Mementos in Lethwei
The custom of handing out honorary and victory flags started a long time ago when Kings would honor accomplished boxers for their exceptional skill and bravery. For example by engraving their names or by giving them commodities. They gave them the title of 'Lethwei Taw Thut', which can be compared to the British MBE. Over time this gradually led to the handing out of specially created flags. These flags are used in Aung Lan Lu Pwe tournaments. Aung Lan comes from the word Alan which means flag, and is used to describe the winners flag, as Aung mean 'victory' or 'win'. Lu Pwe means '(a) fight for'.
An honorary flag from 1941.
Boxers young and old compete for these victory flags in tournaments and have done so for countless decades. As they conquer more flags and rise in the ranks they may find themselves on the big stage in main events in the bigger cities, perhaps then fighting a local hero or even someone who's known nationally. Winning flags is a way to show how good you are, and gives you bragging rights. The more flags you win the bigger the chances are you'll be taken serious.
This isn't true for everyone, some are perfectly happy capturing flags at semi-pro level, and some are simply not able to rise above their current skill level. There have been boxers with dozens of flags whose names have remained somewhat unknown to the bigger audience. The path of capturing flags towards more success or familiarity nationally is not obligatory, but it's a great way to test yourself before jumping into the deep end.
Flags are won in tournaments all over the country and usually state the occasion, the name of the town and the year. They come in all shapes and sizes and are made of cotton or polyester. The more common and professionally crafted flags nowadays are triangular with fringe on the edges while the cheaper flags are square or rectangular, resembling a literal flag. If there is no money or opportunity to create physical flags, a towel or other piece of cloth on a stick can be used with a piece of paper stuck to it stating the occasion or the reward sum.
From left to right; Daw Na, Bo Sein, Chit Sa Yar and Hpyu Lay. Flag winners in 1967.
In the past it was customary to award multiple 'champion' flags in a single tournament for each weight division. Nowadays it seems more common to have a set amount of money associated with a flag that people can win. A festival will now usually include 2 of these flag tournaments where just those two flags can be won with the accompanying cash prize. The class of these flag fighters is seen as a semi-pro class as the boxers generally fight 3 or 4 rounds at this stage in their career. You won't see flag tournaments that often because they are usually local and hardly ever televised, but they do happen and are still very important to young boxers.
The last great Aung Lan tournament that was carried out was the Dagon Shwe Aung Lan. This happened on a grand scale sponsored by the Dagon brewery and was also broadcast on television. Unlike traditional tournaments the fights were carried out as challenge fights and the time-out was intact. These events also allowed for every top boxer in the country to enter, from Tway Ma Shaung to Saw Nga Man.
That tournament is currently replaced by the Air KBZ Aung Lan tournament with its newer structure of single-fight flag awards. The creation of these single challenge fight flags can be attributed to the increase of foreign competition participating in lethwei events in the same way the creation of belts has increased. The lure and allure of flags and belts is used to draw in competition since lethwei purses are still not that great. Another good example of these new single-fight flags are the ones given away at Lethwei in Japan events.
However, the desire and the appeal to capture a flag has seemingly diminished over time. The regaining popularity of the sport has seen it push for stricter rules concerning fighter safety. Two or three-day flag tournaments where boxers fight multiple times, sometimes even in multiple tournaments, do not fit the image of some modern day promoters. The entire country is now able to connect to the internet more easily compared to 10 years ago. This means that anyone can communicate and promote their boxers and show videos and photos of their achievements. It's much easier to get drafted by a promoter this way, all it seems to take is a semi-viral KO video.
As a result it seems the flag fighters get left behind and their achievements less celebrated. Where post World War II boxers and their flags are (still) highly praised and admired, the modern day ones like Yoma Tha Pyay, Ann Bwar or Shwe Thaung Thar are quickly forgotten.
The offering of belts is a more recent development compared to the custom of flag awarding. Belts started to be offered in the mid 90's, to my knowledge starting with the inaugural Golden Belt Championship in 1996.
Any promoter or agency may create a belt if they wish, as long as it's approved by the Myanmar Traditional Boxing Federation (MTBF). Belts are treated as medals or trophies, a memento representing a point in time where a person achieved something important. Belts and flags are prized possessions and displayed and showcased long after a career, or even life, has come to an end.
There really are only 2 types of belts, since the offering of honorary or commemorative belts is quite rare. The first type is a championship belt (regardless of how many fights) and the second is an (international) challenge fight belt. A championship belt generally requires a person to fight 3 times, starting at a quarter final. There are some exceptions when the field is thin. A challenge fight belt is earned after one fight and will almost always be against foreign competition.
It's a common misconception to think the national champion (open-weight) has his own belt. Although there are belts created for this specific weight-class, the open-weight champion carries only the title or holds that position.
The yearly Air KBZ Aung Lan Championship and Myanmar Lethwei World Championship (MLWC) events have a system in place where champions of their weight-class can defend their position every year. Although both events are a championship by name, the fights are challenge fights. The belt earned at a previous event does not change hands; a new challenge fight belt is offered in it's place the next year.
Younger or newly professional boxers will often start off to try and capture a so called "golden belt" at one of the Golden Belt Championship events held in Yangon every year. When they started handing out the belts at their inaugural event, the field was comprised of all types of boxers from second class to even former national champions. Today the participants do not include highly ranked boxers as often, as they would rather win a challenge fight belt against known international kick-boxers instead.
A single challenge fight belt for women, created by ILFJ in 2017.
The International Lethwei Federation Japan (ILFJ) offered a new belt at their fourth event for both men and women, which in itself was a big step forward as it's very difficult for women to win any belt. Aside from a challenge fight belt that was offered at the 3rd AirKBZ Aung Lan Championship in December 2016, ILFJ were in fact the first approved organisation to offer a belt specifically for women since the MTBF had never allowed them to win one up until that point. It wasn't until 2018 that they vowed to help the women’s division grow and offered them a place at the Golden Belt Championship so they could partake.
Dave Leduc has previously mentioned that he had unified the ILFJ, MLWC and Air KBZ belts. But as you know by now, these belts are permanent so they can't be unified. It's only the position he holds that's unified; open-weigh title holder across the board. When he joined WLC he let go of those positions, but the belts are still his.
For a more in-depth and up-to-date list of all the belts awarded in lethwei so far, feel free to visit my personal page here.