Fighting to Preserve Heritage & Tradition

Historians aren’t the only ones who preserve and protect history. Preserving traditions is a vital responsibility that falls on individuals who are fighting to keep their culture alive. Kim Sean is one of these exceptional individuals who is fighting to preserve his heritage. Kim Sean is a 73-year-old grandmaster that is fighting to keep his ancient martial art alive.  Bokator is a Cambodian martial art that has roots stretching back over eight centuries to the Khmer empire.

Speaking to a small group of loyal students, Kim Sean repeats the word for emphasis: “empire.” Training the newest generation to carry on the tradition, Kim flips through a book he illustrated and wrote describing some of the moves in Bokator. A black-and-white drawing of a man with a six-pack and bulging muscles angles one elbow to the ground and another in the air for the page on “elbow-hooking.” Instructions read: “Keep elbow in straight down-top position, with fingers hooked. Push elbow down strongly.” Some of these techniques, he says, are even carved into Angkor Wat. “Like America’s now strong, they have a good army and good weapons. At that time Khmer empire was like America is now.”

Everyone knows about Korea’s Taekwondo or Thailand’s Muay Thai, but hardly anyone has ever heard of Bokator. At a time when the Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC, is making martial arts mainstream in the world, Kim Sean wants to make Bokator synonymous with Cambodian fighting. More importantly, the founder of the Bokator Federation wants Cambodians to think so too.

Most know about how the communists targeted intellectuals and the educated. But Kim Sean says they also went after those who knew martial arts because they could defend themselves: “You know how good martial artists are? One against five, one against 10. You know what I mean?” More likely, the Khmer Rouge targeted the tradition after it was arbitrarily labeled bourgeois. Kim Sean wouldn’t dare utter the word Bokator. He played dumb. Like others, he kept his history quiet and tried to survive the start of a new one.

Most know about how the Khmer Rouge communist party targeted intellectuals and the educated. But Kim Sean says they also went after those who knew martial arts because they could defend themselves: “You know how good martial artists [are]? One against five, one against 10. You know what I mean?” More likely, the Khmer Rouge targeted the tradition after it was arbitrarily labeled bourgeois. In a time when martial artists were being targeted, Kim Sean wouldn’t dare utter the word Bokator. He played dumb. Like others, he kept his history quiet and tried to survive the start of a new one.

Cambodia has another, more popular fighting style called kun Khmer. On most days you can catch a match in the capital city of Phnom Penh. Bokator and kun Khmer hold an uneasy truce. Bokator supporters believe they represent the purest Cambodian style, while kun Khmer fans see Bokator moves as more theatrical than practical. Kwuok Leung, co-founder at Kingdom Fight Gym in Siem Reap, also traces kun Khmer to the Khmer empire and carvings on Angkor Wat. “No disrespect; Bokator and kun Khmer have a lot of similarities. But kun Khmer focuses more on the fight aspect, where Bokator is more on the ‘show’ side of it,” he says.

Now, Kim Sean says, there are around 200 teachers for the sport, although his small training camp is the only one readily found by foreigners. He applied to UNESCO for Bokator to be added to the World Heritage list, which would boost its international cachet. A documentary about Kim Sean’s life, Surviving Bokator, premiered at the Austin Film Festival this year. His son, Reach Norkor, who also trains at the camp, goes so far as to say all other martial arts in the region are a subset of Bokator. “It’s like the big bang” for fighting technique in the region, he says. “The pure form.”

Lucas Rosa is a Watson Fellow from the U.S. on a yearlong project entitled “Mixed Martial Arts: A Philosophical Perspective.” His first research stop was Kim Sean’s camp, where he trained daily for months. “The thing that’s crazy about Bokator is that it blends together all three components of martial arts,” Rosa says, including take-downs, grappling and striking. But he’s most fascinated by the striking technique — how there’s no wind-up, no warning. Such impressive fighting techniques could have been lost and gone forever if not for the valiant efforts of people like Kim Sean.

Preserving one’s own culture is essential because it helps us remember our families come from diverse roots and heritages. Our culture and history are what make us who we are. Cheers to the champions out there like Kim Sean who are dedicated themselves to preserving their heritage!

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