Khmer kick boxing Options

[Menikani]

LeisureCambodia.com

Khmer kick boxing, or ‘Khmer free boxing’ as some people refer to it, has become a popular televised spectator sport recently, and national station TVK is now getting into the act with a Sunday fight round to be beamed around the country live from Parkway in Phnom Penh. "The athletic combat sport calls for agility, flexibility and toughness as fists and feet of two competitors fly in a fight to the bitter end," said Mr Mel Kado, General Secretary of Cambodia Amateur Boxing Association. "Exponents use moves with exotic names like kla-krab (tiger lying down), and krapeu-ha (crocodile opening its mouth) to force their opponents into submission." Increased access to viewing the sport has lead to a revival in the numbers of young men practicing it (in Cambodia, boxing is not a sport for women), with about 40 boxing clubs now operating nationally under 19 municipal and provincial amateur boxing associations. "Boxing is becoming popular again, especially amongst young people in the provinces,"

Mr Nang Ravith, Vice President of the Khmer Amateur Wresting Association and owner of the Baksei Cham-krong Fight Club said. "To promote it, my club is now including it-both modern and traditional styles-among our other styles, like Grecco and Khmer wrestling, Judo, Karate and Kungfu, for instance."

But there is concern among some, such as the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, that Khmers do not realize that this sport originated here and that, although similar to the Thai sport of Muay Thai, it is intrinsically Khmer, down to the carved images of ancient boxers immortalized in bas-relief on the walls of the Angkor temples. Khmer boxers have in the past refused to attend bouts in Thailand called Muay Thai tournaments, suggesting instead it be called Sovanna Phum (Golden Village) Boxing and objecting to what they see as a Thai attempt to appropriate the sport. The Thais in turn have argued that no one has ever heard of Muay Khmer, and have refused to change the name. The decision wrinkles with many in Cambodia and has created minor international incidents between the two at times. "The Angkorian Empire far pre-dated the Ayutthaya Kingdom (1350-1767) and even the Sokothai Kingdom (1200)," Mr Chuch Phoeun, Under Secretary of State for the Ministry of Culture said.

"A senior Thai expert, a friend of mine, recently conceded to me at an ASEAN cultural experts meeting that prior to the Ayutthaya Kingdom, that Siam copied from the Angkorian Empire, and Sokothai was still in the feudal stage." But war, Khmer experts like this say, has meant that the inventors of the sport now lag well behind their neighbors in practice. That, officials say, will change over coming years as the Khmers fight back to regain recognition in the sport. Whatever the world federations decide to call it, there is a passion for kick boxing here that is only now being recognized, partially through television, to rise to levels of popularity seen in the sixties.

Each bout is accompanied by the haunting music of the skor yaul (a type of drum), the sralai (a flute-like instrument) and the stringed chhing and as the boxers come out and bow solemnly in their traditional headgear, the roar of the crowd calls them to battle. Kbach Kun Pradal Khmer the official Khmer name for kickboxing _ thought to have originated as a sort of hand-to-hand combat technique for soldiers during war, and in ancient times there were no weight divisions. Instead the sport was fought on an all-comers basis. The sport has since become more regulated, and is fought in a 6.1 meter square ring in the same style as conventional western boxing bouts, with five 3-minute rounds broken by one minute rests between rounds.

Bouts are decided by the referee or officials, and a knockout is deemed to be when a boxer is knocked down and cannot rise within 10 seconds.
Now local boxers will get the chance to take on their Thai rivals and let their fists and feet do the talking when the Parkway fights get underway in the first week of Januray..

Guest fighters have already been invited to take on local heroes in what the station expects to be a ratings bonanza, given the popularity of the sport and the extra spice of international rivalry.

