General information for Portsmouth Thai Boxing, Muay Thai Kick Boxing in Portsmouth

What is in a class?

Muay Thai is a complete art although people are often only aware of the ring sport.
All aspects are covered, from the techniques you would use in a fight, to self defence and Muay Boran to the traditional thai dances, called Ram Muay.
Each class consists of a warm up, light stretch and then various drills to sharpen and build your skills before cooling down and the class ending.

Class rules

The classes have rules which encourage discipline and order so that everyone can gain from the session. Some rules may seem minor or unimportant but they exist to teach you to maintain control over yourself no matter how tired you feel. The class rules are:

  • No standing with hands on hips
  • No standing with arms crossed
  • Do not lean against the walls
  • Do not stand with hands in pockets
  • No talking when the instructor is talking
  • Do not leave the room without permission
  • No water between rounds unless permission is given
  • No swearing or messing around
  • Students must bow at the beginning and end of each drill.

Licences

The Muay Thai licence is compulsory for all members and insures the holder to train and covers the student in the event of an accident.
The cost is currently £35.00 and the licence lasts for one year.

Uniform

The Portsmouth Muay Thai uniform is also compulsory for all members. The uniform consists of club shorts, t–shirt or vest, ankle supports and a white armband (called a "Kruang Ruang"). It is purchased through the instructor who orders direct from the Master Sken headquarters camp (based in Manchester).
Uniform is great as it creates a sense of belonging as well as announcing to others that you are part of the Sitnarong camp, something I’ve always been proud of.

Gradings

Realising that people may not wish to fight, Master Sken decided to create a syllabus which would allow people to grade and progress through the ranks and gain a sense of achievement. The colours are as follows:

  • White (beginner and new members)
  • Yellow
  • Green
  • Blue
  • Blue/white
  • Brown
  • Brown/white
  • Brown/yellow
  • Brown/green
  • Red

Interclubs

These are a great tool for students who wish to fight for the camp or just want to test their skill level in a controlled environment.
Students are weighed and their experience noted and then matched as close as possible to insure an even matched fight. The number of rounds and length can be decided by the instructors so that the less experienced can do less rounds and the more experienced or those that are training for a fight can do more, for example , perhaps 5 x 2 minute rounds.
The emphasis for interclubs is not on knocking each other out but on gaining the experience and learning to cope with nerves and the pressure of fighting/ring based situation.
All participants are awarded a certificate and trophy at the end of each matchup by Master Sken.