Lethwei (Burmese Kick Boxing vintage video)

Lethwei is an unarmed Burmese Kick Boxing also known as Bando Kick Boxing. It is similar to related styles of Indochinese kickboxing, namely Muay Thai from Thailand, pradal serey from Cambodia, Muay Lao from Laos and tomoi from Malaysia.

History

Lethwei was based on a combination of boxing arts from India and China, known respectively as musti-yuddha and shoupo. Matches were held for entertainment and were popular with every strata of society. Participation was open to any male, whether king or commoner. At the time, matches took place in sandpits instead of rings. Boxers fought without protective equipment, only wrapping their hands in hemp or gauze. There were no draws and no point system, the fight went on until one of the participants was knocked out or could no longer continue.

Kyar Ba Nyein, who participated in boxing at the 1952 Summer Olympics, pioneered modern lethwei by setting in place modern rules and regulations. He travelled around Myanmar, especially the Mon and Karen states where a lot of villagers were still actively practicing lethwei. Kyar Ba Nein brought them back to Mandalay and Rangoon and, after training with them, encouraged them to compete in the matches he organised.

The Myanmar government has made some organisational changes to make Burmese boxing more marketable internationally. There are a number of Burmese boxers who do compete in Thailand professionally with varying degrees of success.

The first lethwei championship tournament was held in 2000. In ordinary matches there is no scoring system, but it was adopted then. The official title matches have not been held since the championship so those who knocked out the tournament winners are considered the unnofficial champions. Although only two or three official events are held by the government each year, unnofficial matches take place at festivals around the country every month. In government-sponsored fights, both competitors are given belts as commemorative gifts. The winners are given black-coloured belts, and the losers are given white-coloured belts.

The first international lethwei event was held in June 2001 when three kickboxers from the USA competed against lethwei practitioners. They were Shannon Ritch, Albert Ramirez and Doug Evans. All three Americans were knocked out in the first round. The second of these events took place on July 10–11, 2004 when four Japanese fighters were offered to fight against Burmese boxers. They were Akitoshi Tamura, Yoshitaro Niimi, Takeharu Yamamoto and Naruji Wakasugi. Tamura, a mixed martial artist, knocked out Aya Bo Sein in the second round and became the first foreigner to beat a lethwei practitioner in an official match.

Techniques

Aside from punches, kicks, elbows and knee attacks, Burmese boxers also make use of head-butts, raking knuckle strikes and take downs. This may be due to the fact that lethwei was more strongly influenced by musti-yuddha than the other styles were.

Rules

Matches today are carried out in both the traditional manner and a more modern offshoot called "Myanma traditional boxing" which started in 1996. The latter was based on the sporting outlook of Muay Thai and uses a point system. If a knockout occurs, the boxer is revived and has the option of continuing the bout. In traditional fights, the winner is the first to draw blood which may be wiped away three times before victory is declared.

www.combatbando.com 

Bando in Russia

Bando in Algeria

Bando Connection with British

Conquered by the British

After repulsing forces from China, the Burmese then pressed West into India, seizing Assam. There, the Burmese encountered an immovable object directly astride their path of conquest: the British Empire. Three bloody Anglo-Burmese Wars resulted: 1824-26, 1852 and 1878. Losing these wars, Burma became a subjugated Asian Colony of Britain, annexed to India.

With this accomplished, the British set about ruthlessly suppressing indigenous Burmese combative systems, both empty-hand and weapon-oriented. This action was calculated to inhibit rebellion, but it also nearly destroyed the precious cultural artifact of indigenous and highly-developed Burmese combative systems. This process is not unlike the suppression of indigenous martial arts on Okinawa.

Burmese Martial Arts Go "Underground"

Prior to World War II, Burmese combative systems had been generally termed "Thaing," with at least nine major systems, each linked to the primary Burmese racial/ethnic groups: Burmese, Chin, Chinese, Indian, Kachin, Karen, Mon, Shan and Talaing, each with a different manifestation of the art. Nonetheless, these systems had been driven "underground" for nearly a century as World War II approached.

Only a select few were taught the arts in secret by the Masters, so the young could carry on the knowledge of the past. In the land where Bando Boxing had been the "Sport of Kings", it had now become a criminal act. Under Sections 109 and 110 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, imposed by the British, Burmese "Lethwei" boxers and Thaing/Bando practitioners were classed as "vagrants" and "habitual criminal offenders."

Rescued from Oblivion: The Military Athletic Club

As the clouds of what would become World War II hung over Asia, the British authorities in Burma permitted small scale martial arts training under government sponsorship and rigid controls (in order to prevent the spread of these disciplines into the populace as a whole). This was accomplished through the establishment, in 1933, of the famous "Military Athletic Club."

