The camp SIDPUHIYMANOP
The camp SIDPUHIYMANOP in Krabi
Special report by Serge TREFEU (2009)
Sidpuhiymanop is a tiny camp which is only opened for one and a half year.
He is near a Krabi City in the tourist sea resort of Ao Nang. He is in a small village by the roadside in lands, far from “the luxurious beach” of Ao Nang…
Mister Udom, the owner, in 48 years decided to go up this small camp having exercised his profession of trainer during 20 years in the camp Kiathontong which is 80 km of Krabi.
This former boxer counts about fifty fights to his credit. He did not make a big career but his passion is rather to train and to form young people.
That is why after bought a patch of land near the place where he grew, he went up a small structure to teach the Muay Thai.
A boxing ring covered with a roof in sheet steel and a training bag are enough for train boxers’ handle of which Mister Udom takes charge. He is helped by his brother-in-law who also holds paos to the apprentice’s champions…
They are five children to train daily in this small camp. At about 5 pm after the school, they tidy up their exercise books of class, remove their school uniform and thread their pair of shorts of boxing for one the others lesson, more physical that there…
The youngest of these nakmuay is the own son of the owner. His name is Nugrobdam and in only 6 years has already made a fight!
Then there is Meugdablek and Sidrug who are quite two 13 years old and each fought six times. Dammaharat is him only 10 years old but made already five fights. Finally the most experimented is Phet Oongthong who in 12 years fights in big stadium of the South to Phucket, Koh Lanta and Ao Nang. His fighting record is already not bad for its age with 20 fights and only a defeat!
In spite of their small sizes these children trains with seriousness and the sessions in paos are hard-hitting. But it is more a game than training for these kids who like letting off stream. And look the smallest of enter they punch on the paos is rather funny. The trainer is obliged to put on knees on the boxing ring so that this mini nakmuays can strike inside…
Mister Udom takes charge of his small boxers as his own children without will too much with pushing them on the verge of their capacities. In certain camps the young boxers have the obligation of the result, the money has to go into cashier’s desk and make the camp live at the risk of bankruptcy, the pressure on the boxers is thus omnipresent.
Here it is not the case the health of these “colts” passes before the money. It is family and Udom takes more pleasure in train these boxers than to see them fighting rather rare thing in the world of Muay Thai in Thailand. Moreover the names of all his small fighters are proudly registered on a beautiful wooden plate which decorates in the entrance of the “camp”…
