Martial Art of the Month: Lethwei

Lethwei, aka Burmese boxing, or Burmese bare-knuckle boxing, popped up on my radar while watching some Asian MMA fights. Seems this particular promotion is breaking the Myanmar market, and so is hyping its Burmese fighters - many of whom have Lethwei in their arsenal. I had not heard of the art before. And it's brutal!

From what I can make out, Lethwei shares many aspects with neighbouring striking arts such as Muay Thai and Khmer boxing. The big differences are, however:

1. Rather than being a foul, head-butting is an integral part of the art
2. No gloves or mitts are worn - only gauze wraps. (This should also make for some pretty lethal/painful strikes) 
3. In local and traditional bouts, at least, there are no points, only knockouts. And you could knock your opponent out more than once before the game is ended.

Lethwei is an old art. I can't find dates which agree online, but it seems there are carvings depicting it in Burma's ancient Pyu cities. (Which apparently date from 200 BC to around 1100 AD - which is fairly broad!) But perhaps uniquely, when fights were held for entertainment, it seems that anyone from a king to a farmer could get into the sandpit-ring and call for an opponent.

How it works: While muay thai is known as an art of eight limbs (strikes using punches, kicks, elbows, knees) the use of the head makes Lethwei nine limbed. Just as there are multiple techniques to learn for say kicking, or elbows, there are also multiple kinds of head-butt in Lethwei, which can be used in different ways. More clinching is allowed in Lethwei, as well as some familiar throws and sweeps.

Traditionally - and in modern local matches - the only way to win is to knock out or  incapacitate your opponent. If both fighters are standing, the bout is declared a draw. Even more unusually, if one participant is knocked out, his or her corner has two minutes to revive their fighter, and send them BACK to continue in the ring! This is not an art for the faint-hearted. 

A bout will usually consist of five, three-minute rounds. With a two minutes between each round. This is double the usual rest-time for sports like Western boxing or MMA - and perhaps it's needed?? In the modern day, groin and gum shields are compulsory.

Lethwei has also enjoyed some popularity worldwide. In the mid-20th century, a process of modernising the rules was undertaken, with the aim of making the sport more transferable overseas. In international fights, a points-system is used, rather than only KO or incapacitation options. The art has had some success in Japan. And this year the World Lethwei Championships were even screened to a global audience via UFC Fight Pass. 

Here's a vid showing a basic head-butt training technique. The reel features Lethwei star Phoe Thaw, and well-known international Lethwei fighter, Dave Leduc. The 'arm slapping' action at the beginning and end is called lekkha moun. It is the way of challenging a Lethwei opponent to fight. 

And some clips from contemporary Lethwei training + bouts in Myanmar. I watch a lot of fights, but these do seem pretty brutal even to me! Balls of steel required for this art, and I guess is shows a little how lethal traditional martial arts would have been in the field centuries ago - a matter of life and death after all. (You have been warned.) 

Also on this blog:

Martial Art of the Month: Cambodia - Pradal Serey (Khmer Boxing)

Burmese Nosh: First Contact