Thanh arrives in Tao Dan park and he gets on his gears quickly. “I am always happy before my Vo Binh Dinh lesson. It releases me from the stress I have accumulated during the week”, he says. Thanh is 36 year-old accountant in his family company and he is very busy. “Business is good so it is good for the company. But as I am working more and more, stress is also increasing. Before I was just coping with it. Coming back home in evenings or during the weekend, I was tired, I did not want to do anything but lie in the sofa and watch TV or read magazines. Soon, I could not concentrate and I gave up reading. I also practised tennis. It is good to practise a sport. I played every Sunday. But then, on Monday, afetr a single day back to work, I felt already exhausted again. But now I realise that tennis is a game more than a sport. Furthermore, it is not designed for the sake of the body but for fun. And you can also get injuries such as back pain, knee or elbow twist, and the vibrations of the racket in the forearm is not os good. I suffered some of these injuries repeteadly”. Thanh is very keen on talking about this because now, for him as he says, these days are over.
“At the beginning, I was not too much into Vo Binh Dinh. When I first heard that it was a martial art, I was quite reluctant and did not even want to give it a shot”, Thanh explains. “I don’t like violence or kung fu stuff. Even though it is about self defense, I did not like it, as I did not like any contact sports anyway. But my friend insisted and she finally convinced me with these words: “if you want to go on with your tiredness, then yes, do not try Vo Binh Dinh””. Just to challenge her and to prove her wrong, Thanh started the lessons. To his surprise after only three or four lessons, he felt quite a huge effect: “I felt changed somehow. I felt less tired, the feeling of exhaustion appeared later in the week. And even when it appeared, it was not like before. More precisely, it felt like like my batteries were fully charged and I felt literaly more energy in me, so even when I was tired, I could recover easily with a good night sleep!”, he recalls. “It lifted a weight off my shoulders. The burden of stress and fatigue seem lighter. After my lesson every Sunday, I feel peaceful and more serene in my mind. Vo Binh Dinh is a fighting art, but I know now that it is more than that.”
Vo Binh Dinh is the Traditional martial arts of Vietnam. It is practiced for good health, sound mind in sound body and self-defense, which contributed to Vietnam's establishment through history of fighting for survival against Chinese and development of Vietnamese. The Vo Binh Dinh spirit of freedom instills strong martial arts training into Vietnamese culture. With particular characters and the best of Traditional Martial Arts in Binh Dinh, Vietnamese people, for thousand years have developed and improved through fighting foreign invaders and tyrants. The Vo Binh Dinh, also called Vo Tay Son Fighting arts was created in the insurrection, and against strong neighbour invasions. The Binh Dinh Tradition Styles encourage women to learn it. In fact, the woman's body is slightly better suited for practicing that style with harmony between soft and hard, body and mind for good health. “In my class, there are 50% women”, Thanh confirms.
Vo Binh Dinh fighting arts has its roots in a late 18th century peasants' revolt in Vietnam. The political situation in Vietnam at that time was very complicated, with two ancient families, the Nguyen and the Trinh, contesting for control over the Vietnamese throne. In the Tay Son region, with today's Binh Dinh province at its heart, three brothers of another Nguyen family, Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Hue and Nguyen Lu, ignited a revolt of oppressed peasants in 1773. The Tay Son were savage fighters and initially successful beyond any expectations. Part of the explanation for their battle-field successes was Vo Binh Dinh martial art. Each of the three brothers (as well, apparently as other generals also of the Nguyen family) contributed to today's Vo Binh Dinh style and practitioners in the tradition trace their lineages to one of them. Some extended techniques included eighteen different weapons forms. The best weapon forms in Binh Dinh are Sticks, Swords, Sabers, and Lances (Quyen, Con, Kiem, Dao, and Thuong). Vo Binh Dinh has three main styles as An Thai, Thuan Truyen and An Vinh.
Many martial arts were created during 16th – 18th centuries, when Vietnam was separated in several states. It was a good situation for the developing of martial arts. Many martial arts surfaced during the Tay Son Rebellion (1771-1788), the first serious attempt for unifying the country. The rebel's base was in Binh Dinh Province, which still is a place with many martial arts. Vo Binh Dinh is a style that originated in Binh Dinh Province. It is based on the assumption that the opponent is non-Vietnamese and therefore likely taller and heavier. Hence a Vo Binh Dinh fighter constantly moves, changes positions, changes the directions of movement, uses counter-strikes to attacking arm or leg.
The Binh Dinh styles stresses the use of the tendons. “The muscles play secondary roles here, but the use of elbows and knees are predominant”, Thanh explains. “That is why I have to warm up at least 20 minutes before the lesson begins, if not I would risk quite a bad injury. The first lessons were painful in the jonctions areas. I could not walk or even keep a pen between my fingers on Mondays!”. When in a combination, the elbows and knees would connect. “It is like a dance. A deadly dance, as we use shoulders and hips to begin a movement. This style imagines the ends of the limbs as pendulum bobs, and they are thrown against their enemy. The hand would lead the rest of the arm, rather than using the shoulder to place the hand at its target. The end result is that Binh Dinh is very much like swinging pendulums, but the swing is controlled, and the result would be deadly.” But again, Thanh highlights that it is not this “violent” aspect of Vo Binh Dinh that attracts him.
“I realise now much Vo Binh Dinh contributes to my inner peace. Vo Binh Dinh is for me more of a spiritual martial art, about training strong will, advance spirit, love people and serve to Community. My teacher used to encourage me to surpass myself. One day during a stance, taking strikes on and on from him, I had a nervous breakdown and I started crying. I did not know why I was crying. It was everything at the same time I guess, the strikes, the stress, the fatigue, everything exploded. But my teacher exhorted me to focus, concentrate and continue relentlessly. After 10 more minutes, we stopped and he allowed to sit and cry for good. After that, I was like a new man, Thanh smiles. Well at least I felt released. Now practising more and more, I know how to channel this energy and release it in a positive way.” Like in any martial arts the spiritual benefit is undeniable. “I know myself better, I can also control my emotions and feelings better, Thanh recognises. I feel energy flux circulating throughout my body, in my arms, my legs, my head. It is a living and positive force that I have learned to know and master, and hopefully I will be better at that”.
Vo Binh Dinh is slowly becoming more and more popular. For example security companies are training their staff in Vo Binh Dinh, rather than in tae kwon do or karate. “It is our Vietnamese cultural heritage. This martial art symbolises trhe Vietnamese strong spirit”, Thanh says. During the resistance against the French in the 1950s, martial arts instructors actively sought young people who had volunteered to become guerrillas and trained them in martial arts skills. Vo Binh Dinh's martial art disciplines continued to develop during the American war. Today, the young generation of Vietnamese, and even foreigners living here, are learning this traditional Vietnamese martial art, thus reviving the traditional art.
