I am Lucas Rosa, a graduate of Wheaton College (MA) and in 2018 I was fortunate enough to be awarded a Watson Fellowship. As a Watson Fellow, I am one of a very select 40 people in the country to be on a funded yearlong adventure abroad, one where I will explore a topic and project that I am passionate about. My Project “Mixed Martial Arts: A Philosophical Perspective” aims to look at MMA from an intellectual perspective. I will explore the ways this discipline factors into cultures, the misconceptions about it, and how people garner meaning from it. This is my blog; entry number thirteen.
“Through ancient whispers forever echoing through the dark primal jungle, and etched into archaic temple stone, there really is an untold story of martial arts.”
An Untold Story
To trace back how a martial art style “evolved” over time is a complex task. Many styles claim to be the “original” striking style. Though realistically fighting styles probably “started” when the first caveman threw a punch, so the discussion is a bit of an exercise in semantics. However, the question as to how systems of fighting and hand-to-hand combat progressed into something formalized, is an extremely interesting one.
As I near the end of this Watson Fellowship I begin to think about the lineage of striking I hoped to trace back and understand. The truth is though that the lineage or “family tree” of striking, as it were, is hugely complex, and includes more areas and styles than I had the time or resources to visit. Striking styles that are very effective and valid like Takewondo, forms of Karate, Boxing and much more, were simply not part of what I examined. Instead I traced back a particularly specific branch of this “family tree” of striking. I explored an incomplete picture of striking martial arts on the whole, but a cogent one, in that followed one strand of striking from its beginning to its modern influence. This is, as far as I can tell, a lineage of one strand of striking history.
This branch that I am about to describe is hugely significant for two reasons. Firstly it includes some of the most influential and hugely popular styles of striking that the world has ever seen. Secondly the “stem” of this branch is one of the great untold and unknown stories of martial arts. We are looking at nearly lost martial arts that somehow spring into some of the most popular striking styles in the entire world. I feel some obligation as a martial artist to spread this untold story; one that is so fundamental and amazing, yet tethered to the rich history of striking. It becomes stitched here into the fine fabric that is martial arts.
Evolution of Striking
The Lost Martial Art
Our story begins in Cambodia, at the time Southeast Asia was loosely grouped into a region called Siem that would later developed into formalized kingdoms. Pertaining to its history, it is a foundational (yet almost unknown) keystone in the development of mixed martial arts and striking martial arts.
Early villagers watched and observed in the darkness of the jungles, so they could glimpse the movements and survival techniques of animals to inform their own fighting styles.
They took observations and formalized them into different “animal styles” for particular situations. Bokator, even today, still has different “animal styles” which are to be used in various circumstances. Legends say that Bokator was actually first implemented to defend a village against a Lion (or possibly a tiger). We are talking about a very archaic and ancient style here, with shades of mythology and primal techniques being implemented.
The martial art is mostly striking, but also implemented aspects of takedowns, grappling, weaponry, and defense against multiple attackers; making it quite comprehensive. The Khmer Empire formalized Bokator to use as their fighting style in battle. This fact is still evidenced today by the carvings in the Ancient Cambodian Temples, such as the carvings at the famous Angkor Wat Temple. I went and saw these scultped images on the temple walls in Siem Reap with my own eyes.
With ancient whispers forever echoing through the vast dark primal jungle, and etched into archaic temple stone, there really is an untold story of martial arts. Bokator really can be traced back as perhaps one of the very first striking styles/martial arts.
Even as strands of Bokator warped into other styles (which I will soon address) Bokator remained prominent in Cambodia for some time. The style, despite its ancient origins, did not get much attention in the 20 century though, even as the world became more globalized. As other martial arts became movie famous and part of a general cultural Zeitgeist, Cambodia was experiencing a genocide at the hands of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot. Bokator Professors were targeted as they were considered educators.
Grandmaster San Kim Sean (the only Gold Krama of Bokator, the highest rank) was a martial artist and thus considered an intellectual. He was in grave danger. During the genocide Grandmaster did his best to help his friends from tyranny. He spent months at times starving, eating only grass, living in fear. He managed to flee the country and when he returned decades later, the legacy of Bokator had been almost diminished.
Grandmaster spends his time trying to resurrect this nearly lost Martial art, through his teachings and through his writings. Much of this is truly a preservation of history and philosophically is in some ways an epistemological quest. The pressure for the Grandmaster and his son Reach of resurrecting a lost cultural martial art is akin to the greek mythology of the Titan Atlas: condemned to hold the weight of the world on his shoulders. It is an ancient style with a tortured modern history, but vast potential.
Bokator in modern day has unique methods of training, such as visualisation, as well as unique ways to form speed and power in strikes. They are different from the way many modern styles train, but form a very solid fundamental base for fighting. Few Americans, even Martial Arts enthusiasts, have the chance to train in this ancient style – or even know it exists. Despite how ancient it is and likely how fundamental it is to the creation of other martial arts styles, the discipline remains relatively unknown.
The Lost Martial Art Splits
Around 600 BCE, Bokator underwent a transformation, splintering off into a few different styles. While Bokator itself remained a common practice for a while (before Cambodia’s modern troubles) it did have variations, largely splitting in two directions.
