I Am Oum Ry: A Champion Kickboxer’s Story of Surviving the Cambodian Genocide and Discovering Peace

As told to Zochada Tat and Addi Somekh. Afterword by Michael G. Vann, Ph.

REVIEWS

  • “The story of the legendary martial arts fighter and kickboxer Oum Ry is by turns pulse-pounding, disturbing, and powerful. His is an astonishing life told beautifully by his daughter Zochada Tat and Addi Somekh. The book will grip you from its first pages and not let you go.”

    - Jeff Chang, author of Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America and Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation

  • “This memoir strikes hard on multiple levels. It is a reflection of contemporary America and the transnational, transcultural, immigrant experience that many Americans live, whether themselves or vicariously. Oum Ry, like many other fortunate refugees makes his way to the United States where he finds both happiness and deep disappointment. The life of a migrant is bittersweet, filled with hope and longing. Oum Ry’s life has been a rollercoaster in and out of the fighter’s ring, dramatic in positive and negative ways. His is a life worth the reading.”

    - Dr. JoAnn LoSavio, Washington State University, Vancouver (Review)

  • "Cambodian kickboxing master Oum Ry Ban knows a thing or two about resilience. But the 79-year-old who fled a communist regime, survived a brutal gang attack, and can only hear out of one ear, says that these are nothing compared to the importance of keeping an ancient martial art sport alive. […] “Oum Ry fought so hard to keep this place, this martial art style, alive. We learn how to defend ourselves, but also a piece of culture and history,” [trainer] Calvin Darby said. “He is someone who refuses to let a tradition die.”

    - Long Beach Press-Telegram (Review)

  • “The smallest man in the room has the biggest heart.”

    - Greg Mellen, Orange County Register / Long Beach Press-Telegram