I’m a gym slut. I’ve trained at around 20 muay Thai gyms in Thailand, and for good reason. In fact, there are a million reasons to be a Thailand gym slut.

Just to clarify, a “gym slut” or “gym hopper” is somebody who trains at many different gyms as opposed to “staying loyal” to one gym. Emma from the Under The Ropes blog wrote a post on Gym Hoppers and the Importance of Loyalty in Muay Thai which got a huge amount of comments from readers who expressed different opinions on the subject.

Emma is of the opinion that a fighter should show loyalty to their gym, and shouldn’t even be thinking about going anywhere else. In fact, she speaks quite lowly of gym sluts like me, and even goes on to say that a fighter who gym hops will struggle to progress in their career.

Well, here’s why Emma is wrong…

7 Reasons to be a Thailand Gym Slut

You are just part of a business plan

Running a Thailand gym is a business. You, a paying customer, are part of the business plan. If you think you are anything but, then you must be delusional.

Loyalty? A case for loyalty might be viable if we’re talking about a Thai fighter who has been brought up in a gym, been fed, housed and clothed by the owner, and trained solely by that gym their whole life. But even then, the gym are taking their cut anyway. So as a foreigner paying a monthly fee of around 10,000 baht to be trained, I hardly think loyalty even comes into it.

If you’re loyal then on your head be it, because the loyalty will only go one-way.

What is there to be loyal about? You’re PAYING the gym for a service. They didn’t do you any favours. They are running a business and you are a customer. End of.

Muay Thai in Thailand is fickle, whether you like it or not

“A fickle fighter isn’t going to get very far”. – Emma – Under The Ropes

Pretty much every Muay Thai superstar in Thailand has switched gyms to sniff out a better deal at some point. That’s the way it is. Just roll with it, one westerner sticking to one gym isn’t going to change anything.

Let’s look at Saenchai, one of the most successful fighters of all time. He has fought under the name of several gyms including Kingstar gym, Jocky gym, Khamsing gym, 13 Coins, Sinbi, and now his own gym PKSaenchai Muay Thai gym.

It didn’t hold him back, it just made him a lot of money.

A Thailand gym will get stale

The first few weeks you’re at a gym your trainer will be bending over backwards and doing hand stands trying to please you. The week after you just become another customer who paid up a load of money to get “one-two-kick” on the pads every day. It’s inevitable – you’ll get to point in a Thailand gym where nobody gives a crap about you any more.

The same routine day in day can also drag you down. The training basically stays the same in a Thailand gym, the all have a set way of doing things and it can become monotonous.

Trainers in Thailand can only teach you one fighting style

This is a generalisation, but Thai trainers only know how to teach you one fighting style – the style that was taught to them. They’ll often tell you that one way of doing something is “wrong” because of x or y, but they don’t explain the negatives to that technique, nor do they teach you the positives and negatives of doing it another way. The way they teach you is the correct way, and that is that.

We all know that fighting isn’t like that. You have to learn the ins and outs of every technique to fully understand why you’re doing something. Following instruction blindly is common for Thai fighters because of the respect hierarchy, but as westerners, I would like to think that we take a more logical approach to our training.

The fact is, every Thailand gym you go to will teach you something different. They all contradict each other in some way or another. It is our job as fighters/practitioners to train things in as many different ways as possible so that we can figure out the way that suits us.

For this reason, it’s not good enough to train with one trainer, or even one group of trainers for an extended period. A fighter needs to learn different styles from different trainers.

Thailand gym personnel change as often as the wind

The whole reason you choose the gym you’re at is because of a) the trainers or b) the fighters. Sure, there are other factors which make up a good Thailand gym, but they are the main ones in my opinion. Trainers and fighters switch gyms A LOT in Thailand. They get bored of the same routine and surroundings or just seek out a better deal elsewhere. Foreign fighters at the gym will also come and go, there aren’t many full time western fighters in Thailand.

When the personnel changes, so does the quality of the training. The top level fighters you were clinching with a few weeks ago have moved on, and that trainer who always held pads for you has up and left too. You’ve now got the “one-two-kick” guy on pads and you’re clinching with Thais half your size. Time to do one.

Taking the gym’s name is a Thai tradition – not western

Taking the gym’s name in lieu of your surname in Thailand is common practice……for Thai fighters! So why do foreigners feel the need to do this? You’re really going to pay extortionate training fees to your gym AND give them free advertising?

In case you’re not familiar with this practice, Thais change their surname to their gym’s name e.g. Petchboonchu Benz becomes Petchboonchu F.A. Group after the Thailand gym F.A. Group.

Thais do this because they don’t have a choice, it’s part of their financial obligation of training at the gym. It’s their job.

Unless somebody has experienced life as a sponsored fighter, they wouldn’t understand why anyone would want to become an “independent” fighter and not have their name attached to a gym. Fighting independently gives you a freedom that isn’t present when you’re sponsored. You can train when you want, fight when you want and you basically don’t have somebody controlling your every move.

I’ve taken my gym’s name in the past when I was being sponsored at a gym and I got everything paid for, but I wouldn’t pay my own way AND take the gym’s name. As far as I am concerned, I am promoting my own name, not the gym’s name. If they want me to change my name then they’re going to have to give me something for it.

You have to be able to make comparisons

How is it even possible for somebody to go to one gym in Thailand and start telling people about how good it is? It’s the only gym they’ve been to! Even after visiting a few gyms, they really have no idea what a good gym is.

You have to visit numerous gyms to be able to compare them against each other. Just because a Thailand gym is amazing compared to your gym back home, it doesn’t mean that it’s a good gym by Thailand’s standards. That person may travel to 10 more gyms and think “you know what, that gym was awful”. What are the chances of that first gym being the best gym in Thailand? Pretty unlikely, despite what you may have read about it on the internet.

Final Thoughts on being a Thailand gym slut

All of the above only applies in Thailand. In Thailand, muay Thai is a business, and so it brings out a very different relationship between trainer and fighter. Westerners tend to do things for very different reasons in their own countries. I wouldn’t necessarily apply these practices in a western gym.

I’ve trained and fought out of many different gyms in Thailand, and I’m a lot wiser for the experience.

Thai gym owners can be very good at making people think they shouldn’t leave the gym by flattering the customer and building their confidence to the point where they don’t think they manage anywhere else. Or they may treat you differently after you tell them you’re leaving to guilt-trip you into signing up for another month.

I tried the whole “loyalty” and “respect” thing, it didn’t work. It didn’t work because the loyalty and respect usually only goes one way. If you think of yourself a walking baht sign when you arrive at a Thailand gym then you’ll avoid a lot of BS and disappointment. Remember why you went there in the first place.

Travel to Thailand for YOU.

Train muay Thai for YOU.

You need to do what’s best for you, not the gym. Look after number one. Take care of your teammates and trainers, respect them as long as it is reciprocated, and make the choices you need to make without the influence of people who don’t have your best interests at heart.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this! Talk to me in the comments section.

You can also download the FREE ebook “20 Tips For Training in Thailand” which should be a huge help when planning your trip.