Jitmuangnon Gym is well known for how hard they train their fighters. It is one of the biggest fight camps in Bangkok, and has produced many top fighters including Phetsiam, Peemai, and more recently Panpayak, Rodtang, Yodpanomrung, and Neunglanlek. Not many people know Panpayak in the west, but he is one of the most decorated Muay Thai fighters of all time, winning the prestigious Fighter of the Year award 3 times in a row.
You may know Rodtang from his famous battle with Tenshin Nasukawa and his explosive fights in One Championship. The training program at Jitmuangnon is fairly old school, with a big focus on roadwork, endurance and conditioning. Here’s what a fighter’s typical training schedule looks like, 6 days a week. The morning starts at 5am with a 10-15km (around 6-9 miles) run. Back at the gym, they do bagwork and padwork rounds with the trainer, before the younger fighters go to school at 7:30am.
After school in the afternoon, training starts at 3:30pm with a 5km (3 miles) run. Afternoon sessions are usually longer and more intense, with padwork lasting up to 5 rounds of 6 minutes, bagwork, clinching, physical conditioning, and ending with sprints.
By the time training ends close to 7pm, the sun is setting. After a quick dinner, everyone goes to bed by 9 or 10pm. Behind the glamour of the stadium lights, this is the real life of a fighter. This short documentary gives you a peek into a typical afternoon training session, in the middle of a sweltering Bangkok afternoon. We also had a chat with one of the gym’s star fighters, Panpayak, and his feisty mom.
