Master Boxkator Performer Hopes to Integrate Boxing into the Public School Program

By Soy Sophea

Grand Master Sean Kim San, who has devoted most of his entire life to Khmer traditional boxing, says he has only one goal. That is to introduce traditional Khmer boxing, known as Boxkator to public schools.

Grand Master Kim San said that Khmer Boxkator has a pedigree stretching back 2,000 years in Cambodia but it remained a forgotten art for centuries, after the fall of the Khmer Empire. However, knowledge of the martial art was passed down from generation to generation, surviving even the ravages of the Khmer Rouge insanity, the secret remaining safe in the hearts of surviving Boxkator enthusiasts.

He realized that the majority of younger Cambodian people may never have heard of Boxkator as there have been no public demonstrations of the art. This in part is due to memories of the French colonialists’ repressive response to Boxkator performers. The authorities viewed the performers as manifestations of resurgent Khmer identity and they were imprisoned.

Today, under very much happier conditions, Grand Master Kim San surveys with pride the over one thousand new Boxkator performers, proud to demonstrate their art. “They all belong to the Boxkator Federation, established in 2004,” he said.

Kim San’s ambition has global reach, as he wants to see the art recognized throughout the world. He looks forward to the day when he will see the Cambodian flag flying over an international competition. He recalled days when the flag used to fly at Udo and karate competitions, but theses were products of other cultures.

Grand Master Kim San equipped himself with the basics of Udo and Habkido after twenty years of training in the U.S. He returned to Cambodia in 1995 to revive interest in the martial arts.

“I was happy then, teaching the arts of China and Japan but I wondered why the arts of the former Khmer Empire appeared to have disappeared without a trace.” he said.

The 63 year old Grand Master embarked upon a period of research into Khmer Boxkator performers. The result was a combination of performing styles that preserves the art for future generations of Cambodians.

“I want the next generation to know that this art springs from the deepest origins of Khmer culture. It has a long and noble record in the protection of our national borders and history records the many invaders who rued the day he ever met an expert Boxcator practitioner,” Kim San said. “Indeed, Boxkator was practiced by Khmer kings and generals. It was invaluable in winning wars against both the Cham and Thai empires.”

Boxkator bouts are depicted in the carvings on the walls of Jayavarman VII’s temples including those at Bayon, Angkor Wat and Preah Lean Chal Damrey.

The Grand Master said that despite this illustrious past, the future of Boxkator remains uncertain. He urged all Cambodians to preserve this martial art, which he refers to as a “Diamond of Khmer culture”.
Over the past five years, he has assembled a group of teachers from different provinces—Kampot, Banteay Meanchey, Pursat, Kandal, Kratie, Battambang, Kompong Cham, Takeo, Seam Reap, Kompong Chhnang, and Phnom Penh. The Grand Master’s Phnom Penh school has students from across the world, including pupils from Germany, America, Switzerland and France as well as Cambodia.
Grand Master Kim Hok, Chairman of the Kampot Boxkator Federation, said that he established the federation after Grand Master Kim San persuaded him to reveal his long-hidden martial arts.

“Since, I have established the federation I feel happier to see young Cambodians coming to learn about their martial heritage. This is the last and probably the most important thing I will do in my life,” he said.

Grand Master Kim Hok, 62, who gained his skills from his grand father and other old men in his village, added that, although he has trained nearly 300 combatants, he wanted to see many more, for the sake of the art’s future. He too saw the education system as key to its survival.

However, Bou Chomserey, Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, said that his ministry cannot accept the Boxkator Federation’s request. He explained that if the education ministry gave a green light to the Federation, the ministry would be forced to introduce lessons in all the other martial arts too.

“We must be fair to all, not only Boxkartor,” he said. “Every federation wants the Education Ministry to integrate their activities into the public school curriculum.”

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