‘Can’t live without fighting’: Myanmar youth find solace in bareknuckle lethwei

Amid five years of devastating conflict, young fighters embrace traditional bloodsport as both self-defence and refuge “I can’t live without fighting,” said 19-year-old Su Luck, who enters the ring under the paradoxical pseudonym “Peace Prize”. “I have never once considered giving up this passion,” she said. Lethwei is traditional Burmese boxing, distinct from Thai kickboxing because head blows are permitted and fighters compete bareknuckle, fists protected only with wraps of thin gauze. It is known as the “Art of Nine Limbs” because each contender’s two fists, elbows, knees, feet and head are considered viable weapons to take down opponents.

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