[Menikani]

Thailand invades Khmer Sport of Kick Boxing


Kick boxing was born in the Angkor regime when it was broadly used among the military to protect the country from being invaded by her neighbors. After the war kick boxing be the came one of the hot sport events in Cambodia. Thailand is now trying its best to monopolize kick boxing. The Thais have set up a worldwide boxing committee. in which almost 100 countries participate. This is why kick boxing is commonly known as Thai boxing. At an Asean meeting in 1995,

Thailand asked that kick boxing be called Mau Thai or Thai boxing. Cambodia has asked that the sport be called Sovanna Phum boxing , which refers to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, but Thailand has not agreed. Unfortunately. some Cambodians seem to favor Thailand. The weekly kick-boxing matches organized by local television station Channel 5 help develop the sport in Cambodia. But why do Cambodian boxers on the program wear boxing gloves that have a Thai letter? Did the Cambodian Sport Federation see the Thai letter on the gloves of Cambodian boxers? Maybe they thought it was a small matter. But for other races, this was not as small. Can the sport committee get rid of the Thai letter? Cambodia has its own culture and its own sports. Cambodians should strongly deny any attempt to be a member of the Thai "World Boxing," which could ruin Cambodian culture. The world should know that kick boxing was known as Khmer free boxing since the Angkor regime.

This post has been edited by Menikani: Jan 23 2004, 12:47 AM

[Menikani]

Team boycotts, Says 'Thai Boxing' is Khmer

Cambodia's national boxing team is boycotting a regional tournament in Bangkok next month, (Tuesday, October 12 1999). protesting Monday that the sport known around the world as Thai kickboxing is, in fact, Cambodia. And the boycott's supporters say their evidence in set in stone specifically, the carvings at the ancient temples of Angkor. Prum Bun Yi, director of the Cambodian Olympic Committee, said the national team will not attend the King's Cup tournament in Bangkok unless organizers take the words "Muay Thai" out of the event's title. Literally "Thai boxing," Muay Thai is the distinct martial art in which feet, fists, elbows any part of the body except the head can be used. It has been part of Thai culture for centuries and exhibitions are a major tourist attraction in Bangkok. But Cambodian athletics organizers grumble that the Thai borrowed the sport from the 9th-15th century Khmer empire. "We that free-style boxing has belonged to the Khmer since ancient times," Prum Bun Yi said. The boycott has the support of the country's boxing schools. "We will continue to oppose the Thais using "Muay Thai" for this regional competition because this is really Khmer traditional boxing," Khat Thin, boxing coach of the Cambodian army told Sethakech Neung Chivit newspaper. "We have evidence," he added. "Our ancestors carved it in stone in the walls of all the temples in Siem Reap."

[illegal]

Damn your posts are too frekain long..anwyway
I never seen it..hear about it..neva seen..Thai and Viet need to quit biting

[Kambolizhuz]

Wow interesting I should do a passage on it for school! Yea I heard this before.
Muay does not have a meaning it Thai but in Khmer it stand for number 1 so when u win u scream number 1! I hope they change the name I am so sick of seeing Thai this and Thai that when they didn't invent it. Just because they are more popular to the West don't mean they don't have to give credits where it due! (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/icon_confused.gif)

[rule]

KHMER KICK BOXING (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) (IMG:http://www.lesjeuneskhmers.com/fichiers/boxing1.jpg)

[eklypze]

Wow interesting I should do a passage on it for school! Yea I heard this before.
Muay does not have a meaning it Thai but in Khmer it stand for number 1 so when u win u scream number 1! I hope they change the name I am so sick of seeing Thai this and Thai that when they didn't invent it. Just because they are more popular to the West don't mean they don't have to give credits where it due! (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/icon_confused.gif)

I think Muay in Thai is supposed to mean a type of fighting. I also hate seeing Thai people taking credit for this, but there's not much we can do about this. (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/icon_confused.gif)

[antec]

u know wat i dislike aobut some of our own kind. everytime they talk about kick boxing they say it thai kickboxing. oh yea i learn mauy thai. man they always say that they need more education about that. for real these guy giving them credit just cause everybody think it their(thai) sport. wtf

[eklypze]

^ I know what you mean, that pisses me off too.

