Talking
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." – Plato
"If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut." – Albert Einstein
"Never interrupt me when I'm trying to interrupt you." – Winston Churchill
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Some Khmer Kings and Temples
Note: We have attempted to date the monuments as accurately as possible. Nevertheless, some dates of construction are not definite as they are still in dispute by scholars and/or the monuments were built and rebuilt during different periods of time. Monuments labeled (T) are located in present-day Thailand.
9th Century
Jaya II (802-50)
Kulen
Indra I (877-89)
Preah Ko
Bakong
Yaso I (899-900+)
Lolei
10th Century
Yaso I (899-900+)
Phnom Bakheng
Phnom Kro
Phnom Bok
Baksei Chamkrong
Prasat Kravan
Rajendra (944-68)
East Mebon
Pre Rup
Bat Chum
Jaya V (968-1001)
Banteay Srei
Ta Keo
Muang Tam (T)
11th Century
Surya I (1002-50)
Phimean-akas
Preah Vihear
Phnom Chisor
Wat Phu
Udayaditya II (1050-66)
Baphuon
West Mebon
Phnom Wan (T)
Jaya VI (1080-1113)
Phimai (T)
12th – 13th Centuries
Surya II (1113-50)
Angkor Wat
Chau Say Tevada
Thommanon
Preah Pithu
Banteay Samre
Beng Mealea
Phnom Rung (T)
Jaya VII (1181-1219)
Angkor Thom - Gateways, Royal Terraces, Bayon
Spean Praptos
Banteay Kdei
Ta Prohm
Preah Khan
Neak Pean
Srah Srang
Ta Som
Ta Nei
Banteay Chmar
Note: The Kings here all possess the title of "varman" due to their great abilities, strengths, efforts, attainments, and achievements in/for the prosperity of the Khmer Empire.
Source: www.khmerinstitute.org
Monday, June 11, 2007
The Children of the Garbage Field
Just 70 miles outside Phnom Penh, children pick through trash heaps, living amidst the filth and squalor of a garbage dump.
..................
Antonio Graceffo
The air was hot, thick and sickeningly sweet, with countless odors of decay. Smoke rose up from the putrid waste. Sameth, my Khmer stringer, and I stepped off the motorcycle, and sank several inches into foul mud. Garbage was piled stories high, covering the kilometer long dump site. People, the wretchedly poor, clad only in rags, swarmed over the heaps of refuse, like ants, searching out the saleable morsels, that would keep them alive, to pick trash another day.
"I told you they were poor." Said Sameth, as if I hadn't believed him. And, in a way, I hadn't. We've all read about the desperate poor who comb the trash heaps of Sao Paolo and Rio. But somehow, the depth, the sheer magnitude of human suffering could only be appreciated when experienced at first hand.
We had only been in the dump a few minutes, and I was already nauseous. Sameth was choking back bile. We would be leaving soon. But to the dwellers of the trash dump at Stung Mien Jai [Steung Mian Chey], this was their home. And, like prisoners on a life sentence, they would never be leaving. Trying to imagine what depths of poverty would drive human beings to such a desperate existence, it seemed ironic, that we were only 70 Km from the posh hotels and foreigner hangouts of Phnom Penh.
As often happens, I was shy about taking photos of the disadvantaged, as they went about their grizzly work. I didn't want to be another tourist, coming to gawk at human misfortune. But there was a story here that needed to be told. As a journalist you are taught to disassociate yourself from the story. At best, you should become an extension of your camera, recording, but not feeling the drama which pass through your lens. No one teaches you to lose your optimism. But that goes too, as you realize that nothing you write will make a difference. It is more likely that a reader will use this story as a coaster, to keep rings off the coffee table, than that someone would step in and help these people.
"Man holds in his mortal hands, the power to annihilate all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life." JFK
My words and my photos seemed a weak medicine against the virus of poverty. But it was all I had. I had to try.
Anonymous suffering can be tolerated. But thanks to Sameth, I was able to communicate with the real people toiling in the garbage dump. They had names, and they had stories. Nearly everyone we spoke with came from the rural provinces, with the exception of one young lad, named Sopee [Sophy], who was born in the dumps. He was a second generation trash picker, and knew no other life. Most explained that they were driven to the deepest slum of Phnom Penh because there was no work in the province. Their land or their water had been encroached, making it impossible for them to farm. Almost all of the families in the dump were incomplete, with a father or mother, or some loving family member left behind, to try and eke out some type of existence, on barren or non-existent farmland. Many were trying to send money home, from their meager earnings.
