Sport in Cambodia
Encyclopedia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
has increasingly become involved in sports over the last 30 years.
Football is popular as is martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
in particular. The martial arts of Bokator
Bokator
Bokator, or more formally, Labokkatao is a Cambodian martial art that includes close hand-to-hand combat, ground techniques and weapons. Possibly the oldest existing fighting system in Cambodia, oral tradition indicates that bokator or an early form thereof was the close quarter combat system used...
, Pradal Serey
Pradal Serey
Pradal serey is an unarmed martial art from Cambodia. In Khmer the word pradal means fighting or boxing and serey means free. Originally used for warfare, pradal serey is now one of Cambodia's national sports...
(Khmer kick boxing) and Khmer traditional wrestling
Khmer Traditional Wrestling
Khmer traditional wrestling is a folk wrestling style from Cambodia. It has been practiced as far back as the Angkor period and is depicted on the bas-reliefs of certain temples. Although predominantly a male sport today, Khmer wrestling was once practiced by both sexes as female wrestlers are...
are all practised in the country.
The ancient sport of Bokator
Bokator/Boxkator, or more formally, Labok Katao (which means wielding a wooden stick to fight lions), is an ancient KhmerKhmer people
Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.8 million people in the country. They speak the Khmer language, which is part of the larger Mon–Khmer language family found throughout Southeast Asia...
martial art that is based on animal forms. It has ground fighting, close combat techniques and weaponry. Bokator weaves together Cambodia's ancient religious traditions of Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and Brahmanism.
Unlike kick boxing, which is a sport fighting art, Boxkator was a soldier’s art, designed to be used on the battlefield. It can be considered a complete martial art, using strikes, throws, drags, trapping, locking, and some elements of ground fighting. Every single part of the body can be used as a weapon. Boxkator practitioners are trained to strike with knees, hands, elbows, feet, shins, and head. Even the shoulders, hip, jaw, and fingers can be used to fight an opponent to submission or death.
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 called sangvar day, are tied around the combatants head and biceps. In the past it is said that the cords were enchanted to increase strength, although now they are just ceremonial.
The kroma shows the fighter’s level of expertise. A series of grades, each taking at least five months to complete training seven days a week and 2 hours a day, are represented by different colors.
The first grade is white, followed by green, blue, red, brown and then black which has 10 degrees.
After completing their initial training, fighters wear a Black Kroma (scarf) for at least another ten years. To attain the Gold Kroma you must be a true master and must have done something great for Boxkator. And to become a true master it will definitely take some time as just in the unarmed portion of the art there are between 8000 and 10000 different techniques; only 1000 of which you have to learn to attain the black kroma.
The art contains 341 different styles some of which are the duck, crab, horse, bird, dragon, eagle, crane, wind, fire, water, earth (or stone,) king monkey, lion, elephant, apsara (traditional Hindu sacred nymph), and crocodile.
Because of its visually similar style, Bokator (Boxkator) is commonly wrongly described as a variant of modern kick boxing. Bokator has many forms based on styles as well as straight practical fighting techniques. While Pradal Serey
Pradal Serey
Pradal serey is an unarmed martial art from Cambodia. In Khmer the word pradal means fighting or boxing and serey means free. Originally used for warfare, pradal serey is now one of Cambodia's national sports...
is a more simplified freestyle fighting system which uses a few of the basic (white kroma) punching, elbow, kicking and kneeing techniques
Pradal Serey
Pradal Serey or Traditional Khmer boxing is a popular sport in Cambodia. A match consists of 5 sets of 3 minute rounds and takes place in a 6.1 meter square boxing ringBoxing ring
A boxing ring is the space in which a boxing match occurs. A modern ring, which is set on a raised platform, is square with a post at each corner to which four parallel rows of ropes are attached with a turnbuckle...
. A one or two minute break occurs between each round. At the beginning of each match boxers practice the praying rituals known as the Twai Kru. Traditional Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
n music is played during the match. The music is played used the instruments of the skor yaul (a type of drum), the sraliai (a flute like instrument) and the stringed chhing. Boxers wear leather gloves and shorts.
Rules:
- A boxer is not allowed to strike his opponent while he is on the ground.
- A boxer is not allowed to bite.
- When an opponent can not fight anymore, the referee stops the fight.
- Blows to the back of the opponent are not allowed.
- A boxer may not hold on to the ropes.
- Blows to the genitals are prohibited.
Victory can be obtained by knockout. A knockout occurs when a boxer is knocked down to the ground and can not continue fighting after a 10 second count by the referee. Victory is also obtained from the end of the match when judges decide by a point system which fighter was more effective. If fighters end up with the same score a draw is called.
History
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
since ancient times and were developed through the influence of martial arts from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Khmer people believe that Pradal Serey predates other Southeast Asian forms of kickboxing. The basis of this argument is the bas-relief of two man believed to practice Pradal Serey in Angkor ruin, but no actual evidence can confirm that.
Ultimately Pradal Serey became a sport, during the days of the Colonial Cambodia. When the French came they added western boxing gloves, timed rounds, and a boxing ring to civilize the art. Originally matches were fought in dirt pits with limited rules while hands were wrapped in rope.
The Near Extinction of Pradal Serey
On April 17, 1975, during the chaos of the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, the Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
overthrew Lon Nol
Lon Nol
Lon Nol was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice, as well as serving repeatedly as Defense Minister...