The Club was first formed by nine Gurkha officers (including Dr. Gyi's father, U Ba Than Gyi). These nine men were determined to restore full vigor to the ancient fighting arts of India, Tibet, Burma, and China. The group also was intent upon integrating some aspects of Japanese arts. As of 1966, information on the Founders of the Military Athletic Club was as follows (ages as of 1966):

Yogi Abehanada Indian, 76 years old, retired near Darjeeling, India

C. C. Chu Chinese, 80 years old, returned to mainland China

A. K. Khan Pakistani, 69 years old, retired in Karachi, East Pakistan

U Zaw Min Burmese, 70 years old, retired in Tongoo, Burma

G. Bahadur Gurkha, 79 years old, retired in Darjeeling, India

Saw Ba U Karen, 66 years old, retired in Insein, Burma

Dowa Naung Kachin, 71 years old, retired in Mogong, Burma

Boji Mein Sa Arakanese, 63 years old, retired in Rangoon, Burma

U Ba Than (Gyi) Burmese, 81 years old, retired in Twante, Burma

Guruji Gonju Bahadur was the first Chairman of the Club. Initially, beyond the Founders, there were some 90 members. In 1936, selected non-military men were allowed to participate due to their high level of martial / combative knowledge and skill. In 1939, total membership was increased to 300.

The training in the Military Athletic Club was extremely stark, rugged, brutal and realistic. From the perspective of today’s legal environment in the United States, such training is inconceivable. For example, it is reported that 15 members collapsed and died during a series of incredibly rigorous training drills. Some 33 members are said to have died of injuries during the group's annually staged private combat bouts.

Lord Mountbatten (then High Commissioner of His Majesty's Imperial and Colonial Forces in Asia) reportedly attended one of these tournaments in 1937. After viewing these life and death contests, he is said to have made his historic remark: "Beautifully brutal art . . . I'm happy they're on our side." General Orde Wingate is said to have called the members of this private military club "Bando Bastards."

* Dr. Gyi (USA Bando founder)
Source: American Bando Association

Shaolin Chuan

Chang Dsu Yao kung fu style is divided into:
8 external styles (called Wai Chia)
5 internal styles (called Nei Chia)

Here at kungfufitness we are teaching a combination of external and internal styles plus
as external styles:
Pei P'ai shaolin Ch'uan
Shaolin Lien Pu Ch'uan
Tang Lang Ch'uan

and as internal style:
T'ai chi Ch'uan
Tui Shou


T'ai chi Ch'uan
The “Yang Pei” style is composed by 108 techniques and is also called “Ta Chia”. The techniques are soft, fluid and continuous but in the combat application they become fast, rapid and full of force.
Tui Shou
Pushing hands is said to be the gateway for students to understand experientially the martial aspects of the Internal martial arts (內家 nèi jiā); leverage, reflex, sensitivity, timing, coordination and positioning. Pushing hands works to undo a person's natural instinct to resist force with force, teaching the body to yield to force and redirect it. Health oriented tai chi schools may still teach push hands because there is a limit to the amount of physical conditioning available from performing solo form routines, so pushing hands adds the weight of the training partner's pushes onto the legs of the student.

Shaolin Lien Pu Ch'uan
It's a simplified form of the Shaolin from North China that is useful to assimilate the basic techniques and positions of the kung fu. You start to learn it after the warm up called Pa Tuan Chin and after having learned:
basic positions: Pu Fa
punch: Ch'uan Fa
open hand: Chang Fa
blocks and defense: Fang Fa
elbow: Chou Fa
This exercise is the basic form that mus be learned and boost your coordination, body balance, stability, breathing, mental focus and prepare the student to the more advanced techniques.
Tang Lang Ch'üan
It's the popular mantis style, the hands mimic the motion of the mantis: it's a dynamic combo of fists, kicks and grappling methods. The style was created by Wang Lang in the XVII century.

Pei P'ai shaolin Ch'uan
It's a very long exercise composed by 10 forms.
The first 5 forms prepare the student to the combat and other 5 are based on grappling and take downs. There are 15 different kicks to perform and 10 type of fall downs to learn. The student must learn as well traditional weapons: long and short stick, 2 pieces stick, sword and many others.

source: Wikipedia

Sanda or Sanshou

Sanda

Sanda(散打 ) or Sanshou(散手 ) means "free fight" and is the real application of the attack and defence techniques of Chinese Kung Fu. Sanda was created similarly to modern Wushu by the Chinese Government in the 60s, grouping masters from all the country and defining a standard fighting style, in order to rationalize the huge heritage of thousands of styles and techniques existing in China.
The techniques employed in sanda are based upon punches, kicks, grappling and locks.
Normal training is based upon a sequence of aerobic warm-up, stretching, basic techniques and combinations (jab, direct, hook, front kick, side kick, etc.), shadow boxing, 2 person drills, free sparring, plus heavy bag, abdominals, push-ups and so on.
Sanda is good for self-defense as well in a real street fighting scenario.

