Antonio's reply to a Khmer's email regarding Pradal Serey and my comment at the end of the article.
n n It’s a much bigger issue of education, reading, and lazy jealousy.
By Antonio Graceffo
Today, I received an email, from a Khmerican again, asking me about which is older, Muay Thai or Bradal Serey. As much as the question bothers me, because I have been asked so many times, I am also bother by the complete lack of knowledge, experience and education reflected in the arguments that hear.
Normally, I try to be the nice guy, but today I am in a pissed-off mood, so I wrote the truth, the truth I have been sitting on for the last how many years that I have been involved with Cambodia. Probably after this, it won’t be safe for me to go back there. because everyone knows the best way to deal with a situation you don’t like is to kill the person who told you about it.
Email from a Khmerican:
hey antonio. you probably get asked this alot, but i do have one question that i always stuggle to find the real answer for, and you being in the southwest of asia could probably answer it.
what is the truth behind muay thai?
i know that there is big controversy right now
in the fighting world about how muay thai and pradal serey
are similar in many ways. me, being cambodian would
think agree that it originated from cambodia knowing the history
between the thai's and khmers. even till this day the thai are still trying to claim khmer ancient temples, so they can show the world
and market it as theirs.... and im one with respect,
and don't want to be disrespecting the art of muay thai if
my assumption is wrong. another reason why i ask is because
here in america, muay thai is big. and i believe the world
deserves to know the truth. this controversy between the two arts
needs to clear up.
Antonio’s reply:
I have never been to southwest Asia, neither, to my knowledge, does southwest Asia exist.
Jack, I have written so extensively on this subject and I am sick of answering this question. If yo did a simple google search “Antonio Graceffo Bradal Serey vs. Muay Thai” you would find a slue of articles, but in true Khmerican fashion, you didn’t bother to read before forming your opinion.
First off, you were educated in America and yet believe Cambodia is in southwest Asia. Can you imagine how bad the education system is in Cambodia? The average Khmer, whether in Cambodia or in USA, can’t even sit down give you a five-minute overview of Khmer history that makes any sense or has any connection at all to reality.
I am so tired of how uninformed they are on both sides of the ocean. I have written a very nice book about Cambodia called “Rediscovering the Khmers.” It is easy to read and people could learn a lot form it. Wikipedia is even easier to read, and it is free, but the average Khmer can’t be bothered to do real research or reading about their own country’s history.
I had a Khmer who wrote me and said Cambodia invented boxing and the proof was that the Khmer word for boxing or fighting is bok. Or wy bok. So clearly Cambodia invented boxing, the French stole it and somehow the word made its way into English. Then the entire world conspired against Cambodia, and we went and wrote tons of history and documentation showing that boxing in Europe dates all of the way back to the first Olympics which occurred more than 1,000 years before Christ and more than 3,000 years before Angkor Wat.
This is madness. It represents complete apathy, laziness, jealousy, all wonderful traits if you wish to remain the poorest country in the world. Sorry, the eighth poorest country in the world.
The history of boxing is well-documented and you can find tons of free stuff to read online or at your local library, if you are in America or Australia, where books can be obtained for free but people are too lazy to read them.
The history of modern Bradal Serey mirrors, almost exactly, the history of modern Muay Thai. In the 1920’s the French brought rings, boxing gloves, rules and so forth to Cambodia, modernizing the sport. Proof of this fact is that when you train in Cambodia, which 98% of internet warriors never have, the words for cross, upper cut, and knock out are all French words, even today.
That is of course unless you believe that “crosse” is a Khmer word which was taken by the French, back to Europe, the translated into English, “cross,” and adopted into English boxing which didn’t exist yet.
In Thailand, essentially the same thing happened at the same time. His Majesty the King was studying in England for years. When he returned home to ascend the throne, he brought a lot of modern concepts from England, including driving on the right and the army wearing red tunics for parade dress. he also brought the concept of modern boxing and the ring, gloves, and rules were added to Muay Thai. That happened in the 1920’s and the invention of sport Muay Thai marks the end of the period referred to loosely as Muay boran, or ancient Muay.
