Muay Thai —it’s a family affair.

Whether old or new, big or small, one theme remains consistent in the local sport of Muay Thai—it’s a family affair.

Fairtex Training organization has existed successfully for 60 years while Jomtien Soi 7 Thai Boxing Gym is under new ownership; however, family motivations drive both operations.“I must take care of my family first,” said Plai, the new Jomtien gym owner. “I liked to fight. But I stopped fighting six years ago. Now I need to make money to take care of my family. Take care of school. Take care of their needs.”

At five years old, Plai, 25, started fighting with his grandfather training him. He fought over 100 times with an estimated 79

wins in a middle-weight division (64 kg). But he retired because managing a local gym proved more beneficial for him and his family. “I train about ten to twenty people a day, many foreigners,” he said, “I now have one Thai fighter. I expect to do this the rest of my life.”

An open-aired gym, Helmut Gassner of Austria trains three times a week during his holiday despite the heat. “It’s so cold in Austria now, the heat here means nothing to me,” he said. “For me,

fighting is a science, and this is a good place to train and develop kraft (power).”

On the other end of the local Muay Thai spectrum, Philip Wong started the Bangkok Fairtex Training Center in 1971. Fairtex has produced numerous champions as well as trained thousands of non-competitors, both Thai and foreign. Boasting to be the “heart of Muay Thai, MMA, and Jiu Jitsu,” it has turned out some the countries most renowned fighters such as Yodsanklai Fairtex, Naruepol Fairtex, Neungsiam Fairtex, Jongsanan Fairtex,

Bunkerdd Fairtex, and others. Pursuing his dream “to give back to the sport he loves,”

Wong expanded his operations over time to include Pattaya and America, opening two gyms there. He was the first trainer to invite foreigners to learn the sport. Also, he was the first to train female fighters. That opened the door for Nadthawan Panthong, known professionally as Stamp Fairtex, She is a three-sport world

champion in Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and MMA, formerly holding the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship (2021).

For all of them, it remains a family affair. Stamp, 28, started fighting at age of five to stop classroom bullying under the guidance of her father, Wisanlek Lukbangplasoy, a former Muay Thai fighter. She has won 64 matches—and pioneered the sport for women around the country. After guiding Faitex for decades, Wong’s son, Prem Busarabavonwongs, now runs the business and a new generation of champions led by Stamp, Smilla Sundell, Saemapetch, and Ferrari. In Thailand, whether it’s at Fairtex with 40 coaches who train 40 active fighters and scores of others, both foreign and Thai, male and female, or at Jomtien Soi 7 gym with Plai working with one fighter and a handful of enthusiasts, Muay Thai remains a family-driven sport. Ploi’s wife, Pim, would agree. In Pattaya other top local gyms include Venum Training Center, Fight EVO360, and Battle Conquer Gym.Venum is an “elite training facility that blends Muay Thai, MMA, Boxing, BJJ, and cross-training into a complete fight and fitness experience.”

After moving to Thailand 24 years ago, Swedish Kru Chris Forster, also known as Coach Diamond, was a Muay Thai champion in Scandinavia and Europe. As a boxer in Bangkok, he fought regularly at Lumpinee Stadium. He won two King’s Cup titles and a world championship. Over the years, he has trained 40 successful fighters such as Nabil Anane and

Phetjeeja. Other champion fighters from the gym include Mehdi Zatout, a four-time Muay Thai world champion and Samy Sana, a five-time World Champion in the Japanese kickboxing promotion K-1. In 2023, ONE world champion Chingiz Allazov was named the world’s best lightweight and pound-for-pound kickboxer by both Combat Press and Beyond Kickboxing.

Rising out of Venum to championship levels are a number of female fighters, including two-time WBC World Champion Zehra Doğan from Turkey and the popular Phetjeeja, the

current ONE Atomweight Kickboxing Champion. In 2024, Beyond Kickboxing named her the best flyweight kickboxer in the world.At Fight EVO360 their motto is “here tradition meets sports science to evolve the complete fighter.” By combining traditional Muay Thai and boxing techniques with structured sports science, nutrition, and performance-based programming, the gym creates what it calls “evolution” or measurable growth toward improvement and competitive readiness.

When the heat is too much, Battle Conquer Gym offers a solution as “the only air-conditioned gym in Pattaya.”

The gym policy combines authentic Muay Thai training with hardcore weightlifting in a results-driven program. Located near Pattaya Beach, the gym “offers a supportive, no-ego

atmosphere where beginners and experienced fighters train side by side.” Plus a chance to get out of the heat!

Words and pictures by Tim Lee