AN INDISPENSABLE GUIDE TO FABULOUS FOOD FINDS IN THAILAND

By Angela Chang

Sweet, salty, sour, spicy, grilled proteins, peanut sauce… these are a few things we think of when we hear “Thai food.” Though most homemade Thai food is extremely healthy and features many herbs and spices, it is not so much the case when it comes to eating out.

Okay, so eating out at your favorite Thai restaurant back home is easy enough when you get the option of putting in and leaving out what you want into your noodle dish. But what about when you are actually in Thailand? What are the best options to get and stay healthy while you’re traveling through a country being surrounded by delicious food everywhere?

Let’s start with a few phrases:

"Little bit": nid noy นิดหน่อย

"Oil": nam man น้ำมัน

"Little oil": nam man nid noy น้ำมันนิดหน่อย

"Don’t add/Don’t put in": Mai sai _____  ไม่ใส่

"Sugar": nam taan น้ำตาล

"Don’t add sugar": Mai sai nam tan ไม่ใส่น้ำตาล

If you are at a place that serves veggies, ...

AVOID THESE TRAPS WHEN TRAINING IN THAILAND

By Sean Fagan

Are you thinking about training Muay Thai in Thailand?

Do yourself this one favor. Before you head over to train at a Muay Thai training camp in Thailand, get an of idea of what to expect for the training and living conditions.

Training in Thailand is no joke and you have to do your research and be prepared!

Muay Thai training camps in Thailand provide Nak Muay (muay thai students) like yourself with the perfect venue to take your skills to the next level. By traveling to the home of this awesome martial art you will have access to the best teachers, great training partners and the most effective training routines.

Chances are it will mean training at an intensity that your mind and body are not used to. The initial adjustment period can be a bit of a challenge, but the potential payoff makes the hardships along the way worthwhile.

If you want to make training Muay Thai in Thailand a positive life changing experience, try...

My Frustrations, Anxiety and Eventual Enlightenment Inside The Muay Thai Clinch

I HATED the clinch.

Whenever clinch training would go down I would try to find an excuse to miss out on grappling with the other fighters. I wasn’t proud when I would opt out of clinch class, but my fear of being embarrassed, getting kneed at will, and being tossed around like a rag doll would always win over.

I SUCKED at the clinch.

Mainly because I would always avoid training it!

Although I was well aware of the fact that I would always back out of clinch training, I would try to make myself feel better by telling myself that I’m a good enough fighter to do well without engaging on the inside. Who needs the clinch when you can just knock people out with your hands right?

Wrong.

Unfortunately, I had to learn this through experience, which in hindsight was probably the only way I was going to actually learn the importance of training and accepting the Thai clinch as part of ...

A Second Helping From MTG Writer at Large, Angela Chang

By Angela Chang

ORDERING TO DIETARY RESTRICTIONS IN THAILAND

Don’t add/don’t put in _____ = Mai sai _____  ไม่ใส่

I’m allergic to _____ = Chan paa _____ ฉันแพ้

Now let’s learn a few new words that have to do with food:

Chilli = prik พริก

milk = nom นม
MSG = pong choo-rot ผงชูรส

Nuts = tua leesong ถั่วลิสง
meat = neuha-sat เนื้อสัตว์

egg = kai ไข่
seafood = ah-han ta-lay อาหารทะเล
shrimp = goong กุ้ง
fish = bplah ปลา

crab = bpoo ปู

pork = moo หมู
chicken = gai ไก่

beef = neuh-wua เนื้อวัว

duck = bpèt เป็ด

fish sauce = nam bplah น้ำปลาgluten = bpaang แป้ง

NOTE: Thai is a tonal language, and Thais know that most foreigners struggle with the tones and are pretty forgiving if you pronounce something wrong. But try practicing the words on your own a few times to minimize hassle. Google Translate has a “speak” feature that’s great for you to reference pronunciations with your own.

Now that you have a very general understandin...

Muay Boran is a Thai martial art that is still relatively unknown in the West. The movies of Tony Jaa have helped to showcase this impressive combat system, but there can be confusion as to what this style actually involves and where to go to learn it.

It is only relatively recently that westerners visiting Thailand had much of an opportunity to receive instruction in this Thai martial art but things are changing. Due to the growing demand for Muay Boran some of the more popular Muay Thai camps (in places like Phuket) are now providing courses for their students. There are also a number of traditional training camps that are willing to teach this traditional art to foreigners.

The options for learning Muay Born in Thailand would include:

Muay Thai Conservation Centre

The Muay Thai Conservation Centre is located to the rear of the National Stadium near Siam Square.

The main instructor at the school is Master Suphan and ...

What Is A Sak Yant Tattoo? And How Do I Get One in Thailand?

From Muay Thai Guy

Traveling Welshman.

Sak yant are traditional Thai tattoos. Literally meaning “tattoo yantra”, they are believed to be magical and give the bearer protection, strength, good fortune, and more, depending on the yantra received.

Sak yant is extremely popular in the Muay Thai community, namely in those that have visited Thailand. With geometric shapes and depictions of animals and gods, sak yant is as beautiful as it is painful to receive.

Who does sak yant?

Sak yant are done by monks or arjan who have studied the art for a very long time (are also usually long time ex-monks). Monks are not allowed to make profit off doing the tattoos, as part of their code, so going to a temple to get it done is always donation-based. One of the most popular temples to get sak yant done is Wat Bang Phra.

If you go to a temple, be sure to dress appropriately by covering your legs and shoulders, and never touch the monk...

Why “Training Like A Thai” Isn’t For Everyone

By Sean Fagan

I get it, you’re in Thailand and you want to train as hard and as often as possible. You want to make the most of your time in the mecca of Muay thai and “train like a Thai” by putting in two intense training sessions a day, six times a week. There’s only one problem…

You’re not a Thai.

Now I’m not saying that you won’t be able to handle the daily grind of training that the Thai’s go through, I’m just asking the question, do you think it’s worth it?

Yes, you’ll be putting in the hours when it comes to hitting pads, punching the bag, clinching and skipping rope, but how many of those hours will you actually be focused on what you’re doing? Will you be benefiting from the amount of hours you are putting in, or will it end up being more detrimental to your technique and overall health?

These are serious questions to consider, even if you are a hardass who doesn’t believe in overtraining. Having an optimistic, resilient mi...