Cambodian and Chinese Martial Arts Compared

Author: Doctoral Candidate, Antonio Graceffo (安东尼 )

Institution: Shanghai University of Sport, Wu Shu Department

Doctoral Advisor: 戴国斌 老 师 (Professor Dai Guobin) Dean of Wu Shu Department, Shanghai University of Sport

Student number 1310104008

Contact: Antonio_graceffo@hotmail.com

About the author: Antonio Graceffo (USA) is a doctoral candidate at Shanghai University of Sport. He has studied San Da at the Shaolin Temple and is a former professional fighter in the sports of boxing and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). He has received his black belt in the martial arts of Filipino Kuntaw, Cambodian Bokator, and Bradal Serey (Khmer kick boxing). Currently, he is a competitor in Chinese traditional wrestling and San Da kick boxing. He is the author of 7 books and several hundred articles in the fields of martial arts and linguistics.

About this report: This report was originally written in Chinese, by Antonio Graceffo, as a research assignment at Shanghai University of Sport. It is written largely in the Chinese academic style, with a considerably higher percentage of quotes than might be expected in a western academic paper. The Chinese original version was then translated into English, by Antonio Graceffo. The quotes from Chinese language sources were also translated by Antonio. The quotes from Khmer media sources were originally written in English, ostensibly translated by the original journalists or staff who published the stories. The Khmer quotes are reprinted, exactly as they were originally published, including grammatical errors.

Abstract: This article compares Chinese martial arts with Cambodian Martial arts. Cambodian martial art is divided into three parts: Bokator, which is similar to Chinese kung fu especially taolu forms, bradal serey, a kickboxing art, similar to Chinese san da, and jap bap, a wrestling art, similar to Chinese traditional wrestling.

Martial Arts Across Asian Countries

Nearly every country in Asia has some form of traditional Martial Art. The Cambodian martial art is called Bokator. Comparing Chinese Kung Fu and Cambodian bokator we can find many similarities and differences.

Unlike Chinese Kung Fu, which has a written history dating back thousands of years, Cambodian bokator has almost no written history. The oldest records of bokator are stone carvings found on temple walls which prove the martial art is at least 1,000 years old. During the final quarter of the 20 th century, Bokator almost died out. In the last ten years Cambodian bokator has been making a comeback. According to Hok Chheankim, general secretary of the Cambodia Bokator

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Federation, each year, since 2007, the number of participants in the annual National Bokator Championships, has been expected to double. (Tha Piseth, Pride, 1 September 2009)

Both Chinese Kung Fu and san da (Chinese kick boxing) are seen as a matter of national pride and ancient heritage in China. "Sanda culture is the core of prominent martial technology, a carrier of traditional Chinese philosophy, based on the implications of national spirit. It combines philosophy, art, science, combat, fitness, and entertainment in one system" (Wuhan Institute of Physical Education 46)

Like Chinese Kung Fu, Cambodian bokator is also a form of national pride for Cambodia. 2009 Bokator national Champion Say Tevin explained how the martial art relates to national pride. In an interview, he expressed his pride in winning the championships and his wish that the sport would continue to grow in popularity. He went on to say, "I think we have to protect one of our cultures, bokator, because it is what our ancestors left for us," he said. "Bokator is a powerful martial art.” (Tha Piseth, Pride, 1 September 2009)

History of Bokator

Cat Barton of the Phnom Penh Post interviewed Grand Master San Kim Saen, the highest bokator master in the world. He explained how bokator dates back to the great Ankorian King, Jayavar Man VII, who is credited with uniting Cambodia and instituting Buddhism as the national religion, in the 12th century. Practitioners of Bokator claim that King Jayavar Man VII practiced bokator and have adopted him as a patron saint of the art.

"’Everything Jayavarman VII achieved came from bokator,’ Sean said. ‘I cannot build temples as he did, but I follow in his footsteps. I want to make Cambodia great in the 21st century as he did in the 12th.’” (Barton) “Depicted in the carvings of Angkor Wat's bas reliefs, bokator is a martial art that Sean believes encapsulates the beauty, strength and wisdom of Cambodia.” (Barton)

The Grand Master believes that Bokator is a fierce fighting system which could be used to vanquish all enemies. While the origin of the name “bokator” seems to be in question, one possible explanation was the phonetic; “boukkatao” which was composed of two words, “bouk” which means fighting and “tao” which means lion. “’Bokator is a technique to fight lions,’ he said. ‘We used our martial arts to fight with jungle beasts, not just Cambodia's human enemies.’" (Barton)

The tragic history of Cambodia

Cambodia is a small country in Southeast Asia, bordering on Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. The population of Cambodia is 16 million. From 1975 to 1979, the country was taken over by the Khmer Rouge regime, who executed nearly 25% of the country’s population. (CIA World Fact book)

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An estimated two million Cambodians died during the less than five years of Khmer Rouge Regime. “It is also believed that among the dead were 90% percent of Cambodia’s artists, who were specifically targeted for execution." (Cambodian Living Arts).

