Saekson Janjira Muay Thai (Plano, TX)

**ninjagirlrachel** · Posted On: 1/22/2012 4:10pm

Saekson Janjira's gym reminds me of what it would be like to walk on the set of Bloodsport during the jungle training parts. Only, with no mysticism, triple jump-kicks, Jean-Claude or English. Throw in air conditioning, a ring, and well, Saekson; and you'll get an idea of the awesomeness that is this gym.

I'll adhere to the Rating system to provide talking points on the gym from here on.

Aliveness: 9
Hard sparring is a norm here. Every night around 8:30 or so you can expect to see folks rearranging their dental plans to better suit the needs of this gym. It's not required, but it readily available if you want to test yourself out against some of the established MMA fighters who frequent the place.

Equipment: 10
There is a ring, matted floors, kick shields, MT pads, the whole 9 yards. It's well supplied and the equipment is typical to any 16 year old's MMAWarehouse wishlist. You are required to supply your own gloves and shinguards, of course. (If this knocks of a point to anyone, I'll edit this later and adjust.)

Gym Size: 6
The place is about the size of a Blockbuster Movie store, maybe a bit bigger. It's got a head, offices, some decent parking, a ring, etc; but it's not exactly huge. It gets the job done, but can be crowded sometimes. Feels like being in a Six Flags sometimes.

Instructor/Student Ratio: 9
Saekson personally teaches 90% of his classes. He also has a staff of his fighters walking through the lines helping to instruct, cornering, or providing motivation as the classes go on. You won't have a hard time getting someone to help you if you can't figure out how to turn your hips, etc.

Atmosphere/Attitude: 8
Saekson's a comedian. He throws in jokes that might have some biblethumpers unhappy, but from Saekson it's accepted and laughed at. He keeps it light, but doesn't let you forget that you are in a gym founded by a Lumpinee champion. The other fighters are helpful, (especially Borzoo) and you don't see any rivalries or animosity here. I don't really think it would survive well around Saekson, which lends even more to his credit.

Striking Instruction: 10
He is Saekson Janjira. If you don't know what that means, then you may want to consider booking Steven Segal for your corner.

Grappling Instruction: (N/A)
(I can't verify for the grappling provided here, as I have never taken any BJJ or wrestling provided here. I've heard good things but have nothing I can vouch for)

Weapons: 1
There is no weapon instruction provided here. Unless you count your callused shins as weapons. Then you could say it's a 10 ;)

There's a certain charm about this gym that sticks with you like an arrow to the knee. Not including the guest instructors (Pakyroon, etc), the extremely low price-point and the parties (yes lol, the man gets down!), I'd give this gym a high recommendation.

Overall Rating: 8

(My personal rating would be a 10. It's like going to Camp Rawai without the heat. Or Centipedes. lol)

**NikkyA** · Posted On: 1/22/2012 4:49pm

Cool review man, sounds proper! Enjoy your training!

**ninjagirlrachel** · Posted On: 1/23/2012 11:58am

Thanks! Feel free to stop by anytime you cross the pond and land in TX!!

**7heTexanRebel** · Posted On: 1/23/2012 2:00pm

Nice review, I'll see if I can stop by some time.

**Ronin.74** · Posted On: 1/24/2012 4:31pm

Awsome review, I've attended several of Saekson's seminars in Ohio and attended his Muay Thai Legends seminar last spring. Last fall we also hosted him here in Ohio at Ronin Training Center in Columbus for a 2 hour seminar. No matter how many times I train with him he always shows me something I haven't seen before, and it's always something simple, direct and effective.

The only thing I can say about your review is you may want to verify his status as a former Lumpinee champ. He was a 6 time world champion but I've never heard him call himself a Lumpinee champ and, as I recall, it doesn't appear on his website.

**ninjagirlrachel** · Posted On: 1/27/2012 3:46pm

Ah, good point. I think in the starstruckness I got ahead of myself there. Fail.

Thanks for pointing that out Ronin.

And hell yeah, he's great at keeping **** effective and simple (which to me, is the definition of good MT). As a boxer, I usually nitpick at MT fighter's hands; but Saekson's are actually pretty beast. Great teacher all around.

Plus, Chidi's doing big **** now too.

**Tex** · Posted On: 1/28/2012 1:01am

Saekson's is basically the most prolific MT in NorTex. I've noticed that every single MT trainer that I have ever met in this part of the world has trained there, is training there, or has plans to train there. He's pretty much the cornerstone for MT out here, and it shows... Quite a few of his students have gone on to instruct at other gyms around Big-D. Stick around and you will probably meet up with some other MT legends at that gym. Good review, BTW.