Somai Chun, the mother of four children, looked to be in her seventies, but was only in her late forties. Her tiny body was wracked with pain and fever. Since the seizure of their land, her husband remained in the province, seeking what work he could find, while she and the children all worked full time, gathering trash. Neither she, nor her children could read or write. Together they could earn about 3,000 to 4,000 riel per day (just about $1.00 US).
The people working the dumps lived in small shacks, made of scrap tin and irregular bits of wood and plastic. Rent on a shack, with a single electric light bulb, ran 30,000 Riels per month. If the tenants couldn't afford to pay monthly, the daily rate was 1,500 Riels, with no electricity. The water available to them came directly from the garbage fields. It was greasy and emitted a nauseous odor. The food was no better. Anything that came in contact with the fetid air of the garbage dump was instantly contaminated.
A man named Yan invited us to his small hut, where eight people slept in a space about one meter by one and a half meters. He told me that he had moved to the dumps five years ago, bringing his four children and his wife with him. With the whole family working, they could earn 4,000 to 5,000 Riels per day. He hated for his family to drink the filthy dump water. So, he bought bottled water when he could. But at 2,000 Riels per bottle, it was too expensive to drink all the time.
Neighbors gathered around, to see the rich, well-fed foreigner and his well-off driver, who had come to photograph their suffering. I asked Yan what sort of health problems he and his family had experienced, and suddenly the entire crowd burst out in rapid fire Khmer, rattling off symptoms, including diarrhea, headaches, joint pains, skin lesions, eye infections, fever, heart problems, respiratory ailments...The list went on and on.
An aged woman, named Yosee Mon barely parted the crowd, and spoke right to my face. "If you want to see something, come to my house." As wretchedly as the others lived, Yosee Mon was even worse off. Apparently, when land near the dump was encroached, flood pumps were redirected to be used as irrigation for commercial farming projects. Now, when it rained, which was every day, at this time of year, the dump flooded. Yosee Mon's shack was underwater three months of the year. A small boy waded out into the water, as if to show me the way to the shack. But try as I might, I couldn't follow. The thought of stepping into that putrid water made my stomach queasy. And, I was wearing hiking boots. Most of the garbage dwellers were bare foot, or wearing cheap flip flops.
Yosee Mon told us that she was all alone. Her children and her husband had long since died. She was often too ill to work, but had to, or there would be no food at all. Each day she earned enough for her rent, plus one thousand Riels. Of this excess, she used 500 for food, and saved the other 500, to buy medicine at the end of each month. "Medicine is expensive."She complained. "And in Cambodia, most of it is fake."
That human beings are entitled to a certain standard of living is an axiom to us who come from the land of plenty. We take it as given that people have the right to clean water and clean food and air. We also believe that they are entitled to a fair wage for their labor. But beyond these material needs, human beings have a right to dream, to hope and pray for a better future. In the black cloud of despair, which clung to the garbage dumps of Stung Mien Jay [Steung Mian Chey], I had just about given up hope of finding a silver lining. Thank God, I stumbled onto a bright, thirteen year old boy, named Soah [Suos], who was the leader of a group of eight children, who only worked half days in the dumps, so they could pay their school tuition. They were all small for their age, and still in the second grade, but each day at 12:30, they stopped work, to attend school. Soah and his friends were the light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe, just maybe, one of them will make it all of the way through school, find a decent job, and end the cycle of suffering for his family.
Soah, one child among hundreds, has some minimal chance of survival. If this is what passes for good news, then where are we as a society?
Sameth gave notebooks and pens to Soah and his friends, to aid their studies. We handed out as many 100 Riel notes as we could. But in the end, what good had we done? They would eat for a day. But aren't people entitled to eat for a life time?
----------------------
About the Author
Before 9/11, Antonio Graceffo was a succesful investment banker working on Wall Street, in New York City. Since then, he has edicated his life to becoming a full time adventurer and writer, fullfilling all of his childhood dreams. He studied Kung Fu in Taiwan and wrote two books about his experiences there. He spent several months at the Shaolin Temple, and has written a series of articles and a book about that experience. Most recently he pedalled a tricycle-rickshaw accross 540 km of the Taklamakan Desert.
