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Some pictures of Kun Bokator Competition at Sea Games 2023!



Bokator is one of the oldest traditional martial arts in Cambodia. Literally translating into ‘to pound a lion’, it is thought to have begun 1700 years ago on the battlefields of the ancient Khmer Empire.

The martial art is unique in that every single part of the body can be used as a weapon. Reflecting the fighting styles of animals.

Numerous Angkorian bas-relief carvings represent some Bokator fighting, which substantiates the ancient origin of this martial art, as well as the status it was being granted at the time. Bokator, both as a combat technique and some spiritual asceticism, took part in the er****on of the colossal military power of the Angkor empire; moreover, thanks to the superiority of these combat techniques, the Khmer people were able to prevail upon their enemies during about eight hundred centuries.

Not only Bokator brings forward the principles of self-discipline and respect, but it also includes some techniques of breathing, meditation, and natural medicine. Through Bokator, the students are learning how to physically protect themselves against the attacks of a third person; Bokator also intends to develop determination, self-esteem, as well as some taste for Khmer culture and history.

Kun Lbokator, traditional martial arts in Cambodia, inscribed on UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2022.

And other name elements that related to Kun Bokator : Kun Khmer, Kbach Kun Khmer , Kun Bokator and Bokator!



Credit: Rothana Sean