Sinbi Muay Thai

Sinbi Muay Thai in Rawai is the gym people recommend when the question is technique rather than scale. It is a traditional Muay Thai camp — no MMA program, no fitness-resort trimmings — run with a stable of experienced Thai trainers, many of them former stadium fighters, and it keeps class sizes small enough that everyone gets rounds on the pads every session. The gym has trained and cornered plenty of foreign fighters for local and stadium fights, but it is genuinely welcoming to beginners; the coaching style is patient, technical and hands-on.

Training follows the classic structure, with morning and afternoon group sessions six days a week, built around skipping, shadow work, pad rounds, bag work and clinching, with sparring for those who want it. Rawai is one of the nicer corners of Phuket to base a training trip. Nai Harn beach is ten minutes away, the seafood market is on the seafront, and the neighborhood has kept a local feel that Chalong's gym street has lost.