Reviewing the 64th Karen State Day Lethwei Event
Karen (or Kayin) State Day is celebrated from November 7th to November 11th.
Since Burma's independence in 1948 the parliament designated various areas where the Karen people resided as Karen State, effective since 1951. In that year on November 7th the then president signed the Constitution Amendment Act. In 1955 they formally established the state and decided to annually celebrate Karen State Day.
This day is closely tied to the Karen conflict and partly aims to improve and maintain a wide range of subjects involving the ethic Karen people, of which the most important one is peace and co-existence. The extremely complicated and intricate history of Karen state, the government and the Karen people can be incredibly difficult to grasp and understand due to its multitude of armed groups and government forces that are in play since World War II. If you are interested in knowing what goes on outside of the ring, reading up on the history of the Karen may give you a basic understanding and a greater perception of some of the politics behind the scenes that influenced the sport greatly.
You’ll quickly notice that many military and police groups such as KNLA, KNU, KNPF & DKBA often host or sponsor their own lethwei events.
“I would like to urge Kayin brethren, who have already trodden on the path of peace with courage and wisdom to continue to exert concerted effort in unison for national reconciliation, union peace and national modernization and development.”
Excerpt from a Karen State Day address - U Htin Kyaw, 9th President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar
During these festive days many activities can be enjoyed all over the state, one of which is boxing. This year, November and December host a multitude of events related to the Karen people, the Karen State Day celebration being one of the first. I will highlight some fights and generally talk about some subjects that came up because of those fights, rather than dissecting every single one. Most of the fights on these festivals have no implications.
As far as coverage goes, this event was a disaster for outsiders like us. Since Canal+ included lethwei in their programming in April of 2018, they have started to create a slight monopoly. As of this year copyright strikes are a reality and anyone streaming or filming Canal+ material has become a potential offender. So it is with great sorrow that I cannot offer a lot of worthwhile material in this article. The only quality footage that is available are some opening matches and extremely short recap videos on their official Facebook page.
Unfortunate events
Ali being counted out after the eye poke. Image ©MLC
Ali Qaradaghi (27), known by his lethwei name Saw Shwe Ba had his first fight on November 11th. He fights out of Thone Pan Hla in Kayin state, coached by veteran U Aung Din. He is exceptionally well adjusted to lethwei but the fight did not end in his favor.
Even though he dominated his opponent Min Maung Maung from post to post, an apparent eye poke prompted the referee to start a count regardless. Ali was counted out. Although the official rules clearly state that eye pokes are not allowed, many referees will disregard a call for a foul. There are no rules describing how to deal with an eye-poke and no guidelines are in place for the officials to follow. In my experience from watching fights, if a referee didn't see it happen it didn't happen at all. Of course there are some exceptions, but this is just the problem; fouls are being handled differently depending on the where the fight takes place and who the referee and judges are. Immediately after the fight Ali sought to find video footage to back up his claim, but has not been successful yet.
A similar situation happened last year on July 22, 2018 which sparked a debate on open-hand strikes. On that day Tun Min Naing (brother of Tun Tun Min) fought Kyaw Swar Win, and the incredible amount of eye pokes to Kyaw Swar Win (captured unmistakably on photograph) ignited the debate. Since then the Myanmar Traditional Boxing Federation (MTBF) started to enforce the open hand rule more effectively. Or so they say.
It immediately became apparent shortly after at the Lethwei in Japan 9 event in Tokyo where Will Chope used open-hand strikes and was reprimanded for it by the referee who used rudimentary sign language to transfer his message. A lot of confusion ensued. SamuraiTV's monthly program Kakutou Musou even spent 10 minutes debating the issue because of that same confusion. This new rule seemed to be just a verbal agreement however because since that announcement I have encountered plenty of fights where such a foul was committed and the receiver still got a count. Until this changes one should carefully consider if it's worth it potentially losing the fight.
Breaking the rules
“A fighter is not allowed to fight within 3 months after losing by second KO (if he/she has taken Special Time Out due to initial KO and return to the bout, continue fighting and second KO happens).” Section (12); Compliance after KO - MTBF
Saw Min Naing (right) on the defense.
On November 9th Saw Min Naing fought Kyaw Swar Win and lost by KO in round 3. On November 11th he fought Tun Naing Oo and won that fight by KO.
