Kun Khmer
Kun Khmer, or Pradal Serey, is a combat sport that originated in Cambodia. The sport consists of stand up striking and clinch fighting, where the objective is to knock an opponent out, force a technical knockout, or win a match by points. The sport was codified in Cambodia by the French colonial administration in the early 20th century, and was derived from centuries-old traditions, namely Bokator, the close-quarter combat system used during the Khmer empire. The official name of the sport in Khmer is Kbach Kun Pradal Khmer.
History
Kun Khmer developed from the ancient Khmer martial arts, now commonly referred to as Bokator. Dating back to the 1st century AD, the martial arts in Cambodia are deeply rooted in the country's history, and are depicted in the various bas-reliefs of the Angkor period. Um Yurann, the deputy director of the Cambodian Boxing Federation, highlights the bas-reliefs found on the ancient walls of the Angkor temples, dating from the ninth to the twelfth century, as evidence that Cambodians have been engaged in the sport for hundreds of years. Archaeologist Phoeung Dara has noted that several bas-relief sculptures depicting Cambodian martial arts are associated with Kun Khmer. These artistic representations are located in various temples, including Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm, Banteay Samre, Preah Khan, and Prei Temples. File:Kneestrike_clinching_TaProhm.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Carving from the 12th century Ta Prohm temple depicting two men clinch fighting and a knee strike.During the early 20th century, the local martial traditions were codified by the French administration, giving birth to Pradal Serey, now more widely known as Kun Khmer. Boxing matches were originally fought in dirt pits with limited rules, while hands were wrapped in rope. From 1920 to 1930, it was common for boxing matches to result in deaths. Fighters in Battambang province, during the early 20th century, utilized glove-like knuckle dusters made from shells to inflict injuries on their opponents in kickboxing matches. File:Angkor Wat bas-reliefs elbowstrike pradalserey kunkhmer.jpg|thumb|Elbow strike bas-relief at Angkor Wat temple. According to Pel Yat, an elderly villager from Battambang, as documented in a 1974 publication regarding the social history of the province, “Boxers fought until death. During the bout, a stretcher to carry out the dead was brought in; it was kept there in case a boxer died. The winner received a prize from the committee.” Chhit Sarim, a kickboxer instructor from Siem Reap, described tournaments around his village from the first half of the last century, "Coffins were placed near the ring ready for the possibility of a dead loser. The boxers did not use gloves to protect from injury, they just wrapped silk thread around their fists. On their arms they tied katei - magical plants wrapped in red pieces of cloth that would cause their opponent to see multiple images of their body in the ring. They were great boxers." In order to avoid the fatal casualties, the French set up a series of rules that combined Western boxing with Khmer boxing.
France organized its own athletes to face off against Cambodian athletes. Recognizing the impressive capabilities of Khmer martial arts, particularly in the use of elbows, knees, fists, and other lethal techniques, including those that could result in neck injuries, the French administration introduced a modified version of boxing. This new sport mandated that all participants wear gloves, imposed time limits on matches, instituted rest periods, and prohibited certain techniques to mitigate risks to life. The intention behind this French initiative was to restrict the abilities of Khmer competitors while providing an opportunity for French athletes familiar with Khmer martial arts to secure victories in the contests. Subsequently, this definition evolved into the established rules of the game, leading to its recognition as a popular sport. Freestyle boxing represents a fusion of the universal sport of boxing, rooted in European tradition, and the traditional martial arts of the Khmer culture. Through an agreement between French and Cambodian working groups, specific regulations were implemented, including prohibitions on additional time for falls, neck strikes, the use of protective gear, and other lethal techniques. This sport gained popularity during the French colonial period and the rules and format subsequently spread to Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and various other nations under the French sphere of influence. Kickboxing in Vietnam existed before 1979 but was then banned. The Vietnamese kickboxing art was historically similar to Khmer Boxing or Pradal Serey.
The introduction of boxing rings, rounds, and gloves, as well as the prohibition of life-threatening techniques, transformed the local martial arts into a sport. With those new sets of rules, French and Khmer boxers would compete against each other in tournaments. In the 1960s, Cambodian boxing promoters held inter-martial arts exhibitions.
Downfall of Kun Khmer
During the chaos of the Vietnam War, American President Nixon chose to get involved in Cambodia, where a pro-Western regime led by Gen. Lon Nol had usurped Sihanouk’s neutral government in March 1970. Since then, the new government had been trying to drive the communists out of their sanctuary along the border. The North Vietnamese easily repelled the Cambodian army's offensives and began providing arms and support to the Cambodian communist faction, called the Khmer Rouge. Eager to back Lon Nol and eliminate the sanctuaries, Nixon approved a significant operation involving a U.S. and South Vietnamese force of 20,000 troops into the border regions. In the U.S., news of the Cambodian incursion sparked widespread protests and demonstrations. During the Vietnam War, Henry Kissinger, serving as National Security Advisor, and then-President Richard Nixon authorized secret bombing operations in neutral Cambodia to target Viet Cong forces located in the eastern region of the country. Ben Kiernan, a historian at Yale University and a prominent authority on Cambodian history, estimates that approximately 500,000 tons of U.S. bombs were released over Cambodia from 1969 to 1973. Scholars have also suggested that the bombing campaign initiated by Nixon and Kissinger contributed significantly to the conditions that led to one of the most devastating genocides of the 20th century.On April 17, 1975, the Maoist Communist rebels, the Khmer Rouge under the orders of Pol Pot, overthrew the government of the Khmer Republic then-led by Lon Nol. The Khmer Rouge's plan was to eliminate modern society, and create an agrarian utopia. The Khmer Rouge executed educated people, others who had ties to the old government, or anyone who was believed to be “advantaged” by the old society, and forced the remaining Khmer population into labor camps—in which hundreds of thousands died in executions, starvation and diseases—to be re-educated under the new government. Traditional martial arts were banned at this time, and many boxers were executed, worked to death or fled the country, which nearly caused the demise of Kun Khmer. An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians, or 21% of the population, died during the Khmer Rouge regime, according to the studies of the Cambodia Genocide Program of Yale University. This despotic subjugation lasted for four years until 1979, when Vietnam, invaded and overthrew the Khmer Rouge. During the relative stability with the Vietnamese’s protection and after the departure of the Vietnamese, the National Government of Cambodia, under the United Nations, reestablished the Kingdom of Cambodia, and the surviving artisans would slowly began recovering and rebuilding Cambodia's traditional arts, including Kun Khmer.
