Thaing

Definition

Today, the " term; thaing" agree to indicate arts of combat of the Burma whose origins would date of more than 4500 years. They go down, on the one hand, of the warlike techniques, snuff in their primitive vocation on the battle field, result of a long historical evolution and which one retained the rules and the principles of drive. In addition, it is the fruit of the reflection of monks in the need to defend themselves and to discuss physically, utility methods becoming little by little ritual martial arts.

History and development

From an ethnic point of view, it owes its technical richness with the tribes dispersed in thick jungles, such Nungs and Rawangs whose venerated animal is the wild boar; Nagas, admirers of the black monkey, the tiger and wild boar; Marus admirers of the tiger; Was and their worship for the stag; Karens whose venerated animal is the buffalo; Shans, whose techniques of combat are influenced by the Chinese practices. These tribes developed each one their own methods of combat, copied very often on the animal behavior. Many specificities are found in “work with naked hands” ( Bando ) and in the “handling of the weapons” ( Banshay ). Realistic, sober and effective techniques, they lead to ludic practices, such as the Burmese fight ( Naban ) codified at the 9th century and Burmese boxing ( Lethwei ), regulated at the 11th century celebrates it.

Parallel to the practices of the various ethnos groups, the Burmese monks developed methods centered on the concepts of self-defense and non-violence. They post strong social human values and, such, the respect of the others, personal balance, the harmony with the close relations and the environment.

In the monks, of IIIe century, the " term; thaing" mean “self-discipline”, “autodéveloppement” and “autorealisation”. At the 12th century, it means “coil-defense” and “self-protection”. At the 20th century, one grants to him the concept of “system of coil-defense”. “HT” is marked either with the language between the teeth, like the “HT” of English thing, pronounced with the language between the teeth, or like “T” aspired (e.g.: “thaing”, coil-defense). The “aing” is pronounced as in German “mein”.

The architecture of the practice of Thaing

Various practices of the " thaing" can be explained by the diagram of four axes. In the vertical axis: high style and low style. In the horizontal axis: the hard system and the soft system.

the hard system is characterized by powerful and destroying techniques, because its use consists in neutralizing the opponent by a mode being likely to cause body damage.
the soft system is characterized by techniques with control of its own energy, the objective being to minimize the damage caused with the adversary. This mode means neither weakness nor slowness but “control of its acts”. A large expert of the soft system must be strong, fast moving, alarm mentally and highly informed in martial arts.
the high style is generally given by the “control of its own emotions” during the opposition. It is the level of the mental discipline which determines the nature of the style (high or low) and thus the nature of the action or the reaction.
the low style concerns the combatant who does not control his emotional state (anger, pride, the rage, revenge, fear, hatred, shame, etc). The techniques are violent and its wild acts.

Thaing preached by the monks for two millenia has developed the high style.

Thaing today…

Today, Thaing is a “martial system” and not a “martial art”. I.e. a complex of combat gathering various martial practices originating in Burma with or without weapons. It is more generally known under the generic name of “bando”. Indeed, the practitioner of Thaing approaches work with naked hands ( Bando ), the fight with the body with body ( Naban ), the handling of the weapons ( Banshay ), pugilism ( Lethwei ), the internal formats - energy techniques and of mental development - ( Minzin ), the system of the monk ( Pongyi thaing ), Burmese yoga ( Bando-yoga : body development)], the care of the spirit and the care of the body (massages and treatment by the plants). Today, the Thaing term is associated with many currents of practice in Burma, from where its name of “Thaing System”. Thus finds your in Burma, of many schools to the practices various and specific, which makes the richness of Thaing. We find, the “style shan” ( Shan thaing ), martial style influenced by the Chinese culture - “style of the snake” ( Neganadai thaing ) - the “school of the opposite way” ( Pyompya thaing ) where prevails the circular techniques and of the animal forms like the monkey, the scorpion, the panther, the buffalo and the cobra. It is a style very close to the Chinese practices. It uses surprising and rare strategies; such of circular blockings and the punches mixed with seizures - “royal style” ( Nan twin thaing ), etc

But more practiced in the world is the Hanthawaddy-thaing . This last gathers the practices listed after the second world war, by an group of expert anxious to preserve arts of combat of the country, whose leader was Ba Than (Gyi) , then Directeur of the Sports at the Minister of education. The ambassador of this current for the occident, is not other than the son of the last, Maung Gyi expatriate in the U.S.A. since 1959.

Ancestral components of martial arts of Burma

The first repertory of the Burmese warlike practices dates from the Life century after J.C. The ancestral disciplines are the following ones:

the combat with the animals (elephant, horse, buffalo, dog),
the combat of the soldier to foot with various weapons: arc, crossbow, saber, lance, scraping-knife, shield ( Banshay ),
the work of the fight with naked hands ( Naban ),
the work of boxing with naked hands ( Lethwei ),
coil-defense ( Bando ),
the physical development in particular by Burmese Yoga ( Bando-yoga ),
the medicine of grasses and the plants,
techniques of massage,
mental preparation, the care of the spirit and the energy development ( Minzin ).

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