafe at the end of the road served pretty good food and is where I ate a fair bit as it was attached to the guesthouse I was staying in. But nothing beats a Mixed Fruit Shake at the Cashew Nut… mmmm!
Hey Kieron – what an experience huh! Thank you for writing about your time at Rawai which added to us wanting to experience this awesome place for ourselves.
It does on occasions feel like the trainers are just messing with you and thats exactly what it was like when I had my little breakdown. The trainer was throwing kick after kick after kick at me and I would block it and catch it but then he would just do it again and again! Soooooo fristrating! Then I was getting constantly punched int he face because I hadnt learnt to block yet! haha Its funny looking back but at the time all a little much. But many times during the week I had the mindset of – What doesnt kill you, makes you stronger! So very true!
It is possible that we will visit Rawai again in the future with it being so close to Australia – it will be exactly what we need after this RTW trip to work off all this amazing food we are eatting!
Oh yes, the old slap across the head if you dropped your guard! Hard to keep your arms up when you’re absolutely knackered haha…
Good on you for wanting to do another stint there, I’ll definitely be looking for something a little less intense the next time around.
Shhhh! If you guys tell Gerard you did this, I’m screwed. LOL. Between you two and Kieron doing MT in Thailand, Gerard might get the genius idea to want to do this. I would cry. Haha. I know I would. But it does look like fun in a twisted ass kicking kind of way. Maybe.. just maybe.
I will try out that restaurant though – sounds delish! Hope you guys are doing well!
Sorry Kieu but the secret is out – Rawai is awesome! Even if it is torture at the time haha.
We did find that its really up to you how far you push yourself and the trainers feed off how much you are capable of. For everyone at Rawai it is like a personal journey/challenge and everyone is so encouraging. It was also great to spend a full week in one place and it really felt like home. One thing I forgot to mention in the blog is that every night in Rawai there are small night markets where you can pickup all your fruit for your next few days training and it was a nice way to mingle with the locals.
If you head down that way even if just for the day, visit Nai Harn Beach for a swim and enjoy a meal at Cashew Nut (I recommend the Papaya Salad with Chicken)! Sai the owner is the most lovely lady (say hello to her from us!).
Enjoy Phuket guys!
What an unusual way to spend a ‘holiday’ in peaceful Thailand! Amazing experience for you both-love the idea of nanna naps. Something we do as often as we can.
I’ve been doing this now too! I’ve been training near Rawai Muay Thai at this camp : Thailand Camp 91/19 Moo 6, Viset Road, Rawai, Muang Phuket Thailand 83100
truly awesome!
That’s Awesome Mel we are glad your loving it. We loved it so much.