Thut Ti Lethwei Gym, Yangon

 

Myanmar‘s Premier Adress in Burmese Boxing

Thut Ti Lethwei Gym Yangon is run by multiple former Golden Belt Winner and Myanmar Lethwei Open Weight Champion Lone Chaw and under the supervision of Mr. Win Zin Oo. Though in the Western World‘s Martial Arts Scene only few might ever have heard his name, Lone Chaw‘s degree of familiarity in Myanmar is comparable with the one of Michael Schumacher in Europe or Michael „Air“ Jordan in the United States: You can buy Video-CD‘s with Lone Chaw‘s bouts on almost every third street corner in downtown Yangon.


Now that his active days in Burmese Boxing draw to a close, he contributes his combat experience to pave the way for a younger generation of hungry and highly talented boxers from the countryside, who were lucky enough to get the chance to prove him and Grandmaster Win that they have the discipline, endurance, cleverness and dedication to also become a Real Lethwei Champion like their role model Lone Chaw - „from Rice Farmer to King of the Ring“, as ,Myanmar Times‘ titeled in September 2007.


Mr. Win Zin Oo is a well known and highly respected mentor and trainer of Myanmar Lethwei due to his relentless, decades-long endeavor to promote Burmese Boxing not only as Myanmar‘s specific form of South East Asia‘s present-day competitive boxing sports variations, but also as one of only a few cultural heritages of the ancient Burmese Kingdoms which survived the course of the centuries.


Mr. Win is an outstanding personality in the Martial Arts Scene of South East Asia - well-educated, sophisticated, unassuming and kind-hearted. Working as a ,Desaster Response Manager‘ in an International Non-Governmental Emergency Aid and Child Care Organisation in his main occupation, he is well  aware of the fact that the whole society of a country benefits when talented but underprivileged adolescents receive enough support to keep on the right track while on their winding path to adulthood. Therefore, his commitment in Burmese Boxing is distinctly marked by a holistic approach - as much as he focuses on the sportive, physical progress of his boxers, he also concentrates on the personality development of his young fighters: They not only learn how to stay on top of things inside the ring, but also how to assert themselves in a structural changing society, in which provision for one‘s old age becomes more and more important then ever before.


Mr. Win‘s training regime is well-structured and orientates on Western training standards: there are units of warm-up and stretching, bag- and pad-work, technique- and competition-focused sparring as well as phases of comprehensive explanations of physical and mental issues.

All this together is what makes the Thut Ti Lethwei Gym such a special place. And it totally works out: Lay Nyoe Shin („Shan Ko“) and Saw Gaw Mu Do („Gaw Gaw“), Mr. Win‘s and Lone Chaw‘s two young and vigorous fosterlings, seem to cultivate as polite, unpretentious and dedicated as their mentors themselves.


Video Clips (PRIVATE ACCESS ONLY!)
 Thut Ti Lethwei Gym Boxer‘s Daily Training Routine (April 2013)Thut_Ti_Training_Videos.html
Image Series
 Daily Training Routine at the
Thut Ti Lethwei Gym (April 2013)Thut_Ti_Training_Photos.html

AndréRené from www.action-foto.de / www.SouthEastAsianBoxing.com visited Mr. Win Zin Oo and Lone Chaw in April 2013. It was his second visit at Thut Ti Lethwei Gym and, similar to his first visit in 2011, for one week he took part in the daily life and training routine of the local boxers. All pictures and videos by AndréRené.

For the latest news about Thut Ti Lethwei Gym, information about upcoming events, fight results and more fresh pictures please visit

the one and only Thut Ti Myanmar Let Whay Club Official facebook page,

fed by the owners of the Thut Ti Lethwei Gym.

More recent webpages featuring the Thut Ti Lethwei Gym:

Professional photo- and video-artist 
Nikko Karki portrays the crew of Thut Ti Lethwei Gym in a short movie and a picture series on his website 






















www.nikkokarki.com/
Lethwei-Burmese-Boxinghttp://www.nikkokarki.com/Lethwei-Burmese-Boxing
,Myanmar Times‘ article about the reviving popularity of Lethwei in Myanmar and the crew of Thut Ti Lethwei Gym (22. Sept. 2013)





















www.mmtimes.com/index.php/lifestyle/
8223-traditional-kickboxing-an-ancient-
sport-makes-a-revival.htmlhttp://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/lifestyle/8223-traditional-kickboxing-an-ancient-sport-makes-a-revival.html
One-hour video documentary about Burmese Boxing broadcasted by 'Channel News Asia', featuring Shan Ko and the Crew of Thut Ti Lethwei Gym 



















www.channelnewsasia.com/
tv/tvshows/documentaries/
forgotten-fighters/
602070.htmlhttp://www.channelnewsasia.com/tv/tvshows/documentaries/forgotten-fighters/602070.html

For many years, locally-based support for the gym also came from "Mr. Hammer" Sean Bardoe, an English-born expat living and working in Yangon. Regardless of his age of over 40 already, his is one of only a few Westerners who have the balls to fight Lethwei bouts in Myanmar under regular Burmese rules - kneestrikes, elbows, headbutts included and wrapped hands only. Meanwhile, Sean has moved back to Hongkong due to his work for an international company. Here‘s what the ,Myanmar Times‘ reported about him regarding his career as a Lethwei fighter in Myanmar:      

Image series captured by Italian photographer Vittore Buzzi, which won a 3rd Prize in the 2013’s 
'World Press Photo Award' 





















www.worldpressphoto.org/awards/2013/sports-feature/vittore-buzzi?gallery=6096&category=106http://www.worldpressphoto.org/awards/2013/sports-feature/vittore-buzzi?gallery=6096