A Travel Guide to Training in Thailand: Phuket Top Team

By Meg

First day of a week-long jiujitsu vacation at Phuket Top Team.

Phuket Top Team (PTT) is a renowned Muay Thai and jiujitsu gym on Phuket island in Thailand with a friendly atmosphere and full schedule of classes. The gym operates just off Fight Street, formally called Soi Ta-iad, but Fight Street has earned its nickname for the countless rows of Muay Thai and MMA gyms up and down the road. Smoothie stands selling protein boosts, healthy restaurants, and spas also line the street, and fellow fighters smile and wave to each other while passing. The environment supports and compels fighters to succeed, and everyone is there for the same goal: to push, fight, and improve.

Muay Thai is available at just about every gym, but jiujitsu (especially gi jiujitsu) is less common. PTT and Tiger Muay Thai are the two biggest jiujitsu gyms on the scene. Sarah and I chose PTT, because it offered more gi classes and a few more hours of jiujitsu. Here is some practical information we collected during our week-long trip.

Get Around

Americans and citizens from other designated countries (found on the Thai Embassy's website here) don’t need a visa for their first 30 days in Thailand. Just be sure to pick up an arrival card before going through customs. If you’re planning on training in Thailand for more than 30 days, the gym will usually help arrange a long-term visa for you.

While living on Fight Street is fairly budget-friendly, getting there is a different story. A taxi between the airport and the street costs anywhere from 600-800 baht. If you travel at night, the cost gravitates toward the higher end. Sarah and I arrived at Phuket International Airport at 2:00 AM. To make things easier on ourselves, we had opted to have a taxi pre-arranged by the gym, which quoted us a price of 1,000 baht. The taxi driver waited for us at the arrivals gate (despite delayed arrival time), stopped by a 7-Eleven for snacks, and showed us to our room for only 800 baht. Expect the ride to be about 50 minutes.

Once on Fight Street, everything you need is within walking distance, and walking from one end of the street to the other may take about 30 minutes maximum. Get around a little quicker or explore outside the street by renting a motorbike. Motorbike rentals are available at PTT for 200 baht per day. For a month-long rental, rates hover around 2,000 baht in the low season and 3,000 baht in the high season. Ask for a helmet with your rental and remember to always wear it. It's common for foreigners to be pulled over and fined for not wearing helmets.

Meg with Professor Olavo Abreu.

Train

All information listed below is subject to change and can be checked at phukettopteam.com.

• When to Go: Consider training during the low season from June to November. According to the PTT coaches, the low season is significantly less crowded while still providing plenty of training partners and an intimate atmosphere. Alternatively, during the high season from December to May, jiujitsu classes sometimes host upwards of 50 people in a mediocre-sized gym with one coach.
• Price: There is a long list of pricing options available at PTT. For reference, a single class is 300 baht, one day of all-inclusive classes is 500 baht, and one week of all-inclusive classes is 3,000 baht.
• Classes: PTT offers Muay Thai, jiujitsu, wrestling, MMA, and strength and conditioning. Brazilian jiujitsu classes are usually led by black-belt Professor Olavo Abreu twice a day.
• Vibe: Despite often being the only women in training, Sarah and I felt welcomed the majority of the time. Most people were friendly, helpful, and chill training partners. After hearing intimidating stories about other gyms, this atmosphere was a big relief and a fun experience.
• Extra Costs: You might need to buy a few extras while training. Water is overpriced at the gym, and a large bottle costs 20 baht compared to the 13-baht large water at Family Mart down the road. Tape is also available for 80 baht in case of injuries.

Wrestling class coached by NJCAA collegiate All-American Derek Heckel.

Eat

We do not recommend buying the gym's meal plan. The food was delicious, but buying a meal plan limits you to eating onsite or else wasting that money. Many meals can also be bought cheaper offsite. After we arrived, Sarah and I bought bread, peanut butter, Nutella, oatmeal, yogurt, and other goodies to keep in our hotel room. This allowed us to eat breakfast and lunch in the room most days, which saved a lot of money and time. There are several small convenient stores along the street where you can stock up.

