Saya U Duang Ni’s long and prolific career in Lethwei has been a lifelong pursuit despite the highs and lows of the sport. In this new interview, he shares with us his early years as a competitor and his eventual transition to working behind the scenes, not only as a prominent jurist, but as one…
Save Myanmar
On February 1, 2021, the Tatmadaw, or Burmese military, staged a pre-dawn coup and took control of the country following a general election which Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s NLD(National League for Democracy) party won by a landslide. By evening, most of the country’s civilian leaders, including Aung Sun Suu Kyi, were put under house arrest, and a new cabinet was put in place by the Tatmadaw.
In Memory of Saya U Moe Pa Lae (1965 – 2021)
Saya U Moe Pa Lae passed away on January 21, 2021 – after suffering from a prolonged illness. My fond memories of him go back to earlier times in Yangon where we first met. At the time, he was still an active competitor. Years later, we were able to meet again at his camp to…
New Interview: Win Zin Oo
Saya Win Zin Oo is the Founder and Senior Coach of the Thut Ti Lethwei Club in Yangon. He is a familiar face to our audience, having appeared throughout the Born Warriors trilogy. In this interview, he brings us up to date on his newest projects, and the current state of Lethwei.
New Interview: Sai Zaw Zaw
U Sai Zaw Zaw has been Lethwei’s top promoter since he entered the sporting arena close to three decades ago. He gives us an inside look at the business of promoting in a changing Myanmar landscape, his toughest challenges, and his hopes and plans for the future.
New Interview: Soe Than Win
Our newest interview features Soe Than Win, who has been one of the leading Lethwei promoters since the 1990s and is now Vice President of the World Lethwei Championship organization. He discusses the many challenges he faced while promoting Lethwei matches in the past, and what the future holds for the sport.
Lethwei: The Potential of a Weekly Live Broadcast
Since the opening of the country, Lethwei has grown internationally on the back of newly formatted competitions aimed at a global audience. Its development of the sport has followed a very different trajectory than Thailand with Muay Thai, and Cambodia with Pradal Serey — sports that slowly built up over time to develop into what…
New Interviews Section Added
We hope our new Interviews section will introduce readers to a wide variety of people involved in Lethwei throughout the years. The first two interviews feature martial artist and author Zoran Rebac, whose travels to Myanmar began in the early ‘80s, and educator/humanitarian and Japan and Myanmar Lethwei coordinator Takamori Tatsuya, who began his involvement…
Born Warriors Revisited
The original Born Warriors trilogy of documentaries charted the art of Lethwei from the late 1990s up until early 2016. The prophecy of Born Warriors Redux: Bound Fists unfortunately has become a reality as Lethwei became just another commodity to export by wealthy businessman. The forward movement and expansion of any sport beyond its own shores and its popularity both within its country of origin and beyond is positive but what is really happening to the sport internally?
Lethwei or Naban
We did a poll on our Born Warriors Facebook page on May 27, 2018 to determine if this old footage from 1896 was Lethwei or Naban.