NATIONS’ heroes have risen from the sporting arena. Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis are bigger than life heroes in the USA. There’s Manny Pacquiao and Eduard Folayang in the Philippines. Myanmar has Aung La N Sang who carries the hope and dreams of a nation whenever he fights.
The 32-year-old is set to challenge Vitaly Bigdash once again for the ONE Middleweight World Championship. The epic rematch takes place in the main event of ONE: Light of a Nation on June 30, Friday at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in his old stomping grounds of Yangon, Myanmar.
While the “Burmese Python” is now Myanmar’s foremost martial artist and national icon who inspires millions, there was a time when the challenger lacked passion and direction.
As a teenager, he attended the Yangon International School and scored impressively high grades. Despite being an active and popular student, he did not have many aspirations.
“When I was younger, I did not have much inspiration to succeed and I wish my mind was a little different. I was more easygoing and free. I guess I was not as focused as I am now. My mind was like, ‘Whatever, as long as God leads the way, I am ok.’ I did not have much ambition, and that was the problem,” he said.
Over time, however, Aung La N Sang developed a deep admiration for his father. His father’s impeccable work ethic and tirelessness struck a chord within the Myanmar native.
“He always worked very hard. He was gone most of the time when we were younger, and he would come home and bring gifts for us. What inspired me about him is that he is not educated—he only had elementary school education—but he always sought learning,” he said.
“He speaks seven different languages, including Burmese, English, Thai, Cantonese, and Mandarin. For somebody who has very little education, speaks that many languages, does business, and is able to succeed? That inspires me.”
Aung La N Sang’s father also gave the future middleweight contender many gems of advice throughout the years. But out of all those words of wisdom, there is one in particular that has become Aung La N Sang personal motto.
“He would always tell me that you should always remember your roots, you should always remember where you came from, and you should always help out,” Aung La N Sang said. They are words that he is living up to, more than a decade later.
Nearly a year after leaving Myanmar to study Agriculture Science at Andrews University in Michigan in 2003, he witnessed a Samoan student hitting a heavy bag in the school’s gymnasium, and thought it was the coolest thing ever.
A week later, he went to a Carlson Gracie dojo affiliate in South Bend, Indiana, and he has been hooked on martial arts ever since.
It may have taken him twelve years to get to this point, but Aung La N Sang’s hard work paid off. He is now a world title contender and will challenge for the ONE Middleweight World Championship.
Along with being a world title contender comes international fame, and he is using that fame for the greater good and the advancement of his Myanmar countrymen.
For the first time in 14 years, the middleweight visited his hometown of Myitkyina in the Kachin state to auction off some of his fight gear, with the proceeds going to Internally Displaced People, or IDPs, in the local community.
In addition to that, he is leading a mixed martial arts movement in Myanmar, and helping young competitors like Phoe Thaw, make a successful transition from lethwei into the sport he loves.
Clearly, Aung La N Sang remembers his roots. What’s more, he is nurturing those roots and his father could not be any more pleased.
“One thing I always wanted to do was make my dad proud, and it just makes me happy I am on the right road. It gives me peace of mind and it makes me appreciate it, and it makes me want to work even harder,” he said.
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