A total of 100 local, national and international students attended the course between Feb 3-7 in pursuit of their official C-Level Muay Thai license, undertaking a series of lectures as well as practical demonstrations.
The focus of the course was to develop the requisite skillset to enable the students to become qualified trainers of the sport themselves, therefore allowing them to teach others when back in their homeland.
This included general combat techniques involving punching, kicking and the correct use of knees and elbows as well as learning the secience behind muscle relaxation, a key component in reducing fatigue, stiffness and injury.
The course was held at the Dara Hotel on Chao Fa Road (East) in Wichit and was arranged and facilitated by the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) and the National Office of the Boxing Commission, who elected to chose Phuket as the desired location due to its strong ties to the national sport.
Thammawat Wongcharoenyos, SAT Committee Member and President of the Phuket Provincial Sports Association, visited the venue on Feb 5 to meet many of the students to lend encouragement.
Mr Thammawat was joined by Wandee Isarangkun Na Ayutthaya, a senior director from the SAT Office of the Boxing Committee, Thanawut Petchchara, Director of the Phuket Provincial Sports Authority Office, in addition to selected officials.
The course was the third held in Phuket following previous editions in July 2025 and April 2024 and is another example of how the sport is being used as a key component in the government’s soft power drive to attract increased tourists numbers and revenue to Thailand, while simultaneously enhancing the country’s image on the international stage.
Phuket in particular is internationally renowned for training and developing local and international talent with 43 officially registered Muay Thai camps across the island, including the famous Tiger Muay Thai and Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA gyms, while the island also boasts two top-class standard boxing stadiums in Patong Beach Boxing Stadium and Bangla Boxing Stadium.
A raft of local and international talent has either been based in Phuket or graced the various Muay Thai gyms here at some stage on their way to starring on the global stage through promotions such as the UFC and ONE Championship; Alexander Volkanovski, Anatoly Malykhin, Loma Lookboonmee, Rafael Fiziev, Petr Yan, Valentina Shevchenko, Celest Hansen and Israel Adesanya are just a handful of such examples.