Let’s discuss Lethwei vs Muay Thai and what the main differences as well as similarities are between the two.
Lethwei is the national sport of Myanmar (Burma).
Similar to Muay Boran from Thailand and Khun Khmer from Cambodia, lethwei is a battlefield martial from the time of ancient warring Kingdoms.
Also similar to muay thai and Cambodian professional khun khmer, lethwei has developed into a combat ring sport that is popular its home country.
As a combat ring sport lethwei has many similarities to muay thai.
But there are also drastic differences in some of the rule in lethwei that make it one of the most brutal fighting sports out there in the world.
Brief History of Lethwei
You can read more in-depth about the history of Lethwei here.
The first known records of Lethwei style matches come from the ancient Pyu Empire.
In ancient times, Lethwei matches were fought in sand pits and were mostly for entertainment and tests of skill and strength between two combatants.
Lethwei fighters would wrap their hands in hemp or gauze. Ancient Lethwei matches were fought until one fighter was unconscious or submitted or gave up.
Modern Day Lethwei
Present day Lethwei with its rules and regulations was pioneered by former 1952 Olympic boxer and Myanmar national icon Kyar Ba Nyein.
Modernization of Lethwei for modern day competition included establishing rules, the modern day ring, referee and judges which have been used since 1953.
These changes to suit new ring sport rules were a result largely of Kyar ‘Tiger’ Ba Nyien’s efforts.
Lethwei VS Muay thai – Main Differences
1. Headbutts are allowed in Lethwei
Lethwei is known as the ‘Art of 9 Limbs’ due to the use of the eight limbs (Legs, Hands, Knees, elbows) and headbutts.
This is of course the most noticeable difference between muay thai and lethwei as a ring sport. Headbutts are an extremely dangerous weapon in the ring and lethwei rules permit the use of the headbutt technique which of course is banned in muay thai and khun khmer in the ring.
While headbutts are not allowed in muay thai, muay boran which is the origin of muay thai did include headbutts in it’s battelfiled combat techniques.
2. Lethwei is ‘bareknuckle’
Lethwei is also called Burmese Bareknuckle Boxing and the use of gloves in competition is prohibited.
This is another major difference between lethwei vs muay thai.
Muay thai today is also fought with smaller MMA gloves and also Kard chuek or hemp hand ropes to wrap the hands.
Lethwei uses modern day gauze and tape but the amount of tape is very little in comparison to muay thai hand wraps fighters use under their gloves.
3. KO’s only in Lethwei
In Lethwei a fighter can only win by KO. If there is no KO and both fighter’s are standing at the end of the regulation time then the fight is declared a draw.
Draws in muay thai are quite rare and a fighter can win by points and not have to rely on KO’ing their opponent in order to get the win.
Similar to Lethwei, kard chuek fights in muay thai also can only be won by KO. But in kard chuek muay thai, headbutts are still disallowed.
4. Lethwei includes KO ‘Timeouts’
If a fighter is knocked out in Lethwei they have once chance to fight again. If they are able to continue they are granted a 2 minute timeout period in order to recover and fight again.
There is only one KO timeout per fighter per match and if after a KO timeout a fighter is knocked out again the fight is over.
5. Muay thai is more accessible today
Muay thai compeitions that take place across the globe as well as the estalbishment of many muay thai gyms and schools across the globe in the last few decades, make muaythai far more accessible.
There is almost always some new muay thai competition, belt or title fight to watch whether is be from Thailand, ONE Championship, Lion Fight or some other muay thai promotion.
The popularity of muay thai also make learning and training muay thai a lot more easier and accessible.
To train Lethwei with true masters and professionals would proabbl require a teip to Myanmar.
Similarly with promotions and fights for Lethwei these are not as frequent as muay thai matches.
However big names such as Dave LeDuc in lethwei have drawn more of an international audience and lethwei continues to grow in popularity very quickly.
Lethwei VS Muay thai – similarities
1. Both come from battlefield fighting systems
In origin, muay thai and lethwei are more similar than different.
It is the modern version of muay thai and modern day lethwei boxing matches where the rules restrict aspects of ancient battlefield fighting.
The use of headbutts of course is a major difference, but muay boran does include headbutts in its training and application of techniques. This points to the similarity of muay thai or muay boran and lethwei from ancient times.
Both muay thai and lethwei developed from battlefield combat arts. In Thailand or ancient Siam warriors trained in krabi krabong which included weapons as well as hand-hand.
2. Both are National Sports of their country’s
Both muay thai and lethwei are the national sports of Thailand and Myanmar respectively.
This owes to the deeply ingrained history of martial arts and ancient wars in the people of Thailand and Myanmar.
Lethwei and muay thai matches are extremely popular in Thaialnd and Myanmar with fights taking place several days of the week, each week across the two countries.
Similarly gambling plays a heavy role in financing both muay thai and lethwei and fans watch as much as to bet and gamble as to enjoy their national sport in brutal action.
3. Both specialize in clinch fighting
The muay thai clinch is well known around the world and the ‘phlum’ position is well recognized in MMA and the UFC as the thai grip.
The techniques within the clinch fight are very developed and highly specialized. Fighters in lethwei and muay thai spend much of their time sparring in the clinch to develop their clinch games.
The addition of headbutts in lethwei make the clinch even more dangerous to maneuver but also allows for headbutts to be used effectively against an opponent also.
Lethwei vs muay thai- Which is better?
It is very difficult to say as ‘better’ can mean different things to different people.
One could say that for self defense, lethwei could be more applicable due to the use and knowledge of defending the heat butt. Which is probably true and the headbutt is really effective in a no rules self defense situation.
But many would also say the muay thai roundhouse and focus on kicking in comparison to lethwei was better. This is especially if kickboxing or MMA is your game and you want to cross train muay thai or lethwei.