Yes, I know that boran is a Khmer word. I speak both languages and went to school in both countries, which again is something that 99% of internet warriors didn’t do.
Througout history, particularly during the Ayutthaya Period, Thailand borrowed advanced knowledge of arts and science from Cambodia. To this day, 30% of Thai spoken vocabulary is composed of Khmer words. The Khmer words are used for elevated concepts, such as government, religion, and science. In Cambodia, however, many of these words have been lost, as the Khmers adopted the French words.
The same for boxing. Khmers adopted a number for French boxing words, whereas Thais created their own Thai words for boxing concepts.
As a side note, the language of the Kings Court in Thailand is ancient Khmer. The language of the Kings Court in Cambodia is French.
Written Documents
No one on this planet has ever questioned the existence of Chinese Kung Fu because there are written documents, dating back thousands of years, created by china but also by foreign visitors, documenting Chinese Kung Fu. Indian martial arts have a written history of more than 3,000 years. And no one questions it because they took the time to write it down.
The only written record ever of the Angkorian empire was written by Zhou Daguan, a visiting monk/diplomat from China, in his book, The Customs of Cambodia. The Cambodians didn’t bother to record their own history. Many Khmers like to blame everything on the Khmer Rouge, so they will say that Cambodia actually wrote tons of stuff, but the Khmer Rouge burned it. This is not true, because if written records had existed, the French would have read and translated them. Nearly all of the early archeological and anthropological work done in Cambodia was done by the French, including excavating Angkor Wat and making it into a world heritage location and tourist destination. If documents had already existed, that would have saved the French scholars a lot of time.
Clearly there were no written records made.
Whole wahrehouses of French documents and research did survive the Khmer Rouge and one of my early jobs in Cambodia was site translating French archeological reports, because in 2004, 50 years since independence, those documents left in Cambodia still hadn’t been translated into Khmer or English. Many of the pieces I translated were related to other temples in and around Siem Reap, outside of the Angkor complex.
I have read The Customs of Cambodia, 99% of internet warriors and Khmericans haven’t. It is so short, it is unbelievable. It would probably take you an hour to read it, but apparently an hour is too long for most people who write me on the internet. The whole book would probably fit in ten pages of standard printer paper. It doesn’t mention boxing or Bokator. The book was translated from Chinese, not by a Khmer scholar, but by John Gilman d'Arcy Paul, who I would assume was a French linguist.
Here is the answer to your question.
The oldest written record of boxing in Southeast Asia was in Thailand nearly 500 years ago. However, there are carvings on the walls of Agkor Wat which depict a martial art, most likely Bokator, which we know were made somewhere between 1,000 and 700 years ago. There is no text. There are no writings of any kind and the oldest written records of Khmer boxing probably are not even 100 years old. The oldest writings of Bokator are less than 20 years old.
There are old film footage and news reels of Muay Thai dating back to the 1920’s.
Many Khmers claim the reason why there are no writings is because of the Khmer Rouge Regime and all of the documents which they burned. The Khmer Rouge regime was a horrible event in human history. And I am very sorry the Khmer people had to endure that. But the reality is, before 1975 only about 10% of the Cambodian population was literate. The first novel was only written in Khmer language in the 1950, under the Prince Sihanouk’s reign. Khmer couldn’t even be written with computers or type writers till about ten years ago. There is nothing, no documentation and never has been.
Why is Muay Thai more well-known outside of Cambodia?
Most Khmers blame every single problem on the Khmer Rouge or on Thailand. The regime ended in 1979, Muay Thai gained widespread popularity in the 1990’s mostly because of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships).
As a pro-active, independent person I would ask, what steps, aside from getting angry and making obscene postings on youtube, has Cambodia done to promote bradal serey in the world.
First off, the mere fact that you used the word Bradal Serey in your question suggests that you have read one of my articles, because I always transliterate the word as “Bradal” as opposed to “Pradal.” If you google the words bradal serey, you will find articles and videos done by me make up about 50% of what is available. If you google Muay Thai you will find tons and tons of stuff done by a lot of people, including the Thai government and national associations in Thailand.
