[Frank Grillo] Myanmar, AKA Burma,
a recently democratized country
surrounded by India, Bangladesh, Thailand, China, and Laos.
Colonized for over 100 years by the English,
Myanmar is no stranger to outside influences and cultures,
but as the country now opens itself to the world,
Myanmar's culture and national sport, Lethwei, is at a crossroads.
How are you, brother?
How are you, my friend? Good to see you.
[Grillo] Lethwei is "the art of nine limbs."
Muay Thai "the art of eight limbs," so boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,
and then... boom.
[man] [in Burmese]
Traditional Lethwei is different from other martial arts like Muay Thai.
We can use head butt.
Traditional Lethwei is a combination of all our martial arts.
[exerting]
Artur right there is one of the main fighters
on the card on Saturday. He's from Poland.
- You okay to interrupt? - Yeah.
I'm sitting here with Artur. What's your last name?
- Saladiak. - Saladiak?
- Yes. Oh, that's nice. - Yes.
And... From Poland.
You know, what you're doing here, you're right on the cusp...
- I know. - Of something big,
which is really exciting.
I completely agree with you.
And it's quite scary, because I never fought that way.
It's without gloves, with head butts, as you know. It's completely different.
- You never... - I've never done that.
And now, I'm fighting one of the best fighters in the world.
I gotta tell you something.
I've been training just a couple of days here and in Thailand,
and I can't tell you how much respect I have for you.
It's really impressive, you know, this sport. It's really impressive.
That, for me, is the most dangerous fight sport in the world.
By far. By far.
I think the world would be very interested to learn about Lethwei,
because it's exciting, and it's spiritual, and there's ceremony.
This is the sport.
- I think as well. People like violence. - Exactly.
And it's a lot of violence, a lot of knockouts.
That's what people want.
I don't wanna take up your time. He's training.
Artur's fighting June 10th at the big fight.
We all be there cheering.
- Thank you very much. - My brother.
- See you, man. - Yes, thank you.
Do really good.
I will do my best, like all the time. Thank you.
This isn't exactly how you cross the tracks in New York, but let's do it.
By the way, Myanmar, a country with about 51 million people,
about four and a half years ago became a democracy.
It was a dictatorship,
and they're just kind of adjusting to it all,
so it's pretty spectacular, actually.
[train horn sounding]
[Win Zin Oo] Gotta move back. [laughing]
[Grillo] Myanmar, 90% Buddhist?
[Oo] Yeah, according to the statistics.
- 5% Muslim, 5% Christian? - Yeah.
- Maybe 1% Hindu. - Hindu.
[Grillo] Do you find in your gym that there are different religions?
[Oo] Of course. Even the core team.
Lone Chaw is Buddhist, and I'm Christian.
- [Grillo] You're a Christian? - Yeah.
Lethwei is a thing that brings people together.
Brings people together, yeah.
[man] [in Burmese] Various religions became amicable
with one another because of Lethwei.
My enjoyment of Lethwei made me stop defining people
as Buddhist or Christian or other faiths.
They became one with Lethwei.
Actually, our Buddha used to be a Lethwei fighter
in one of his past lives.
I want the world to know the peaceful mindset
of our Lethwei fighters, who don't embrace hatred
and don't hold grudges against their opponents,
even after fighting very fiercely.
I want their peaceful resolution and patience to be known globally
and imitated internationally.
I think it would help in developing peaceful solutions.
[Too Too] [in Burmese] I am delighted and proud
that our traditional sport has attracted so many foreigners
and has encouraged them to learn it.
After everything we've done
to make Lethwei known internationally,
I'm very happy that many foreigners are starting to participate in Lethwei.
- Where are you from? - Me, I'm from Poland.
Poland?
We're Aussies.
[Grillo] As a way to make Lethwei more popular internationally,
fighters from every corner of the globe are invited
to participate in the Lethwei World Championships.
Which weight category?
My name is James Benal.
I am from France,
and I'm here for fight in the big event.
[speaking French]
Yes, it's different.
And no glove.
Yes, no glove. It's different
Same as the street. [chuckles] When you fight in the street.
I'm just competing in this... my first Lethwei fight.
