Lethwei is the Burmese boxing system. Its repertoire includes all man-
ner of unarmed techniques, and practitioners claim that it is a more com-
plete system than the similar Muay Thai. Weapons include elbow and fist
strikes; foot, leg, and knee blows; head-butts; and trips, sweeps, throws,
and ground strikes.
Although Muay Thai converted to boxing gloves during the 1930s,
hand wraps continue to be used in lethwei. Tradition plays a role in this.
For example, among the Kachin the fighters’ hands are traditionally bound
in hemp cloth wraps used to wrap deceased relatives.
Lethwei contests are often associated with festivals and generally are
accompanied by music. Matches are decided by a competitor’s being
knocked out or submitting, or by the referee stopping the match. The rules
have remained very much the same since the eighteenth century.
Suppressed during British rule, lethwei experienced a renaissance in
the 1990s. Not simply a sport, lethwei has practical defense applications
and is used to develop a foundation for thaing.
Naban is the Burmese grappling system. It utilizes palm and foot
strikes along with grappling techniques (including joint locks, pressure
points, and chokes) to control and thus render an adversary unable to con-
tinue fighting. Commentators have characterized naban as practical in its
tactics and strategies because it stresses compliance and eventual submis-
sion. Attacks are allowed to any part of the body, and there are no illegal
targets in naban.
Thaing contests traditionally allow any strike or submission technique,
with the exception of biting (this was probably because of the rate of death
due to infection from bites), and matches have ended in death or disability.Contemporary Developments
Two traditional styles of thaing survive in Myanmar—the Karen “School
of Seven Arts” and the Mon “School of Nine Arts.” With government ap-
proval, tournaments and exhibitions have been held regularly since the
1990s. National student sports festivals, along with European and Asian
imports such as boxing, karate, and taekwondo, regularly include thaing,
with both men’s and women’s divisions. Information on the nature of these
competitions is not readily available, but it is likely that the style is based
in the eclectic NBA system.
In addition, lethwei was resurrected in Yangon (Rangoon) in the
1970s. Described as a “vicious combination of wrestling, boxing, jûdô,
karate and gymnastics with its most deadly technique being the high kick”
(“Burmese Boxing.. .”), its matches are nonetheless accompanied by mu-
sic. Therefore these events probably resemble Muay Thai matches, without
the formalities of rounds or weight classes.634 Thaing