Sumalee Boxing Gym in Phuket offers traditional Muay Thai training and much more. Sumalee Boxing Gym is the newest Muay Thai training camp in Phuket. It sets a new standard for Muay Thai training facilities on the island and is the only traditional muay thai training camp with a swimming pool on-site.
The muay thai training camp is located in the centre of Phuket in an unspolit location on the east coast, behind one of the most Iconic Chinese temples on the island. Students will have the opportunity to have a unique Thai cultural experience with Muay Thai at its core. They will get to see areas of Phuket most visitors to the island never even knew existed and the gym’s central location means that all the major tourist attractions on the island are easily accessible. Surin Beach, Bang Tao Beach, Nai Yang Beach and Nai Thon Beach are all within easy reach of the gym. The world famous Laguna area of Phuket is within 8 minutes drive of the camp.
The gym’s name and training style was inspired by Sor Sumalee Gym in Ubon Ratchathani, Esaan. Our training manager, Oron (fighting name Deachkalon sor Sumalee) and many of our trainers started their Muay Thai careers in Ubon Ratchathani. They bring to the new Sumalee Boxing Gym the Muay Thai style developed and practiced in Esaan tradition over hundreds of years.
Sumalee Boxing Gym provides the highest standard of Muay Thai training in phuket. All of our trainers are selected on the basis of their personal fight history and their competence in teaching. Most have had experience of teaching Muay Thai in other countries and have previously worked as trainers in some of the best gyms in Thailand. They all have a good grounding in spoken English.
Sumalee Boxing Gym will appeal to those students who wish to practice Muay Thai in a traditional Thai setting.
Sumalee Boxing Gym is set within a large coconut and banana plantation, offering a very natural and spacious setting to train in. Within the vast grounds of the muay thai training camp there is: a well equipped gym; accommodation for students; a swimming pool; space for playing football and other games; a restaurant/food preparation area (we offer a nutritional programme for those students who want it); communal space with pool table and home theatre; and a running track for pre-training warm up. The quiet lanes that surround the gym are perfect for longer training runs.
All aspects of muay thai training at the Sumalee Boxing Gym are the responsibility of Oron (fighting name Deachkalon) and his team of Thai trainers. Oron is a renowned Thai fighter with an international reputation and regularly appears in magazine articles and on TV shows. He achieved the highest ranking at Lumpinee stadium where he fought many times as well as being a regular at Ratchadermeon. He is the current UK Superfly 59 Champion.
Adam has been training Muay Thai for 5 years. He originally began training because of bullying at school, he wanted to gain confidence and the ability to defend himself. He immediately fell in love with the sport and committed himself to it fully. Adam started fighting at junior level and won silver medal in the Scottish Junior Championships in 2010 and soon after began competing at amateur and pro-am level. He describes 2012 as his most successful year so far, it saw him travelling to England to fight a highly ranked fighter for a British title. He narrowly lost the fight on points but was happy with his performance. He was also named “Scottish Amateur Fighter Of The Year 2012″.
Adam’s trainer at Colosseum Gym describes his attitude as “First class, and he gives 100% in everything he does”. His aim is to become a professional fighter and eventually to teach Muay Thai. He believes coming to train at Sumalee Boxing Gym is the perfect chance to progress. Adam was chosen for this scholarship because of his excellent entry and because his presence and confidence in the ring were very impressive. Adam has never traveled to Thailand to train and we are honoured to provide him with the opportunity.
Junior has been athletic since a young age, competing at high level rugby league since his early teens. For the past 3 years he has been training and fighting Muay Thai out of PTJ Muay Thai Gym in Sydney and said “I love the sport, the art and the respect amongst fighters that are involved”. His trainer describes Junior as “well natured, a quick learner and a hard worker”. In 2012 he obtained an amateur state title, local title. He believes his main strengths to be his right kick and his heart.
Having recently finished school, Junior is excited to take a break from studies to focus on his training. He says this trip will be great for his personal development and will be a stepping stone to a professional fighting career. Our team thought he submitted a mature competition entry, had natural technique and agreed that he’s got a fantastic right kick!
Our final winner, Liam, has trained Muay Thai at M-Mag gym in Glasgow under the tutelage of Mescho Dunko for 3 years. He quit the football team he had regularly played for over many years so he could spend more time at the gym, where he now helps with instruction. Liam is extremely tall for his age and has often had to fight opponents who are older and more experienced because of this. Mescho describes him as “well respected by not only all the members of our gym, but the whole of the Scottish Muay Thai scene”.
Liam hopes to test his limits during his time at the camp and to see if he has what it takes to fight as a professional under full Muay Thai rules. In his entry to the scholarship he showed not only passion for the sport, but a desire to pass on anything he is taught to youngsters who train at his gym. He has shown a great thirst for learning and a humble attitude. On top of this, after watching him in the ring, our team agreed he showed agility, heart and a tactical mind. We look forward to meeting you and all of our winners!
After this it seemed he also caught the attention of Bangla Boxing Stadium in Patong, Phuket. Ever keen to promote exciting fights for the thousands of tourists that flock here every year they pitted him against solid stadium regulars such as Victor Dragon Muay Thai. Victor and Craig have fought twice with Victor taking the first match and Craig taking the second. Both fights were thrilling to watch and we’re sure to see them battle again in the future.
In his first couple of months with us his talent and focus in training became apparent. He seemed to have a very natural striking style and was very resilient. One aspect of his training we targeted for improvement was clinching. Although not practiced heavily in western countries, in Thailand, clinching is an essential weapon in any nak muay’s arsenal. A good performance in the clinch can score heavily and often mean the difference between a loss and a win when a fight goes to decision. With the “clinch master” Oron as his mentor, Craig soon developed this side of his game. This was demonstrated in his first Sumalee fight against a Thai adversary, Vilachai, who is a seasoned and respected fighter from Trang. Craig won this fight with a Round 4 KO.
It seems Craig’s momentum is hard to stop. In his most recent match he was asked to fight at the Rawai Muay Thai 9th Anniversary Fight Night at Nai Harn beach. His opponent was Chalam Khao, a Rawai Muay Thai trainer and fighter with hundreds of fights under his belt. This highly anticipated fight stacked the odds against Craig who had limited experience in comparison. After 3 rounds many would have said Craig was on the ‘back foot’ but his sheer strength and sharp reflexes allowed him to cut Chalam Khao in the 4th round. This led to a lot of blood loss, followed by clinically accurate finishing blows by Craig to take the win, and the trophy for fight of the night. Truly a landmark fight in his career.
