Just 21, Soe Linn Oo is already held up as a hero by many Burmese, particularly the rural poor, which has suffered the most under five decades of military rule and whose lives may finally begin to improve with the economic and political reforms the current government is introducing – with a vocal opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi in parliament. With his cherubic face, ready smile and gentle calmness, Soe Linn Oo is an unlikely fighter. Even when he takes to the ring, he seems to be on the defensive against his opponents’ aggressive blows before coolly launching into a tactical fight to win the bout.

Lethwei, to the untrained eye, looks like kick-boxing and wrestling combined. It appears more brutal than most forms of martial arts. It is like the more popular Thai kick-boxing (Muay Thai) – where punching and kicking are allowed – with two key differences: Burmese traditional boxers are allowed to head butt and they wear mere bandages around their fists rather than gloves.

Just watching at ring-side can be gut-wrenching. As a child, Soe Linn Oo was frightened of watching matches that his boxer cousin took him to. Later, as a teenager, he started to learn to fight and won village matches. It provided a way out of his life as a young worker on rice padi fields and rubber plantations near their home village of Aye Shin, in Mon State, southeast Myanmar. The youngest of six children, he had dropped out of school at age 10 because his family was too poor to let him continue.

When he turned 16, he left home to join a lethwei club funded by a monk in neighboring Karen State. He was then spotted by visiting coaches and brought to Yangon three years ago to train as a national athlete. In the five years he has been boxing full-time, Soe Linn Oo has had his scalp ripped, and nose and lips bloodied, but has so far escaped serious injury.

“I have heard of other boxers who’ve had arms and legs broken. I know my job is dangerous but I don’t want to think about that. I’m not an educated person and can’t get any other job that earns this much,” he says.

He remains envious of his peers who went on to university and have become civil servants, or even those who became migrant workers in richer nearby countries like Singapore. But with his kicks and punches, and a strict training regime, he is earning more money than them – at least for now. As a rising star, he can make more than 2 million kyat ($2,500) for winning a match. He does an average of ten matches a year. Those earnings have paid for medical treatment for his father, who had a stroke three years ago and is partially paralyzed. The cash has also bought his family – who have slaved on other people’s plots all their lives – a modest two-acre rubber plantation.

Before each match, Soe Linn Oo – who will represent Myanmar on home ground in the Southeast Asia Games next year (2013) – visits the sacred Shwedagon Pagoda in the heart of Yangon. He says: “I pray not to win but for a fair fight. I don’t want to be seriously injured and I don’t want to badly hurt my opponent.”

“I will keep fighting, until one day, I cannot anymore.”