Like many Asian countries, Myanmar has its own martial arts that have been well established for centuries and handed down though from generations.

Myanmar Thaing, or Myanmar traditional martial arts, originated more than two thousand years ago during the reign of King Okkalapa, who ruled Dagon, the old city of Yangon. Myanmar Thaing has been an official art of self-defense cherished and practised among warriors of the royal army through different eras and dynasties. It was one of the eighteen compulsory specializations of royal princes in ancient times, and it served well in nation building and defense but it declined during the colonial days after the country had lost its independence.

After independence Myanmar Thaing was revived by patriotic professionals and the Myanmar Thaing Institute in Yangon was established in 1958 by the world-class weight lifter U Zaw Wait. The aims of the Institute are to preserve and promulgate the methods, techniques and characteristics of Myanmar Thaing, to provide training to younger gener

Kickboxing - a form of Myanmar martial arts - has been preserved over the centuries land still remains a favourite traditional game of the people. Although somewhat similar to Thai, French, American and other types of kickboxing, it has maintained a more traditional down-to-earth directness.

Myanmar kickboxing is closer to street fighting than the Queensberry rules of professional Western boxing and makes no pretenses of being anything else. Though Myanmar kickboxing has its own set of rules, fundamentally the target is any part of the opponent's head or body, and the weapon is any part of the body especially the head, fists, knees and elbows. The result is a fight not for the squeamish. The best blows include high kicks to the neck, elbows jabbed into the face and head, knees thrust into the ribs, and low kicks to the calves. It is an art in the truest sense of the word in that skill, technique and other attributes come into play.

While mere punching with the fists may seem tame, it certainly is not when there are no gloves and hands are only wrapped in

Chinlone is a cane ball composed of wicker-work. Myanmar people have made chinlon balls from cane or rattan, a wild creeper which grows profusely in many forests of Myanmar, since time immemorial because of its resilient, fibrous nature. Strips of cane or rattan are interwoven in bands into a ball four inches in diameter, leaving twelve pentagonal holes. Chinlons thus woven are not only very light but also resilient, cheap and long lasting.

Traditionally, chinlon was strictly a man's past time for exercising the body after long, strenuous periods of sitting, standing or working. However, since post-war times, some women have adopted this game and entered the arena to display their chinlon talents.

Basically, chinlon is played with the feet and other parts of the body such as the head, shoulders, elbows, knees, heels, and soles. But the hands cannot be used. Unlike football, however, there is no goal to shoot in playing chinlon and no fixed number of players needed to play it. The main object of chinlon is to keep the ball in the air as long as possible by tossing it with all parts of