Boxing Clever

So you've tried your hand at Thai massage and whipped up green curry at a cooking class. Yawn. How about learning how to take out an opponent with a well-timed kick? Until recently, learning Muay Thai, or Thai kickboxing, in its country of origin has been a strictly no-frills affair—think tin-roofed pavilions with old equipment and nary an electric fan in sight. But looking to tap into Muay Thai's increasing popularity, Thailand's top boxing promoter, Songchai Ratanasuban, has opened the One Songchai Institute of Muay Thai, tel: (66-2) 618 5314, a school attached to the new Bangkok Boxing Stadium. Courses are offered at a range of levels. Curious newcomers can attend ringside lessons (from $45) that involve light sparring with professional boxers. One-day to one-week courses (from $20) are offered to dabblers, while the hard core can take the plunge with rigorous three- to six-week training programs (from $600) that include lessons with Thailand's best coaches, backpacker-style accommodation above the stadium, and home-cooked meals. After training, students can watch bouts between rising Muay Thai stars in the stadium, where the clean floors and orderly stands are a big step up from Bangkok's older boxing establishments. Your sinewy, agile master may only speak a smattering of English, but that's usually irrelevant to most students' purposes. When he starts demonstrating blows and kicks on a punching bag, says Canadian professional boxer Jason Fenton, 29, "you know what the coach is getting at."