Khmer martial art of Bok Tor

The Khmer martial art of Bok Tor was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on November 29, 2022. Bok Tor is an ancient Khmer martial art that was developed by the Khmer people in Cambodia before the arrival of Indian civilization more than 2,000 years ago. “Bok Tor” is a combination of the words “bok” and “lion”, meaning a powerful or powerful lion. According to the dictionary of Samdech Sangharach Chuon Nath, Bok Tor is a type of short stick weapon attached to the forearm for striking with a long stick or striking to defend oneself. Therefore, Bok Tor is a martial art of great power used in battles against invading enemies to protect the country, temple, family, village, as well as to protect personal safety and property, to fight against wild animals, etc. This martial art is likely to have originated at the same time as the creation of the Khmer land. This story can be understood through Khmer legends. According to the chronicles of Khmer ancestors, the ancient history of Bok Tor comes from a soldier who used a stick along with hand and knee techniques to beat a lion that often attacked, harassed, killed and destroyed the property of the villagers. Moreover, historical evidence of the history of this martial art has been found by historians in the form of carvings on the walls of temples dating back to the 9th century, such as Preah Ko Temple, Banteay Srei, Angkor Wat, and Baphuon. This martial art has firmly established itself in the traditions, customs, culture, and daily lives of the Cambodian people, and has become a symbol of Khmer morality to this day. Like other Khmer martial arts, Bok Tor incorporates many movements and techniques that imitate the natural realities of the daily lives of people of that time and the movements of animals such as birds, horses, tigers, elephants, elephants, monkeys, crocodiles, crabs, snakes, dragons, and ducks. Moreover, the form of bokator is embedded in ancient Khmer arts such as folk dance, folk games and classical dance. Each movement, technique, posture and gesture of this martial art embodies the gentleness, agility, vitality, strength, agility and lifestyle of people in society. This martial art requires striking close to the opponent using elbows and knees as the basis. Bokator is divided into 12 gates, with gates 1 to 8 using physical fitness and gates 9 to 12 using weapons, including dangerous weapons and non-dangerous weapons. Dangerous weapons include knives, swords, spears, arrows and spears. Safe weapons include rice threshing sticks, short sticks, long sticks, shields, and lotus sticks. In addition, a bokator can also use a scarf as a weapon. In short, this style is flexible and can defend itself against attacks from all eight directions, and everything around it can be used as a weapon. Unlike martial arts in other countries such as karate, judo, or hapkido, the level of bokato is divided into 7 levels, each level is marked by the color of the scarf, which includes the "white" scarf, green, red, brown, blue, and black scarf, and the last level is the gold scarf level. The Black Krama ranks range from level 1 to level 10, where all martial arts students must have practiced for at least 10 years and master at least a thousand techniques. The highest level of bokator is the Gold Krama, where the recipient must master almost all bokator techniques. Bokator practitioners wear uniforms similar to those of ancient Khmer soldiers. Martial arts students must wear a scarf around their waist and a red silk scarf, "Dan Sangvar", around their head, which is a symbol of strength. During the Angkor period, bokator was deeply integrated into the defense and development strategy of the nation. Angkor warriors are tangible evidence that the Khmer Empire expanded to cover much of Southeast Asia. Carvings on temple walls dating from the 9th to 12th centuries show that our kings and ancestors used bokator as an important basis for defending and building the country in the pre-Angkor, Angkor, and post-Angkor periods. Moreover, bokator is closely linked to the national culture. During festivals such as Khmer New Year, Pchum Ben, Darlan, or other festivals, bokator practitioners often meet to compete as a form of entertainment during the festival. During the French protectorate period from 1863 to 1953, bokator was hidden in monasteries and remote areas without proper institutional support. Monks and elders in the villages acted as guardians of this martial art, passing on martial art knowledge to future generations as a means of preservation, for self-defense against robberies, and to build strength against French rule.Bokkor suffered a severe decline during the Khmer Rouge regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Like Cambodians across the country, many Bokkor practitioners were killed, deported to remote areas, and forced to work as laborers. Other bokator masters hid their identities and did not dare to show or teach bokator because the practice and activities were not allowed by the Khmer Rouge and were strictly prohibited. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime in January 1979, very few bokator masters survived the regime. Some bokator masters fled abroad, and the remaining masters in the country were unable to continue practicing the martial art. As the country had just emerged from the genocide and without any research or conservation, the art of Bokko To was almost forgotten and disappeared from Cambodian history. The essence of Bokko To was restored by more than 10 surviving masters from the Khmer Rouge regime and with the attention of the leaders of the Royal Government of Cambodia, especially Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia. All the masters have worked hard to research and compile documents to establish martial arts schools, encourage and inspire the practice of Bokator, build clubs and associations throughout the country, and even successfully established the Cambodian Bokator Federation on April 24, 2004, to preserve Bokator, which is the soul of national culture and an ancestral heritage for future generations.