The ancient Khmer art of Bokator is something that only belongs to Cambodia. Proof of this are the inscriptions and drawings on the stone walls of Angkor Wat. The thousand-year war with Vietnam and Thailand, and later the genocide of the Khmer Rouge, almost wiped out this art from the face of the Earth.
Filmmaker Tim Pek, a Khmer genocide survivor, and actor (and writer/producer) Antonio Graceffo have teamed up to create a DVD about the Khmer Bokator. Filmed in and around Phnom Penh, the film will introduce the world to this exciting martial arts sport that features a full-fledged combat system with over 1000 different moves.
Bokator involves striking, grappling, ground fighting and weapon handling. On the disc you can see the teacher San Kim Sean, who managed to escape from captivity of the Khmer Rouge and reach the United States of America as a refugee. After returning to Cambodia more than 20 years later, teacher San Kim Sin opened the first modern school, Bokatora. He works, forgetting about fatigue, trying to teach as many students as possible, and hopes that art will soon come to life. “If we had more time, they could adapt,” said the foreman. “But I want each of my black belt students to have perfect mastery of every move, form, and weapon, so that when I die, no part of the art will be lost.” Watch on DVD.
Experience the beauty of deadly Cambodian art. Absorb the knowledge of the history of the Khmer people and become another link in the long chain of history, the history of the Khmer Bokator.
creators
Tim Pack. Director, producer
Tim has been a fan of martial arts since childhood. He is interested in all forms of martial arts, especially the ancient Khmer Bokator, which the public knew nothing about for over 1000 years. Incredibly, these are thousands of people, including the Khmers themselves, and some have only heard about it for the first time.
One of the many reasons was the desire to revive Bokator together with the writer and traveler Antonio Graceffo and the great master Sun Kim Sin. It would be unfair not to share our knowledge and lose this ancient art forever. In his article, teacher Sun Kim Shin told Antonio about the need to write books, create films, television shows, articles, etc., before the last of the masters passes away. Thanks to such a good thing as the Internet, everything can be put online and at the same moment millions of martial arts fans from all over the world will be able to enjoy this impressive martial arts, after many decades of oblivion.
Master Kim Sin wants to preserve Bokator for future generations. Since birth I have been interested in what Bokator is. “I've heard elders talk about it, I've read legends about it, but until now I haven't seen it in action,” Tim Pack said.
The director strives to share his knowledge with others, to show it in all its glory, reflecting the original source as accurately as possible. The history of Bokator is very extensive and even King Jayavarman the 7th himself owned it personally.
“We hope that this film (http://nice-film.ru/) will be a starting point for all ages. Let the whole world know that the people of Cambodia have much to offer and learn from their great Angkorian ancestors,” says Tim.
Antonio Graceffo. Writer, actor, producer
After more than 25 years of studying martial arts around the world, Antonio Graceffo spent 18 months in Cambodia searching for and documenting materials about the Khmer martial arts. He was the first person to publish an article about Bokator and brought him worldwide attention.
Over the next 3 years, Antonio learned the skill from his teacher and in 2007 became the first foreigner to receive a black krama (black belt) in Bokator.
He has his own television show on the Internet called Martial Arts Odyssey. The pilot video, filmed in the Philippines, can be viewed on YouTube. In addition, he is a traveler and writes articles about martial arts, living in Asia. He studied kung fu in China, in the Shaolin temple, and Muay Thai in one of the temples in Thailand. He is the author of 4 books, which can be purchased on Amazon, and often works as a martial arts consultant on American TV shows, such as “Human Weapon” and “Digging for the Truth.” He has his own website: www.speakingadventure.com.
Despite the fact that he has studied many types of martial arts, the actor focuses specifically on the Khmer Bokator and Pradal Serey.
The exact release date of the DVD is, unfortunately, still unknown.
Thank you for your help! I'll try to contact you at the address you left.
Good luck! Contact us if anything happens.
Will do! I don't have any contact information at all. If you tell me, I will be very grateful!
chamroeunvath@hotmail.com
I don't know if the email is still working. If not, I think he can be contacted through Antonio Graceffo.
antonio_graceffo@hotmail.com
Maybe someone can tell me the Cambodian address of this same San Kin Sin? In the mid-80s, I served in the special forces of the USSR GRU in Laos and we were taught almost the same thing by a Cambodian instructor, who also fled to Laos from the Khmer Rouge.
I only have his contact email address. mail. Will it fit?
EvilDollaR, I found a slightly more extended version of the biography, please take a look.
Nowadays there are so few people who are engaged in research in the field we love so much (Martial Arts), I really want to know more about the activities of Antonio Graceffo.
ANTONIO GRACEFFO activities.doc
rapidshare.com/files/419074160/ANTONIO_GRACEFFO_________________________________.doc
One of my friends corresponded with Antonio Graceffo, asked about sambo, etc. He said that he would love to visit Russia. Unfortunately, even he does not know when this disc will be released. Most likely, there is a clear lack of finance.
It would be interesting to see this martial art.