Nice article Vice did about Pradal Serey.

[Crimson Glory]

http://fightland.vice.com/blog/pradal-serey-kickboxing-the-cambodian-way

I'm not overly familiar with Pradal Serey, I had heard it be both referred too as Khun Khmer and the former.

It said in the article that Elbows are more prevalent in the art, does any know of any Pradal Serey YouTube channels that have fights? Wouldn't mind checking some of it out.

 

[shiftyguy]

the native khmers and mons obviously invented muaythai

interesting discussion on historum on its origins http://historum.com/asian-history/97191-origin-muay-thai-khun-khmer-bokator-muay-boran-lethwei.html


also here is what martials arts the tai/dai people practiced before adopting khmer/mon boxing

 

[Deleted member 363827]

It is too big of a claim to say that "Khmer and Mon obviously created muay thai"
Discussion in Historum also does not help that much when both SEAhistory and thevaliant guy are against the idea that Thai has anything to do with Muay Thai and they jump to the conclusion without making much connection.
Like claiming that because one mae mai has khmer/mon= muay thai is from Khmer or mon.
The reality is that many names are based on observation of how non-Thai races act in Thailand (Siam back then)

Mon Yan Lak = the mon push a pillar
Inao Thang Grit = Inao (An Indonesian character) stabs his enemy by a kris.
Chawa Sad Hok = An Indonesian throws a spear
This also includes like an old man sweeping a temple or actions of animals.

Another thing I would add is that modern muay thai is clearly developed in Thailand. This would include the implementation of gloves and rings and the incorporation of boxing to the art.

 

[shiftyguy]

You are correct it is all just speculation. Modern muaythai is definitely a thai invention but as to whether Muay boran is one is up for debate as information and research on the topic is scant and insufficient to draw any conclusions. To my foreign eyes Muay boran looks 100% identical to Pradal serey (just from limited youtube videos). How do you account for the similarities between the styles? someone must of invented first right?
One of the arguements in historum topic is that Muaythai and similar forms of boxing are only found in areas where native austroasiatic people lived. In china's yunan province where thais originated, the dai/thai people practice martial arts more similar to Kungfu. Likewise for thai peoples in northern laos, shan states and in assam in india. As a result I am inclined to believe that Burmese, mons and khmers heavily influenced muay boran as it looks nothing like the martial arts posted above. Or could it be that Thai peoples influenced lethwei, khmer boxing instead? I am interested in this topic becasue I have met many thais who have told me that pradal serey, burmese boxing and muay lao came from thailand. I hear many conflicting views a Lao friend once said thais stold muay from them, simply dont know who to believe.

 

[Gammo2184]

http://fightland.vice.com/blog/pradal-serey-kickboxing-the-cambodian-way

I'm not overly familiar with Pradal Serey, I had heard it be both referred too as Khun Khmer and the former.

It said in the article that Elbows are more prevalent in the art, does any know of any Pradal Serey YouTube channels that have fights? Wouldn't mind checking some of it out.

"Cambodia boxing TV" is a channel on YouTube that uploads fights pretty regularly. I've watched it live and I can't put my finger on what's different to Muay Thai but it just is lol, they also seem to wear bigger gloves.

 

[SuperLuigi]

My vote goes to the Burmese, simply because they have the balls to still fight without gloves to this day

 

[Julius_Caesar]

My vote goes to the Burmese, simply because they have the balls to still fight without gloves to this day

Yeah but most of them are just brawlers. There is no real skill like we see in MuayThai

 

[DastardlyMass]

just look up keo rumchong on youtube. The guy is pure entertainment

 

[SuperLuigi]

Yeah but most of them are just brawlers. There is no real skill like we see in MuayThai

Tons of skill if you follow the sport, watch the elite fighters and watch the fights from the perspective of Burmese scoring criteria. Their brawling style is designed to maximize KO potential, because KO is the only way to win in Lethwei.

 

[NidNoi]

the native khmers and mons obviously invented muaythai

Japanese , Chinese and Vietnamese learned kickboxing from Cambodia. Thais didn't.

 

[shiftyguy]

I

"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 many of the villagers still actively practiced Lethwei. Kyar Ba Nyein brought them back to Mandalay and Rangoon and, after training with them, encouraged them to compete in the matches he organized" (wikipedia)

Notice the Emphasis on Mon and Karen states. Coincidentally these two provinces also border thailand and are in south and east Myanmar.

and surprisingly all these lethwei moves are almost identical to ones found in Muay Boran and Pradal serey