Thaing {"total combat") is the sword-fighting martial art of Burma and surrounding areas. The term "thaing" encompases multiple martial art systems, including band, lethwei, banshay, pongyi thaing, and naban. Different styles of Thaing are occasionally associated with specific Burmese ethnic groups, including Burmese, Chin, Chinese, Kachin, Karen, Mon, Shan and Talaing. See (Draeger & Smith, 1969) and (Green, 2001). Accounts of centuries of warfare between some of these groups date back hundreds of years to the Pagan Empire (11th Century C.E.) under King Anawrahtar, and some modern practitioners claim their particular arts descend from systems developed during these periods (Green, 2001). It is believed that, during the Pagan era, martial arts were one of the eighteen subjects to be mastered by the aristocracy, giving rise to a rich martial tradition, which ultimately included the dha.