More of his articles on Cambodia and others can be found here:
http://speakingadventure.com/articles.htm
http://www.phnompenhtours.com/article.htm
http://viewsunplugged.com/VU/20040624/reflection_salaam.shtml
..................
Antonio Graceffo
The air was hot, thick and sickeningly sweet, with countless odors of decay. Smoke rose up from the putrid waste. Sameth, my Khmer stringer, and I stepped off the motorcycle, and sank several inches into foul mud. Garbage was piled stories high, covering the kilometer long dump site. People, the wretchedly poor, clad only in rags, swarmed over the heaps of refuse, like ants, searching out the saleable morsels, that would keep them alive, to pick trash another day.
"I told you they were poor." Said Sameth, as if I hadn't believed him. And, in a way, I hadn't. We've all read about the desperate poor who comb the trash heaps of Sao Paolo and Rio. But somehow, the depth, the sheer magnitude of human suffering could only be appreciated when experienced at first hand.
We had only been in the dump a few minutes, and I was already nauseous. Sameth was choking back bile. We would be leaving soon. But to the dwellers of the trash dump at Stung Mien Jai [Steung Mian Chey], this was their home. And, like prisoners on a life sentence, they would never be leaving. Trying to imagine what depths of poverty would drive human beings to such a desperate existence, it seemed ironic, that we were only 70 Km from the posh hotels and foreigner hangouts of Phnom Penh.
As often happens, I was shy about taking photos of the disadvantaged, as they went about their grizzly work. I didn't want to be another tourist, coming to gawk at human misfortune. But there was a story here that needed to be told. As a journalist you are taught to disassociate yourself from the story. At best, you should become an extension of your camera, recording, but not feeling the drama which pass through your lens. No one teaches you to lose your optimism. But that goes too, as you realize that nothing you write will make a difference. It is more likely that a reader will use this story as a coaster, to keep rings off the coffee table, than that someone would step in and help these people.
"Man holds in his mortal hands, the power to annihilate all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life." JFK
My words and my photos seemed a weak medicine against the virus of poverty. But it was all I had. I had to try.
Anonymous suffering can be tolerated. But thanks to Sameth, I was able to communicate with the real people toiling in the garbage dump. They had names, and they had stories. Nearly everyone we spoke with came from the rural provinces, with the exception of one young lad, named Sopee [Sophy], who was born in the dumps. He was a second generation trash picker, and knew no other life. Most explained that they were driven to the deepest slum of Phnom Penh because there was no work in the province. Their land or their water had been encroached, making it impossible for them to farm. Almost all of the families in the dump were incomplete, with a father or mother, or some loving family member left behind, to try and eke out some type of existence, on barren or non-existent farmland. Many were trying to send money home, from their meager earnings.
Somai Chun, the mother of four children, looked to be in her seventies, but was only in her late forties. Her tiny body was wracked with pain and fever. Since the seizure of their land, her husband remained in the province, seeking what work he could find, while she and the children all worked full time, gathering trash. Neither she, nor her children could read or write. Together they could earn about 3,000 to 4,000 riel per day (just about $1.00 US).
The people working the dumps lived in small shacks, made of scrap tin and irregular bits of wood and plastic. Rent on a shack, with a single electric light bulb, ran 30,000 Riels per month. If the tenants couldn't afford to pay monthly, the daily rate was 1,500 Riels, with no electricity. The water available to them came directly from the garbage fields. It was greasy and emitted a nauseous odor. The food was no better. Anything that came in contact with the fetid air of the garbage dump was instantly contaminated.
A man named Yan invited us to his small hut, where eight people slept in a space about one meter by one and a half meters. He told me that he had moved to the dumps five years ago, bringing his four children and his wife with him. With the whole family working, they could earn 4,000 to 5,000 Riels per day. He hated for his family to drink the filthy dump water. So, he bought bottled water when he could. But at 2,000 Riels per bottle, it was too expensive to drink all the time.
Neighbors gathered around, to see the rich, well-fed foreigner and his well-off driver, who had come to photograph their suffering. I asked Yan what sort of health problems he and his family had experienced, and suddenly the entire crowd burst out in rapid fire Khmer, rattling off symptoms, including diarrhea, headaches, joint pains, skin lesions, eye infections, fever, heart problems, respiratory ailments...The list went on and on.
