The Top Spots For a Martial Arts Vacation in Asia

It is no secret that Asia has been the home of martial arts for the last 5,000 years.  If you haven't been to this side of the planet, you should plan a trip here for a jaw-dropping, eye-opening experience.  The quality of instruction is outstanding here in Asia and there are also plenty of tourist attractions to create an action-packed, fun-filled itinerary.

Evolve MMA (Singapore)

Singapore is fast becoming the tourist island destination of Asia with its exotic beaches, multicultural population, world-class restaurants, magnificent $8 billion casinos, vibrant nightlife, fight entertainment like the UFC and ONE FC, and tourist attractions like Sentosa Island, Universal Studios, and much more.

To those in the know, Evolve MMA is the Disney World of martial arts in Asia.  Not only is it home to the world's largest collection of world champions across a multitude of different martial arts, but it also boasts the largest team of authentic Muay Thai world champions and legends from Thailand.  The Thai media in Thailand have even gone as far as to write that the Muay Thai Program at Evolve MMA is the best in history, including the best Muay Thai camps in Thailand.

There aren’t too many places in the world where you can hit pads with legendary Lumpinee Muay Thai world champions like Orono Wor Petchpun, Namsaknoi Yudthagarngamtorn, Attachai Fairtex, Chalee Sor Chaitamin, Chaowalith Jockygym, Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichok, and countless others.   If that isn't enough, you can also brush up on your boxing skills with WBA Boxing world champion Yodsanan Sityodtong and other boxing champions there.

On the grappling side at Evolve MMA, you can roll with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champions and elite level black belts like Leandro Ataides, Leandro Issa, Bruno Pucci, Herbert Burns, Almiro Barros, Gamal Hassan, and others.  In terms of trainers, the camp probably contains the most diverse range of elite level talent on the planet.  Evolve MMA is also home to outstanding wrestling coaches like US Olympian Heath Sims and NCAA D-1 wrestler Jake Butler.

As an additional perk, you will also find yourself training alongside some of today's biggest names in professional MMA like ONE FC 155 lbs champion Shinya Aoki, Bellator 170 lbs champion Ben Askren, UFC 155 lbs contender Rafael Dos Anjos, ONE FC star Eddie Ng, and others who all make up the Evolve Fight Team.  Numerous current UFC fighters and coaches fly across the world to Singapore to train regularly at Evolve MMA, including Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Joe Benevidez, Urijah Faber, Renzo Gracie, Greg Jackson, etc.

If you are planning a trip to Asia, Evolve MMA should be on your list of must-see places to visit.

Tiger Muay Thai (Thailand)

With its beautiful beaches, wild nightlife, historical monuments, and exceptional food, Thailand remains one of the key destination choices for tourists all over the world.

Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket was the first camp in Thailand to start offering MMA training and has hundreds of students of all levels and abilities coming to train every month with goals which vary from weight loss and general fitness to actual fight training.  Today, TMT is regarded as one of the best places to train in Asia.

The TMT MMA program is headed up by UFC, Bellator and ONE FC veteran Roger Huerta and UFC welterweight contender Brian Ebersole.  There is a team of approximately 35 Muay Thai trainers who are all highly experienced.  BJJ black belt Fernando Maccachero heads up the grappling program.  While most of the training takes place in the open air in traditional Thai-style, there is also an air conditioned area for wrestling and BJJ.  The facilities are cleaned multiple times a day to prevent infections associated with the outdoor tropical climate in Thailand.

Tiger Muay Thai also offers an extensive list of classes, including Cross Fit, Weight Training, Strength and Conditioning, Yoga, and more.  There is also a restaurant on the premises that serves healthy food and protein shakes.

Tiger Muay Thai is a 20 minute drive away from some of Phuket’s best beaches and there are accommodation options to cater to any budget. For those that like to party, Patong is a short taxi or Tuk Tuk drive away from the camp.

Shape Up (Philippines)

Philippines offers an exciting array of great beaches, amazing food, friendly people, and tourist attractions.

The first step to fighting like Manny Pacquiao is to train like him.  The eight division boxing world champion often heads to the Shape Up Gym in Baguio to start his fight camps before heading to Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles for the final stages.

Baguio is situated at approximately 1540 meters above sea level, making it ideal for anyone who wants to gain superior conditioning by training at altitude.  Altitude training helps to increase the mass of red blood cells and hemoglobin in the body.

You can get a workout in with one of the trainers any time you want.  There are no set session times and the gym also has an enormous weights room attached as well as a sauna. The trainers are all experienced boxers and five time trainer of the year Freddie Roach was so impressed by one of them, Marvin Somodia, that he decided to offer him a full time job as his assistant.

Baguio is an overnight bus journey away from Manila although accommodation is slightly more expensive than in the country’s capital and the city is also home to Team Lakay, the top MMA camp in the Philippines.