Ajarn Gae is a very disciplined trainer who trains hard and pushes the fighters to the peak of their fitness. He specializes in training fighters who are preparing for a fight and he has worked with fighters like Ramazan Ramazanov, Dzhabar Askerov, and Madsua Lamai Gym.
All questions were answered by trainer Gae.
EX SPORTS: Great to see you, trainer Gae! So our first question would be why did you choose Muay Thai?
TRAINER GAE: I started fighting when I was a boy. I didn’t have a gym to train, as I stayed at the temple where I saw people looking for fighters at the temple’s festival. Back then they didn’t have weigh-ins. A way to match two fighters — they had to be the same height. They asked if you wanted to fight and if you agreed you were in!
EX SPORTS: And how did you start fighting professionally?
TRAINER GAE: There was a Muay Thai instructor that saw me fighting at the festival many times. He saw how much I loved to fight in the ring and I was searching for different places just to train. After he saw me a few times, he invited me to join the Tor. Thawikiat Gym. So I stayed at Thawikiat gym back then as a boy.
When I lived with my grandparents and I liked to go running around the temple a lot. It was so much fun at the temple back then. There were around 20–30 kids, so I didn’t feel lonely. After I joined the Muay Thai gym, I had the same feeling as being in the temple. I had lots of friends that helped me at that time. My friends helped me to adjust myself to the gym.
EX SPORTS: That’s very interesting!
How did you decide to start training other fighters? Was it something you always wanted to do?
TRAINER GAE: I fought in Chiangmai then moved to Bangkok. I fought at Rachadamneun Stadium and I got a serious leg injury. I went to the hospital and they did the surgery and implanted metal in my leg. It’s still there. It happened when I was in my early 20s. After that incident, I stopped fighting and I went to become a monk. I was a monk for 10 years. I didn’t have any other skills, only Muay Thai so I went to help out my mate at his gym. I helped him to train young kids before becoming a monk.
EX SPORTS: 10 years is quite a long time!
Was it your intention to become a monk and spend the rest of your life at the temple?
TRAINER GAE: When I showed up at the temple, I only intended to enter the monkhood for 7 days. As a monk, you did little except for morning alms, partaking of food, temple chores, and the rest of the time was spent in meditation. I experienced a lot of peace and so days turned into weeks, weeks turn into months. Before I knew it, 10 years had passed.
EX SPORTS: Finding peace of mind is often a challenge, I guess many of us can relate to finding it in meditation.
So now are getting closer to the questions about your career as a Muay Thai trainer.
Where have you trained fighters?
TRAINER GAE: I started my career in Koh Samui. I was in Koh Samui for around 4–5 years. Nobody really knew me back then. I only worked and worked that’s all. I didn’t socialize much.
After Koh Samui, I moved to Bangkok and joined Elite Boxing. After I joined this gym, people started to recognize me. My gym started promoting me, created my Facebook account, Instagram, and my fan page so I became more popular.
EX SPORTS: Popularity clearly opens up more opportunities all over the globe. Have you trained outside of Thailand? What’s your favorite country to work in?
TRAINER GAE: Yes, I was invited to many countries to conduct training seminars. It’s not very different. I do the exact same thing that I do in Thailand. When we’re talking about Muay Thai, it’s all about boxing and fighting in the ring. It doesn’t matter who you are and where you are from. We are all the same in Muay Thai. Good preparation and training are everything. If you understand the way to do it I think everybody can do Muay Thai. We are like a family.
EX SPORTS: How did the pandemic change your life? Did you stop training?
TRAINER GAE: I stayed in Thailand as all the Muay Thai gyms outside Thailand were closed. So I couldn’t really go anywhere. All the airports were closed and we couldn’t plan seminars.
But looking at the bright side it gave me a great opportunity to focus on training Thai fighters and help my old friend at the Sasiprapa Muay Thai Gym.
EX SPORTS: Yes, that makes sense!
So what are your plans for the future?
TRAINER GAE: I want to have my own Muay Thai gym and we are planning to open one. I can’t really do much right now because of the COVID uncertainty. The good thing is that the world is slowly reopening and we can start doing seminars again.
EX SPORTS: That’s a great plan for sure!
How would you describe your training style?
TRAINER GAE: I have developed my training style over the years which includes a dynamic padwork style that mimics the intensity of a real fight. I always try to adapt to each of my students’ levels and styles. Their improvement and success are my success. I dedicate myself to my work. I teach with my heart and I pay attention to my students.
EX SPORTS: Hope to participate in one of your seminars one day! That would be incredible!
What is EX Sports for you?
TRAINER GAE: I think that EX Sports is a great opportunity for young athletes to promote themselves and engage more with fans, support their brand, and making some additional income. This is a great idea.
EX SPORTS: Thank you for the answers, trainer Gae!
Great conversation!
Thank you all for attending the session today. For any questions related to EX Sports feel free to ask in this chat, we are happy to answer them!
TRAINER GAE: Thank you all for having me tonight! More things to expect from EX Sports soon, so I am really excited!
EX Sports is a platform that allows every sports federation and league to create collectible NFTs for the athletes. This will allow the federations to access new revenue streams, provide the athletes a marketplace to engage with their fans and keep the money flowing inside the ecosystem.
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