When you get bored of peanut butter, check out the stretch of restaurants and smoothie stands. For a boost of energy, grab a protein shake. Just look for a stand with jugs of protein lined up on the counter. Here are just a few restaurants we tried during our week-long stay:

• Ali's BBQ: My favorite restaurant by far, and a popular choice with everyone. Ali's offers clean, healthy foods like pitas, salads, chicken breast, yogurt, steaks, and more on an extensive menu.
• Tony's: Another popular venue with a large menu. The food was fine and reasonably priced but nothing to rave about, and the service was unfriendly. Nonetheless, it's an alright place to grab a bite.
• Cocoville Phuket Resort: We were told this hotel served fantastic breakfasts, but when we tried to go, the place was closed. I'm not sure if the venue was under renovation or what, but it might still be worth a shot.
• Anchan: We tried Anchan for dinner and breakfast. The alfredo and curry dishes were delicious, but the American breakfast was meager and overpriced. Sarah got the oatmeal pancakes, however, and thought they were tasty!

Enjoying a post-training meal at the gym's restaurant.

Sleep

As part of the training package, we chose to stay in an offsite budget room at 3,000 baht for one week. The onsite budget rooms seemed fine but, according to the website, don't provide air conditioning or private bathrooms. I did get to see the shared bathrooms, though, which are used by everyone using the gym as well. Despite that, they looked clean and well-kept.

The offsite budget option was hosted by a hotel called Baan Khun Yui. Air conditioning, a mini-fridge, hot water, and a television were provided. Guests also have access to a fully equipped shared kitchen and a large washing machine, which costs 30 baht a load. Also - drumroll please - the hotel has a modest swimming pool where we could unwind in the afternoons between training.

Relax

Don't miss out on the opportunity to ease sore muscles with an authentic Thai massage. The incorporation of stretching to a deep massage works out knots and tension, and just plain feels fantastic after hard training. We tried several spas for different services during our stay. Maria’s near PTT gave my favorite massage for 250 baht. Another popular venue is Wan Massage, where Sarah and I received lovely facials. The family of sisters who work at Wan were extremely friendly and enthusiastic about their work.

Here are some prices we found for various services:

• Thai and Oil Massage: 250 baht
• Gel Manicure: 400-500 baht
• Pedicure: 200 baht
• Facial Scrub and Mask: 400 baht

These prices required some bargaining, and a 50-baht discount is typical. Keep in mind everything is more expensive during high season (December-May) and cheaper during low season (June-November).

Fine sands, clear water, and six-pack abs on Karon Beach.

Play

Training is the goal, but on Sunday the fighters will play. PTT is closed on Sunday for rest and relaxation, so take advantage of the free day to see Phuket outside Fight Street. A 20-minute taxi (for 300 baht) or motorbike ride will take you to the night market, where you can buy everything from knock-off watches and phones to quirky T-shirts and knick-knacks. Also head toward the back of the market to find the food court: a plethora of Thai food and sweet treats like chocolate-covered bananas.

Another nearby destination is, of course, the beach. Phuket's fine sand and clear water can't be missed. Kata and Karon are both nearby beaches good for sunbathing and swimming. Kata is the smaller, less developed of the two, so we chose Karon for our beach trip. After a 25-minute, 300-baht motorbike taxi, we arrived at a long beach filled with people. Unfortunately, there was a large amount of trash, probably both dropped by tourists and washed up by the current. Besides that detail, the beach was wonderful. If you go, be aware there are no motorbike taxis available for the return trip. We had to hire a car taxi for 400 baht to take us back.

If you don't have time or energy to leave Fight Street and still want to blow off steam, there are a couple of sports bars along the street where you can get a drink and meet people.


Meg started jiujitsu in 2012, got her blue belt in 2013, and has competed in five competitions.

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The Bitch versus The Flirt

By Liz

How can a woman training jiujitsu be taken seriously, but not come off as a bitch? How exactly does one manage to be friendly, but not be misinterpreted as flirty?

As women, we can’t avoid the fact that we have to constantly negotiate the flirty versus bitchy personality dichotomy.

One of my close guy friends from the gym told me recently, “I thought you were a bitch when I first met you. You would barely look at me, let alone talk to me! I remember one day in particular we got to roll. I thought you were so awesome. I was really impressed by your beastly jiujitsu. I was like, damn that girl can roll! But you were kinda rude to me. You barely even acknowledged me! You acted like you were better than everyone else.”

