Phon Martdee (born 17 May 1958 in Saraburi,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

) is a Thai-born Australian

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

instructor and promoter and a former Muay Thai boxer. Martdee is one of the best-known Muay Thai trainers in Australia, training over 30 champions of state, national, and international status and having been voted Muay Thai Trainer of the Year by the International Kickboxer Magazine in 1997 and was president of the Thai-Australian Association of Western Australia in 2007–2008. He is currently the trainer of World Boxing Council Muaythai

Super Heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Introduced for th ...

National Champion Steve Bonner, Australian Champion Pamorn Martdee, WPMF Western Australian Champion Chris Garner,

WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...

Super Welterweight National Champion Jason Lea and top female prospect Melissa Norton.

Muay Thai career

Martdee was trained by his uncle Sargent Armporn Sarthong at a young age along with his brothers Somchai Martdee and Preechar Martdee, as a teenager he would fight in the outer provinces of Bangkok and would continue to fight throughout his studies at college. At 21 Martdee was chosen to represent Thailand in the Under 21s national soccer team where he would go on to be recognised as a skilled goalkeeper.

Instructor

Upon completing his bachelor's degree in Physical Education at Angthong University, Phon Martdee moved to Australia to open a martial arts centre known as "Muay Thai Boxing Promotions" or best known as "Phon's Gym" under the guidance of the Professional Boxing Association of Thailand (PAT) in 1989. At this time there were little known authentic Muay Thai gyms in Australia. Martdee began training groups of youths and adults interested in the newly founded ring sport. Martdee then began staging local events placing his fighters up against local BJC, boxing and kickboxing opponents. Over time Muay Thai gyms began opening around Perth allowing for an expanded selection of competition. In Martdee's 22 years of instructing he has trained over 30 champions at his gym which still operates in Northbridge to this day.

Promoter

Phon Martdee is a registered promoter with the Professional Combat Sports Commission of Western Australia. Since 1989 has promoted Muay Thai to the most authentic to Thailand level; regarded as the "Pioneer" of Muay Thai in Australia, Martdee was highly criticised for allowing boxers to perform the traditional "

Wai Khru The ''wai khru'' ceremony ( th, พิธีไหว้ครู, pronounced ) is a Thai ritual in which students pay respects to teachers in order to express their gratitude and formalize the student–teacher relationship. It is regularly held ...

" prior to bouts in the early 1990s. To date Martdee has promoted over 60 events sanctioning multiple world titles, as well as countless National and State titles in the isolated city of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Phon Martdee provided fighters to Queenslands premier Muay Thai promoter Blair Moore for the Conrad Jupiters Cup, also to top Victorian promoter

Tarik Solak Tariq ( ar, طارق) is an Arabic word and given name. Etymology The word is derived from the Arabic verb , ('), meaning "to strike", and into the agentive conjugated doer form , ('), meaning "striker". It became popular as a name after Tariq ...

for the Crown Casino events in Melbourne and his own signator Promotions at Challenge Stadium and Burswood Resort Casino in Perth. In 2005, Martdee was appointed the WBC Muay Thai representative promoter for Australia by WBC Muay Thai Chairman General Kovid Bhakdibhumi. Phon Martdee's current promotion series is ''Battle Collossal'' an ongoing series which features local fighters up against high-profile interstate/international fighters with

Sanctioned Titles. Martdee ordered that the Battle Colossal series support good causes for those in need; and in March 2010, Battle Colossal IX donated funds to the

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

Haiti Disaster Victims. Battle Colossal X on 21 August 2010 is set to donate funds to the Perth Strike A Chord for Cancer Foundation.

Honours

* 1997 Inducted into the Blitz Hall of Fame (Muay Thai Instructor) * 2007–2008 President of the Thai-Australian Association of Western Australia * 2010 Profiled in the Muay Siam Magazine, Thailand

Notable boxers trained

* Daniel Dawson * Chris Garner * Bruce Macfie

References

External links

About Phon Martdee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martdee, Phon 1958 births Living people Phon Martdee Sportspeople from Perth, Western Australia Boxing promoters Australian Muay Thai practitioners Muay Thai trainers Thai emigrants to Australia