BATTLE-TESTED BRAWLER SET TO DEFEND HIS LETHWEI CROWN

By Pierre Smith

A new king from the cold streets of Gatineau, Quebec has taken the Lethwei crown. He is Dave Leduc, aka. “The Nomad.”

In what is being billed as a battle between Lethwei vs. Muay Thai,  the 25-year-old Canadian will defend his openweight title for the third time. When he looks across the ring on June 16, at Lethwei in Japan 4: FRONTIER, he will see his opponent in Muay Thai champion Nilmungkorn Sudsakorn.

The young champion will have his hands full against the formidable Sudsakorn, but the Nomad is prepared for an all out war. He is confident he will find the KO (though he hopes in an unusual fashion).

“How did you get into Lethwei?”

I went to Thailand on three occasions to sharpen my tools. I loved my time as a Nak...

Lethwei is perhaps the best way to time travel, as its style and ruleset harken back to the earliest origins of indochinese martial arts of all kinds. Raw, brutal and uniquely human – Lethwei fighters fight for both glory and survival. . .

LETHWEI, MUAY THAI & THE ORIGINS OF INDOCHINESE FIGHTING

LETHWEI OPENWEIGHT CHAMP, DAVE LEDUC. (INSTAGRAM)

The history of martial arts is very difficult to pin down, as there is so much myth, folklore and general romanticizing about those humble origins. It wasn’t until relatively late in the development of civilization that certain fighting styles were named.

Whereas most historical topics have numerous sources that can be examined, a lot of martial arts history is passed down by word of mouth. Since martial arts is such a niche topic, the truth becomes hard to find.

It becomes even harder when trying to find out the true history of Indochinese kickboxing, which is even older than modern martial arts such as judo,...