For Dha Fans : Burmese Martial Arts Exhibition

~Alaung_Hpaya~ · 2nd May 2007, 05:13 PM

I thought this might appeal to the Dhafia out there . Obviously you can find alot of information from various sources ( including videos ) of Thai arts such as Krabi Krapong but there is little footage outside Burma of Thaing which is a loose term just meaning martial arts ( like Wushu in Chinese) .

This is a exposition / exhibition from 2005 displaying for the second time ( the first was a Kachin expo in 2001 I think ) the very wide variety of martial arts in Burma . Obviously most of what is displayed are contemporary martial arts which are based on several different traditions ( with quite a lot of Chinese influence : this has always been the case in the North and East with its long boundary with the middle kingdom and with these particular areas traditionally paying tribute both to the Ava kings and the Ming and Qing emperors ).

Particularly note worthy are the more traditional performances of Bando and Banshay in period costume ( longyi tucked between leg forming a loin cloth and lots of tattoos : sadly fake ones in this case ) as these illustrate particular Bama styles which are not disimilar but also at the same time very different to Krabi Krabong . Possibly alot of this is due to the POB of the sword and how long the hilt is ( I guess you guys could answer that having handled more dha than I have ) .

This "period" costume was I guess the look of the average Bama soldier in the non-standing army ( ie the vast majority of troops ) . The rest of the exhibition mainly comprises of stuff which is familair to us all : mock fights ; internal power shows ; sitting on spear tips ; escapology ; dha cutting fruit placed on various body parts ; brick breaking etc etc . This kind of stuff ( apart from the dha being the featured bladed weapon could quite easily be a feature of any other martial art exhibition )

Bando is the unarmed wing of Thaing and Banshay is the armed ( To/Do means short : Shay means long ) .

Thaing part 1

Look out for @ __ minutes :

10:05 Double Dha performance
20:50 Shangyi performance ( really for the style of dress )
26:50 Shan spear & dha
27:20 Shan rolling dha
33:35 Clip notable for the real tattoos these Shan guys are sporting

Thaing part 2

02:05 Single dha performance
06:22 Spear
11:30 Staff and Two Dha fight

Picture of traditional trouser leg tattoo :

Andrew · 2nd May 2007, 05:29 PM

Thanks for posting this, Alaung. I really enjoyed the 1st Kachin Martial Arts DVD, and I refered to it in the "Dha Use" portion of the HOS catalogue.

I'm looking forward to picking up the 2005 edition.

Mark · 2nd May 2007, 07:17 PM

Very nice. Thanks Zaw, especially for the time points so we can go directly to the sword stuff. What I watched of the other performances were very impressive, too.

2nd May 2007, 05:13 PM	#1
~Alaung_Hpaya~ Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 65	For Dha Fans : Burmese Martial Arts Exhibition I thought this might appeal to the Dhafia out there . Obviously you can find alot of information from various sources ( including videos ) of Thai arts such as Krabi Krapong but there is little footage outside Burma of Thaing which is a loose term just meaning martial arts ( like Wushu in Chinese) . This is a exposition / exhibition from 2005 displaying for the second time ( the first was a Kachin expo in 2001 I think ) the very wide variety of martial arts in Burma . Obviously most of what is displayed are contemporary martial arts which are based on several different traditions ( with quite a lot of Chinese influence : this has always been the case in the North and East with its long boundary with the middle kingdom and with these particular areas traditionally paying tribute both to the Ava kings and the Ming and Qing emperors ). Particularly note worthy are the more traditional performances of Bando and Banshay in period costume ( longyi tucked between leg forming a loin cloth and lots of tattoos : sadly fake ones in this case ) as these illustrate particular Bama styles which are not disimilar but also at the same time very different to Krabi Krabong . Possibly alot of this is due to the POB of the sword and how long the hilt is ( I guess you guys could answer that having handled more dha than I have ) . This "period" costume was I guess the look of the average Bama soldier in the non-standing army ( ie the vast majority of troops ) . The rest of the exhibition mainly comprises of stuff which is familair to us all : mock fights ; internal power shows ; sitting on spear tips ; escapology ; dha cutting fruit placed on various body parts ; brick breaking etc etc . This kind of stuff ( apart from the dha being the featured bladed weapon could quite easily be a feature of any other martial art exhibition ) Bando is the unarmed wing of Thaing and Banshay is the armed ( To/Do means short : Shay means long ) . Thaing part 1 Look out for @ __ minutes : 10:05 Double Dha performance 20:50 Shangyi performance ( really for the style of dress ) 26:50 Shan spear & dha 27:20 Shan rolling dha 33:35 Clip notable for the real tattoos these Shan guys are sporting Thaing part 2 02:05 Single dha performance 06:22 Spear 11:30 Staff and Two Dha fight Picture of traditional trouser leg tattoo :

2nd May 2007, 05:29 PM	#2
Andrew Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,725	Thanks for posting this, Alaung. I really enjoyed the 1st Kachin Martial Arts DVD, and I refered to it in the "Dha Use" portion of the HOS catalogue. I'm looking forward to picking up the 2005 edition.

2nd May 2007, 07:17 PM	#3
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	Very nice. Thanks Zaw, especially for the time points so we can go directly to the sword stuff. What I watched of the other performances were very impressive, too.