San Kim Sean ( km, សាន គឹមស៊ាន; born March 24, 1945) is a martial artist from

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

. He often referred to as the father of modern

Bokator Bokator, ). The term bokator translates as "pounding a lion" from the words ''bok'' meaning "to pound" and ''tor'' meaning "lion." is an ancient battlefield martial art used by ancient Khmer military groups. It is one of the oldest existing ...

and is largely credited with reviving the art. At age 13, he studied bokator under Master Khim Leak at Wat Mohamandrey. San Kim Sean also studied boxing under Master Chai Chheng in 1959 and 1960. He studied

Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

under Kru So Meng Hong. and

Hapkido Hapkido ( , , also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do''; from Korean 합기도 ''hapgido'' ) is a hybrid Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other s ...

under Korean master Chhay Yong Ho. San Kim Sean is the founder of the Cambodia Bokator Federation and the Cambodia Bokator Academy. The term ''Bokator'' translates as ''pounding a lion'' from the words ''bok'' meaning ''to pound'' and ''tor'' meaning ''lion''. At the time of the Pol Pot regime (1975–1979) those who practiced traditional arts were either systematically exterminated by the Khmer Rouge, fled as refugees or stopped teaching. After the Khmer Rouge regime, the

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

ese occupation of Cambodia began and native martial arts were completely outlawed. After the Pol Pot era, San Kim Sean had to flee Cambodia to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

under accusations by the Vietnamese of teaching martial arts. Once in America, San Kim Sean started teaching hapkido at a local

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

in Houston, Texas and later moved to

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. After living in the United States and teaching and promoting hapkido, he left the United States in 1992 decided and returned to Cambodia to revive Bokator. In 2001, San Kim Sean settled in Phnom Penh and after getting permission from the new King Norodom Sihanouk to begin teaching bokator to the local youth. That same year in the hopes of bringing all of the remaining living masters together San Kim Sean began traveling the country seeking out Bokator ''lok kru'', or instructors, who had survived the Khmer Rouge regime. The few men San Kim Sean found were old, ranging from sixty to ninety years of age; many were afraid to teach the art of Bokator openly. After much persuasion and with government approval, San Kim Sean effectively reintroduced Bokator to the Cambodian people.

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* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:San, Kim Sean 1945 births Living people Cambodian martial artists