Mongkon Academy

When first arriving at the gym after finding it on Google Maps and seeing some of the pictures and reviews, it's hard not to get a little disappointed. Although the photos here don't show it, the training takes place inside a separate room to the side; not in the airy and spacious area with the boxing ring. I don't want to accuse anyone of false advertising, but don't expect any ring time at this school. The coaches have lots of knowledge and are nice people, but this isn't the place to go if you want to be given the red carpet treatment you might get elsewhere. After paying a eye-watering 1500 baht, I expected coach Petch to offer his undivided attention for the length of the session. Instead, he seemed more interested in making friends with my Thai girlfriend. It wasn't a bad session, just one that felt routine and formulaic, like he'd done it a hundred times before and couldn't be bothered to put as much into it as he once had. That said, I did decide to come the next day for a group session. The group session was advertised on the website to be at 5pm. It wasn't. It was at 6. What's worse, I'd been told verbally by the coach to arrive at 5 the day before. Another couple of people showed up at 5, having booked private sessions earlier that morning. The coach, luckily, did arrive and did proceed with the private sessions (at 2x 1500 baht, who wouldn't), while I was allowed to wait for an hour and shadow box or kick the bag or something. Once the group class actually started it was fine, but I felt like the only reason I'd been invited was for their teenage fighter to have someone to spar with. After a couple more group sessions I changed to another gym. For all the talent the coaches have, it didn't feel like there was a lot of heart going into things. Others, clearly, got more out of it than me.

2 months ago