File:Kun Khmer Boxing 1970s.jpg|thumb|right|Kun Khmer match at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh in the early 1970s
Rebuilding of Kun Khmer
Kun Khmer made a strong comeback since its prohibition in the 1970s. Chhith Sarim, a coach in the sport of Khmer kickboxing, expressed regret over Cambodia's loss of prominence in the kickboxing arena during periods of conflict. Despite this setback, he remains resolute in his efforts to restore the country's standing in the sport. Cambodia has made an effort to popularise its style of boxing, despite the lack of financial funding. Numerous gyms have opened, and large masses of students, local and foreign, have come to train in Cambodia. There are weekly matches held, the majority televised live, and many of Cambodia's best have traveled internationally to compete. There are currently approximately 70 boxing clubs nationwide. In 1987, one of the first Kun Khmer schools abroad opened in the United States. It was started by a former national champion by the name of Oumry Ban in Cambodia Town, Long Beach, California.Kun Khmer is administered in Cambodia by the Cambodian Boxing Federation, formerly the Cambodian Amateur Boxing Federation, which was established in 1961. All referees, judges, and fighters must be licensed by the CABF. Television stations which hold Khmer boxing tournaments do so under the supervision of the CBF. The individual stations are responsible for organizing boxers, trainers, medical staff, and musicians. The CBF supplies the match referees, judges, and time-keepers. The current president of the CBF is Major-General Tem Moeun.
Abroad, Cambodian boxing is promoted by four organizations. These organizations include: the European Khmer Boxing Federation, based in Germany; the Fédération des Arts Martiaux Khmers, based in France; the Ánh Binh Minh Khmer Martial Arts Association, located in Vietnam; and Kun Khmer Australia, based in Australia. Other newly created organizations can be found in Spain and Italy, while Belgium is in the process of forming its own Khmer boxing organization. The International Sport Kickboxing Association, based in the United Kingdom, has held matches involving Cambodian boxers. Additionally, Khmer boxers have fought abroad in countries such as South Korea.
There have been concerns about the betting and rowdiness among Kun Khmer fans. Commenting on how the behavior of boxing audiences has noticeably worsened over the years, Cambodian trainer Chiit Sarim has remarked, “I traveled from pagoda to pagoda to box at competitions during the water festival. Pagodas were the traditional venue for boxing matches... They act inappropriately. They raise up their hands and scream noisily. They gamble and do not respect the boxers. They think of only winning their bet. During my time, there was no such thing. Fights were organized nicely and were very popular. Now, fans have no morality.”
Tournaments are screened live on national television. TV5 Cambodia holds live tournaments on Friday and Sunday, CTN holds live tournaments on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Bayon Television holds live kickboxing tournaments on Saturday and Sunday, while TV3 holds a single tournament on Sunday, and Apsara TV has added a single tournament on Thursday.
Recently, travel journalists and tourists have exposed Kun Khmer to the western world. Features in television programs have further popularized the martial art amongst global viewers; Kun Khmer was featured on The History Channel's Human Weapon, and was also mentioned on the Cambodian episode of Globetrekker. In February 2009, American footballer Dhani Jones filmed an episode of his series Dhani Tackles the Globe in Phnom Penh, training with Long Salavorn at the Salavorn Keila club, and subsequently fighting Pan Phanith at the CTN arena.
In the Cambodian S1 World Championship, Bun Sothea won the tournament. He defeated Michael Paszowski, Dzhabar Askerov, and Lor Samnang in front of 30,000 people at the Phnom Penh National Olympic Stadium.
In 2008, the Cambodian Television Network screened a Kun Khmer reality television series called Kun Khmer Champion. The show featured 65 kilogramme boxers, and was produced by Ma Serey and Aaron Leverton, and co-hosted by Ma Serey and Cambodia's most famous kickboxer, Eh Phouthong. The first series was followed by a second in 2009 and a third in 2010, both co-hosted by Vorn Viva.
On August 28, 2008, Cambodian boxers Vorn Viva and Meas Chantha won the ISKA Middleweight and Welterweight world titles in Phnom Penh. It was the first time a Cambodian had held a kickboxing world title.
In 2011, Prime Minister Hun Sen created a committee responsible for documenting and researching the sport of Khmer kickboxing in order to have it included on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list. The 19-member committee included Culture Minister Him Chhem, the boxing federation, Council of Minister officials, and other officials from other government ministries.
In 2011, there were 1,000 registered boxers from 78 martial arts schools.
As of 2012, there are over 50 Kun Khmer fights held every week in the Phnom Penh region.