I don’t remember the particular interaction that he was talking about, but I do remember feeling shy during my first year at that gym and not wanting to come off as a flirt. I also wanted to be taken seriously.

I didn’t know how to interact with the guys at the gym. I felt so much more comfortable with the women at my gym, and we would often talk with each other in the locker rooms after class. But with the guys, I was intimidated, sometimes creeped out, and sometimes just plain shy. I didn’t talk to them much during my first year at the gym. I wanted to keep to myself, but also self-conscious of my female-ness and didn’t what to come off as a flirt.

Now, three years later, I’m much more comfortable being friendly with everyone at the gym, and as a result I’ve attracted more than one unwanted (and wanted) admirers. I have also been accused by more than one person of being a flirt. I still have not successfully been able to master the skill of being nice but not too friendly, and being serious but not a bitch. If anyone has any advice on this matter, please do comment below. It’s one of the many challenges we face on the mat as women.

Doing jiujitsu is an activity that makes most people feel incredibly vulnerable at first. My experience has taught me to act the same way around the girls and guys--with genuine compassion and respect for the person standing in front of you. Not as an object, but as a human being with fears and insecurities just like yourself, as a person who just wants to be loved and accepted like everyone else in this world. Have fun, be a genuinely nice and caring person, and treat yourself and others with the respect and value they deserve, and everything else will fall into place.

How do I come off as serious and build respect from people at the gym by going my hardest without coming off as a total spaz--or worse, a total bitch?

Some people say the way you roll reflects your personality. I think this is true to a certain extent. As much as I hate to admit it, people have pointed out to me my passivity on the mat and in life. And I think they might be related.

Training partners often accuse me of not rolling hard enough or not being aggressive enough. Deep down, I really appreciate this because I know they’re just trying to push me to be the best I can be and they know I’m holding back. They believe in me and they know I can do better.

If am really honest with myself, I know that I am holding myself back during rolls much of the time. I know this because I roll harder at competition. This is mostly normal. I simply can’t train hard 100% of the time. But part of it is also a mental block holding me back from going as hard as I possibly can.

Sometimes with other women at the gym, I don’t go as hard as I can or should. Some of the women have called me out on this, and I love them for it. And I always go harder with them after they call me out on it, and I think they respect me a lot more after that… at least they tell me how proud they are of me when I roll hard.

Sometimes people at the gym don’t push people as hard as they need to be pushed. Women and men go light with smaller people because they don’t want to be that aggressive bully that everyone hates, myself included. But there is a delicate balance that can be struck. When you believe in other people, especially beginners, and push them hard, they will push back hard and will learn from it. They will appreciate that you pushed them to their limit. I love it when people push me hard.

One day I subbed in for the women’s class coach when she was sick. I went through the normal class routine, but in the last 10 minutes, we did some guard passing and sweeping live training. I pushed them hard, sweeping or submitting them every 30 seconds. But soon they responded with vigor and aggression, even managing to pass my guard a few times. We all left with smiles on our faces. In the classes previous, the coach had never let them do any live training, thinking that they couldn’t handle it.

I advocate for what Meg was talking about in her post last week: not spazzy, out-of-control rolling, but controlled, aggressive, and strong sparring. You will build respect from everyone around you for this, no matter your size or sex. Don’t hold yourself back because they’re a girl, or they’re a white belt, or they’re smaller than you or they’re your friend. Play your game and play it hard. Leave it all out on the mat, don’t hold anything back. Because all we have is this moment. 

So give it your all, because our mats don’t have space for people who are going to hold themselves back. The same goes for life: stick up for yourself with the controlled and respectful strength and confidence you know you have.

The same goes for the bitch versus flirt persona: treat yourself and others with respect and confidence, and others will follow in your example. Take the class seriously, roll hard, be friendly, and express genuine care for others. Your high expectations for yourself and others will show, and those around you will strive to meet the high standards you set for them--both on and off the mat.

Liz started jiujitsu in 2011, got her blue belt in 2013, and has competed in nine competitions. Although she is from California, she is currently training and coaching jiujitsu abroad. She’s learned through training that it's better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.

Email us at liz.meg223@gmail.com with your questions or comments, and we will post our answers in the next blog post! Look for our posts on Sunday night EST every other week (every second and fourth Sunday of the month).

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