An aged woman, named Yosee Mon barely parted the crowd, and spoke right to my face. "If you want to see something, come to my house." As wretchedly as the others lived, Yosee Mon was even worse off. Apparently, when land near the dump was encroached, flood pumps were redirected to be used as irrigation for commercial farming projects. Now, when it rained, which was every day, at this time of year, the dump flooded. Yosee Mon's shack was underwater three months of the year. A small boy waded out into the water, as if to show me the way to the shack. But try as I might, I couldn't follow. The thought of stepping into that putrid water made my stomach queasy. And, I was wearing hiking boots. Most of the garbage dwellers were bare foot, or wearing cheap flip flops.
Yosee Mon told us that she was all alone. Her children and her husband had long since died. She was often too ill to work, but had to, or there would be no food at all. Each day she earned enough for her rent, plus one thousand Riels. Of this excess, she used 500 for food, and saved the other 500, to buy medicine at the end of each month. "Medicine is expensive."She complained. "And in Cambodia, most of it is fake."
That human beings are entitled to a certain standard of living is an axiom to us who come from the land of plenty. We take it as given that people have the right to clean water and clean food and air. We also believe that they are entitled to a fair wage for their labor. But beyond these material needs, human beings have a right to dream, to hope and pray for a better future. In the black cloud of despair, which clung to the garbage dumps of Stung Mien Jay [Steung Mian Chey], I had just about given up hope of finding a silver lining. Thank God, I stumbled onto a bright, thirteen year old boy, named Soah [Suos], who was the leader of a group of eight children, who only worked half days in the dumps, so they could pay their school tuition. They were all small for their age, and still in the second grade, but each day at 12:30, they stopped work, to attend school. Soah and his friends were the light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe, just maybe, one of them will make it all of the way through school, find a decent job, and end the cycle of suffering for his family.
Soah, one child among hundreds, has some minimal chance of survival. If this is what passes for good news, then where are we as a society?
Sameth gave notebooks and pens to Soah and his friends, to aid their studies. We handed out as many 100 Riel notes as we could. But in the end, what good had we done? They would eat for a day. But aren't people entitled to eat for a life time?
----------------------
About the Author
Before 9/11, Antonio Graceffo was a succesful investment banker working on Wall Street, in New York City. Since then, he has edicated his life to becoming a full time adventurer and writer, fullfilling all of his childhood dreams. He studied Kung Fu in Taiwan and wrote two books about his experiences there. He spent several months at the Shaolin Temple, and has written a series of articles and a book about that experience. Most recently he pedalled a tricycle-rickshaw accross 540 km of the Taklamakan Desert.
More of his articles on Cambodia and others can be found here:
http://speakingadventure.com/articles.htm
http://www.phnompenhtours.com/article.htm
http://viewsunplugged.com/VU/20040624/reflection_salaam.shtml
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Pre-departure Cultural Performance of CPYs 07
After a two-month pre-departure training, Cambodian Participating Youths to the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP) 2007 will show their performance on Monday, October 15th, 2007 from 4-7p.m. at Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC). Therefore, you and your friends and family are all cordially invited. For more information please kindly contact: 012 790 181 or 012 857 617.
Asian Youth Fellowship Program 2008
The Japan Foundation offers scholarship to study the Japanese language for Asian students, who wish to study at graduate schools in Japan and have a strong wish to contribute to regional cooperation after obtaining a Master or Ph.D Degree.
Qualifications
(1) Nationality:
Applicants must be nationals of one of the following countries; Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand or Vietnam.
(2) Age:
Applicants must be under 35 years of age as of April 1, 2009 (i.e. born on or after April 2, 1974)
(3) Academic Backgrounds:
Applicants must be university or college graduates, who have completed the fundamental education of their countries, basically of 16 years (those who will graduate from a university or college by the Registration Day of AYF may apply, but the grants may be CANCELLED if the grantees fail to arrive in Kansai on the starting day of the preparatory course).
(4) Study Area:
The study area must be in the same field as the applicant has studied (or is now studying) or a related one.
(5) Others:
a. Good proficiency in English is required.
b. Military men and military civilian employees registered on the personnel list are excluded.
c. Applicants should be in good health.
d. The grants may be canceled if grantees fail to arrive in Osaka, Japan, by the Registration Day of AYF, 2008.
e. The applicant whose spouse has already won a Japanese Government scholarship will not be selected as a grantee, and likewise in the case of a couple applying at the same time.
f. The applicant who has been awarded a Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) scholarship in the past will not be selected as a grantee unless he/she has had a few years’ research or teaching experience after returning to his/her country.
g. It is not recommended for his/her family to accompany the applicant to Japan during the AYF program.
