If you want to be good, then you must train with the best!

[kamahlthedruid]

http://www.samart-payakaroon.com/index_en.html

[isshinryu5toforever]

The best is difficult to be certain of. Also, you don't need to train with "the best." You need to train with the best person for you. That might not be the best. A great fighter does not make a great coach all the time. Who coached him? Who helped make him the best? A fighter has a whole staff of people dedicated to making sure they're at the top of the game. Just because it helped him succeed doesn't mean he can help you succeed.

Also, there are different levels of coaches for different people. You don't start at the top, you work your way there. An absolute beginner would be helped by going to nearly any reputable Muay Thai coach. You would only be really helped by a high level coach once you yourself are a high level athlete. This isn't always true, but it tends to be. There's a reason why a lot of top level athletes allow their original coaches to take them as far as possible, then start seeking out more elite coaches for guidance when they hit the ceiling. That's just the way things work these days.

I would say that training is better than not training 100% of the time as long as the person is legit, whether it's with the best or not.

[JiuJitsuNation]

A fighter has a whole staff of people dedicated to making sure they're at the top of the game.

this is true. However I'm assuming that the original poster was referring to achieving high levels in sport. Within that staff of people there are other high level athletes to push them. The fastest way to figure out where your ceiling is, is to surround yourself with as much talent and information as possible and then pour yourself into what you are doing. It would save you the bouncing around even if that meant sleeping on that elite coaches front porch until he realized you were serious and not going away.

[sensei8]

Who just wants to be 'good'? I want to be the 'best'!

However, being the 'best', imho, is nothing more than an illusion. It's understood that if one wants to be the 'best' at whatever, then by all means, train with the 'best', whomever that might be.

[isshinryu5toforever]

A fighter has a whole staff of people dedicated to making sure they're at the top of the game.

this is true. However I'm assuming that the original poster was referring to achieving high levels in sport. Within that staff of people there are other high level athletes to push them. The fastest way to figure out where your ceiling is, is to surround yourself with as much talent and information as possible and then pour yourself into what you are doing. It would save you the bouncing around even if that meant sleeping on that elite coaches front porch until he realized you were serious and not going away.

That's also definitely true, but jumping into that environment immediately isn't for someone with little to no experience. That's why I advocate getting some sort of base first, then moving to a higher level camp. I'd be willing to bet that the coach he's looking at in that link isn't the one who would coach him if he has very little experience. It would likely be someone else first, and if he proved he was good enough, he'd move into more advanced ring-oriented stuff. So at the very least, he'd be moving up in their system. He'd also be moving to Thailand.

I definitely agree that if you want to be the best sport competitor, you need to be around high level people to figure out your ceiling. Depending on what you're doing though, that could mean moving a long way, maybe even internationally. It all depends on how dedicated you are of course. No one said it would be easy. Money really is a decider for some of us.

[bushido_man96]

I agree with isshinryu5toforever. Look at how many athletes come into their prime. They start at lower levels...high school football players move onto college (usually a D1 if they hope to play pro), then they get drafted, and some make the team and others do not. Some play in semi-pro leagues, like Kurt Warner did.

Look at baseball, too. The minor league system is used to develop and evaluate talent for the big clubs. And many other sports have AAU opportunities for athletes to get out and play and get exposure.

Remeber, the longest journey does begin with a single step.

[kansascityshuffle]

The best fighter is not always the best instructor. Trust me, I have trained with some well known fighters and their instruction was horrible. However, a good fighter is great to spar with.

I know my answer can be viewed as a bit of a contradiction so I'll explain it a bit. I trained with a very well known Muay Thai trainer who has trained a lot of world champions who himself wasn't known to be a legend like Samart in the ring...however, this trainer was able to teach or rather explain to me finer points of how to maximize techniques I was doing within minutes. This has stuck with me 10 years later where I have trained with some Lumpini champions that have kicked my butt in the ring but offered no good finer point coaching.

Take it for what it's worth, just my own personal experience. I do advise to spar with as many full contact world champions that you can (muay thai, kyokushin, daido juku, etc.).

[Lee M]

Training with people who have allot of experience are the best to seek out.

As they say experience is life best teachers.

Your right fighters rarely make good coaches - too much ego etc.

I have recently been in the company of Lance Lewis, Bob Sykes and John Dawson proper martial combat men who have over 100 years between them you can tell they have the experience and mastered the skills they practice.

Defining who is the best for you is better.