's pro-Western government
Khmer Republic
The Khmer Republic or République Khmère, was the republican government of Cambodia that was formally declared on October 9, 1970. The Khmer Republic was disestablished in 1975 and was followed by the totalitarian communist state known as Democratic Kampuchea.-Background:Formally declared on October...
, which was crumbling after America left the Vietnam War. The Khmer Rouge's plan was to eliminate modern society and create an agrarian
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
utopia. The Khmer Rouge executed most educated people, people who had ties to the old government, and anyone who was believed to be a threat (doctors, teachers, soldiers, actors, singers, etc.) and restricted the remaining Cambodian population to what were effectively labor camps. Pradal Serey was banned under the Khmer Rouge regime
Democratic Kampuchea
The Khmer Rouge period refers to the rule of Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen, Khieu Samphan and the Khmer Rouge Communist party over Cambodia, which the Khmer Rouge renamed as Democratic Kampuchea....
and many boxers were executed, nearly causing the art to be wiped out. In January 1979 the Vietnamese
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, along with a token force of Khmers led by ex-Khmer Rouge officers, overthrew the Khmer Rouge. Thereafter Pradal Serey was gradually revived.
Pradal Serey Today
Pradal Serey is making a strong comeback since its banishment back in the 70's. Numerous gyms have opened and large masses of students, local and foreign, have come to train in Cambodia. There are weekly matches held, in which many are televised, and many of Cambodia's best have traveled internationally to compete. There are currently about 70 boxing clubs. Cambodia is attempting to market their style of boxing to the same caliber of Muay ThaiMuay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
.
Attempt of Cambodian to unite Southeast Asian Boxing Style
Cambodians had an attempt to unite Southeast Asia's boxing styles. At an ASEAN meeting in 1995 regarding the upcoming King's Cup Muay Thai competition, Cambodia wanted to rename Muay ThaiMuay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
as "Suwannaphum
Suwannaphum
' , , is the name of a land mentioned in many ancient sources such as the Chronicle of Sri Lanka , some stories of the Jatakas, and Milinda Panha...
" boxing or "SEA Boxing", which represented Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. Suwannaphum
Suwannaphum
' , , is the name of a land mentioned in many ancient sources such as the Chronicle of Sri Lanka , some stories of the Jatakas, and Milinda Panha...
means "golden land" in both the Khmer
Khmer language
Khmer , or Cambodian, is the language of the Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. It is the second most widely spoken Austroasiatic language , with speakers in the tens of millions. Khmer has been considerably influenced by Sanskrit and Pali, especially in the royal and religious...
and Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
which came from the language of Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
and refers to mainland Southeast Asia. "SEA" is a popular acronym referring to Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
.
Thailand would not compromise, stating that each Southeast Asian country has its own boxing style and Thailand is the one who pushed their style into international sport. At the 2005 Southeast Asian Games
2005 Southeast Asian Games
The 23rd Southeast Asian Games were held in the Philippines from November 27 to December 5 in 2005. The games were participated by the eleven nations of Southeast Asia. This was the first time that the opening and closing ceremonies were held in a large open field, despite the fact that Manila...
, Cambodia did not enter the Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
event in protest.
Notable Khmer Boxers
- Eh Phutong- Khmer Kickboxing Champion
- Oth Phouthoung-TV5 kickboxing champion
- Meas Chanta - International Khmer Kickboxer
- Pich Arun - International Khmer Kickboxer
- Pich Sophun - International Khmer Kickboxer
- Chey Kosal - International Khmer Kickboxer
- Bun Sothea- Cambodian S1 champion
- Try Kuntor- Cambodian Kickboxer
- Bing Leung- Cambodian Kickboxer
Khmer Traditional Wrestling
Wrestlers participate in pre-match ritual dancing before the match. The match is accompanied by the music of two drums (called Skor Ngey and Chhmol, "female drum" and "male drum").
Traditional matches are held during the Khmer New Year and other Cambodian holdiays.
Football
The Cambodian Football FederationCambodian Football Federation
Football Federation of Cambodia is the governing body of football in Cambodia, controlling the Cambodian national team. It was founded in 1933, and has been a member of FIFA since 1953 and the Asian Football Confederation since 1957.-External links:...
is the governing body of football in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, controlling the Cambodian national team
Cambodia national football team
The Cambodia national football team is the national team of Cambodia and is controlled by the Football Federation of Cambodia . It was known as the Khmer Republic national football team from 1970 to 1975. It finished fourth in the 1972 Asian Cup, but is currently one of the weakest teams in the...
. It was founded in 1933, and has been a member of FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
since 1953 and the Asian Football Confederation
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
since 1957.
Phnom Pehn National Olympic Stadium
Phnom Pehn National Olympic Stadium
The Olympic Stadium or National Sports Complex is a multi-purpose stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It has a capacity of 50,000 seats, but can expand up to 80,000.-History:...
is the national stadium with a capacity of 50,000 in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
.
Sepak Takraw
Sepak TakrawSepak Takraw
Sepak takraw , or kick volleyball, is a sport native to the Malay-Thai Peninsula...
is a "kick-volleyball" sport that is popular in Southeast Asia. It may also be known as si or chinlon in Cambodia. This sport is featured in the Southeast asia