The Khmer Rouge hunted and killed all of the traditional arts masters, dancer, painters, poets, singers, musicians, and martial artists. They also burned nearly all of the books and written records, leaving the country with almost no written history and no arts masters. After the Khmer Rouge was ousted by a Vietnamese invasion, in 1979, the country became a Vietnamese colony, where martial arts were forbidden. After Cambodia gained independence from Vietnam, in 1987-1989, continued fighting and poverty prevented the martial arts from developing. It wasn’t until 2006 that the first National Bokator Champions were finally held (Barton). This event signaled a successful rebirth of Bokator, but the 2006 tournament was the result of events beginning in 1995.

Bokator

Grand Master San Kim Sean survived the Khmer Rouge Genocide, and then fled to the US. He returned to Cambodia in 1995, to begin teaching bokator. (Field) The Grand Master “attempted to persuade the remaining masters to teach again. His appeals were based around the argument that, with the passing of his generation, Bokator would disappear completely, leaving the youth of Cambodia no choice but to turn to other, foreign martial arts.” (Field)

“In 2004, the Cambodian government sponsored a meeting of martial arts masters who survived the Khmer Rouge genocide. Only 9 masters had survived.” The masters and their students put on the first public display of Bokator since before the Khmer Rouge genocide. In the same year, the Bokator schools reopened. In 2007, the first class of black belt instructors graduated, including two Americans, Derek Morris and Antonio Graceffo. (Field)

The Nature of Bokator

Cambodian Bokator is similar to Shaolin Kung Fu. The art has a lot of taolu forms and is divided into animal styles: monkey, dragon, tiger, horse, duck, GARUDA (a mythical animal with a human body and bird’s head), snake and others. The art also uses weapons such as two short swords, two short sticks, one long stick, one small stick which fits inside of your fist, and the KRAMA. Krama is a traditional Khmer scarf which can be worn around the head, neck, or waist. Advanced Bokator students learn to use the scarf as a weapon. It can be used for pulling, tying, wrestling, choking, or joint locking. The scarf can be used as a whip to strike an opponent’s eyes and blind him. Stones can even be placed in the scarf and thrown as if from an ancient sling.

Although the Bokator practitioners can fight, fighting is not their main focus. The students who wish to focus on fighting can learn Bradal Serey (kick Boxing) or now, MMA. In the same way,

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students in the Shaolin schools in China are usually divided into two groups of either wu shu form practitioners or san da fighters. The Bokator students live and train to perfect their art, expecting nothing at the end of a lifetime of hard work, the same as monks in the Shaolin Temple. Many of the students live in the martial arts school, just as students in China live in temples and martial arts schools. The students follow the master and obey him. In addition to sharing his knowledge with the students, the master also has to be responsible for them, like a father. He gives them food and takes care of them. The students living in the Bokator school train very hard, often 8 hours per day.

Each year, a national Bokator competition is held in Phnom Penh. The event includes competitions in weapons, taulu, and fighting. In real bokator competition fights, fighters wear only shorts, a mouth guard, and a groin guard. Their hands are wrapped in traditional scarves, called Krama. They are permitted to punch, kick, elbow, knee, wrestle, choke, or use joint manipulation to defeat their opponent. Bokator fights are fast and furious. After years of taulu practice, the students are able to leap very high in the air and hit their opponent in the head with their knee. Now, some of the students have combined MMA style techniques into their Bokator. In a professional Bokator fight in 2012, Cambodian fighter, Own Dara, jumped into the air, caught his opponent’s head with his legs and choked him in a leg triangle.

Bokator, like Kung Fu was once a fierce fighting art, before divining into a sport version and a combat version. “Unlike kick boxing, which is a sport fighting art, Bokator was a soldier’s art, designed to be used on the battlefield. When fighting, Bokator practitioners still wear the uniforms of ancient Khmer armies. A kroma (scarf) is folded around their waist and blue and red silk cords are tied around the combatant's head and biceps.” (UNESCO)

Both Chinese Kung Fu and Bokator have made bids to be recognized by UNESCO as world heritage martial arts. Shaolin Temple Abbot Venerable Shi Yongxin “current campaign is to establish Shaolin as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.” (Ching, Kung Fu Magazine, April 2003)

Cambodian Bokator also applied for recognition from UNESCO. “The National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC), in conjunction with the World Martial Arts Union, will seek UNESCO recognition of the Angkorian-era martial art bokator as an intangible cultural heritage.” (HS Manjunath, Phnom Penh Post, Bokator bid to become a UNESCO cultural heritage, 27 September 2012)

Both martial arts were successful in their bids for international recognition. “Bokator received international recognition in 2008 from the World Martial Arts Union, an organization related to UNESCO.” (Tha Piseth, Phnom Penh Post, Bokator gaining in popularity to invoke some national pride Tue, 1 September 2009)

