Lethwei in Kayin State
Lethwei Fightnight and Thingyan Funfair in Thaton
Image Series and Video Clips Part 2: Kid’s and Youngster’s Fights
This video also was captured in Thaton City, Kayin State, Myanmar, while the Thingyan (Burmese New Year) festivities in April 2013 took place. It shows parts of another one of the action-packed kid's bouts and parts of one of the eager adolescent's fights of the evening.
Starting from minute 1:05, one can see that Lethwei fighters perform their traditional Boxing Dance (Louvi Yi Pya*) not only at the beginning, but also at the end of a bout with intent to show respect to the officials and to thank the music orchestra and the audience for their support.
From minute 4:15, one can see that in local Lethwei events the ring referee sometimes plays a much more active role than it is common in Western style boxing events - here one can see him helping one of the fighters to recover after having received a kick to the crotch.
*spelling adopted from the book "Traditional Burmese Boxing - Ancient and Modern Methods from Burma's Training Camps" (2003), written by Zoran Rebac, who provides interesting descriptions of Lethwei rules, ceremonies and different tournament types as they were standard in the past decades.
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Image Series: Lethwei Fightnight in Thaton
(Part 2)