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Let Wei, the brutal fighting style 

of the Burmese warriors
Let Wei, also known as Burmese boxing or Myanma traditional boxing, is a very violent martial art recently "discovered" by muay thai fanatics. Sharing a common past with Siamese  muay boran and Khmer bokator Let Wei was practiced by Burmese warriors since the 12th century but not much was known about it until a few years ago. Myanmar's past fifty years of self-seclusion kept this ancient native form of combat hidden away from the attention of martial arts practitioners. Similar to muay boran, it evolved from the battlefields to sand pits fights held during religious festivals or important events patronized by Burmese kings. Nai Kanomthom's story comes from those times. More recently (beginning of 20th century), rudimentary wooden rings were erected on temples or royal palaces grounds.

Every fight used to be "to the end", with no time limit, often ending with a winner and an unconscious loser on the ground. Boxers were specifically trained to endure pain and to keep attacking even after being repeatedly knocked down and revived. Head-butts, gouging and biting were also allowed. Therefore, many fights resulted in the sudden death of one contender.


myanmar traditional boxing federation
Myanmar National Championship's belt
The Myanma Traditional Boxing, founded in 1996 with government support to promote Let Wei as a native sport, has set and defined rules, categories and techniques allowed in the ring. Now fights have 5 rounds of 3 minutes each on proper rings. Boxers still fight without gloves, using only cotton or elastic hand bands. Rules are now roughly similar to muay thai but head-butts, wrestling and powerful take-downs are still allowed. It is also permitted to strike an opponent when falling down (this used to be allowed in muay thai, too) or when on the floor if the referee hasn't intervened yet. Elbows and knees are the weapons of choice for all fighters, who often strike simoultaneously without any protection. I personally saw a few teeth flying off the ring after a powerful reverse-elbow hit him in the mouth. Amazingly, the referee allowed him to continue the fight even though he was bleeding profusely, could barely stand and was visibly spaced-out by the blow. 



Burmese boxing burmese boxe myanmar traditional boxing

From a spectator point of view, Let Wei is fast, messy and brutally violent. Often both fighters attack at the same time, hitting each other with powerful combinations of punches, elbows and kicks; the focus doesn't seem to be on defending themselves but rather on enduring the pain and while attacking, all the time.

Click on the videos below to see Let Wei in action.

Burmese fighting is definitely not "clean", in terms of techniques and styles, but looks a lot more exciting than the majority of Lumpini's muay thai fights, which, in comparison, appear static, almost dull. In a Let Wei fight you'll see plenty of jump-flying knees, pull downs and all sort of tricks involving elbows. Basically, you'll see all those vicious moves not allowed anymore in Thailand. Unfortunately, the fights can only be viewed in Yangon on weekends and during festivities upcountry. It's not easy to find them, as such events are not tourist-oriented like in Thailand. 

myanmar traditional boxing let wei in yangon

However, there are VCDs available for sale in Yangon, usually from the producer, together with nice, colorful posters of local champions. They'll surely look cool on the wall of a muay thai school.

Even though there are well known Let Wei champions actively fighting in Myanmar, due to the brutality of certain techniques and the Myanmar's government travel restrictions on its citizens, they aren't allow to compete neither in Thailand nor anywhere else outside their country.

burmese boxing

The country's best known fighter, already a sort of legend in its own time, is Lone Chow, who has even been in a movie about himself. See Lone Chow in action here below:

lone chow
                                                                         
         
 lone chow

lone chow


Let Wei,Leth Wei, Lert Wei, burmese boxing, myanma tradtional boxing, myanmar, Yangon boxing stadium
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