[Kenji shinoda]

wow, i didn't khow that Muay Thai was actually invented by the Cambodians first.

BTW, are you guys related to the Thai in anyway ?

[eklypze]

^ Not much people know that Muay Thai actually belongs to Cambodians.

Cambodians aren't really related to Thais by blood, but have had several links in culture and all.

[j3sus_juice]

^ Not much people know that Muay Thai actually belongs to Cambodians.

Cambodians aren't really related to Thais by blood, but have had several links in culture and all.

but some thai people will denie cultural links to the khmer.

This post has been edited by j3sus_juice: May 20 2005, 11:38 PM

[transtic]

^ hilariously, i might add.

[Rei]

Remember people, they can impersonate but they can not duplicate (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Kewell7]

Ok, I will call it Muay Khamen in the future (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif)

[Rei]

Ok, I will call it Muay Khamen in the future (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif)

We call it bredal serei (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
btw what does Muay mean?

[apax]

Cambodia reclaims kickboxing heritage


"After decades of war, kickboxing was forgotten and the athletes were
weak. Now we are trying our best to restore our reputation" - Um
Yurann


In its latest battle with neighbouring Thailand over cultural
heritage, Cambodia is moving to reclaim its stake in a sport that it
says it originated.

Kickboxing, made famous in the region by skilled Thai fighters, is on
the rise in Cambodia after three decades of strife put the pleasures
of sport on the back burner.

Cambodian fighters are now sparring against each other and visitors
from other countries, including Thailand - and they're winning.

Um Yurann, deputy director of the Cambodian Boxing Federation, is at
the forefront of the cultural battle and points to bass reliefs on
the ancient walls of the ninth to 12th century Angkor temples as
proof that Cambodians have been practising the sport for centuries.

"After decades of war, kickboxing was forgotten and the athletes were
weak. Now we are trying our best to restore our reputation," Yurann
said.

"But we are still poor and most of our boxers are in poor living
conditions. They do not have enough energy to practise."

But they do practise, at some 70 boxing clubs around the country and
with determination to become world-class athletes some day.

"We often have foreign kickboxers from Japan, France, Thailand,
Australia, Spain, Sweden, Canada and other countries who come to
compete with our boxers," Um Yurann said.

"Sometimes we lose, sometimes we win. This is normal."

It is clear on any given weekend that Cambodians are embracing the
sport wholeheartedly.

Television stations have begun staging weekly matches that spectators
can watch at the studios in Phnom Penh or live on TV.

Coach Chhith Sarim said it was unfortunate that Cambodia lost its
spot in the world of kickboxing while the country was at war, but
he's determined to win it back.

"Our kickboxers are really good and it is not proper that Thailand
says Cambodia copied its game while we were busy with war," Sarim
said.

Cambodian kickboxers - like other athletes, entertainers and
intellectuals - were targeted by the Pol Pot's murderous Khmer Rouge
soldiers during the group's 1975-79 regime.

An estimated 1.7 million people died from execution, disease,
starvation and overwork during the Khmer Rouge's nearly four-year
rule.

A decade of Vietnamese occupation in the 1980s and continuing war and
poverty in the 1990s prevented enthusiasts from rebuilding the sport

This post has been edited by apax: May 22 2005, 03:53 PM

[eklypze]

^ Khmer's are now trying their best to promote Bradal Serei, the main reason Khmer kickboxers can't is because Muay Thai fighters are very strong, and Khmer boxers have a lack a nutrients and all. It's only a matter of time now.

[starangels81]

that's right we do have lack of nutrients in our country.... but give it some time... we will catch up later in the future.... as you know lately khmer production have been making movies about khmer kickboxers.... very interesting.... like buffulo protecting child is one of khmer kickboxing styles.. and some others one that haven't come out yet...

[over]

OUR LOST KHMER KICKBOXING (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/cool30.gif) (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

This post has been edited by over: May 23 2005, 11:21 PM