DeadlineThe application for AYF 2008 will be closed in Sept-Nov 2007 (the closing date will vary by country).The closing date for each country will be announced after the schedule is confirmed by the Japanese embassy in each country.
For more information about the scholarship visit: http://www.asiaseed.org/ayfj/
Qualifications
(1) Nationality:
Applicants must be nationals of one of the following countries; Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand or Vietnam.
(2) Age:
Applicants must be under 35 years of age as of April 1, 2009 (i.e. born on or after April 2, 1974)
(3) Academic Backgrounds:
Applicants must be university or college graduates, who have completed the fundamental education of their countries, basically of 16 years (those who will graduate from a university or college by the Registration Day of AYF may apply, but the grants may be CANCELLED if the grantees fail to arrive in Kansai on the starting day of the preparatory course).
(4) Study Area:
The study area must be in the same field as the applicant has studied (or is now studying) or a related one.
(5) Others:
a. Good proficiency in English is required.
b. Military men and military civilian employees registered on the personnel list are excluded.
c. Applicants should be in good health.
d. The grants may be canceled if grantees fail to arrive in Osaka, Japan, by the Registration Day of AYF, 2008.
e. The applicant whose spouse has already won a Japanese Government scholarship will not be selected as a grantee, and likewise in the case of a couple applying at the same time.
f. The applicant who has been awarded a Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) scholarship in the past will not be selected as a grantee unless he/she has had a few years’ research or teaching experience after returning to his/her country.
g. It is not recommended for his/her family to accompany the applicant to Japan during the AYF program.
DeadlineThe application for AYF 2008 will be closed in Sept-Nov 2007 (the closing date will vary by country).The closing date for each country will be announced after the schedule is confirmed by the Japanese embassy in each country.
For more information about the scholarship visit: http://www.asiaseed.org/ayfj/
Friday, June 08, 2007
Development Gateway Foundation Photo Contest
How to Enter the First Annual Development Gateway Foundation Photo Contest
WHO: The Development Gateway Foundation photo competition is open to ALL photographers at least 18 years of age,
except employees of the foundation and their immediate families. Your entry to the contest constitutes your agreement to allow
your photograph, name, occupation, city and state of residence, to be published as the selected award winner; published or
used on the foundation Web sites; and used for the promotion of the foundation including, but not limited to, Web pages,
brochures, fact sheets, and other materials. Entrants retain ownership and all other rights to future use of their photographs. The
Development Gateway Foundation shall have the right to verify, in its sole judgment, winner eligibility.
WHAT: We are looking for compelling photographs of socio-economic development in developing countries. Four types of
photographs will be accepted. 1) The images may show information and communications technologies helping ordinary people.
2) The images may show people making something, selling wares, working in a field, constructing a building or type of
infrastructure, or acquiring knowledge. 3) The images could be abstract images representing hope, the future, or capacity
building. 4) The photographs may also include images of original artwork from a developing country. Please do not include
photographs of groups of people posing.
Each entry must include a written statement explaining how that image is representative of development. Images will be judged
on technical excellence, composition, overall impact, and artistic merit.
Entrants must not infringe on the rights of any other photographer or person.
WHEN: Deadline for submitting entries is September 21, 2007.
The top 10 photographs will be posted on the Development Gateway Foundation Web site. All visitors to the site will be able
to vote once.
The voting will begin at 12:01 a.m. on October 1 and end at 11:59 on October 8. The winner will be announced on October 9.
Prize: $500.00
Individuals living within the United States will receive the prize as a check by the mail. Individuals living outside the United
States will receive the prize as a wire transfer. In this case, the winner must provide information on his or her bank account.
HOW: Each participant may submit up to 3 photographs total. Each digital photograph must be uploaded to the foundation
server. Original files of camera-made digital photos must be no larger than three megapixels (3 mb). Acceptable photo formats
are TIFF, JPEG, GIF or BMP.
Complete entry form and submit digital images at www.dgfoundation.org/news-events/photo-contest/entry-form.html
Questions and inquiries can be e-mailed to photocontest@dgfoundation.org.