According to data published by the Shaolin temple on their website, Kung fu is very complex and contains large number of movements. “According to the Kungfu guidebooks handed down in the Shaolin Temple, Shaolin Kungfu has 708 series of movement, including 552 series of Quan

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and weapon techniques and other 156 series like 72 unique skills, Qi Gong, grappling, wrestling, attacking a vital point of the body, etc. The total extant series of Kungfu movements numbers 545, including 178 Quan series, 193 weapon series, 59 combat series as well as 115 other series. These forms and skills form an elaborate kung fu system, affiliated with the Shaolin culture." (Shaolin Org, Components)

Bokator also contains a large number of movements. Master Hok, a master of Cambodian Bokator and a leader in the Bokator federation explains the complexity of Bokator. “There are thousands of attacking and defensive positions, many named after animals. There is the lion technique, the crab, the monkey, and so on.” (Leahey) “The art has ten individual styles, each an interpretation of the fighting movements of an animal or spirit: king monkey, lion, elephant, apsara, crocodile, duck, crab, horse, bird and dragon.” (Barton)

“It is accepted that there are more than 10,000 techniques in Bokator, and as students master them they are awarded different-coloured krama (scarves) to signify their progress. A beginner wears a white krama before progressing through green, blue, red, brown, and then ten degrees of black. A gold krama is worn by a grandmaster who has dedicated his life to Bokator.” Ten thousand techniques may seem like too much to learn, master and remember, but the Grand Master said, “’Some people learn the alphabet, and that is their literacy,’ he notes. ‘Others may learn a whole vocabulary. Bokator is the same. Some people learn a basic technique, but it is possible to be fluent in the language.’” (Resurrected)

Philosophy and Martial Art

Both bokator and Chinese kung fu are very broad arts, in that they not only address the physical ability to fight, but also encompass philosophy, religion, and meditation. “Bokator addresses the cerebral as well as the physical. I teach students to think before acting.” says Hok. “Every class ends with meditation; a process that Hok says conflates the spiritual and the physical. Deep breaths that improve blood circulation, for instance, also act to suck in “the power of the wind.” (Leahey) In her article about Bokator for the Phnom Penh Post, Grand Master San Kim Saen told journalist, Cate Barton, about the spiritual side of bokator. “More than merely a deadly fighting technique, bokator weaves together Cambodia's ancient religious traditions of Buddhism and Brahmanism. According to Sean, this syncretic spirituality is a practical guide to fighting: left hand Buddha; right hand Brahma.” (Barton) The article went on to quote Grand Master San Kim Sean as saying, "We use the right hand to fight," said Sean. "The left hand is different, it protects, it doesn't fight, and it is the god that doesn't want to have problems with people. The right hand fights, the left protects." (Barton)

Shaolin kung fu also contains a deep history of philosophy, religion and meditation. The Shaolin Temple website explains the Chan Buddhist origins of Shaolin Kung Fu.

“Chan is short for Chan-na, which was originally transliterated from Indian Dhyana and translated as meditative state, and it is also known as Zen, the equivalent term in Japanese.

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Dharma Master Bodhidharma initiated Chinese Chan Buddhism.” (Shaolin) Bodhidharma (Da Mo) is a name often associated with the origin of Shaolin Kung Fu, Over time, Chan Buddhism turned into the largest sect in China. As a result, “Bodhidharma was honored as the first Patriarch of Chan Buddhism and Shaolin Temple renowned as the origin of Chan Buddhism.” (Shaolin)

Just as Shaolin kung Fu is related to Buddhism and a Buddhist temple, Bokator is closely related to Theravada Buddhism. The Buddhism of Cambodia is very old, originating in India. The religion still shows close relation to ancient Hinduism and Brahmanism. The patron saint of Bokator is the Brahman god, “Bret Brom”. Shaolin Kung Fu is related to Shaolin Temple. Bokator is related to Angkor Wat, the ancient Hindu temple in Cambodia, whose main gate is adorned with a massive statue of the head of Bret Brom (Brahma).

Part of the spiritual nature of the martial art, practitioners believe the ancient spirits will protect them from danger. The Grand Master credits Bokator with his own survival. “Though his knowledge of a traditional Khmer art made him a prime target for the Khmer Rouge, Sean survived the genocidal regime. He was helped greatly, he says, by the mental discipline Bokator had given him.” (Barton)

"It teaches you how to live with the people around you," Grand Master San Kim Saen said. "For the Khmer Rouge I knew to use my left hand to protect and not to aggravate them with my right hand." (Barton)

While the Cambodian martial arts address the spiritual, philosophical, and cultural aspects, in the end, martial arts and martial arts development is about the physical body. The same is true of Chinese San Da.

“The body is the soul of the foundation and development of the martial art. The first generation of martial arts developed to meet the physical needs of the individual. While to shape the body and mind and unify with God is the philosophical basis for martial arts practice … the ultimate goal is to return to the body, because the body is the eternal end of Wushu development. (武汉体育学院学报第 46 卷近十几年来)

In both countries it seems that martial is part philosophical and religious but that the physical cannot be ignored.