Now the interesting thing here is that the official rules state that you must withdraw from competition for three months after you have suffered a double KO in a single fight. He did get knocked out twice and, per the rules, should have withdrawn from his second fight. After the fight on the 11th, the MTBF put out a notice saying Saw Min Naing should have taken one mandatory month off, and that they will determine disciplinary action against him and/or his team. Even in this statement the MTBF is unclear on how long a boxer should refrain from competition, only adding to the confusion.
The promoter who arranged the second fight, Mr. Aung Naing Moe, responded saying he had offered the contract to the MTBF well before the Karen State Day contracts were finalized, and that it was actually the Federation who had been negligent in informing either or both parties of a potential conflict. On paper the fight on the 9th could not have happened because of the double KO possibility. I should also clarify that any boxer who does not get knocked out is free to fight as many times as he likes.
Peculiar is that Ye Thway Ni was originally scheduled to fight Mite Yine on November 8th, but was pulled from the card shortly before the event took place. I suspect the reason was his fight on November 3rd. Regardless of outcome or reason, he was subsequently spared a similar notice from the MTBF disciplinary committee by avoiding the fight altogether.
As you can see it’s quite the task to keep up with the rules even for native boxers and their promoters. As long as the Federation is unwilling to overhaul their entire organisation to create clarity and consistency, these problems will continue to arise well into the future.
Breaking jaws
During the 27th Karen New Year lethwei event in Taung Ka Lay on January 9th of this year, Phyan Thway suffered his very first loss of his career against Dejrit Sathianmuaythai. He had to retire in the third round because of an injury to his arm after Dejrit threw a kick to it.
An x-ray showing the broken jaw of Phyan Thway.
Déjà vu for Phyan Thway when he faced Fahphayap Kwaitonggym on November 11th, where he befell a similar fate when his opponent kicked him in the head. Once again Phyan Thway was forced to retire because he had broken his jaw. He now has two losses on his record, both to Thai opponents.
In the fight between Sein Myo Aung and Kyar Pauk something similar happened and it turned out Sein Myo Aung had also fractured his jaw.
Shortly after the event promoters quickly matched up Fahphayap with Soe Lin Oo (November 27th) perhaps in an attempt at revenge or redemption. In April of this year after beating Phyan Thway, Dejrit was also swiftly set up with Too Too, who went on to dominate him.
Since the conclusion of the event both Sein Myo Aung and Phyan Thway have undergone successful surgery.
Results
Although watching actual lethwei can be difficult at the moment, and making people read an article on an event without any footage might be boring.. I’d encourage people to read and retain as much information as possible. Being able to recall the history of a specific boxer and how they got to where they are when you do get to see them fight is a great pleasure and makes it much more enjoyable to converse with others.
For the complete list of results please visit my personal page. Below I will briefly highlight results and boxers worth mentioning.
November 7th:
Saw Kyaw Kay or Saw Kyaw Hae (these names are used interchangeably, the character in Burmese for Ka and Ha look somewhat the same). He participated in the Golden Belt Championship this year but fell to Aung Paing in the semi-final. He is from the same club as Saw Nga Man (retired) and Mite Yine. He won the 5 Lakh Aung Lan and is booked again shortly. He is new to main cards and winning this tournament will do him good. Hopefully more of him in the future.
Salai Chan Myae Ko (ex-Lethwei in Japan) has battled his way back from the shadows this year and back into a main event with Thway Thit Maung. He has seen his hardships last year and some terrible knockouts but just like in any other fighting promotion, if you do well you’ll get back up top.
Unfortunately Salai Chan Myae Ko is one of the guys who keeps jojo-ing up and down and can’t seem to get a foot in the door as a top contender. He lost this fight and time will tell where he will end up eventually. He’s only 23 years old so there is still time left to put an exclamation point on his career, but I personally don’t think that will happen.
November 8th:
Sai Maung Maung, the son of former national champion Shwe Sai, was supposed to appear at WLC 9 but the fight was cancelled last minute. Since I have started tracking fights he has not appeared before and this seemed to be his professional debut. The fight ended in a draw, but due to the new Canal+ policy I have not been able to see him fight which still bothers me. I look forward to see him again regardless.