WHO: The Development Gateway Foundation photo competition is open to ALL photographers at least 18 years of age,
except employees of the foundation and their immediate families. Your entry to the contest constitutes your agreement to allow
your photograph, name, occupation, city and state of residence, to be published as the selected award winner; published or
used on the foundation Web sites; and used for the promotion of the foundation including, but not limited to, Web pages,
brochures, fact sheets, and other materials. Entrants retain ownership and all other rights to future use of their photographs. The
Development Gateway Foundation shall have the right to verify, in its sole judgment, winner eligibility.
WHAT: We are looking for compelling photographs of socio-economic development in developing countries. Four types of
photographs will be accepted. 1) The images may show information and communications technologies helping ordinary people.
2) The images may show people making something, selling wares, working in a field, constructing a building or type of
infrastructure, or acquiring knowledge. 3) The images could be abstract images representing hope, the future, or capacity
building. 4) The photographs may also include images of original artwork from a developing country. Please do not include
photographs of groups of people posing.
Each entry must include a written statement explaining how that image is representative of development. Images will be judged
on technical excellence, composition, overall impact, and artistic merit.
Entrants must not infringe on the rights of any other photographer or person.
WHEN: Deadline for submitting entries is September 21, 2007.
The top 10 photographs will be posted on the Development Gateway Foundation Web site. All visitors to the site will be able
to vote once.
The voting will begin at 12:01 a.m. on October 1 and end at 11:59 on October 8. The winner will be announced on October 9.
Prize: $500.00
Individuals living within the United States will receive the prize as a check by the mail. Individuals living outside the United
States will receive the prize as a wire transfer. In this case, the winner must provide information on his or her bank account.
HOW: Each participant may submit up to 3 photographs total. Each digital photograph must be uploaded to the foundation
server. Original files of camera-made digital photos must be no larger than three megapixels (3 mb). Acceptable photo formats
are TIFF, JPEG, GIF or BMP.
Complete entry form and submit digital images at www.dgfoundation.org/news-events/photo-contest/entry-form.html
Questions and inquiries can be e-mailed to photocontest@dgfoundation.org.
Bokator
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokator
Bokator/Boxkator, or more formally, Labok Katao(which means wielding a wooden stick to fight lions) is an ancient Khmer martial art said to be the predecessor of all Southeast Asian kickboxing styles. Depicted in bas reliefs at Angkor Wat, Bokator was the close quarter combat system used by the ancient Angkor army. Bokator bears much of the responsibility for Cambodia's domination during the Angkorean era. It is believed that Jayavarman VII, the illustrious ruler of the Khmer Empire, was a practitioner of Bokator. Bokator weaves together Cambodia's ancient religious traditions of Buddhism and Brahmanism.
In ancient Cambodia, before the Mon-Khmer period, a martial art was created to hunt and defend oneself from the wild animals in the jungles of the land. During the Mon-Khmer period the techniques used to fight and hunt the wild animals were adapted to fight people. The Khmer Morn used these techniques as a way to protect and expand their nation. During that time, the Martial Art was known as Khorm Yuth.
Sometime after the Angkorean period the name Labok Katou (Bokator, Boxkator) was adopted. It was practiced by Khmer soldiers, generals, and kings and was invaluable in winning wars against both the Cham and the Thai empires.
Unfortunately, the early Khmer did not keep written records like the Chinese and Japanese of those times. The only historical records of Khmer Boxkator that can be found are the carvings on the walls of Jayavarman VII’s temples, such as the Bayon, Preah Lean, Chal Damrey and Angkor Wat.
Unlike kick boxing, which is a sport fighting art, Boxkator was a soldier’s art, designed to be used on the battlefield. It is a very complete martial art, which uses strikes, throws, drags, trapping, locking, and ground fighting. Every single part of the body can be used as a weapon. Boxkator practitioners are trained to strike with knees, hands, elbows, feet, shins, and head. Even the shoulders, hip, jaw, and fingers can be used to beat an opponent to submission or death.
When fighting, Boxkator practitioners still wear the uniforms of ancient Khmer armies. A kroma (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 enchanted to increase strength, although now they are just ceremonial. The kroma shows the fighter’s level of expertise. A series of grades, each taking at least five months to complete training seven days a week and 2 hours a day, are represented by different colors. The first grade is white, followed by green, blue, red, brown and then black which has 10 degrees. After completing their initial training, fighters wear a Black Kroma (scarf) for at least another ten years. To attain the Gold Kroma you must be a true master and must have done something great for Boxkator. And to become a true master it will definitely take some time as just in the unarmed portion of the art there are between 8000 and 10000 different techniques; only 1000 of which you have to learn to attain the black kroma. The art contains 341 different styles some of which are the duck, crab, horse, bird, dragon, eagle, crane, wind, fire, water, earth(or stone,) king monkey, lion, elephant, apsara (traditional Hindu sacred nymph), and crocodile.
