Have you heard of Cambodian kickboxing Kun Khmer?
If you are reading this post on my website than more than likely you have heard of Muay Thai or Thai boxing.
The Cambodian martial art has its origins dating back as early as the 9th century during the kingdom of Angkor and while it is similar to Muay Thai it has its own deep and rich history.
What is Kun Khmer?
Kun Khmer is the national sport of Cambodia and is an ancient martial art dating back to the Angkor Empire.
Kun Khmer is also called Pradal Serey which translates as “free fighting” and while it may share many similarities with Muay Thai, Cambodians say that Kun Khmer has its own deep and rich history and even may claim that muay thai originates from Kun Khmer.
In ancient times, bouts were often fought to the death.
Fighters either wore no gloves or wore seashells over their knuckles to inflict maximum damage.
In the modern era of Kun Khmer, the rules governing the sport are very similar to Muay Thai rules, consisting of five 3 minute rounds with gloves.
As it is Cambodias national sport the popularity of Cambodian kickboxing kun khmer is evident with six Cambodian TV stations broadcasting weekly tournaments.
Similar to Muay Thai, at the start, boxers practice the playing rituals “kun kru” and a traditional
Cambodian music is played during the match which is performed with the instruments skor yaul (a type of drum), the sralai (reed flute) and the chhing.
The major rules governing Kun Khmer are:
- An athlete is not allowed to strike his/her opponent when he/she is on the ground.
- He/she is not allowed to bite.
- When an opponent is not able to continue, the referee stops the fight.
- Blows to the back are not allowed.
- Holding on to the ropes are not allowed.
- Blows to the genitals are prohibited.
The sport is governed in Cambodia by the Cambodian Boxing Federation (CBF) established in 1961.
Outside of Cambodia, the sport is promoted by four organizations- European Khmer Boxing Federation based in Germany, the Anh Binh Minh Khmer Martial Arts Association (Vietnam), the Fédération des Arts Martiaux Khmers (FAMK), based in France and Kun Khmer Australia.
Recent History, Near Extinction
Cambodian kickboxing kun khmer has survived near extinction and has been kept alive by numerous masters and practitioners of the art in an effort to preserve the ancient culture and arts of Cambodia.
The major threat to Kun Khmer came in the form of the brutal era of Khmer Rouge.
It was forbidden to practice the sport and a number of the boxers were executed.
Seen as a direct threat to Pol Pot’s totalitarian regime, Kum Khmer warriors were systematically rooted out.
Along with doctors, teachers and anyone else seen as representative of the “old society”, practitioners of the art were brutally extirpated under the orders of the dictator.
The sport was banned by the Khmer Rouge when it came to power in 1975, and many top fighters were killed. The sport resurfaced after the Khmer Rouge were ousted in 1979.
Kun Khmer VS Muay Thai
As a sport and fighting art today, Cambodian kickboxing kun khmer shares many similarities with Muay Thai, which most people who follow Thai boxing are familiar with.
These similarities include the traditional ‘dance’ performed by the fighters before a bout as well as the traditional music played during a fight which increases in tempo each round to encourage the fighters to fight harder.
In both Thai and Cambodian boxing, fighter believe that tattoos bring fighters good luck and such tattoos are commonly seen on the bodies of both Thai and Cambodian boxers.
What are the differences between khun khmer and muay thai?
The major differences are that Kun Khmer tends to favor the use of elbows and punches more than Muay Thai fighters who place a lot of focus on kicking.
Many agree that another difference between khun khmer and muay thai is that Khun Khmer looks for the KO with aggressive forward marching attacks and clinch elbows and knees.
This is similar to the muay khao style in muay thai.
Similar to muay khao fighters, khun khmer fighters have large gas tanks and great endurance.
Famous Kun Khmer fighters
Eh Phutong
Eh Phuthong is a legend of Cambodian kickboxing. He has been fighting for 20 years with over 170 fights and an impressive win to loss ratio. He is very famous in Cambodia is by far the most famous Cambodian boxer today. He has now retired and focuses on training new fighters.
He is widely regarded as the best Kun Khmer fighter of his generation, he has held national championships in every weight class between 48kg and 67kg, and has traveled abroad for contests in Thailand, France and Australia. He also collected a bronze medal in English boxing at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Laos.
Sok Thy
Another Cambodian boxer making a name for himself in international competition is Sok Thy. He was the 2018 Cambodian National Kun Khmer Champion. with a record of 221-36-12 in Kun Khmer fights.
The 20-year-old now trains at Cambodian Top Team in Phnom Penh, and he has captured multiple titles, setting benchmarks for Cambodians competing on the international stage.
Thy is a Bayon and PNN Stadium Flyweight Champion, and the 2018 National Kun Khmer Champion. He also became the first Cambodian to compete for Muay Thai World Titles at the famed Lumpinee Stadium and Channel 7 Boxing Stadium in Thailand.
In June 2018, Kun Khmer was featured for the first time in ONE Super Series, the promotion started by Chatri Sityotong that also includes MMA and is fought in a cage.
While Sok Thy lost to the legendary Nak Muay, Lerdsila, his heart and fighting skills and showcase of Kun Khmer makes the young champion a future draw card for international fights.
This will further boost the profile of Kun Khmer. Check out the fight below.
Where Can I Learn more About Cambodian Boxing
If you are lucky enough to have access to live training with Kun Khmer teachers and practitioners live training and classes in your area would be the best.
But since this website is focused on home learning and self study there are some resources available that we have found.
These are mainly YouTube channels with regular fights as well as teachers who display the old style of Kun Khmer.
Check out these YouTube channels below:
- Kun Khmer Fighter – with over 300,000 subs and weekly videos of Cambodian boxing fights. This channel is just awesome to see Kun Khmer competition in Cambodia.
- Brodal Kun Khmer – features training from Cambodia Top Team boxer Roeurng Sophorn in a legit Cambodian non flashy gym. Also regular weekly uploads of fights from Cambodia.
- Khambo Warrior – my favourite channel right now for Cambodian boxing! Learn from Chin Chun a Kun Khmer boxer who teaches on YouTube to preserve the art. He has a lot of energy and though he doesn’t speak in English his channel is really educational and entertaining.
Final Thoughts
I really hope you learned something new through this post and it was as much educational and entertaining for your reading as it was for my researching and writing 🙂
Kun Khmer is quite a special martial art and like all martial arts should be preserved and documented as a part of human cultural history and fighting arts.
