Throughout my career, I have had the privilege of visiting numerous Muay Thai camps and gyms worldwide. In 1992, I had the good fortune to train at one of the most renowned, respected, and prestigious Muay Thai camps in Thailand at that time - the Muangsurin Camp. Whether it was Thailand's top camp is debatable, but it certainly ranked among the top half-dozen and was famous for its fighters' punching ability and their refusal to retreat in battle.
Great fighters like Samsak, Samransak, Raktae, Den, and many others have emerged from this camp. Even Saeksan Janjira, who later trained and taught in the USA, told me he came from this camp! The Muangsurin Camp and its fighters are renowned in Thailand for their punching ability and their refusal to take a step backwards while in the heat of battle.
Training for a World Title Bout
I was preparing for a World Title bout under the World Muay Thai Council (the first incarnation of the organization) founded by Ajarn Panya Kraitus. The bout was scheduled for January 1993 in Macau, China against Sithisak Chor Vikul. My instructor, Ajarn Panya Kraitus, and co-promoter Taweesak Phoo Thong decided it would be best for me to prepare for the bout in a camp in Bangkok. With this in mind, Ajarn Panya sent me to the Muangsurin Camp.
The founder of the Muangsurin Camp, Ajarn Sanong Rakwanich (deceased) was a student, as was my teacher Ajarn Panya, of Master Sudjai Charalrat (deceased) of the Kessongkram Camp. It turned out to be an experience I will never forget.
Arrival at Muangsurin Camp
After the very long flight into Bangkok, I was greeted at the airport by the daughter of the now deceased founder of the camp, Khun Amornrat Rakwanich. Upon our very late arrival at the camp (1:00 AM), I was taken to a small room shared with two other boxers, one of whom woke up and found it very amusing to see me at the camp to train. This turned out to be the brother of Ajarn Raktae Muangsurin, who is viewed as the head man of the camp and the husband of Khun Amornrat. I was given a pillow and went to sleep on the barren ground as I was told it was late and that I would receive blankets in the morning.
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The camp was very close to Don Muang airport so there is the constant sound of planes arriving and departing. The camp had several dogs which barked at anything that moved. The roar of motorcycles and cars nearby (just off of the freeway from the airport) made sleep next to impossible. The camp had caged birds that squawked all night. Topping it off, there was an oscillating fan at my feet which would travel to one side silently, but when it came back, there would be a loud whine of metal scraping against metal. It turned out to be a very long night.
First Days of Training
When morning came, all of the boxers were very interested in me because I was a foreigner. We all did our basic toiletries and then prepared for the morning workout. The boxers were impressed by my fitness and speed. Half way through the run we came to a running track so I started sprinting with Coban Lookchaomaesithong. As we increased the speed, I noticed he was limping. I quizzed him as to what was wrong and was amazed when he told me he had a broken bone in his foot.
We finished our run and came back to the camp and prepared for our morning workout. It was quite amazing how Coban had modified his training while hitting the pads and the bags to protect his injured foot. Ajarn Raktae decided to see what this Canadian boxer had and he put me to work on the bag. He seemed amused but took me in the ring and worked me on the pads for several rounds, evaluating me and showing me what to work on.
That morning another trainer, Kru Srinarong "Supoch" Muangsurin (another champion from this camp) came in and was rather perturbed by my presence. Kru Srinarong was one of the fighters in the World Freestyle Fighting Championship in the 1980's. After the workout he confronted me and basically expressed his displeasure in all the other martial arts, Kickboxing, the W.K.A., and any champions from any of the other organizations. With no warning he decided to test me. Surprised and wondering what was going on, I blocked the kick with my shin. Kru Srinarong then looked at me and saw no emotion, either from his harassment or his kick and his face and attitude changed. To his displeasure he knew I was there to train seriously.
We repeated the whole training program again in the mid afternoon. The noise and heat (not to mention the bloody mosquitos), and the aches I was feeling from the workout, jetlag, and lack of sleep, made me too uncomfortable to sleep. I hooked up with Coban and we went for a long walk and he told me a little about himself and his history.
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The next day, I was told by all the boxers to go running with Saensucknoi, the brother of champion Chainoi Muangsurin. The run consisted of the two of us and it went on and on. He was preparing to fight the next evening at Lumphini Stadium and he or should I say "we" were off on a fifteen kilometer run to make sure he made the weight limit. Saensucknoi fought a fighter from the Sidyodtong Camp in Pattaya and won handily.
During these workouts, I was thoroughly impressed with champion Den Muangsurin and the whack he possessed in his kicks on the pads, thinking he would be fun to spar with. Den has fought many of the best Thai and foreign fighters, defeating the very respected Ramon Dekker in every one of their contests under Muay Thai and international boxing rules. We repeated the workout in the afternoon, but there was now a new boxer at the camp who had not joined in the run. He was there for my benefit as all the other boxers in the camp were rather small for me to spar with.
The new boxer Yingyai Muangsurin made it clear that he did not like me. In the middle of my warming up, he came up behind me and quickly grabbed me and took me through some controlled sparring (medium speed without gloves or headgear, concentrating on kicking and kneeing). As we started moving he seemed intent on intimidating me. I knew he wanted to see what kind of pressure I could take, and he started by trying to bang up my shins with his cut kicks.
Kru Srinarong eventually respected the fact that I was not going to give up and he genuinely started to help me and my Muay Thai technique. As a consequence, I started feeling closer to Kru Srinarong and we started spending a fair amount of time together. He had started discussing with me that when I fought next, I should be wearing the shorts of the Muangsurin Camp. One night, I was taken to his house and to get there we had to travel across Bangkok on the back of his motorcycle.
Upon our arrival at the camp I was thoroughly tired. I completed my run and when I came back I was gloved up and told it was time for sparring. In the first round, he was just wading through my strikes and he laughed at my body shots (one of my strong points). In the second round, knowing what he would do, I waited, set him up and capitalized. I hit him with a three punch combination to the chin knocking him out. After that Yingyai would no longer spar with me. Ajarn Raktae started taking me more seriously and became more interested in my training.
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The food consisted of a lot of rice and vegetables. All the food (carbohydrates) would do is provide enough energy for the training session. After dinner, to avoid sitting and being feasted on by the mosquitos, the boxers would go for short walks and not surprisingly, get something else to eat from the roadside vendors.
Here's a summary of key figures associated with Janjira Muay Thai and the Muangsurin Camp:
| Name | Role/Contribution |
|---|---|
| Ajarn Sanong Rakwanich | Founder of Muangsurin Camp |
| Ajarn Panya Kraitus | Instructor, founder of World Muay Thai Council |
| Raktae Muangsurin | Head man of Muangsurin Camp |
| Den Muangsurin | Muay Thai Champion |
| Saeksan Janjira | Muay Thai fighter, trainer in the USA |
| Coban Lookchaomaesithong | Muay Thai Champion |
| Kru Srinarong "Supoch" Muangsurin | Trainer, fighter in World Freestyle Fighting Championship |
Saekson Janjira started fighting at age eight, and fought professionally at126-130-136-140-145 lbs. He is widely considered to be one of the all time greats in his sport.
Janjira Muay Thai emphasizes not just physical prowess but also mental fortitude, discipline, and a deep love for the art.
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Saekson Janjira is really passionate about his belief in Muay Thai as a necessary skill for todayâs fighters. âCome learn real Muay Thai,â he says, ânot just 1-2, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2, over and over. We donât do aerobic kickboxing here. Youâre going to learn from the best. I guarantee.