San Kim Sean is commonly known as the Grandmaster of the Cambodian Martial Arts- Bokator. He has worked tirelessly promoting Bokator across the world through events, demonstrations even in competitions and fully dedicated to reviving the art as culture, sport, entertainment and a way of life that the Khmer people can once again be proud of.

Bokator is characterized by hand to hand combat along with heavy use of weapons. Includes a diverse range of knee and elbow strikes, shin kicks, submissions and ground fighting. San Kim Sean is 73 years old and he flips through a book to promote the Bokator. He illustrated and wrote describing some of the supposedly thousands of moves in bokator. A black-and-white drawing of a man with a six-pack and bulging muscles angles 토토 one elbow to the ground and another in the air for the page on elbow-hooking. As the founder of the Cambodia Bokator Federation and the Cambodia Bokator Academy, Grandmaster San has single-handedly written the rulebook.

Grandmaster San Kim Sean learned Bokator at the age of 13. He fled to the United States during the war and lived there for almost 20 years, teaching other forms of martial arts. In 1993, he returned to his homeland with one mission: to bring back Bokator. He has taught thousands of Cambodian students since returning to his homeland. Some of them are starting to attract mainstream attention like 28-year-old Tharoth Sam who has become famous in Cambodia as a Bokator athlete and her kicks have landed her roles in Netflix and Hollywood productions.

The skill level of a Bokator fighter can be ascertained by the color of the krama or the scarf worn around the waist during a fight. Beginners wear white, they progress to wearing green followed by blue, red, brown, and then ultimately black. And there is an honorary gold belt that goes to the individuals who have dedicated their lives to the practice of Bokator and contributed substantially toward promoting its growth. If there’s anyone who deserves this, it’s Grandmaster San Kim Sean. Thanks to his dedication and personal sacrifice, it seems that the world is starting to take note of what is possibly Southeast Asia’s oldest martial art. Read more…