Lethwei

Myanmar’s brutal national sport, lethwei, is a form of kickboxing known as the “art of nine limbs” for each body part that can be employed in the attack: fists, feet, elbows, knees and, uniquely, heads. Unlike other martial arts, lethwei is bare-knuckle, with only thin gauze wrapped around the fighters’ fists to protect their hands.

These photos were taken at a lethwei event on 13 August 2023 in Pantanaw, a small town in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwaddy delta.

Read a write-up about this in Al Jazeera.