Climbing the stairs up to Chan Reach’s Cambodian Top Teamgym in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, the phoenix-like rebirth of the former chroming factory and one-time snooker hall nicely mirrors that of Bokator, the nation’s resurgent martial art that’s now being avidly practised.
Overshadowed as Cambodia’s premier martial art for much of the past century by the more spectator-friendly Cambodian kickboxing (or Kun Khmer), Bokator has witnessed a government-supported comeback in recent years in line with country’s economic development and growing self-confidence. This resurrection has been aided by Cambodian-made martial arts films such as the wildly popular Jailbreak(2017), and success of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters such as Chan Rothana.
Overshadowed as Cambodia’s premier martial art for much of the past century by the more spectator-friendly Cambodian kickboxing (or Kun Khmer), Bokator has witnessed a government-supported comeback in recent years in line with country’s economic development and growing self-confidence. This resurrection has been aided by Cambodian-made martial arts films such as the wildly popular Jailbreak(2017), and success of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters such as Chan Rothana.
The upper floor of the building houses a practice boxing ring, MMA cage, numerous heavy bags and gym equipment – and a rack of swords.
‘Bok means to attack; fight, punch, elbow etc., and Tor means lion. So roughly translated, it’s “fighting with the lion” ‘, explains Brooklyn-born Reach. The self-proclaimed Wikipedia on Cambodian martial arts, Reach defers further commentary to Master Kim.