A Brief History of Sanshou
by Master Li, Yongqian


Sanshou: “San” means “open” or “free”. “Shou” means “hands”. Sanshou literally means “open or free hands”. Sanda: “San” again means “open” or “free”. “Da” means “hit, beat, or fight”. Sanda is the more common term, whereas Sanshou is the official name since “Da” makes it sound too brutal or violent.

As a fighting skill, Sanshou has a very long history in China and has had various names in Chinese martial arts history, such as Xiangbo, Shoubo, Chaishou, Qiangshou, Jiji, and Daleitai. As a part of modern competitive sports and a part of modern full contact martial arts in China, Sanshou has a relatively short history.

In March of 1979, the China National Sports Committee (CNSC), the highest official sports administrative body in China, decided that three institutions--the Zhejiang Provincial Sports Training Center, Beijing Physical Education University (former Beijing Physical Education Institute), and Wuhan Physical Education College--should begin to experiment with Sanshou as a formal competitive Wushu sport. Due to the lack of official sponsorship before that time, Sanshou did not have standardized techniques, training methods, and especially rules. The main tasks of the three institutions chosen to develop Sanshou sport were to formulate competition rules, judging methods and training methods as well as to publicize Sanshou as a sport in China.

In May of 1979, the three institutions introduced Sanshou in a performance in a national Wushu competition in Nanning, Guangxi province. At the same time, there were established some other city’s and provincial teams to perform Sanshou to experiment with Sanshou at the local level. During the national sports meetings in October 1979, CNSC organized for the first time a Sanshou performance for the public and the athletes were selected from the Zhejiang team, the Beijing Physical Education University team, and the Hebei provincial team. The performance consisted of not only techniques, but also training skills. The purpose of the performance was to solicit from the judges, coaches, and athletes in the Chinese martial arts field ideas concerning the development of the sport. By May 1980, more Sanshou teams were set up, in addition to the initial three institutions, and they all performed Sanshou in the national Wushu competition in Taiyuan, Shanxi province. Meanwhile, Beijing Physical Education University and Wuhan Physical Education College held experimental Sanshou competitions for their own athletes in order to get more competition and judging experience.

In October 1980, CNSC organized experts from the three institutions to draw up Sanshou competition rules and to solicit opinions from the public. In May 1981, Beijing Physical Education University and Wuhan Physical Education College experimentally competed for the first time in public in a national Wushu competition in Shenyang, Liaoning province. In January 1982, CNSC organized the 1982 National Sanshou Competition Rules Conference in Beijing to draft the first official Sanshou competition rules. There were six teams invited to the conference: Beijing city team, Shandong provincial team, Hebei provincial team, Guangdong provincial team, Beijing Physical Education University team, and Wuhan Physical Education College team.

From the beginning of the reintroduction of Sanshou until the official competition took place, a period of about three years, CNSC spent a significant amount of money and involved hundreds of athletes and martial arts experts as well as Sanshou enthusiasts to promote the Sanshou sport. Finally, in January of 1982, the Sanshou competition rules were drafted, the Sanshou judging system was established, and Sanshou training system was formulated. After almost 30 years’ silence because of political instability in China, Sanshou was finally revived. Under the first official draft of the competition rules, Beijing held the first formal national Sanshou competition in November 1982. According to the draft rules, the competition took place on a nine meter diameter open circle, which was later changed to a traditional square platform, which is called Leitai. Sanshou rules have been changed slightly from time to time, making the rules more detailed.

As part of Chinese martial arts, Sanshou is attracting worldwide attention, with more and more countries and athletes involved in the sport.

Bando

Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) borders India, China and Thailand. As a result, possesses a rich martial arts heritage. As with the fabled Shaolin Temple of China, Buddhist monks from India introduced the martial arts into Myanmar a thousand years ago.
Later, Chinese styles filtered their way south, merging with earlier influences to form the martial body of knowledge collectively known as Thaing. Thaing includes both unarmed arts, of which Bando is the most widely known, as well as arts of the sword, staff, and spear, Banshay. Other unarmed arts include Naban or Burmese wrestling and Lethwei or Burmese boxing.

Bando
'Art of Combat, Way of the Warrior'

Bando (animal system or free hand system) is the ancient art of self defence from Myanmar. Bando includes the empty-hands methods and animal forms. All of the animal systems incorporate standup and ground tactics including striking, grappling, biting and weapons. Many law enforcement agents are formal Bando students.

Bando Philosophy "No system is completely unique. No system is completely independent from external and internal influences. Every system evolves over time by integration, modification and restructuring, resulting in what we then call "uniqueness." Overtime, this unique system will also change."
[His Holiness the Venerable Amarapura Sayadaw, 1910]