So it's gonna be good. I'm just gonna get in there,
throw everything I've got into it, and come out with the win.
[Too Too] [in Burmese] Traditional Myanmar Lethwei
is the sport of the Myanmar people.
Lethwei fighters learn to preserve our traditional culture.
[man speaking Burmese]
[man 2 speaking Burmese]
[man 1] Fitzroy, Australia.
[man 2 speaking Burmese]
[Fitzroy] I don't know much about him. I've really just met him today.
I've seen, I think, one of his fights.
Just a brawler.
[speaking Burmese]
- [exerting] - [speaking Burmese]
[Grillo] So you have been fighting Lethwei for a few years, but you're a karate man?
The coaches give the same techniques to all the people,
but we have to combine with our own styles and innovations.
[Grillo] And none of that, none of what you're combining with your karate
is illegal when you fight?
They just sometimes frown upon it because it's not pure.
[Phoe Thaw] Yeah, that's right. That's my style.
We have to create.
[in Burmese] He is training not only in Myanmar Lethwei,
but also in other martial arts, such as karate and jiu-jitsu.
[in Burmese] Traditional methods are no longer enough
they have chances to participate in international matches.
So, tell me where we're going.
- We are going to our gym. - And tell me the name of the gym.
[in Burmese]
Thut Ti Gym.
In English, it is "courage."
Courage.
[Grillo] The importing of international fighters
has done the business of Lethwei good,
but for men like Mr. Win, the influx of foreign fighters
has put a new importance on keeping things traditional.
And if you're gonna be old school, you've gotta train old school.
And this is Gaw Gaw.
Gaw Gaw! His name... I hear "Gaw Gaw" all the time.
So nice to meet you, brother. So nice to meet you.
- Lone Chaw. - Lone Chaw.
- Master Lone Chaw. - The famous Master Lone Chaw.
- Living legend, wouldn't you say? - Yes.
- Living legend. - So, this is our gym.
Very... Before, five years before, it was just dirt and mud.
- Really? - So my wife had to sacrifice her garden.
Ah, this is the wife's garden!
So that's a good wife.
She is not happy, but happy.
[Grillo] Will you tell him I'm 51?
[speaking Burmese]
Oh, he thought that you were 15.
[Grillo laughing]
We go for some techniques.
I'll first demonstrate with Gaw Gaw,
and then maybe you and Lone Chaw will practice a little bit.
[Grillo] Great.
[speaking Burmese]
Okay, so... [speaking Burmese]
Yes.
[Grillo] Good.
[Oo] I'm just demonstrating the effectiveness of the technique.
Beautiful, yeah.
That's in Yokohama.
Gaw Gaw is fighting against a much taller fighter.
[Oo] But what I would like to show is the last part.
[Grillo] Oh! Oh!
[Oo] Some people say headbutts is not effective.
[Grillo laughing]
[Oo] So, have a look again.
[Grillo] Brings him down. Boom!
Wow!
Okay, if you are fighting against a fighter who are taller than you are,
- that's a very effective technique. - Right.
So let me introduce the second technique.
It's with reverse elbow combination with a kick.
Okay.
- [Win speaking Burmese] - [unintelligible]
So his opponent will try to punch and get a reverse elbow, okay?
Have a look.
Oh!
Where is he?
[Grillo] Oh!
- [Oo] That's... - [Grillo] Wow! Ooh!
[Grillo] Now, what's the mistake his opponent made?
To drop his hands?
[Oo] No, he didn't expect, because he kicked,
- and he is going to do something. - [Grillo] Right.
[exerting]
Try to hit the target.
I'm trying. You think I'm not trying?
[exerting]
- [Grillo] One more. - [Oo] One more.
[Oo] Okay, very good!
That is great!
[Grillo] I hear... And I don't know if this is a rumor.
Maybe he can tell us. ...that you go into the ring
with a mouthpiece in Lethwei, but the toughest guys...
a lot of times will spit the mouthpiece out. Is that true?
- Yes. - Yes!
That's why they chew betel nut.
[Grillo] Betel nut?
- You see his teeth? - Yeah.
They're red, and they're gone, yeah.
But look at his smile. I mean, he's...
