The Samdech Thipadei Award for Khmer Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Championships in October will reinstate Cambodia’s richness of the arts as well as the pride of the past.
H.E. Vath Chamroeun, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Commission for Organising the MMA Championships, highlighted the insight in a recent interview with AKP.
The Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet initiated and supported the event to bring to life as many Khmer martial arts as possible so that Cambodians of all generations continue to remember and value them, he said.
Research and studies, he added, show that martial arts were deeply rooted in Cambodian culture and played an important role in allowing the ancient Khmers to build a great empire since the pre-Angkorian era.
It is an obligation of all Cambodians to preserve such a priceless legacy passed down to us by our ancestors in order to honour their hard work and sacrifice, continued H.E. Vath Chamroeun.
The 1st Samdech Thipadei Award for Khmer MMA Championships will
be organised on Oct. 18-20 at the National Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh.
Four sports federations have been engaged in organising the event, including the Khmer Boxing Federation, the Cambodian Mixed Martial Arts Federation, the Yutkromkhorm Federation of Cambodia, and the Cambodia Kun Bokator Federation.
H.E. Khov Chhay, President of the Khmer Boxing Federation, echoed the view of H.E. Vath Chamroeun on the pride of Cambodian martial arts.
He called on not only Khmer boxers, either under or not under his federation, but also the public at large who have any knowledge of Khmer martial arts to join the open competition.
Speaking at a press conference on the Samdech Thipadei Award for Khmer MMA Championships initiative early last month, H.E. Dr. Thong Khon, senior minister tasked to lead the event, considered it an insightful and long-term vision of Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet.
He continued that the first Khmer MMA Championships will be organised in Phnom Penh, but the subsequent events will take place in the
provinces such as Siem Reap and Battambang, among others.
Toward the event, H.E. Vath Chamroeun also encouraged all Cambodians, both in the country and overseas, to view and support it to share the cultural pride and bring the arts back to life.
Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse