Saturday, July 30, 2011

My Experience of 13 coins gym

I have been at 13 coins for 1 month, I was there for the MMA program. The MMA has only been running 1 month, but it is good, I learn't so much in a short period of time, My friend Will who is experienced in 5 MMA fights says the MMA program is good here, it improved him alot, another guy with 10 fights has come down and he also really enjoyed the MMA program. The MMA program has a lot of BJJ, before they didn't have conditioning, but now they are just bringing it in, step by step.
I am leaving 13 coins for reasons I will explain below, but I will be going to the MMA program here 2 mornings a week to keep up my skills and learn new ones as I see this is the best MMA place in Bangkok.
Also, I had only learn't for 3 weeks and in my China fight I Won 2nd round by rear Naked Choke.   The fight is below and I used a technique which we practiced.

OK, now for the Thai Boxing.
At the start I felt I was learning as Sorn was just working on my kick and punches, which I appreciated, but this seemed to be the only thing he was good at, or he just wouldn't show anything more.
Pat another instructor would try and tire you out and go onto the next guy, when I watched him with the Thai fighters, he worked totally different, this just really made me angry, I know I am not Thai, but come on I am paying.
The 3rd trainer Mr. Long seems not all there but seems to be the only trainer who cares about the people learning at the gym, as a pad holder, good for basics. as a trainer, he helps and has some good tricks, better as a trainer than a pad holder.

So yeh, after the slump 13 coins had a few month back, it just doesn't seem to get back out of that, what they need is to bring in a few more fighters, 50-70kg, and some trainers who care and they will be on their way to getting there, but for me not the gym for me for muay thai, I will keep coming for the MMA and if things improve I will come back.

If you are a beginner, it is a good gym to start, but for the fighters it doesn't have enough sparring, and the clinching you are just left to do it and not adjusted on bad technique.



The positives about the training at 13 coins are you will get some basics down, they work you hard till you are dead on the pads, so when you go into a fight you will be in good shape, everyone is friendly and Mr. Coke has a great heart, shouts encouragement while you are training, like when you are clinching, he would shout at the foreigners, " 'beat him up', 'knee him hard', 'stronger' " many different things, which can be a push you harder.  I did enjoy the atmosphere there, but as my career is in Muay Thai mainly (just starting with MMA), I really need a good stand up gym to take me further.





This is my fight from China - I won by 2nd round Submission, Thank you to the 13 coins team and Brandon Kesler for helping me with my MMA skills