The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

As he continues to blaze a trail for Muay Thai in the Bahamas, DC Pratt’s path will take him to the country of the sport’s origin.

Pratt will undergo an intense three-month session in Thailand, training under renowned Muay Thai fighter and coach, Lamnamoon Sor Sumalee.

Disillusioned with frequent fight cancellations along with the struggle to find adequate bouts and training, he chose to relocate to the Mecca of Muay Thai fighting.

“There were a lot of reasons I decided to go to Thailand, one of the main ones were that fights were falling through in the United States. I started to get frustrated and I didn’t want to be in the US just training, I wanted to be actively competing,” he said.

“In Thailand I will train and fight as much as possible with some of the best in the sport in the world. It is their national sport, so they have a lot of training camps and a lot of opportunities to train and to get better. I fully anticipate that with this training I will be able to take my skills to another level and if I stayed in the US it would have been a delayed process, fights would not have been as frequent and my progression would have been stagnant.

“I have heard that the training is brutal. You train twice a day for six days a week and each session will be three hours. It starts with a three-to-five mile run, you go into techniques then you spar. That is the morning then you repeat that process in the afternoon session.

“I expect it to be a challenge physically. I will need a few weeks to get myself acclimated because there was no way to mimic that level of training while at home. Mentally I just have to prepare myself to push through that.”

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, for two years before he moved back to the Bahamas, Pratt has fought to a 3-1-1 record since he made his Muy Thai debut in 2012.

He opened the Bangkok Fight Night Atlanta Grand Prix event with a split decision over Clint Blizzard in the 160-pound weight class in that debut.

Most recently, he won the IKF East Coast Championship in October 2013.

While in Atlanta, Pratt established the connections which referred him to the camp in Thailand. He noted that aside from the fight preparation, it will be what he called “an experience of a lifetime” immersed in a new culture for an extended period of time.

“I set myself up with a training camp through my coaches based in Georgia. There was another fighter I know of who trained in the camp and in a relatively short time-span he went from the amateur to the professional ranks and has been,” he said. “It will be my first time on that side of the world so I am looking forward to making the adjustment. I have already been practicing the language and trying to learn as much as I can about the people and the customs. I’m looking at this as an experience, just to see how other people live and it is also a life-changing experience just to broaden my horizon.”

While the bulk of his sponsorship has come from benefactors based in the US, he expressed disappointment that local corporate sponsorship has been slow to assist. He added that more help is welcomed and needed.

“I have received sponsorship from Button’s Formal Wear and Mr Harrison Petty but for the most part people have been hesitant. Bahamians have a tendency to jump on board when you are already on top. We don’t know much about Muy Thai here and people want to see some tangible effort before they make that investment in anything, especially sports. It’s a bit disappointing,” he said. “Financially, I won’t have everything in place as I would wish but I had to make the move now. If I had to wait until all the i’s were dotted and the t’s were crossed then this venture may not have happened, so I have to take this risk. I have to put pressure on myself to make sure I get things done not just for myself but for the growth of the sport.”

With his development in the sport, Pratt said he looks to add to the growing mixed martial arts phenomenon in the Bahamas.

“I think that there are so many possibilities for Muay Thai in the Bahamas. I really want to promote it in the country, I just need a little assistance. But if I have to do it on my own, I’m up to the task. I would like to see competitions held locally and Bahamian fighters competing abroad. This is very likely, but fighters need to be developed in order to sharpen each other and in order to encourage friendly competition locally.

“Recreationally, I think it’s a good means to get in shape and learn self-defence. I also think it’s a means for young guys to learn discipline and burn off some excess tension and energy. And I would like to use it as a way to help guide the guys here,” he said.

Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, is known as the art of eight limbs for its use of punches, elbows, knees and kicks.

Muay Thai is recognised as one of the most effective and devastating disciplines, hence its increasing use in mixed martial arts.