EDUCATION-(exercises)

Fight club

Located In the heart to Bangkok inside the compound of the former Pre-Cadet School on Rama IV Road, Virapol Gym has trained thousands of foreigners in muay Thai durint its five years of operation. People have come from countries as diverse as Chile, China and Japan to train, with many trainees choosing to stay at the gym during their time in Bangkok.

Virapol Gym can accommodate up to 50 people at a time in separate male and female dormitories. About half of the students that come to the gym are female.

NO PAIN, NO GAIN

Gym owner Nikom Pheisiri, 40, is a former Thai boxer who has spet many years teaching muay Thai around theworld. He said that the school trains aspiring boxers to be capable muay Thai fighters.

"We have no intention of withholding any knowledge of rticks," Nikom said. "Muay Thai uses all parts of the body, and it's tough to learn for students who are really serious about it."

ALL AGES

The majority of students at the Virapol Gym want to take up boxing seriously, and many wish to eventually become trainers in their own countries. Trainees usually spend from between a week to a few months studying at the gym.

Nikom said that becoming a good muay Thai fighter requires a long period of training. He also noted that foreigners generally start at a much older age than Thai fighter. who usually start training when they are 6 or 7 years old and retire at around the age of 25.

NON-STOP WORKOUT

Each round of training at the Virapol Gym starts with a Thai oil massage, a warm-up and a 5 to 10 kilometre run to relax the muscies. Trainees then work out with jumping rope, followed by shadow-boxing and heavy-bag boxing.

Next is Thai pad training, which involves practising a variety of punches, kicks, khee and elbow strikes with a trainer. "Trainees do the same things everyday, "Nikom said." If we find that any of them are good enough, we send them to test their abillity at the Lumpini Boxing Stadium.

EXERCISES

Read the story. Then, answer the following reading comprehension questions.

1. At what age do Thai fighters usually start training?
2. How many people can the Virapol Gym accommodate at a time?
3. What part of the body does muay Thai use?
4. What does each round of training start off with?