[Oo speaking Burmese]
He's got a great, beautiful smile. He's got a great face.
[Oo] Lone Chaw was a farmer, and they don't have tractors,
so naturally, they have been tough.
Gaw Gaw is from a fish pond,
a small fish pond worker from a small village.
Like, they're tough already,
and people ask me, "If you had to pick one reason why they are that tough,"
I said, "Poverty."
Because it is their survival need,
and they become tough physically as well as mentally.
[speaking Burmese]
[exerting]
[U Aung Pwal Mg] [in Burmese] My disciples come
from Ayeyarwady Division, Kayin Region,
Yangon, from places like Dagon.
I have three disciples who came from correctional facilities.
They fought for clubs after getting out, but they faced difficulties there as well.
They came to me after that and they have been here ever since.
[exerting]
This is my coach, head coach.
- This is your head coach? - Yes.
And his name is...
- U Aung Pwal Mg? - U Aung Pwal Mg.
- Nice to meet you. - [speaking Burmese]
These kids who are young, where are their parents?
[Thaw] Some don't have parents,
and some are from the countryside, and their parents are in poverty.
Poverty.
So this is a way for them to maybe make some money,
give it to their families, make a name for themselves.
[Grillo] Because there's not a lot of money, obviously,
what do the fighters eat?
Mostly, the fighters are just sinking the fish and killing the chickens.
But there is sometimes not enough for all the people who stay here.
[Grillo] So you're training, and there's not enough to eat.
- Wow. Okay. - They can eat.
[Grillo] So, I mean, the first thing that kind of strikes me
is the incredible level of poverty that these kids are living in.
Um, it's really rudimentary.
Um, some of these kids don't have enough food when they go to sleep.
They go to sleep hungry and train all day.
So, to me, that's... It's amazing,
and it makes me feel a little bit like a jackass,
working out in three different gyms,
and eating all kinds of protein bars whenever I want,
and, you know, wearing $600 gloves.
These guys are kicking poles. These guys are boxing with one bag.
There's a kid who we just saw whose face is so swollen.
He fought about a week and a half ago, should be in a hospital.
As a parent of a child not too much older than that,
it takes your breath away a bit.
To me, this is amazing. This is what makes fighting so amazing
is that these kids found each other for this, and...
It's incredibly moving. It is.
[Mg] [in Burmese] He doesn't have many matches under his belt.
He's been in my dojo for about two years.
He hasn't lost in the nine matches since becoming my disciple.
He trains hard and is passionate about his work.
Even though he is not young anymore, he is methodical about his lifestyle
and trains himself on a regular basis.
So, his skills have improved very quickly.
There were other trainees as big and strong as he when they started,
but didn't become as proficient due to little effort.
He is also financially stable and can support his training costs.
Other disciples come to the dojo after they are finished with work,
unlike Phoe Thaw.
[Grillo] As a rule, the young men involved in the sport of lethwei
come from extreme poverty with little other opportunities available.
But, as the saying goes, there's always an exception to the rule.
[man] [in Burmese] At first,
we didn't approve of our son becoming a fighter.
My father was an electronic engineer.
He work at a place not very far from here.
[man] [in Burmese] As he graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering,
we wanted him to make a living as an engineer.
But he is more interested and passionate about his hobby, Lethwei.
So we are now supporting him so that he can be a successful fighter.
And after passing my matriculation, I joined Rangoon Institute of Technology.
At that time, it was called Rangoon, not Yangon yet.
[in Burmese]
We accepted it as a hobby. But I am not allowing him to do this as a career,
as he won't be able to make a living forever from only Lethwei.
Yes, we have different sides.
If we don't really focus on the one thing we really want to do
or as our hobby so we can be a professional...
My profession is my hobby and my career.
The image of Lethwei I would like to portray
is not a pompous, talkative guy,
and the shy way in the ring.
No, not like that. Must be humane, must be humble in real life.
So I want to make money and just want to be popular in the world,
not even in Asia.
Everyone must know about me and my teams.
This is my warehouse,
and normally, I work here for communication.
All my work's being done with my small computer.
This is my wife's place.
She...
Uh, she's quite good in fruit carving, flower arrangement,
and knitting, and sewing, so she...
