Burmese bareknuckle boxing
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| Also known as | Burmese Bareknuckle Boxing, Myanmar Traditional Boxing, Bando Kickboxing, The Art of 9 limbs |
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| Focus | Striking |
| Hardness | Full-contact |
| Country of origin |
 Myanmar
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| Famous practitioners | Kyar Ba Nyein, Dave Leduc, Lone Chaw, Soe Lin Oo, Nilar Win, Tun Tun Min, Tway Ma Shaung, U Bo Sein, Phyan Thwe, Saw Shark, Too Too |
Lethwei (Burmese: လက်ဝှေ့; IPA: [lɛʔ.ʍḛ]) or Burmese bareknuckle boxing is a full contact combat sport from Myanmar that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. Lethwei is considered to be one of the most aggressive and brutal martial arts in the world, because the fighters fight bareknuckle with only the use tape and gauze on their hands. The use of fists, elbows, knees, feet but more surprisingly, the head makes it a very unusual martial art. Although disallowed in many combat sports, in Lethwei, the use of headbutt is encouraged. This is the reason it also known as "The Art of 9 limbs".
In ancient times, matches were held for entertainment and were popular with every strata of society. Participation was opened to any male, whether king or commoner. At that time, matches took place in sandpits instead of rings. Boxers fought without protective equipment, only wrapping their hands in hemp or gauze. There were no draws and no point system—the fight went on until one of the participants was knocked out or could no longer continue. Back then, Burmese boxing champions would enter the ring and call for open challenges.
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 were still actively practicing Lethwei. Kyar Ba Nyein brought them back to Mandalay and Yangon and, after training with them, encouraged them to compete in matches.
The Myanmar government made some organizational changes to make Burmese boxing more marketable internationally.
The first international Lethwei event was held in June 2001, when three kickboxers from the USA competed against lethwei practitioners. They were Shannon Ritch, Albert Ramirez and Doug Evans. All three Americans were knocked out in the first round.
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Wikipedia