Three part martial art

“Bokator is the precursor to modern Khmer boxing” (Leahey). Cambodian martial arts have three parts: Bokator, which is like wu su taolu. Bradal Serey, which is kick boxing, similar to Chinese San Da, and jap bap which is traditional wrestling. Today, MMA (mixed martial arts) is also becoming popular in Cambodia.

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Bradal Serey (Kick Boxing)

The Cambodian kick boxing art of Bradal serey is known by several names, khun Khmer, Bradal Serey, Pradal Serey, or simply Khmer boxing. “In Cambodia three martial arts are practiced. The most popular is Bradal Serey, which is kickboxing, with nearly the same rules and style as Thai Boxing (Muay Thai). Bradal Serey is the national sport, and the television networks broadcast professional fights weekly.” (Cambodia guide)

Like other art forms and martial arts, Bradal Serey, Khmer boxing nearly died out during the Khmer Rouge regime, was on the verge of extinction, together with all forms of Khmer culture, during Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime. “Bradal Serey had been banned and many boxers were executed which caused the art of Khmer Kickboxing to be almost wiped out from Khmer history.” (Cambodia Guide) Just like Bokator, after the Vietnamese pulled out of Cambodia, bradal serey began making a slow comeback. “Khmer boxing slowly resurfaced in small, private schools in Phnom Penh. Far from being commercial operations, such schools were created by survivors, to pass whatever was left of pradal serey to the new generations, thus keeping the country's heritage alive.” (Cambodia Guide)

In Khmer language, Bradal Serey means "free fighting". “Bas-reliefs at the Bayon (temple), in the ancient city of Angkor, show Khmer soldiers displaying combat techniques involving knees, double swords, elbows and kicks: this was Bokator, the multiple-skills fighting style Pradal Serey developed from.” (World Fighting Styles)

Cambodian Kick boxing, (bradal Serey) is very similar to Muay Thai (Thailand kick boxing). Fighters use boxing, kicking, knees, and elbows.( Camboguide). “Pradal Serey, or traditional Khmer boxing, is a popular sport in Cambodia. Victory is by knockout or by judge's decision. Styles of boxing have been practiced in Southeast Asia since ancient times. In the Angkor era, both armed and unarmed martial arts were practiced by the Khmers. Evidence shows that a style resembling Pradal Serey existed around the 9th century.” UNESCO

Both Chinese Kung Fu and Bokator are related to the philosophy, religion, and culture of the country. The same is true of Chinese San Da and Bradal Serey. （武汉体育学院 武术学院，湖北 武汉 430079）

Bradal Serey is similar to Chinese San Da because both arts use many similar techniques to vanquish the opponent. San da allows kicks, punches, and wrestling style takedowns. (Martial Arts School of Wuhan Institute of Physical Education, Wuhan 430079) Bradal serey is a modern combat sport art. It developed out of bokator and includes fewer techniques than bokator. The fights are also highly regulated by sports rules. The same is true of san da. Sanda "is in accordance with certain rules for the use of martial arts in the ring. Fighters can kick, hit, in this modern competitive sport of unarmed combat. They may also wrestle defensively. It is an important part of modern Chinese martial arts." "(Martial Arts School of Wuhan Institute of Physical Education, Wuhan 430079)

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In many ways and for many years, bradal serey was the most important of the three Cambodian martial arts. Because of the popularity of bradal serey as a modern spectator sport and because of the televised fights, bradal serey has flourished since the end of the 1990’s.

Bokator flourished during the Angkorian era reign of king Jayavaraman VII. Chinese martial arts flourished during the Ming and Ching Dynasties. "The peak of development of Traditional Wushu and Sanda is during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.” (Article number 1002 -9826 (2012) 04-0084-06 China Sport Science and Technology 2012 (Volume 48) Section 4 China Sport Science and Technology vol. 48, No. 4, 84-89, 2012)

“Strikes, both from the hands and legs, were to be thrown with quick ferocity. Once the enemy was stunned, or you were close enough to grab them, you would be in position to throw them to the ground.” (Radewitz) Kicking, punching, wrestling and throwing, san da is combative form of Chinese martial art.

One difference between Bradal Serey and San Da is that San Da includes wrestling techniques which can including body locking or ducking down in a double or single leg takedown, lifting your opponent’s leg or legs of the ground and throwing him. Bradal Serey fighters are permitted to sweep their opponent to the ground, particularly after catching a kick. But San Da fighters are allowed to use their wrestling skills aggressively, to attack the opponents and throw them. In San Da you are permitted to hug your opponent’s back and slam him on the ground. Much of the training of San Da involves learning to catch your opponent’s kicks and throw him to the ground. In Braday Serey, when you catch the opponent’s kick, you are allowed to sweep his leg out from under him. But often, a fighter will just press forward and punch the opponent.