I love tough sport. She loves soft sport.
[in Burmese] We wanted to keep on living together with the kids,
so we built a condominium here.
Then we gave an apartment to each of them.
We now live here together as one big family.
[Oo] Well, I live here 50 years ago, more than 50 years ago.
My father and mother bought this place,
and there is no nine-story, ten-story building in this place.
This is just a small hut.
And this is my room, me and my wife live here,
and upstairs, my younger brother lives.
[Grillo] Hello.
- [man] Hello. - [Grillo] Hi.
[Oo] So this is my little brother.
Yeah, this is his daughter.
That's his daughter? Hi!
[Grillo] In New York City, this would be a big apartment.
- [Oo] Wow. - [Grillo] Yeah.
Come here. Give me some. Give me some.
And what's his name?
Kantositu.
- Agusitu? - Kantositu.
- Yeah, that's right.
- [Thaw speaking Burmese] - Yeah. Yeah.
- Then it's my place. This is my room. - Wow.
[Grillo] The parallels between Phoe and his country were apparent.
Gone was the strict adherence to the traditions of history and culture.
...trophies...
[Grillo] Replaced by the desire for recognition, globalization, the new.
...tournament to...
[Grillo] A clear break had formed from the old-school values
that traditionalists like Mr. Win held onto so very tight.
This is the cooking place.
My wife usually cooks here for breakfast, lunch, like that.
So, these are for my own motivation.
This Myanmar tradition.
This never fall down.
[Grillo] Always up.
- [Thaw] It's always... - [Grillo] Always gets back up.
Nobody make these falling down.
So, I want to be the one like this.
- [Grillo] Never goes down. - Never fall down.
If a person is aiming for reputation by any types of martial art...
I don't think it is my target, like that.
I want to be different from other people.
That's when they will remember me, they will notice me.
That will be your legacy. That will be your legacy.
My target is a person like Lone Chaw, a person like Gaw Gaw.
Just keep a low profile, show humbleness,
and reputation will come later, and then...
That's the type of boxers I would like to have.
I think a good teacher, a good instructor, a good coach
has the responsibility not only to teach how to punch, how to kick.
Maybe that's the easy part, like that,
but to help him growing in different dimension,
different intelligence, like physical intelligence,
mental, emotional intelligence.
That's the duty of the coaches, like that.
As a team, we try our best.
Then the rural country boy turn up as the national champion,
and even known in other parts of the world, like that.
[man speaking Burmese]
[in Burmese] My given name is Naing Lin.
My name as a professional Lethwei fighter is Lone Chaw.
I had my first Lethwei fight at a moaning ceremony
of a monk in a village about a mile away from mine.
I kept on participating in other Buddhist festivals after that.
I then went to other regions, rural places, for matches.
Then, in 1999, I got a gold medal
in the Divisional and Regional Lethwei championships
which commenced in Yangon.
I finally achieved my goal
to become the first champion from Ayeyarwaddy in 2005
when I got the Gold Belt in first class.
I then become the Myanmar champion.
After I became Divisional and Regional champion,
my masters took me to various places and regions for many more matches,
and I became happier about this profession.
I was able to travel to regions and places I'd never been before.
For me,
I'm into Myanmar Lethwei,
which is a traditional part of our culture.
I fought to become a champion representing the Ayeyarwdaddy Division,
and now I teach Lethwei to keep this culture alive.
[traditional Burmese music playing]
[announcer speaking Burmese]
[Grillo] The World Lethwei Championship.
And by "world," we mean the whole world is here.
[crowd cheering]
[inaudible]
[crowd cheering]
[announcer speaking Burmese]
[crowd cheering]
[Grillo] The current system of Lethwei, how does it work?
For the challenge fights, not for the tournaments,
we have to go for five rounds.
If there is no doctor stop contest,
if there is no retirement by the fighter himself...
- So, no quitting, no TKO. - [Oo] No knockout,
at the end of the five rounds, it will be set draw.
- Both raise their hands. - Both does the same.
Okay, right.
So, the knockout system, although on one hand,
it can be seen as very robust, very tough,
but on the other hand, it creates fairness.