Mite Yine was originally matched with Ye Thway Ni for the 5th time in lethwei, but as mentioned earlier he pulled out of the fight and was replaced by Petchnarin Sathianmuaythai. This created a re-booking of the fight initially scheduled for WLC 9. That fight fell apart when Petchnarin got in a traffic accident and Mite Yine fell ill a day before the event.
He won this fight with relative ease in round one. Mite Yine is a top class boxer and most of his wins or losses will not change his status anytime soon. The same can be said for Phoe La Pyae and Yan Naing Aung.
November 9th:
Hein Tun Aung vs. Natkhat Aung. Beside it being an excellent match I am mostly bummed we weren’t able to witness it. Hein Tun Aung can sometimes really turn it up and rush his opponents in what they call the “boar” style in bando. Natkhat Aung on the other hand can be an out-of-the-box technician perhaps in the same line as Mite Yine or maybe in shades of Win Tun. Hopefully a rematch can be made for us to view!
Rectification 21-11-2019:
This fight was included on Day 3 of the Canal+ stream (Linked at the bottom). My stream quit after the previous fight and assumed it didn’t air. Go wild, and enjoy!
November 10th:
Thein Soe, this years Golden Belt Champion, was found deep on the undercard here which makes me believe he either filled a spot for someone else or wanted on the card regardless of where there was room. He will forever have an impression on me of an underachiever, justified or not. I can’t seem to find my enthusiasm for him even though he did fairly well leading up to his Championship win. He deserves every bit of the glory because his history both in and outside of the ring is storied but seeing him draw on an undercard here does not help his case of winning me over as an avid supporter.
An Aung Lan Htein fight would bring the most surprising knock out so far, when Min Kyawza knocked out Phoe Dar in a two round Aung Lan intermission fight. Although both are unknown names they fight out of respectable clubs in Kayin state, so perhaps we’ll be seeing Min in the near future.
November 11th:
A comparison between Tha Mann Kyar in the 70’s (vs. Ba Hnit) and his appearance in 2019.
At 71 years old, former national champion and living legend Tha Mann Kyar (Saw Hla Min) still finds time to nourish the feelings of nostalgia for many attendees and viewers of this event.
He and Pashu Lu Lay (64), another first class boxer from times long gone, had an exhibition round which created a great sense of comic relief. Tha Mann Kyar characteristically demonstrated multiple trademark spinning elbows, and Pashu Lu Lay actually managed to accidentally land a shot on his chin.
The last time Tha Mann Kyar entered the ring for an exhibition match was at the second Myanmar Lethwei World Championship in 2017 against Shwe War Tun, the man who succeeded him in the 80’s.
Lastly, Naw Ohn Mar Soe faced Hongthong Liangprasert for the second time. The fight was originally scheduled to come after the main event with Phyan Thway but was surprisingly enough moved to dead center of the main card.
I’d like to dream someone may have read my previous article. The actual reason wasn’t given, though probably some time constraints for either boxer might have been the reason. She is undefeated and currently has a record of 3 wins and 8 draws over two years time.
Naw Ohn Mar Soe (right), one of the few female boxers with regular appearances in the ring.
Available footage
Phyan Thway vs. Fahphayap (Facebook via Tin Lin)
Yan Naing Tun vs. Jura Linthong (Facebook via Tin Lin)
Thway Thit Win Hlaing vs. Iquezang (YouTube)
Saw Min Naing vs. Kyaw Swar Win (Facebook via Khun Myo Aung, handheld)
Official Canal+ stream of undercard matches on Day 5 (Day highlight here) (3 hours)
Official Canal+ stream of undercard matches on Day 4 (Day highlight here) (2½ hours)
Official Canal+ stream of undercard matches on Day 3 (Day highlight here) (1 hour)
Official Canal+ stream of undercard matches on Day 2 (Day highlight here) (1½ hours)
Official Canal+ stream of undercard matches on Day 1 (Day highlight here) (1 hour)
Official stream of Kyar Man Hon of opening matches on Day 5 (5 hours)
Official stream of Kyar Man Hon of opening matches on Day 4 (1½ hours)
Official stream of Kyar Man Hon of opening matches on Day 3 (1½ hours)
All images copyright and courtesy of Min Oakar/Myanmar Lethwei Collection. Except Tha Mann Kyar vs. Ba Hnit, owned by Zoran Rebac. Header depicts Shwe Tun Yon after his victory over Shwe Chit Thway on November 11th.