Muay thai teacher in Greece

**Eaglos** · Posted On: 6/13/2007 3:46am

Currently I live in Athens, Greece and I am trainning in muay thai. Is there a way to check whether my teacher is legit or not? Is there an official site or something?

All I have found is this http://www.thaimartialarts.org/register-khan14.html (site is a mess with lots of downtime). I am refering to "Kru Yai Vangelis Xanthakis", scroll down after the middle of the page.

Thank you.

**Zyph** · Posted On: 6/13/2007 11:50am

Thai Land has so many fighters in their country, it is almost impossible to tell who is telling the truth. Chances are if his Kru came from Thai Land he did do some training.

The up side is Muay Thai is almost a no brainer. Good technique can be pulled from books, you tube, and this site. What you really get in a gym is peole to train with. While a heavy bag is great, pads are better, and a sparing partner is even better than pads.

I would say as long as the price is not too outrageous, he is not promising mystical powers, and you are happy stick around for a bit.

Ask if he has any ring xp, I would suggest doing it in a way that does not insult ;). On that same note though some of the best boxing trainers in teh world have never been in a ring in their lifes.

May I ask what are your goals in trainig in MT?
Later,
Zyph

**Beaton Yu** · Posted On: 6/13/2007 1:15pm

Challenge him to a fight. If he kicks your head in he's probably legit.

**Eaglos** · Posted On: 6/13/2007 3:39pm

He is not an active fighter, he is 40+ and was promoted to Arjarn (14th Khan). I am mostly concerned because of a magazine article which stated various things about muay thai in Greece and it portraited my teacher.

My goal in thai is first of all to get fitter, to improve my stamina, to harden my body and to learn a few tricks just in case. I am not interested at all in official matches, local tournaments and so on.

**Zyph** · Posted On: 6/13/2007 4:10pm

Originally Posted by Eaglos

He is not an active fighter, he is 40+ and was promoted to Arjarn (14th Khan). I am mostly concerned because of a magazine article which stated various things about muay thai in Greece and it portraited my teacher.

My goal in thai is first of all to get fitter, to improve my stamina, to harden my body and to learn a few tricks just in case. I am not interested at all in official matches, local tournaments and so on.

Humm I had a good response typed and my browser ate it.

So here goes again. If you are happy it doesn’t matter. Being active in any true MA will get you in shape. The best outcome is that you learn to be a great fighter, the worst (baring injury) is you make new friends, and pick up training partners.

My advices, if you are not worried about getting in the ring, or holding rank, is to have fun. If the fun stops find another school/gym.

So work hard, stay safe, and never kick to the head unless you massively outclass the guy you are fighting ;)
Later,
Zyph

**Eaglos** · Posted On: 6/14/2007 2:17am

Thanks for the tips :)

Apart from all that, isn't there an official authority where you could crosscheck for legit teachers and so on?

**sochin101** · Posted On: 6/14/2007 2:26am

Look, I don't read Greek that well (read: not at all) but have a read through these sites to see if there's any info on a national organisation within Greece that you can contact:
http://www.muaythai.gr/
http://www.epaggelmaties.gr/nikaia/eomt/
http://www.victorycamp.gr/ (- is this your club?)

Do you actually think there's something wrong with your instructor?

**sochin101** · Posted On: 6/14/2007 2:30am

Also http://www.mahitikanea.gr/fights/Art...ay%20Thai.html

So, your guy is the President of the Hellenic Federation of Muay Thai - Kick Boxing (H.F.M.T.K.)?
Is your club WMF affiliated?

**Asriel** · Posted On: 6/14/2007 3:02am

Originally Posted by Eaglos

He is not an active fighter, he is 40+ and was promoted to Arjarn (14th Khan). I am mostly concerned because of a magazine article which stated various things about muay thai in Greece and it portraited my teacher.

My goal in thai is first of all to get fitter, to improve my stamina, to harden my body and to learn a few tricks just in case. I am not interested at all in official matches, local tournaments and so on.

Promoted to Arjarn? That worries me a little. Most MT teachers/coaches don't even like to be called Kru. Who promoted him? Rank means very little in MT and is akin to someone being promoted to Grand Pappy in Boxing.

**Eaglos** · Posted On: 6/14/2007 6:44am

@Sochin101
My teacher is the third from the left on the upper row http://www.muaythai.gr/ the others at the bottom are trainning with me at his school. All I know is that he was with the IAMTF and now with AITMA? So many names, I am confused.....He is WMF affiliated, I have read the WMF paper which stated the exact thing. (link in greek)
http://www.mahitikanea.gr/fights/Art.../Gr/index.html

@Asriel
Here he is at the Arjarn thing (under Dida Diafat seminar) along with Chaisit Shinawatra (WMF president?). http://www.mahitikanea.gr/fights/mod...ws&new_topic=4

Also he is listed at the AITMA web site
http://www.thaimartialarts.org/register-khan14.html

Anyway, there is nothing wrong so far with this teacher. I have been trainning with him for the past 14 months and it has been fine. What ingnited this research was an magazine article about thai in Greece and who's legit and who's not. I tried to find out a muay thai authority to get some clues but I had no luck yet.