Manop Gym Phuket

I’m sure your thinking “oh great, just what we need, another Muay Thai Gym in Phuket”
But in this case, Manop Gym will be worth your whole to get to know.

Manop Gym is the brainchild of Carlos Enrique and Kru Manop. I first met Carlos 2 and a half years ago at 13 Coins gym in Bangkok. As a Brazilian national who’s lived and fought in Thailand for 3 years, all the while racking up 26 Muay Thai Fights, he is no stranger to the Muay Thai scene.

Kru Manop was a trainer at 13 Coins three years ago and a trainer for pound for pound Muay Thai fighter Saenchai Sor Kingstar. I trained under Kru Manop for a few months during my stint at 13 Coins and found him to be the most technical pad holder I’ve come across. This guy is the pinnacle when it comes to refining your Muay Thai skills.

Kru Manop with Saenchai

Fast forward to now and Carlos and Manop have recently opened a gym in Chalong area together in an attempt to create an authentic and traditional Bangkok style Gym in the heart of Phuket.

The gym is situated off the road where you’ll find Tiger Muay Thai, Phuket Top Team and Dragon Muay Thai. For those who know Phuket well, you will find the gym near the end of the road where Phuket Zoo is located towards the sea.
I have to say its a beautiful location. The gym is surrounded by trees and open green fields with a slight breeze throughout the gym.

I sat down with the owners Carlos and Manop today to discuss what Manop gym has planned to offer. Currently the numbers are small and there are two trainers, which will increase to 3-4 in the coming weeks.

They expect to bring in 4 bigger sized active fighting Thais from Bangkok very soon to help with clinching and sparring at the gym. They hope to get Diesellek and Wanchalerm to name a few. The latter has been on an amazing fighting streak in Bangkok, beating the likes of
Singdam, Pakon, Petchboonchu and Sakkedao.

The gym equipment includes 11 bags, 2 rings, 2 wall mounts, a sauna and the best brand on Thai pads in Thailand (I really do love this brand)

Accommodation is almost complete with both twin bed rooms and king sized bedrooms which all come with hot water, LCD TV, refrigerator, air con and wifi. They still need to put in some lamps, wall pictures and so on. Just the little details. Rooms should be finished within a week.

Here’s the current pricing list

To conclude, what attracts me to this gym is the smaller size, fantastic location and the fact that Kru Manop is teaching there. Kru Manop is the real deal when it comes to training. And to wrap things up, Manop gym is having Saenchai come down for a few days in December for privates and a seminar!

Review in a few weeks!

Born in Australia, training in martial arts since the age of 9. My first trip to Thailand was back in 2007. Since then i have made numerous visits back to the "land of smiles" to feed my addiction of Muay Thai. During the month of November in 2010 i had to decide between working a 9 to 5 job back home for the rest of my life, or sell all my worldly possessions and move to Thailand to live and train for the next few years. Thankfully i chose the latter. I now spend my time training Muay Thai, meeting new and interesting circles of people, sipping coconuts under palm trees on the beach and measuring the cost of everything on how much Pad Thai i could buy with that money.

Mike (Admin)

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