Names and neighbours
Kun Khmer and Muay: the names
How the names Kun Khmer, pradal serey and Muay Thai are used, what each side said in the January 2023 dispute, and why it changes nothing about your seat.
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In Cambodia the sport is called Kun Khmer, and English sources also use pradal serey. Muay Thai is the name Thailand uses for its own kickboxing, and the two belong to a wider family of related styles. In January 2023 Cambodia, as host of the Southeast Asian Games, listed the event as Kun Khmer, and Thai sports leaders objected. This guide reports what each side said and takes neither side.
Three names for the Cambodian sport
Kun Khmer, pradal serey and Kbach Kun Pradal Khmer all name the same Cambodian striking sport. Kun Khmer is the name you will hear in Cambodia, pradal serey is common in English-language writing, and Kbach Kun Pradal Khmer is the full Khmer name. The booking pages call it Khmer traditional boxing or Kun Khmer, and the full set of three names appears in Cambodian and English sources alike. Keep to Kun Khmer in conversation in Cambodia and you will be using the name the sport's own community uses.
A family of related styles
Wikipedia's article on Muay Thai says the sport is related to other martial arts of Southeast Asia and lists Muay Lao, Lethwei, Kun Khmer, Tomoi and others as related styles. It says the modern name Muay Thai took shape in the early twentieth century, and it does not describe the Cambodian style or any dispute over origins. VICE in 2016 reported that pradal serey uses much the same rules as Muay Thai, with elbows used more often, and that many Cambodians dispute Muay Thai's origins and claim the sport began in Cambodia.
Earlier chapters
The 2023 exchange was not the first. Wikipedia records that in 1995 Cambodia proposed renaming Thai boxing at an ASEAN meeting and Thailand refused, that Cambodia boycotted the Muay Thai event at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games in protest, and that the 2009 Games used the name Muay Lao in Vientiane without controversy. It also records that Kun Khmer was added to the Southeast Asian Games Federation's charter and rules in 2023. Each of those steps was a choice about a name, and in each the other side answered in its own terms.
January 2023
The naming became news in January 2023, when Cambodia, as host of the Southeast Asian Games, listed the event as Kun Khmer. Vath Chamroeun, secretary-general of the Cambodian organising committee, said the host had the right to change the name. He said the sport originated in Khmer culture and that Cambodia would not send fighters to Thailand for the 2025 Games, where the event would be called Muay Thai. The Thai replies follow in the next section.
What the Thai side said
Charoen Wattanasin, vice-chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, said the International Olympic Committee had not endorsed the term Kun Khmer, and that using it violated international sporting rules. Thai sports leaders confirmed that Thailand would not send athletes to the kickboxing event in Cambodia. A leader of a Thai association also pointed to the International Federation of Muaythai Associations, which does not regard Kun Khmer as one of its sanctioned sports. Each side's reasons are reported here as it stated them.
Was it settled?
Radio Free Asia reported on 26 January 2023 that Cambodia's organising committee said Thailand had withdrawn its protest after Cambodia explained that a Khmer name for a Khmer martial art affected no Thai sport. A leader of a Thai association denied that the boycott had been called off. Thailand's Olympic committee did not comment. Accounts of the outcome differ, so the fair summary is that each side described the matter differently.
What it means for your seat
Nothing in the dispute changes what happens on the night. The bouts are fought under the Cambodian federation's rules, the ritual and music are Cambodian, and the people around you will call the sport Kun Khmer. If the topic comes up, polite curiosity works best. Ask what the fighters are doing, listen to the answer and leave the argument to the federations. Whatever the name, the evening is a chance to watch a fight sport that has been rebuilt since the late 1970s, in front of a crowd that cares about it, with live music and a ritual that belong to its Cambodian tradition.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kun Khmer the same as Muay Thai?
They are related but separate. Wikipedia lists Kun Khmer among the styles related to Muay Thai. Each country uses its own name for its own sport, and the question of origins is disputed between them.
What is pradal serey?
Pradal serey is another name for Kun Khmer, common in English-language sources. The full Khmer name is Kbach Kun Pradal Khmer.
Should I mention Muay Thai at the fights?
It is better to ask about Kun Khmer. Cambodians call the sport Kun Khmer, and the dispute over names is a sensitive one, so curiosity works better than comparison.
Sources