Another difference is that, while rules may vary from competition to competition, san da rules generally don’t allow hitting with elbows or knees. The Cambodian fighters are famous for their skill at using their elbows as weapons. When a bradal serey fighter catches his opponent’s kick, for example, he may move forward and strike the opponent, in the face, with his elbow, as opposed to using a wrestling style takedown, as in san da.

Both bradal serey and san da allow a small amount of wrestling. Bradal serey wrestling is limited to neck clinching, where one fighter attempts to control the other by grabbing the back of his head or neck . A bradal serey fighter will strike with knees and elbows from inside of this clinch. In san da the wrestling techniques include grabbing the opponent’s leg, head, or middle. But in bradal serey the primary wrestling technique is to grab the back of the opponent’s head and pulling it down. You can pull your opponent’s head down and hit him in the face with your knee. Or you can pull down his head and throw him on the ground. Often, when one fighter grabs the head, the other fighter does the same. This leaves the ribs exposed. And, a bradal serey fighter will use his knees to strike his opponent’s ribs while his arms are raised. In san da the clinching is more or less frowned upon. A fighter may grab his opponent in an attempt to throw him, but if

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he can’t complete the throw in a very short time, such as three seconds, the referee will separate them.

In San Da, when one opponent makes an attempt at wrestling, for example, he grabs the opponent’s middle; the opponent can defend by using wrestling to counteract the technique. Or he can use wrestling to escape and strike from a distance. But in Bradal Serey, he may also use his elbows and knees to strike the opponent while they are wrestling.

Modern Bradal Serey, like San Da, has developed a technical style, which combine Eastern and Western cultures. For example, the boxing ring, the boxing gloves, the round timers, and many of the rules of both sports came from western boxing. San da utilizes Chinese wu shu kicks, striking with the foot, combined with Chinese wrestling throws. Bradal serey utilizes Southeast Asian kicks, striking with the shins, knees, and elbows. But both sports use western boxing hand techniques. Therefore, it could be said that both sports combine western technology with eastern martial arts. Even with the foreign influence, however, Bradal Serey still carries Khmer culture, the same as San Da carries Chinese culture.

“Modern Boxing movement has formed its own technical style, and blended eastern and western cultures into unique interpretations of cultural phenomena. As can be seen from the development of sanda as a cultural phenomenon, Sanda as the carrier of culture emphasizes martial techniques at its core. Traditional Chinese philosophy is the foundation, and contains the national spirit, philosophy, artistic, science, and martial arts." (Wuhan Institute of Physical Education)

In ancient times, Bradal Serey was a brutal and violent art. Today, it is a sport, governed by rules. Each match consists of 5 rounds, each lasting three minutes, with a two minute rest between rounds. The ring is 6.1 meters across. Boxers may not hit a downed opponent, may not bite, and cannot strike to the back of the head or the groin. Victory comes from a knockout, judge’s decision, or referee or doctor’s stoppage. (Cambodia Guide) San da is governed by very similar rules except with addition of a point system, related to the number of times and method of throwing the opponent on the ground or out of the Lae Tai (fighting platform). In bradal serey competitions, the two fighters are assigned to the red or blue corner, respectively. In San da they are assigned to the red or black corner.

Just as Chinese Kung Fu and Cambodian Bokator are related to religious roots, Bradal Serey also pays respect to the Khmer religion. Each boxing match begins with a ceremonial dance, followed by prayers. The fighters pay respect to their teachers, their dead ancestors, as well as the dead fighting masters of centuries past. “A praying ritual preludes each match; the fighters promenade around the ring, gracefully lifting their knees one by one in an almost choreographed sequence to the rhythm of a reed flute. With their eyes closed, they clasp their hands and bow into each corner.” (Majewski, Cambodia's Rings of Respect)

Like the philosophies of Kung Fu, the philosophies of Bokator teach respect. In a san da fight, the competitors bow to each other to show respect. They Jìnglǐ, a formal Chinese salute, where

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the left hand is placed over the right fist, at the center of the chest. Khmer fighters also have deep respect for one another. “In contemporary Khmer boxing, it is rare to witness deep-seated aggression between opponents.” (Majewski, Cambodia's rings of respect). The fighters touch gloves at the beginning of each round. And they never hit their opponent when he has fallen. After the fight, they hug. The two fighters walk, with their arms around each other, and share a drink of cool water in both the red and blue corners of the ring.

The business of boxing

San da fighters will generally start as amateurs, often at sports high schools. As amateurs they earn no money and fight under a completely different set of rules than in a pro fight. In amateur fights, the fighters are required to wear head gear and a body protector. They also fight on a raised platform, called a lae tai. One of the strategies in lae tai fighting is to throw the opponent off the lae tai. In pro san da, the fighters compete inside of a boxing ring and are forbidden from intentionally throwing the opponent out.

In Cambodia there is no amateur fighting circuit. Instead, fighters turn pro very young, in their early teens, and fight by a single rule of combat during the length of their fighting career. And they fight for money.

