Lethwei in popular culture

Lethwei fighter landing a punch
Bloody Lethwei match

The Burmese martial art of Lethwei has been featured in films, television, manga and anime. Lethwei was featured in The Joe Rogan Experience podcast by Joe Rogan with Lethwei champion Dave Leduc as guest.[1][2] Born Warriors presented an authentic up-close look at Lethwei through a series of documentaries shot entirely on location throughout Myanmar. Lethwei was featured in the Netflix documentary FightWorld with Frank Grillo[3][4] and in the popular Japanese manga series Kengan Ashura.[5]

Film

Movie Year Description
Born Warriors 2016 Trilogy documentary film about the art of Lethwei.[6]
La Fosse aux Tigres 2017 Canal D documentary about the Dave Leduc vs. Tun Tun Min III fight in 2016.[7]
Into Dave's Fist 2018 Canal+ Myanmar documentary following Dave Leduc on his preparation for Dave Leduc vs. Tun Tun Min III[8]
Still/Life 2019 A short Film about Lethwei in Myanmar[9]
Myanmar Lethwei and Me 2019 Canal+ Myanmar documentary following Dave Leduc around Myanmar exploring the Lethwei culture.[10]
Power & Martial Arts : Lethwei 2019 Short film about Lethwei following Dave Leduc around Yangon, Myanmar.Power & Martial Arts at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
Underground 2019 Myanmar movie in Burmese language with Dave Leduc playing a gangster and using Lethwei in fight scenes.[11]

Television

Television Year Episode Description
FightWorld 2018 Myanmar: Crossroads American docu-series on Netflix with Episode 3 about Lethwei.[3]
Spirit of Fight 2019 Season 1 & 2 Canal+ Myanmar TV Series about Lethwei fighters on Canal+ Zat Lenn channel.
Le Canal Nouvelles 2019 LCN: Denis Lévesque Denis Lévesque and Dave Leduc discuss Lethwei.[12]
The Joe Rogan Experience 2019 MMA Show Episode #81 Joe Rogan and Dave Leduc discuss Lethwei.[13]
World Lethwei Championship 2019 WLC 7: Mighty Warriors The first Lethwei event to be transmitted live on UFC Fight Pass.[14]
Billions 2022 Cannonade Season 6 Ep. 1 – Kate Sacker played by Condola Rashad trains for a Lethwei fight.

Anime and manga

Lethwei has been featured in the popular Japanese manga series Kengan Ashura.[15] In the series, opponents of the Burmese Lethwei master Saw Paing shatter the bones in their hands when they punch him.[5]

Manga or Animation Characters
Baki the Grappler Pa Paing from Kengan Ashura fights Doppo Orochi using Lethwei in "Baki x Kengan", Baki-Dou (2018), Chapter 107.5[16]
Kengan Ashura Saw Paing (Burmese fighter)
Batuque Batuque Vol. 8 Chapter 79: "Lethwei vs Capoeira"[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ "JRE MMA Show #81 with Dave Leduc". The Joe Rogan Experience. 29 October 2019.
  2. ^ Nick Atkin (8 November 2019). "Dave Leduc blasts 'delusional' Liam Harrison and challenges him to fight Lethwei". South China Morning Post.
  3. ^ a b "Fightworld Looks at Combat, Country and Culture on Netflix". Black Belt. 11 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Can Netflix's Fightworld help rehabilitate MMA's image?". The Guardian. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b Patrick L. Stumberg (27 April 2020). "Fighting Fiction: 'Kengan Ashura' perfects the martial arts tournament arc". MMA Mania.
  6. ^ Myanmar’s fighting art of Lethwei Retrieval date 22 December 2016
  7. ^ Comtois, Martin (7 November 2017). ""Le Nomade" passe au petit écran". Le Soleil.
  8. ^ "Into Dave's Fist". Canal+ Myanmar. 16 December 2018.
  9. ^ "MultiVerse Advertising Still/Life Lethwei Short Film". Facebook. 8 February 2019.
  10. ^ "Dave Leduc & Myanmar Lethwei – Documentary trailer". Youtube. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  11. ^ "အားပေးဖို့ အသင့်ပဲလားဗျို့". Facebook (in Burmese). 14 December 2018.
  12. ^ "Dave Leduc veut devenir ambassadeur de lethwei". TVA Nouvelles. 18 January 2019.
  13. ^ Matt Eaton (29 October 2019). "Dave Leduc Says Lethwei Is Coming To USA". The Fight Nation. Archived from the original on 27 December 2019.
  14. ^ "World Lethwei Championship Lines Up Big Card for UFC Fight Pass Debut". The Fight Nation. 31 January 2019. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019.
  15. ^ "Saw Paing Workout: Train like The Kengan Ashura Lethwei Fighter!". Super Hero Jacked. 25 June 2022.
  16. ^ "BAKI-DOU (2018), CHAPTER 107.5". bakidou.com. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  17. ^ "Batuque Vol.8 Chapter 79: Lethwei VS Capoeira". Mangakakalot.com. Retrieved 24 June 2023.