Lert Wei, the brutal fighting style from Myanmar
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 history of bloody battles with Siamese and Khmer foes, an ancestral form of Let Wei has been practiced by Burmese warriors since the 12th century, but very little of it was known until a few years ago. Myanmar’s past sixty years of self-seclusion have kept this native form of combat hidden away from the attention of martial arts practitioners. Lert Wei also evolved from the battlefield to sand pits fights held during religious festivals or important events patronized by Burmese kings. Nai Kanomthom’s story, dear to all Thais, comes from those times of war. As in old Siam, every fight used to be “to the end”, with no time limit, ending with a winner and an unconscious loser on the ground. Burmese boxers were, and still are, specifically trained to endure pain, instead of focusing on defending themselves. A typical Burmese boxing fight consists of two opponents endlessly attacking each other, again and again, even after being repeatedly knocked down and revived. Head-butts, gouging and biting were also allowed until recently.
The Myanma Traditional Boxing, founded in 1996 with government support to promote and regulate Lert Wei, 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 a falling opponent or while on the ground if the referee hasn’t intervened yet (this used to be allowed in Muay Thai, too). Elbows and knees are the weapons of choice for Lert Wei fighters, who usually strike imultaneously. Defense techniques are almost never used. Lert Wei fight are brutal and no punches are spared: I personally saw a few teeth flying off the ring after a powerful reverse-elbow hit a young fighter in the mouth. Amazingly, the referee allowed the fight to continue, even though he was bleeding profusely, could barely stand and was visibly spaced-out by the blow.
From a spectator point of view, Lert Wei is very fast, pretty messy, and brutally violent. Fighters don’t study each other, don’t move around the ring looking for the right moment to strike, and don’t use much strategy. They only attack, hitting with super fast and powerful combinations of punches, elbows and kicks. The focus is not on defending and counter-attacking, but rather on enduring the pain while attacking, all the time.
Burmese fighting is definitely not “clean” in terms of techniques and styles, but appears a lot more exciting than the majority of Lumpini’s Muay Thai fights which, in comparison, appear static, almost dull. In a Lert Wei fight you’ll see plenty of jump-flying knees, pull downs and all sort of dirty tricks involving elbows. Basically, you’ll see all those vicious moves not anymore allowed in Thailand. Unfortunately, the fights are held on a weekly basis in Yangon and less frequently upcountry. And even in the capital is not easy to find the place and the schedule, as such events are not tourist-oriented, like in Thailand, and only the people involved know the details.
There are Lert Wei VCDs for sale in Yangon. Usually the producer is also the seller. If you find one of these shops you can also buy very nice, colorful posters of local champions and fights advertisements. They’ll surely look very cool on the wall of a Muay Thai school in the West.
Even though there are well-known Lert Wei champions actively fighting in Myanmar, they’re not allowed to compete abroad, due to the brutality of certain techniques and the strict travel restrictions imposed on Myanmar’s citizens. The country’s most known fighter, named Lone Chow, is already a living legend and has starred in a movie about himself.