We are pleased to announce that Lethwei: Sport of Warriors, our forthcoming book project, is now close to completion, but there is still so much more to do! To finish, we will need to take one more trip back to Myanmar to do some further interviews, photoshoots, and filming for a potential companion-documentary release. We…
Lethwei: A Renewed Fight For Survival
The sport of Lethwei has faced many challenges in the past. The recent 2021 coup following the tragic COVID-19 pandemic has once again put Lethwei into survival mode after a decade of growth and global support. We will examine how Lethwei can somehow maintain its forward momentum, while coping with an uncertain future and limited…
Thank You
Thank you to the following individuals for their kind donations, and their support for the “Born Warriors” research project: Federico Quadraro Zulfi Ahmed Robert Eggebrecht (RIP) Maria Stoll John Tellipier Mary Ellen Ellis Jay Jaubert Cary Walden Gregory Driscoll Josh Brooks
New Interview: Saya U Duang Ni
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…
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…