The Steel Hand on the Benevolent Heart

The Ten Pledges
Rank Hierarchy
Emblem - Flag
The Vovinam Vow


Biography of Vovinam Masters
(coming soon)
 

The Martial Arts Discipline of Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao was founded by Master Nguyen Loc in 1938. He grew up in the period which Vienam was still under the French colonial rule. At that time, young men either were seduced by the French into the lusty lives or joined the revolutionary war against the French.

Master Nguyen Loc believed that the only way to free Vietnam from the colonial rule was to train the Vietnamese young men to have a strong, invincible will for liberty and independence. That will must be produced by a strong body and a rational mind. Carrying on that belief, he practiced hardly and researched many Vietnamese traditional martial arts as well as many foreign martial arts. After his research, he founded a new discipline of martial arts, which he named "VOVINAM", understood as the "MARTIAL ARTS OF VIETNAM." Since 1964, the new title "VIET VO DAO" ("THE PHILOSOPHY OF VIETNAMESE MARTIAL ARTS") was added to become "VOVINAM-VIET VO DAO."

In 1960, before passing away, Founder promotes his eldest student, Master Le Sang, to become the Grand Master. Since then, under the leadership of Grand Master Le Sang, Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao becomes an international martial arts with more than one million practitioners on the world.

Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao carried out its roles with the following purposes:

  1. Preserve and develop the martial arts of Vietnam, applying the "Hard-Soft Codevelopment".
  2. Research and innovate new martial arts' techniques to improve Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao's technical resources.
  3. Train disciples on the Strength, Techniques, and Philosophy
    Strength: Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao will train disciples to have a solid body and strong endurance against obstacles and diseases.
    Techniques: Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao will train disciples to have practical techniques for self-defense and just causes.
    Philosophy: Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao will train disciples to have a rational mind, an invincible will, and a gallant character. Disciples will be living in a self-disciplined and forgiving way and become model citizens, and serve oneself, one's family, one's state, and mankind.

To achieve the above purposes, Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao follows five objectives:

  1. All the functions of Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao are based on an established foundation: take Mankind as the end, take Characters as the goals, and take Invincible Will as the means.
  2. Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao is an extended family, in which disciples love and respect one another. The reprect and love will be the discipline of Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao, which will help the disciples to unite and honor the uprightness of Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao, serving mankind.
  3. Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao actively participates in the education of young men and women.
  4. Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao is independent of political and religious influence.
  5. Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao always repects other disciplines of martial arts.