Because of its visually similar style, Bokator (Boxkator) is commonly misattributed as version of modern day kick boxing. Bokator has many forms based on styles as well as straight practical fighting techniques. While Pradal Serey is a more simplified freestyle fighting system which uses a few of the basic (white kroma) punching, elbow, kicking and kneeing techniques.
http://www.talesofasia.com/rs-99-bokator.htm
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/TXT/current/stories/1520/from.htm
http://www.usadojo.com/articles/bokator-khmer.htm
http://i-newswire.com/pr72246.html
http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2006/09/300-participate-in-first-bokator.html
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Fighting/MixedMartialArts/2006/09/19/1862730-ca.html
Bokator/Boxkator, or more formally, Labok Katao(which means wielding a wooden stick to fight lions) is an ancient Khmer martial art said to be the predecessor of all Southeast Asian kickboxing styles. Depicted in bas reliefs at Angkor Wat, Bokator was the close quarter combat system used by the ancient Angkor army. Bokator bears much of the responsibility for Cambodia's domination during the Angkorean era. It is believed that Jayavarman VII, the illustrious ruler of the Khmer Empire, was a practitioner of Bokator. Bokator weaves together Cambodia's ancient religious traditions of Buddhism and Brahmanism.
In ancient Cambodia, before the Mon-Khmer period, a martial art was created to hunt and defend oneself from the wild animals in the jungles of the land. During the Mon-Khmer period the techniques used to fight and hunt the wild animals were adapted to fight people. The Khmer Morn used these techniques as a way to protect and expand their nation. During that time, the Martial Art was known as Khorm Yuth.
Sometime after the Angkorean period the name Labok Katou (Bokator, Boxkator) was adopted. It was practiced by Khmer soldiers, generals, and kings and was invaluable in winning wars against both the Cham and the Thai empires.
Unfortunately, the early Khmer did not keep written records like the Chinese and Japanese of those times. The only historical records of Khmer Boxkator that can be found are the carvings on the walls of Jayavarman VII’s temples, such as the Bayon, Preah Lean, Chal Damrey and Angkor Wat.
Unlike kick boxing, which is a sport fighting art, Boxkator was a soldier’s art, designed to be used on the battlefield. It is a very complete martial art, which uses strikes, throws, drags, trapping, locking, and ground fighting. Every single part of the body can be used as a weapon. Boxkator practitioners are trained to strike with knees, hands, elbows, feet, shins, and head. Even the shoulders, hip, jaw, and fingers can be used to beat an opponent to submission or death.
When fighting, Boxkator practitioners still wear the uniforms of ancient Khmer armies. A kroma (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 enchanted to increase strength, although now they are just ceremonial. The kroma shows the fighter’s level of expertise. A series of grades, each taking at least five months to complete training seven days a week and 2 hours a day, are represented by different colors. The first grade is white, followed by green, blue, red, brown and then black which has 10 degrees. After completing their initial training, fighters wear a Black Kroma (scarf) for at least another ten years. To attain the Gold Kroma you must be a true master and must have done something great for Boxkator. And to become a true master it will definitely take some time as just in the unarmed portion of the art there are between 8000 and 10000 different techniques; only 1000 of which you have to learn to attain the black kroma. The art contains 341 different styles some of which are the duck, crab, horse, bird, dragon, eagle, crane, wind, fire, water, earth(or stone,) king monkey, lion, elephant, apsara (traditional Hindu sacred nymph), and crocodile.
Because of its visually similar style, Bokator (Boxkator) is commonly misattributed as version of modern day kick boxing. Bokator has many forms based on styles as well as straight practical fighting techniques. While Pradal Serey is a more simplified freestyle fighting system which uses a few of the basic (white kroma) punching, elbow, kicking and kneeing techniques.
http://www.talesofasia.com/rs-99-bokator.htm
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/TXT/current/stories/1520/from.htm
http://www.usadojo.com/articles/bokator-khmer.htm
http://i-newswire.com/pr72246.html
http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2006/09/300-participate-in-first-bokator.html
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Fighting/MixedMartialArts/2006/09/19/1862730-ca.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
