Lethwei

Burmese boxing
Also known as	Lethawae, Burmese boxing, Burmese kickboxing
Focus	striking
Hardness	full-contact
Country of origin	Myanmar
Famous practitioners	Nilar Win
Parenthood	Musti-yuddha and Chinese martial arts
Olympic sport	no

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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[link]

Lethwei was based on a combination of boxing arts from India and China, known respectively as musti-yuddha and shoupo. Matches were held for entertainment and were popular with every strata of society. Participation was open to any male, whether king or commoner. At the 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.

Kyar Ba Nyein, who participated in boxing at the 1952 Summer Olympics, pioneered modern lethwei by setting in place modern rules and regulations.^[1] He travelled around Myanmar, especially the Mon and Karen states where a lot of villagers were still actively practicing lethwei. Kyar Ba Nein 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 lai ka or "fight-dance"

• 

  Let Khamonghkhat

• 

  Slapping the palm three times to the right elbow

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  Back kick

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 unnofficial champions. Although only two or three official events are held by the government each year, unnofficial 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[link]

Aside from punches, kicks, elbows and knee attacks, Burmese boxers also make use of head-butts, raking knuckle strikes and take downs. This may be due to the fact that lethwei was more strongly influenced by musti-yuddha than the other styles were.

• 

  spinning elbow strike

• 

  roundhouse kick

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  knee and elbow strike

• 

  knee and punch

• 

  jumping knee and elbow

• 

  back hook kick

Rules[link]

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

Internal links[link]

• Burmese martial arts or Thaing (burmese)
• Bando
• Banshay
• Naban
• Pongyi thaing

See also[link]

• Muay Lao
• Muay Thai
• Pradal Serey
• Tomoi

References[link]

• Maung Gyi, Burmese bando boxing, Ed. R.Maxwell, Baltimore, 1978
• Zoran Rebac, Traditional Burmese boxing, Ed. Paladin Press, Boulder, 2003

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lethwei

• Combat Bando UK
• Lethawae
• French Bando & Lethwei Federation
• American Bando Association
• Hartford Bando U.S.
• Burmese Boxing Federation of Russia

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Kyaw Swe (Burmese: ကျော်ဆွေ, pronounced: [tɕɔ̀ sʰwè]; 10 February 1924 – 15 August 1982) was a Burmese actor and film director.

Biography[link]

Kyaw Swe was born Maw Ni in 1924 in Yangon to U Ba Nit and Daw Ohn Sein. He attended the St. John's High School, and during World War II he was chief of law in Bago. He joined BDA during the war. He entered into film around 1945. He became a film actor, changing his name to Kyaw Swe, and appeared in the film Saw Ya San Sha, a silent film, directed by Ba Shin. It was produced by the British-Burma Film company (later, “Nyunt Myanmar” ).

He moved to the A-One Film Company and he starred in the films of “Bogyoke”, “Ta Thwe Ta Mya”, and “Ahtauttaw” and “Chit Ye Baw” directed by Chin Sein (Shwe Nyar Maung). He also starred in “Bo Aung Din” and “Thar Bo Aung Din” directed by Shwe Don Bi Aung, “The Hsaung Hayman” directed by Thukha, “Phyay Yort Khway” directed by Chit Khin, “Min Aung Min Naung” directed by Aung Gyi and “Hpuza Nit Khine” directed by Hla Oo (Lu-Gyan Hla Maung Lay) for the British Burma Company.

In 1961, he went to Japan to study film-making. He established his own film company. His first directed film was “Pale Myetyay (Pearl Tear)” and he starred in that film, with actress Khin Yu May, a war film. He also directed “Chit Myitta, “Ma chu tar the”, “The myat tar lane”, “Sane”. Between 1945 and 1982, he regularly worked as both a director and an actor. His last film is “Mwe Mwe chin Che Myin”. He died on 15 August 1982. He was survived by his wife, Nwe Nwe, and five children.

Filmography[link]

• Saw Ya San Sha
• Bogyoke
• Ta Thwe Ta Mya
• Ahtauktaw
• Chit Ye Baw
• Bo Aung Din
• Thar Bo Aung Din
• The Hsaung Hayman
• Phyay Yort Khway
• Min aung Min Naung
• Hpuza Nit Khine
• Pale Myetyay
• Chit Myitta
• Ma chu tar the
• the myat tar lane
• Sane
• Mwe Mwe chin Che Myin

v t e Cinema of Burma Films A-Z • Films by year • Actors • Directors • Cinematographers • Producers • Screenwriters • Myanmar Academy Awards  • Myanmar Motion Picture Museum  • Myanmar Motion Picture Organization