Bradal Serey fighters are professional fighters. They fight for a living. When they first begin their fighting career they earn very little money. Novice fighters can earn as little as $25 per fight. Seasoned fighters can earn $90 per fight. (Majewski, Cambodia's rings of respect) “In Cambodia, boxers turn pro at about the age of 14. In the provinces they can start fighting as early as seven or eight years old. But of course, in Cambodia, age is arbitrary as birth and death records are not substantiated.” (Camboguide). Because the pay is so low the bradal serey fighters fight often, sometimes twice a week to earn money. Cambodia’s greatest champion, Eh Phoutong, who was born in 1975, has an official fight record encompassing 171 fights. Fighters with records of over 100 fights are not uncommon.

“Unlike in the United States, athletes in many countries treat martial arts as their profession.” (Radewitz ) San da fighters in China generally come out of sports school and universities where they may have lived and trained for years. Captain of the US San Da team, Cung Lee said, “Academies, such as the Beijing Sports University, recruit the best of the best from around the country and mold them into high-caliber instructors and competitors.” (Radewitz) After years of training in an amateur school, some Chinese san da fighters will also turn professional. “In China, it’s a way to make a living,” says Cung Le. “You become part of a team in a province. It’s a way of putting food on the table.” (Radewitz)

“Khmer boxers do a lot more fights than their Western colleagues. Muhammad Ali had 61 fights over a period of nearly twenty years. Lennox Lewis had 44 fights over a period of 14 years.

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Mike Tyson 58 fights over a period of more than 20 years. In Cambodia, boxers in their early twenties could well have over a hundred fights. Some fighters will fight two and sometimes three times a month.” (Camboguide)

Jap Bap Wrestling

Just as China has shuai jiao wrestling, Cambodia has a traditional form of wrestling, called jap bap. “Khmer traditional wrestling is yet another popular Cambodian sport. Wrestling match consists of three rounds, which may be won by forcing an opponent to his back. Traditional matches are held during the Khmer New Year and other Cambodian holidays.” (UNESCO)

History of wrestling

“The first real traces of the development of wrestling date back to the times of the Sumerians, 5000 years ago. The Epic of Gilgamesh written in cuneiform, the sculptures and the low reliefs are numerous sources that reveal the first refereed competitions, accompanied by music.” (FILA)

Cambodian wrestling and Chinese wrestling are both very old martial arts. In ancient times, both Chinese and Khmer wrestling were taught to the royal guards. “Qing Dynasty was the heyday of Chinese-style wrestling. The royal guards in the capital trained in wrestling.” (1 Anhui University of Technology Maanshan 243002)

Wrestling, as with many other martial arts was once taught as a means of fighting on the battle field. Later, rules and codes of conduct were added, as wrestling made a transition to becoming a combat sport, rather than combat. "Chinese-style wrestling is one of the oldest sports in China … Since the Zhou Dynasty onwards, until the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties, wrestling sports grew and developed from military training to a folk sport and spectator sport.” (1 Anhui University of Technology Maanshan 243002)

The oldest record of wrestling in Cambodia dates back to King Jayavarman IV, who ascended the throne in 928 AD. His capitol city was Koh Ker, which lies about fifty miles north of Angkor Wat. Today, Koh Kar is still home to two massive statues of interlocked wrestlers, which were commissioned by the King. (NGA) “A sculpture commissioned by King Jayvarman IV himself, sometime around 930 CE and consisting of two free standing wrestlers, was discovered by the French scholars. In this sculpture, two figures of wrestlers were more than 5 feet tall and each must have weighed more than 125 Kg. The wrestlers wearing intricate headgear were shown in battle ready stances.” (Chandra Shekharand Prints) It is interesting to note that the wrestler’s stance was described as “battle ready” and that they wore headgear. This would seem to support the notion that, at that time, wrestling was a combat art, used for real, life-or-death fighting, on the battlefield.

The rules of Cambodia wrestling are as follows: Wrestling matches take place in a dirt circle, on the ground. Each match consists of 3 three-minute rounds. A wrestler can win by forcing his

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opponent’s back on the ground. Wrestlers wear no shirt or shoes, and are clad only in a traditional garment, called a sampot, which consisted of a piece of cloth wrapped around their waist and under their thighs. The goal is to put the opponent on his back on the ground. Traditional wrestling is practiced in small villages during festivals. The biggest traditional wrestling events of the year are held during Pchum Ben festival, a 15-day event, occurring at the end of Buddhist lent, Vassa, usually in early October on the Western calendar. (Ly Vanna, Cambodia Leisure)

During the Khmer Rouge regime, wrestling, like most other sports, arts, and martial arts, nearly died. Fortunately, the art was preserved in Vihear Suor village in Kandal province, just outside of Phnom Penh. This is a wrestling village, where it is said that every man, woman and child in the village knows how to wrestle.