Bokator long ago began to have a fecundity in producing other styles, one of which was the martial art Kun Khmer (also know as Pradal Serey) which is basically Bokator with many key aspects stripped away. It takes away grappling and is more oriented toward specific sanctioned striking, more tapered for a kind of sport. I trained this martial art at night sometimes at the academy in Cambodia. It is also much more well known to Cambodians than Bokator. (Bokator even at one point changed its name to Boxkator in order to sound more like “boxing” and be instantly recognizable as a fighting style.)
Bokator also gave birth to something called Muay Boron. Muay Boron is also considered a kind of ancient style of striking. It is similar in movement to some of the more animal styles in Bokator and gives it a very dance-like fluidity. Muay Boron contains a lot of flashy type defenses and moves that seem almost cinematic in nature. When introduced many thought it was such a strong style that it contained black magic of sorts, it was used widely throughout the Siem regions and different kingdoms in the Southeast Asia area.
Muay Boron may have even given berth to the ancient Malaysian Martial art of Lethwei. This martial art is vicious as it incorporates head-butting heavily, and is thus called “The Art of Nine Limbs”. I did not visit Myanmar to train this style due to Myanmar’s current political turmoil and the potential constant high risk for concussions.
Muay Boron particularly began to evolve most rapidly in a region that is now Thailand. This generated one of the world’s most popular striking styles: Muay Thai.
The Art of Eight Limbs
Having trained ancient Muay Boron in Thailand (they held classes on the weekends) it is fascinating that Muay Thai evolved from it, as Muay Thai has a very upright stance based on repetition. It is called the art of eight limbs as it emphasizes the four limbs plus vicious elbows and knees, it is also sometimes referred to as “Thai Boxing.”
Muay Thai quickly merged into a deep part of Thai lifestyle. Many youth learn Muay Thai, many boys even competing at a shockingly young age. Holidays such as the birthdays of royalty were often coupled with Muay Thai events to celebrate Thailand. Muay Thai became particularly patriotic to national Thai culture, and Thai Boxing fighting events a very standard tradition embedded into every Thai’s experience.
It also became a part of not just the country, but the families and what it meant to be a Thai person.
As the world became globalized Muay Thai became famous for several reasons. Because it was so regimented and focused on repetition it seemed more manageable to learn. Thus Muay Thai became a massive part of the tourist draw of Thailand. Even today Westerners come constantly to experience Muay Thai to sharpen their skills or for fitness. Muay Thai academies often taper their gyms to have a kind of attraction for travelers. Muay Thai also became movie famous and popularized in cinema (somewhat like Karate). These influences have and continue to make Muay Thai a constant significant part of striking.
A Dutch Touch
The true influence of Asian martial arts on the Netherlands did not catapult until the 1960’s. Thai boxing (Muay Thai) was at the time somewhat known, as wars and globalization had exposed some europeans to the discipline. Japanese Karate however, and specifically a style called Kyokushin, was looking to expand. Matustatsu Oyama (the founder of this Karate style) ultimately encouraged many of his best instructors to spread karate from Japan to the world. A perfect meeting occurred when one of these Kyokushin Sensei’s named Kurosaki met a small group of Dutch martial artists who had traveled to Japan. This small group later referred to as the “Three Dutchmen” and Kurosaki acted as ambassadors for karate to the Netherlands.
One of these three dutchman eventually went on to establish one of the Netherland’s most notorious kickboxing academies: Mejiro gym (named after a Japanese Province). With fighters like Robert Kaman, the popularity of Mejiro and dutch kickboxing grew.
In this new style, Muay Thai which specialized in elbows and body kicks (while de-emphasizing punches and low kicks) now had now merged with Karate, with some Western Boxing sprinkled in. Elements of elbowing were stripped away while other parts were emphasized, such as angular striking: modern kickboxing was born.
Dutch kickboxing even began to take on it’s parent martial art of Muay Thai, as fighters like Ramon Dekkers challenged the structure of striking. Dekkers successfully used a kickboxing style to win in authentic Thai fights (even in Lumpini stadium).
From there these styles have all become incorporated into mixed martial arts in a beautiful way. Though some of the more archaic styles remain under-utilized and under-appreciated in the world of Mixed Martial Arts.
In Summary
To summarize this is the sort of branch of striking lineage that I observed. We start with Bokator and watch it give berth to Kun Khmer and Muay Boron. Muay Boron then gives berth to the Burmese (Myanmar) martial art of Lethwei, but primarily also gives berth to Muay Thai. Muay Thai then becomes globalized and partially gives berth to Dutch Kickboxing by merging Muay Thai and Kyokushin Karate together.
The striking styles of Muay Thai and Dutch Kickboxing are still the most popular and the distinct modern styles that battle it out constantly. Everything is sort of melded together though in Mixed Martial arts competition which blends the styles and really blurs the lines of striking.
The branch of striking I looked at was an immensely interesting one. It contains ancient mysterious martial arts, enduring through time and tortured history. It also includes some of the most devastating and popular striking styles the world has ever come across.
From the jungle to the Octagon, this lineage of striking has risen and embedded itself into the narrative of martial arts. In some ways it is the greatest story of Martial arts that nobody really knows about.
MMA: A Philosophical Perspective 
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