Performing martial arts music to welcome participants attending the incense offering ceremony at the Quang Trung Museum.

1. In late afternoon of August 1, the participants gathered at the Quang Trung Museum to join in the flower and incense offering ceremony. The ritual saw the presence of Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh, Deputy Minister Huynh Vinh Ai, Chairman of Vietnamese Traditional Martial Arts Federation Doan Thao, and more than 1,000 martial arts instructors and practitioners.

Many people were touched by the scene of the respectful incense offering ceremony to commemorate the three Tay Son Brothers, their military generals and civil mandarins.

 “It is the very first time I’ve practiced a Vietnamese tradition ritual. Yet, I feel very moved and experience its sacredness because my master had already explained me meaning of the incense offering, the great victories of Emperor Quang Trung and the Tay Son heroic generals,” said Huber Michael, a member of a German troupe.

Before leaving the museum, many washed their faces and drank water from an ancient well next to the Tay Son Temple dedicating to the three Tay Son Brothers. They wanted to take of their own a part of traditional inspiration and essence of the holy land and talented people.

2. Quy Nhon Stadium was splendid with flowers and flags in the evening of August 1 to warmly welcome the participants to the opening ceremony. Besides the presence of many officials, including NA Deputy Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien, Secretary of Binh Dinh Province Party Committee Vu Hoang Ha, and Chairman of Binh Dinh Province People’s Committee Nguyen Van Thien. Thousands of local people also came to witness the ceremony.

 “The 3rd International Vietnamese Traditional Martial Arts Festival was honourably approved by Prime Minister as an activity to celebrate Ha Noi's 1,000th anniversary. Many festivities, exchanges, and workshops will be organized with the aim at introducing the public essence of Vietnamese traditional martial arts. An International Federation of Vietnamese Traditional Martial Arts will also be expectedly established after the event so that there will be a common place for all of the Vietnamese traditional martial arts schools to gather, share experiences, find ways to preserve, and develop the precious martial arts heritage domestically and internationally,” stated the provincial People's Committee Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Binh.

At the beginning of the opening ceremony, the participant martial arts groups of various skin colours, languages and schools paraded across the stadium. They all shared the same jubilation of the night meeting. As the ceremony officially opened, 21 local prominent martial arts practitioners carried a torch which had been lighted at the Tay Son Temple to the main platform. The torch relay ended when Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Huynh Vinh Ai received the torch from the torch bearers to light the cauldron, lighting the flame of the martial arts event’s spirit and ardour.

Next to the opening ritual was the “Friendship Bridge” themed performance with the participation of nearly 1,500 students, artists and martial arts practitioners. The performance included 3 parts.

Part 1 was the warm salutes from Vietnam and Binh Dinh Province, introducing Vietnam in general and Binh Dinh in particular with unique traditional cultures through dances which shown beauty of Vietnamese women in their traditional ao dai, beauty of natural scenery like rivers, fervent jungles and open sea waters.

Part 2 comprised the performance “Share the same spirit of sportsmanship” which aroused moved of the viewers through its flag dance “Battle formation” in harmony with resounding sounds of Tay Son fighting drum, the exercise of Binh Dinh style traditional martial arts together with the finest martial arts performances of the participant groups and the dance performance “In celebration of Ha Noi's 1,000th anniversary as to remind about Ngoc Hoi – Dong Da great victory of Tay Son troops in Spring 1789. The heroic tradition of Vietnamese forefathers has been expanding all over the world since then through the martial arts “bridge”.

The ending part closed the theme music performance with the invitation “Let’s come to us – Vietnam” to enjoy in the beautiful country and to build the Friendship Bridge.

The ceremony ended with the meaningful release of 200 pigeons, sending a message that Vietnamese traditional martial arts had been always for the sakes of peace, of its practitioners’ physical and mental health. These are important factors which persuade many people worldwide to practice the martial arts.

3. Exhibition of Binh Dinh style martial arts costumes and weapons and of photos of the two previous festivals also opened in the morning of the August 1 at the provincial Cultural Centre. Although the exhibition was simple, it attracted big attention.  Fabian Boeck, a German martial art practitioner, and 4 of his friends didn’t feel tired of looking at the strange weapons and costumes.

“I have been practicing Vietnamese traditional martial arts for years. Yet, only when my friends and I come to Binh Dinh could we witness the first time with our eyes such the weapons and martial arts costumes, helping us understand more about the beauty of Vietnamese traditional martial arts”, said Fabian.

4 sets of typical Binh Dinh styled martial arts costumes during the history of Vietnam were displayed at the exhibition. The brown or ruby red dyed ancient costumes were put by side of the modern ones with red colour and yellow stripes as regulated by Vietnam Traditional Martial Arts Federation at present.

“The red colour symbolizes victory while the yellow colour implies skin colour of Vietnamese people. The two colours are sacred and solemnly meaningful, resembling the colour of Vietnam national flag,” explained vice-chairman of Vietnam Traditional Martial Arts Federation Pham Dinh Phong.

Common weapons such as rod, sword, halberd, and mace and photos of 25 Binh Dinh-born veteran masters, of nationally and internationally well-known stances of Binh Dinh style and 50 pictures of the two previous events were shown in the exhibition.

“I am really moved to watch the photos of the grand masters with whom I am acquainted like Ly Xuan Hy, Phan Tho, Tran Dan, and Kim Dinh. I will try to meet them now,” said Master Le Huu Que from the General Association for the Development of World Martial Arts.

• Binh Dinh staff