While the art may have been preserved, it is still plagued by problems, such as poverty. "There are many wrestlers in Pursat, especially in the rural areas, but they are very poor so their priority is with work and their families instead of training.” (Ly Vanna, Cambodia Leisure)

Khmer wrestling is different from Chinese wrestling because in Chinese wrestling the athletes wear a heavy jacket and a belt, which opponents are permitted to grab and use for throwing the opponent. In Khmer wrestling, the fighters don’t wear a shirt. And grabbing the clothing is against the rules. The goal in Chinese wrestling is to throw the opponent on the ground. The goal in Khmer wrestling is to pin the opponent on his back on the ground.

While the specific rules may vary, the ultimate goal and spirit of Chinese wrestling is the same as Khmer wrestling, to defeat the opponent, fighting within the confines of the rules, and using skill to overcome strength and aggression.

At the start of a match, in Khmer wrestling, traditional music plays and the two wrestlers dance around each other, artfully. “Accompanied by two drums, called Skor Ngey – Chhmol, which means female drum and male drum, the drums draw the wrestlers and the watchers focus on the competition. The wrestlers always react to the beats of the drums by dancing.” (Ly Vanna)

In Chinese wrestling, the two fighters walk in circles around the referee. When the match begins, a Khmer wrestler may engage his opponent and then release, and dance away. This first contact could be to test the strength and reaction of the opponent. But Chinese wrestling, often called “fast wrestling”, at the first contact a wrestler may already be looking for a win. He will grab his opponent, placing both his hands on the opponent’s jacket or belt, and then begin aggressively pulling and pushing him, looking for a quick win. (Anhui University of Technology Maanshan 243002)

Cambodian wrestlers may dance, lock up, break, and then continue dancing several times before the match becomes very earnest.

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The immediate strategy in Chinese wrestling is to aggressively pull and push the opponent, moving his body around the fighting circle, “to expose weaknesses, but also put themselves in a good position to facilitate the attack”. (Anhui University of Technology Maanshan 243002) In Cambodia, the audience loves a wrestler who can not only dance beautifully, but also win. Doing the dance correctly shows respect and love for the ancient culture. In Chinese wrestling, the audience also looks at aesthetics. “The pace also shows various wrestling techniques, confidence, and grace, to the audience to create a vigorous and valiant impression, to increase the excitement of the competition.” (Anhui University of Technology Maanshan 243002)

All of the techniques of bradal serey (kick boxing), and jap bop (wrestling) are included in bokator. To earn a black belt in bokator fighting, practitioners are required to fight at least two professional fights and go to Vihear Suor village in Kandal province and practice wrestling. (Leisure Cambodia)

The rise of MMA

Traditional martial arts are developing and evolving into a new form of combat sport which is popular around the world, Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA. MMA is now becoming a popular professional sport in China.

An article about the rise of MMA in China had this to say, “Martial arts have a storied history in China, with various fighting styles of kung fu having developed in the country over past centuries. But a new combat sport is throttling China in the modern age, even if it involves more blood and real-life injuries than are normally seen in kung fu action films.” (Lin Kan Hsuan)

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact, combat sport, which combines the skills of Brazilian jujitsu, wrestling, judo, karate, kickboxing, boxing and Muay Thai. In MMA fighting, competitors are permitted to kick, punch, strike with elbows and knees, choke, KO, or submit (joint lock) their opponent. MMA combines many of the skills of Chinese traditional martial arts, especially san da and wrestling.

The largest MMA organization in the world is the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which is based out of Las Vegas, USA. UFC fights can be watched in China on PPTV, Sohu, Sina and QQ. It took many years and overcoming much resistance for MMA to get the first foothold in China. “Up until recently, MMA struggled for years for support in China from the government-run sport system that has historically nurtured athletes of Olympic sports.” (Lin Kan Hsuan)

On December 22, 2013, the Beijing MMA Association was formed as Mainland China’s first MMA organization. One of the administers of the association is MMA fighter Zhang Tiechuan (张铁泉: Zhāng Tĭequán), nicknamed "The Mongolian Wolf" a former wrestling and san da champion who was the first Chinese national to compete in the UFC. (Lin Kan Hsuan)

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In the US, for the last 19 years, the UFC has produced a reality TV show, called The Ultimate Fighter, where groups of fighters are chosen to live in a house together, training in MMA. Each week, a fight is held, and the loser is eliminated from the competition. In the end, a single champion is crowned. As a prize, he receives a lucrative contract with the UFC. “In December 2013 … reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter China premiered. Featuring 16 competitors divided into two teams coached by Zhang Tiechuan and fellow Chinese professional MMA fighter Ao Hailin…The final winner will be awarded a UFC contract, allowing him to fight on the world's biggest MMA stage.” (Lin Kan Hsuan)

MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) is also becoming popular in Cambodia. A lot of Cambodian fighters are training to fight in MMA because the pay for bradal serey fighters is very low. Wrestlers, on the other hand, can’t earn any money at all. So, MMA is a way for fighters to earn a living.