My point being, the Cambodian government has done nothing to promote bradal serey. The boxing federation in Cambodia has done nothing to promote bradal serey. The fighters, the promoters and the TV networks have done nothing to promote bradal serey outside of Cambodia. A few individual Khmers in California and Australia have created websites and online networks to promote the art and the name, but the overwhelming majority only write bad things about Thailand online or threaten my life and somehow think this will solve the problem.
Cambodia refuses to join the World Muay Thai council because they object to the name. Granted, I understand their point. But that doesn’t explain why they won’t join any of the other hundreds of world kickboxing bodies and fight internationally. When Eh Phou Thoung went to train and fight in Australia, without permission from Cambodia, his brother Oed Phou Thoung was suspended as punishment. I interviewed other Cambodian fighters who were fighting in Thailand and earning money but were ordered back by the Cambodian establishment who threatened their safety and income or their family’s safety and income if they didn’t come back.
This is a reality. And if you don’t believe me it’s because you have never trained or fought in Cambodia, in which case, you shouldn’t even have an opinion, and this whole exercise is a waste of time.
Fact, any person can fly to Thailand tomorrow, enter a camp and train.
Fact, other than Paddy’s Fight Club, which is foreign owned, there is no place for foreigners to train in Cambodia.
Fact, there is not one camp with accommodation in Cambodia.
Fact, Thai fighters fight outside of Thailand.
Fact, Khmer fighters are (for the most part) not permitted to fight outside of Cambodia
Fact, Thailand has not one, but two, huge national Muay Thai stadiums where professional fights are held and televised.
Fact, in Cambodia they don’t even sell bradal serey shorts or T-shirts.
Fact, it is a matter of prestige for foreigners to go fight in Thailand.
Fact, there are only a handful of international fights in Cambodia annually, and only in the last two years did they invite any actual foreign champions, such as Zidov.
Fact, in Cambodia, you can’t have professional fights between two foreigners, which means there is no heavyweight division in Cambodia.
Summary: Yes, the carvings on Angkor Wat are older than written records of Muay Thai. But there are no written records of Bradal Serey at all. Cambodia makes zero effort to export bradal serey or bradal serey fighters. Cambodia doesn’t fight internationally. And it is nearly impossible for foreigners to train in Cambodia, except at Paddy’s Fight Club.
You said you wanted the world to know the truth. Every word in this document is truth. I am curious how dedicated you are to the truth. Will you publish this? Will you send it out to other people so they can learn the truth? Or will you call me obscene names and threaten my life, as often happens when I write something that upsets Khmer or Khmericans. Will you dispute the facts, arguing from a position of opinion, hearsay, or wishful thinking.
Sadly, I doubt you will even continue reading to the end of this email. But if you do, this is the part which I wish you would do, but which I bet you won’t.
Will you take the time to learn and research your own country’s history and culture? Will you start a website or web campaign to promote, in a positive way, bradal serey and other aspects of Khmer culture? Will you come to Cambodia and train in Bradal Serey or Bokator?
Will you run out and buy a copy of “Rediscovering the Khmers”?
The choice is yours. You have this document, native speaker ability in English and an American education. It is up to your to decide how to use those tools to help Cambodia.
Source: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/notes/antonio-graceffo/bradal-serey-and-muay-thai-again/423271293254
My comment on his FB:
Thanks Antonio for having done a tremendous work on spreading the word on Pradal Serey. I haven't researched the subject but only read what you had written on it and have learned a lot of facts from you. I've been your fan and continuing to follow your work. I am not at all upset by the truths you had put forth or hurt in any way by them. It's truewe khmers need to promote Pradal Serey instead of throwing blames in every direction; we have the tendency to do this, and it pains me and reflects badly upon us. I hope one day we veer from this tendency and focus purely on rebuilding ourselves and nation based on our history and cease the practicing of throwing blames.
Tags: Antonio Graceffo Bradal Serey And Muay Thai AGAIN