[crowd cheering]
[Oo] The things like the laser beams, the LCD,
it's just a facade, like that.
The question is, will it be sustainable?
Is it going to expand
as a Myanmar traditional martial arts sport,
or is it going to expand as a model show?
Those are the fundamental conceptual challenges.
Not many people will like to fight over here.
But me, I say, "Of course," you know.
It's such a nice experience, such a beautiful country
that I said, "Of course, I want to fight over here.
I want to get it... I want to be here."
The connection between fighters before the fight are like friends.
We are like friends, you know?
Just when we jump in the ring, then we know that we have to fight,
you know, that's what we decide, and then we are, like, opponents.
Then we're fighting for...
Like, for me, I'm fighting for, like, for life, for my life,
and straight after that, we are again like best friends.
The main reason why I'm fighting is my family,
because I want to give them a good life.
I want to show to my younger brother, to my younger sister
that if you try hard, you can touch the stars.
Before the fight, I'm thinking of them.
I'm thinking of my mum, of my brother, of my sister, my dad,
because I know that if I will win,
then it makes me closer to give them a good life.
And also my mum, she watch the fight,
and I know that if she will watch the fight,
she will cry if she will see that someone's punched my face,
so I will not let him to do it,
because I don't want that she will feel bad.
[Saladiak] This sport is changing human minds to be a better person.
It is not brutal at all.
[crowd cheering]
[bell ringing]
[crowd cheering]
[bell ringing]
[crowd cheering]
[inaudible]
[bell ringing]
[inaudible]
Boo-yah!
[bell ringing]
[inaudible]
[bell ringing]
[crowd cheering]
[bell ringing]
[crowd cheering]
[speaking Burmese]
[crowd cheering]
[unintelligible]
- Do you have some pain? - Yes.
Apply the ice packing for three to four hours
and every 15 minutes, change it, at least.
- Okay. - At least that.
No problem. Oh, broken!
Yes. You need an X-ray?
No, I don't need X-ray.
[Saladiak] Can you pull?
Can you pull or something?
'Cause if it's broken, I want to pull.
Just pull to...
Come on. Don't worry.
- [man] Okay? - [Saladiak] Yeah, come on.
Come on, further.
- Does it hurt? - No, come on.
I was just in a Lethwei fight, you know. Don't worry.
So, that is the proof. That's the proof, like we spoke before,
if this fight is so brutal, look at me. Nothing happened.
I just fought against one of the best fighters in this country,
one of the best fighters in the world, and I'm not damaged.
Of course I have, you know, the bruise under my eye,
my thigh is a little bit swollen, and that's it.
My finger... Nothing really bad happen,
so that is the proof that this sport is not dangerous.
Definitely not more dangerous than football, soccer, or even ping pong.
Everywhere, you know, something can happen.
But over here, like you can see,
I am the proof that everything's fine.
[Grillo] It turned out to be an interesting kind of path with Phoe,
and going to his gym, and going to his house,
and meeting his family.
I'm here now... Again, as a father,
he's my guy. He's got to win now.
I am very nervous.
[crowd cheering]
[bell ringing]
I don't know if you can hear the crowd for Phoe Thaw.
He is what they would consider a superstar here in Lethwei.
[announcer speaking Burmese]
I feel the electricity now. Now, I feel excited.
Now, I feel like I'm in a championship fight.
This kid, at the ripe old age of 30,
has become a star, and there's no denying it.
I didn't know what he was at first, but he's definitely a star.
[crowd cheering]
[Grillo] Myanmar and Lethwei, a country and a sport standing at the crossroads.
In one direction, Lethwei and the Burmese culture itself
can go global and perhaps find a prosperity and a voice
which they never enjoyed on the world stage.
The price to be paid?
Maybe the selling of the soul and homogenizing of the national identity.
In the other direction,
by keeping with steadfast traditions, the country and the sport can stay pure,
sequestered from the rest of the world.
Never changing.
Never growing.
Everyone passing them by.
[crowd singing in Burmese]
[bell ringing]
[crowd cheering]
[Grillo] What you're not seeing is every time they tie up,
he's hitting with his head, opened him up.
I'd say he may not come back out.
[crowd cheering]
[referee] Three, two, one!