Leesmann to compete in the World Muaythai Championships in Bangkok
Leesmann says it only really sunk in that he was good when he started sparring with experienced/high-level fighters and was able to keep up with them in the ring while learning at the same time.
Former Protea School learner Bryan Leesman is heading to Bangkok to compete in the World Muaythai Championships in July.
This caps a remarkable journey for the 22-year-old who started the sport as an alternative to gym, where he found he was easily bored.
“I have been overweight most of my life (100kg-120kg) and gym just never interested me, so I could not stay committed.
“I saw a boxing club and thought I should give it a shot, ended up enjoying it a lot, lost some weight and wanted to compete, but, unfortunately, there was no one in my age group competing as a heavyweight, so I was unable to compete.
“After moving to Centurion for work I had to stop training.
“I really started missing training and called around for fighting clubs that competed and I found an awesome club called Thai Fitness, where, on my first day, I fell in love with Muaythai.
“After training almost every day, my weight dropped to 77kg and I started competing in amateur boxing, K1 and Muaythai competitions,” says Leesmann.
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Leesmann, who is the South African champion in this sport, says he is surprised by how quickly he has gone up the ranks and says his goal was always to be the South African champion.
“I honestly did not expect it to happen so fast.
“My kru (high-level coach) kept me very active in the competitions, fighting every month and sometimes two to three fights a month, which made time fly and before I knew it I was competing in SA championships in February,” says Leesmann.
Leesmann says it only really sunk in that he was good when he started sparring with experienced/high-level fighters and was able to keep up with them in the ring while learning at the same time.
Of the world championships, he says he plans to bring home the gold medal and be a great ambassador for the sport.
“Being a world champion is definitely a dream and I won’t stop till I achieve that dream,” says Leesmann.
Leesmann has a BackaBuddy page to help him get to Bangkok – www.backabuddy.co.za/bryan-leesmann
