Lethwei

Let Whay

Burmese boxing
Also known as Lethwei, Lethwae, Burmese boxing, Burmese kickboxing
Focus striking
Hardness full-contact
Country of origin Burma Myanmar
Famous practitioners U Bo Sein, U Pyi Kyaw, Nilar Win,Lone Chaw,Saw Shark,Tway Ma Shaung,Soe Lin Oo,Tun Tun Min
Olympic sport No

Let Whay (Lethwei) (Burmese: လက်ဝှေ့, pronounced: [leʔ w̥ḛ]) is an unarmed Burmese martial art. It is similar to related styles of Indochinese kickboxing, namely Muay Thai from Thailand, Pradal Serey from Cambodia, Muay Lao from Laos and Tomoi from Malaysia.

History

In ancient times, matches were held for entertainment and were popular with every strata of society. Participation was opened to any male, whether king or commoner. At that time, matches took place in sandpits instead of rings. Boxers fought without protective equipment, only wrapping their hands in hemp or gauze. There were no draws and no point system—the fight went on until one of the participants was knocked out or could no longer continue. Back then, Burmese boxing champions would enter the ring and call for open challenges.[1]

Kyar Ba Nyein, who participated in boxing at the 1952 Summer Olympics, pioneered modern lethwei by setting in place modern rules and regulations.[2] He travelled around Myanmar, especially the Mon and Karen states where a lot of villagers were still actively practicing lethwei. Kyar Ba Nyein brought them back to Mandalay and Rangoon and, after training with them, encouraged them to compete in the matches he organised.

The Myanmar government has made some organisational changes to make Burmese boxing more marketable internationally. There are a number of Burmese boxers who do compete in Thailand professionally with varying degrees of success.

The first lethwei championship tournament was held in 2000. In ordinary matches there is no scoring system, but it was adopted then. The official title matches have not been held since the championship so those who knocked out the tournament winners are considered the unofficial champions. Although only two or three official events are held by the government each year, unofficial matches take place at festivals around the country every month. In government-sponsored fights, both competitors are given belts as commemorative gifts. The winners are given black-coloured belts, and the losers are given white-coloured belts.

The first international lethwei event was held in June 2001 when three kickboxers from the USA competed against lethwei practitioners. They were Shannon Ritch, Albert Ramirez and Doug Evans. All three Americans were knocked out in the first round. The second of these events took place on July 10–11, 2004 when four Japanese fighters were offered to fight against Burmese boxers. They were Akitoshi Tamura, Yoshitaro Niimi, Takeharu Yamamoto and Naruji Wakasugi. Tamura, a mixed martial artist, knocked out Aya Bo Sein in the second round and became the first foreigner to beat a lethwei practitioner in an official match.

Techniques

Aside from punches, kicks, elbows and knee attacks, Burmese boxers also make use of head-butts, raking knuckle strikes and take downs.

Rules

Matches today are carried out in both the traditional manner and a more modern offshoot called "Myanma traditional boxing" which started in 1996. The latter was based on the sporting outlook of Muay Thai and uses a point system. If a knockout occurs, the boxer is revived and has the option of continuing the bout. In traditional fights, the winner is the first to draw blood which may be wiped away three times before victory is declared.

Junior boxers

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Journal of the Royal Society of Arts - Royal Society of Arts (Great Britain) - Google Books". Books.google.com. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  2. ↑ "Kyar ba nyein". Scribd.com. Retrieved 2015-03-04.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lethwei.