Muay Thai in Pattaya, Thailand

Muay Thai is a part of traditional Thai culture which most guests to Thailand enjoying watching and learning about. It is actually a very strenuous and rough form of martial arts that require its practitioners to train long and hard.

It used to be much rougher than it is now, but it is still one of the most combative forms of martial arts in the world as participants are permitted to bombard their opponents with elbows, feet, knees and fists. Opponents fight to the finish, which means until one can’t continue.

Muay Thai, however, also involves ritual, ceremony, music and costuming which have developed over the years so that even those viewers who might not find the actual fighting that interesting can appreciate it as an art or cultural form.

Pattaya is not a center of muay Thai in Thailand – these are found in Bangkok and farther north – but muay Thai is available both to those who would like to watch it and those who actually want to learn it or participate in it.

Most events available for viewing feature students of the various gyms or schools in Pattaya…and some come from Bangkok or Chonburi to participate. Events are held in various gyms or venues referred to as stadiums…which never seat more than a few hundred spectators at the most.

Generally, these events are announced to the public by posters which are put up all over the area, or by sound trucks which try to excite listeners about the next big match.

Contests are held regularly at the Fairtex Thepprasit Muaythai Stadium 193/15 Moo 11 Thapprasit Road (between Pattaya and Jomtien Beach) every Monday and Thursday evenings,  beginning at 20:00 and finishing around midnight.

Ringside tickets are listed at 1,200 baht and general seating at 1,000 baht. Those interested in watching muay Thai can also watch it being practiced at local gyms and schools, but should always check with personnel at these locations to see if it is okay if they watch.

Below is a list of some gyms and schools where those interested may learn or practice muay Thai. The first five schools are all registered on the website www.muaythailand.com, which is a good site for getting more details about muay Thai in Thailand.

Fairtex Sports Club and Hotel
179/185-212 Moo 5, North Pattaya Road, Naklua Banglamung, Chonburi 20150
telephone 02-674-5555. (note: this is in north Pattaya).
Website: www.fairtex.muaythai.com.

Pattaya Kombat Village
Darapan 3, Kaotalo Soi 8  93/123  Moo 11,  20260 Pattaya; 
telephone:  089 543 3450  (note: this is north of Sukhumvit Road between South Pattaya Road and Theprasit Road).
Website: www.kombatgroup.com.

Scorpion Gym: 308/45 Moo 10 Thapprapaya Soi 15, Nongprue, Banglamung, Chonburi, 20150
  telephone: 082-216-3016: Fax 038-364046. (note: is between Pattaya and Jomtien Beach).
Website: www.scorpion.atk.web.net.

Sitpholek Gym
217/10 Sukhumvit Road, North Pattaya, Chonburi
telephone 089- 934-5001
opening hours: Monday through Saturday, from 0200 to 20:00.
Website: www.muaythaiireland.com.

Sityodtong: this camp appears to be in the south Pattaya- Jomtien Beach area.
Website: www.sityodtong.net..

Other facilities not listed on the “Muaythailand” site but listed in other sources are as follows:

Castra Gym
61/17  Moo 10, Soi Kao Talo, Nongprue Banglamung, Chonburi 20260
telephone: 038 115  106;  opening hours, Monday through Friday,  0700-21:00, Saturday and Sunday, 0:900 -18:00.
Website: www.thecastra.com.

Golden Gym
3rd Road, 100 meters to South Pattaya Road, Pattaya, Chonburi 20260;
Opening hours: Monday through Saturday, 09:00 – 10:00, Sunday, 10:00 – 21:00.
Website: www.golden-gym.pattaya-club.com.

Tony’s Muay Thai Academy
340/60 Pattaya 3rd Road, Central Pattaya, Chonburi 20150
telephone:  038-414-058 to 9, Fax: 038-287-3548.  
Website: www.tonydisco.com/.

Universe Gym
  288 Moo 10 Beach Road (between  Soi 9-10), Chonburi
telephone   038-428-084; Fax:   038-422-084.

Most of the above offer students daily, weekly and monthly rates, and many offer package rates which include use of facilities, instruction and perhaps accommodation and meals. Other items might also be included in package deals, such as travel opportunities, use of swimming pools, and Thai language instruction. Some facilities can provide students with in-house accommodation while others will help students find suitable living situations.

Those interested in muay Thai training in the Pattaya area should definitely check out as many schools as possible. Most schools maintain websites so this is a good place to begin. They should then visit schools they are interested in, read literature provided by the schools, and talk to the operators.

It is usually a good idea to pay the daily rate and just hang around and get a firsthand view of what goes on at individual facilities. Students can also go online and view comments and criticisms former students have made about individual schools. It is definitely a good idea to take advantage of the free online community dedicated to muay Thai in Thailand, www.muaythailand.com.

This site contains information about many camps, both of a formal nature and in the form of personal experiences recorded by members who have belonged to or visited the facilities. By taking advantage of the information presented on this website, and by using the websites of the individual facilities, and through making personal visits to promising facilities, the student seeking a suitable muay Thai facility in Pattaya will certainly be able to find one – or more than one!