The traditional martial art of Cambodia, Kun Lbokator also known as Bokator, is recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. This was announced by UNESCO and Samdech Hun Sen, Cambodia’s Prime Minister, on their official social media pages.
Bokator, also known as lobokkatao, is a traditional Cambodian martial art that was developed by Angkor as a close-quarters combat technique. Bokator means “pounding a lion.” ( Bok meaning to pound and Tor meaning lion)The martial art was developed by Angkorian forces to assist the Khmer Empire in maintaining control of the region from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries. Angkorian carvings depicting bokator combatants can be seen all throughout Angkor Wat.Bokator, which is renowned for its weaponry skills and is thought to be the origin of various Southeast Asian fighting styles, was made into a lethal weapon to combat the empire’s invading enemies. The knowledge is also being passed down orally from generation to generation in the traditional Khmer style.
Unlike kickboxing, which is a combat sport, bokator was made primarily with the intention of winning on the battlefield. This indicates that it includes a range of knee and elbow strikes, shin kicks, submissions, and ground combat.
Angkorian warriors utilized their knees, hands, elbows, feet, shins, heads, shoulders, hips, jaws, and fingers among other things to defeat their enemies .Weapons are also used in the fighting, including bamboo poles, spears, and even the krama, a traditional Cambodian scarf, in many of the tens of thousands of bokator moves.
Bokator techniques are inspired by animals like the tiger, horse, eagle, and naga, and its origins are from the animals’ styles, like many other martial arts practiced in the region. Masters will choose an animal from 341 sets upon which the art is based.Fighters continue to wear the traditional bokator costume, which consists of a krama around the waist and blue and red silk cords (sangvar) tied around the biceps and waist. The color of the krama represents the grade of the combatant, with white representing the lowest degree, followed by green, blue, red, brown, and then black.
The black krama requires 1,000 out of the more than 10,000 moves, while the white krama needs 100 total moves. Only the greatest masters of the art can acquire the gold krama, which is the highest level. Fighters must be fully committed to the art, wear the black krama for at least ten years, and perform something outstanding for bokator in order to reach this.
Cover Photo: Grandmaster San Kim Sean and son Von Kim Sean , Content Sourec: The Culture Trip
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Ancient martial art that spawned Muay Thai undergoes a rebirth in Cambodia thanks to a tireless grandmaster
Thought to date back 2,000 years and depicted on temple walls at Angkor, bokator was almost wiped out by the Khmer Rouge. One man, San Kim Sean, has devoted his life to reviving it, and slowly but surely it is gaining recognition
Grandmaster San Kim Sean closes his soft brown eyes and pauses. He takes a sharp breath and forces a smile before recalling how he survived the hell that Cambodia was plunged into during the Pol Pot-led Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979. During that time, almost a quarter of the country’s population perished.
“You don’t say you do martial arts, you don’t say you went to school, you don’t say you wear glasses. You’ll get killed within one minute,” he says. “You have to keep quiet, do what they want, follow their rules and just say yes. Never say no. They will kill you. It was a very terrible time.
....https://thebettercambodia.com/kun-lbokator-cambodias-traditional-martial-arts-is-listed-as-intangible-cultural-heritage-by-unesco/
