L 'Bokator - Angkorian martial art. Worth preserving ?
Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 10:42 pm
Cambodia’s Olympic committee again calls for recognition of l’bokator
The National Olympic Committee of Cambodia has resubmitted its plea to UNESCO for recognition of Angkoran era martial art l’bokator as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, a status three other local traditions have enjoyed since 2008.
A formal application accompanied by historical evidence to prove the existence of the centuries-old practice in Khmer society, along with the Royal Government’s commitment to promote and preserve the martial art, was handed over to UNESCO last week.
Cambodia’s renewed bid follows several clarifications and additional information sought by UNESCO regarding historical, cultural and social perspectives when considering a plea made at around the same time last year...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/sport/camb ... n-lbokator
So what is "Bokator"?
Wikipedia:
The National Olympic Committee of Cambodia has resubmitted its plea to UNESCO for recognition of Angkoran era martial art l’bokator as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, a status three other local traditions have enjoyed since 2008.
A formal application accompanied by historical evidence to prove the existence of the centuries-old practice in Khmer society, along with the Royal Government’s commitment to promote and preserve the martial art, was handed over to UNESCO last week.
Cambodia’s renewed bid follows several clarifications and additional information sought by UNESCO regarding historical, cultural and social perspectives when considering a plea made at around the same time last year...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/sport/camb ... n-lbokator
So what is "Bokator"?
Wikipedia:
Bokator, or more formally, Labokkatao (ល្បុក្កតោ) is a Khmer martial art that includes weapons techniques. One of the oldest existing fighting systems in Cambodia, oral tradition indicates that bokator or an early form thereof was the close quarter combat system used by the armies before Angkor 1700 years ago.
The term bokator translates as "pounding a lion" from the words bok meaning to pound and tor meaning lion. A common misunderstanding is that bokator refers to all Khmer martial arts while in reality it only represents one particular style.
It uses a diverse array of elbow and knee strikes, shin kicks, submissions and ground fighting.
When fighting, bokator exponents still wear the uniforms of ancient Khmer armies. A krama (scarf) is folded around their waist and blue and red silk cords called sangvar day are tied around the combatants head and biceps. In the past the cords were believed to be enchanted to increase strength, although now they are just ceremonial.