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Master Ly Thanh Nhan performs a skill. Photo H.T. |
Master Vo Thanh Nhan, living in Dap Da town of An Nhon District, is now 62, but he has spent over 50 years practising the traditional martial arts. On meeting him for the first time, I was impressed by his energetic appearance.
The defeat worth remembering
Being the son of Master Ly Xuan Tao, his father taught him the martial arts when he was a child. After growing up, he began participating in most competitions and became the winner thanks to his good figure and skills.
He got himself the champion title in a boxing match at the provincial traditional martial arts tournament held before the South's Liberation. He was the only student of Ly Xuan Tao hall joining the tournament. He won all matches and reached the final one in which he and his opponent had a drawn match. Both were granted the champion title.
"At that time, it was very difficult to hold a tournament. Of all matches I joined, I was once defeated," said Master Ly Thanh Nhan. That was in 1970 when he joined a tournament held in Gia Lai Province. He and other competitors from Binh Dinh were defeated by the others from Sai Gon. "We still followed traditional techniques. Our legs didn't leave the ground; meanwhile, Sai Gon's competitors were quicker than us," Master Nhan explained.
Devotion to martial arts
After 1975, Master Ly Thanh Nhan decided to devote full time to teach the martial arts. He always reminds his students about keeping their feet on the ground.
When entering any competition, a competitor mustn't be subjective; moreover, he had to know the opponent's strong points to deal with and to learn from these, said Master Nhan.
After being defeated by Sai Gon's competitors, he carefully studied skills and made them more effective. He always finds the information about opponents when his students join any tournament. Thanks to this, Master Nhan is able to help his students have suitable strategies to win.
Master Nhan's contributions to the traditional martial arts are much more. After becoming the national level referee for traditional martial arts, he has worked as a referee at national traditional martial arts champion tournaments. Also, he has gone to many central provinces to make Binh Dinh traditional martial arts become well known.
At present, Master Ly Thanh Nhan still devotes all his time to the martial arts. "I always try to preserve our ancestor's treasure, but we are older and older. If the traditional martial arts movement isn't rightly directed, only a few people learn the martial arts," said Master Nhan.
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