Im Ouk, a Khmer fight promoter from Australia, commented on the rise of MMA in Cambodia. ‘“For over 2,000 years, my people have practiced martial arts, and I believe Khmers have the genes for fighting; they are born tough.” (GOYDER, JUL 18, 2013) In the same interview, Ouk explained how MMA is similar to a return to the ancient martial arts. “A lot of people don’t know that Khmer martial arts also have wrestling and submission moves …” Ouk said. “You can see some of them in carvings in temples that can be traced back as far as 2,000 years ago.” In the beginning of MMA in both China and Cambodia, traditional martial arts masters saw MMA as a threat, fearing that MMA would stamp out the traditional arts. About Cambodia, “In the early development of MMA, there was a lot of opposition from the boxing commission and from old-time boxing supporters.” (GOYDER, JUL 18, 2013)

Far from a threat, Im Ouk, on the other hand, sees MMA as a form of preservation. “I wanted to help preserve these traditional martial arts which have nearly become extinct.” (GOYDER, JUL 18, 2013) MMA may actually help preserve the ancient arts, as these arts are now useful in a modern world. The traditional wrestling and joint locking techniques which once belonged to bokator were abandoned when bradal serey became the leading professional combat sport. But now that there is a modern code of fighting where these techniques could be useful, the ancient ways are becoming interesting to younger athletes.

The first Cambodian team to fight in MMA was in 2011, when the newly formed Team MMA Cambodia fought in an MMA competition in Malaysia, called Mayhem II: Hell in the Cell.”

“For the first time in history Cambodia’s Bokator warriors will pit their fighting skills against rivals from different martial arts background away from home. Adding a new dimension to this epoch-making expedition to Malaysia for a mixed martial arts competition from September 10 to 12 is the presence in the team of a foreigner, Antonio Graceffo, popularly known as the Brooklyn Monk, who holds a black kroma in Bokator.” (HS Manjunath, Phnom Penh Post, Bokator Warriors off to Fight Malaysia, Wed, 31 August 2011)

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“I strongly feel that the best way to spread Bokator and popularize it is to encourage fighters to get into mixed martial arts. So many techniques are the same and I think our fighters will do well, said San Kim Saen, who heads the Cambodian Bokator Federation. (HS Manjunath, Phnom Penh Post, Bokator Warriors off to Fight Malaysia, Wed, 31 August 2011)

The secret to success in professional sports is to get TV stations involved. Cambodian MMA went from a single competition in Malaysia to a weekly televised sport in a matter of about two and a half years. Now, Cambodia has its own, local version, of The Ultimate Fighter. The show is called Khmer Warrior Championship KWC and it is very popular.

“Virtually non-existent a year ago, the MMA scene there (Cambodia) became vibrant in a hurry. The biggest broadcast outlet in the country, the Cambodia Television Network, promotes the Khmer Warrior Championship promotion on a weekly basis, with televised fights taking place on its MyTV channel.” (GOYDER, JUL 18, 2013) CTN, the Cambodian Television Network, currently broadcasts MMA fights each week. “At present, it holds Khmer Warrior Championship events every Sunday, and the fights are all broadcast on MyTV, a free-to-air channel.” (GOYDER, JUL 18, 2013)

Bradal serey has always been the national sport of Cambodia. But slowly, bradal serey fighters are moving to MMA, “enticed by the chance at international recognition and, perhaps more importantly, the prospect of career-high paydays.” (GOYDER, JUL 18, 2013)

One of the main reasons that Cambodian fighters like MMA is because of the money. Most of the Cambodian MMA fighters come from a background of Bradal Serey, also called Khun Khmer boxing, where they fight very hard, and earn very little. “Khun Khmer never made anyone rich, and MMA already offers Cambodian fighters potentially unprecedented financial opportunities. In a country where the average wage is less than $100 a month, the prospect of securing a four-figure payday competing inside the cage is understandably alluring.” (GOYDER, JUL 18, 2013)

The prize money for MMA far exceeds the $80-$150 average purse for Bradal Serey fights. The winners of the KWC reality TV show easily earned more than a year’s salary. “The three champions received six million riel ($1,500) and a motorbike each while runners up took home four million riel. Third place finishers collected 2.2 million riel.” (Chhorn)

Conclusion

While China and Cambodia are very different countries, in different stages of economic development, the two countries share some similarities. Both countries love and support martial arts. The martial arts of both countries could be divided into three categories: aesthetic, performing arts like wu shu and bokator, combat sport, like san da and bradal serey, and

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wrestling, like shuai jiao and jap bap. In both countries the arts are an ancient, cultural heritage, which derive from and carry with them ancient religion and philosophy. In both countries, martial arts a point of national pride, and today, in both countries, MMA is attracting fighters from these ancient traditional arts.

References

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http://www.phnompenhpost.com/sport/long-sophy%E2%80%99s-one-fc-cage-debut-ends-controversial-submission

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Ten and Kay, Holy Games, A Kandal Province Commune Revives Pchum Ben Traditions, The Cambodia Daily, October 4, 2003, http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/selected_features/holy_game.htm

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