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Performing martial arts. Photo HT |
Binh Dinh was known as the land of martial arts. Martial art villages locating adjacent to the Kon River proved the name.
* Thuan Truyen
Thuan Truyen martial art village in Tay Son District is closely associated with Master Ho Nhu (also called Ho Nganh). He was born in 1891. His father was a military mandarin of Nguyen dynasty and his mother was born in Hue.
When he was a child, he learned martial arts from many masters, according to Master Ho Sung, a master Ho Nhu’s grandchild. His mother also taught him more, perfecting his techniques. He was well known in four provinces in 1932 and many people came to learn martial arts from him.
Ho Nhu can still perform all techniques at the age of 80. Because of his son’s death, he taught his grandchild who is now master Ho Sung.
Rod is typical weapon of Binh Dinh’s martial arts. Many schools of martial arts in Binh Dinh are famous in performing techniques with rod. Thuan Truyen village is also well known for this. They are considered as esoteric techniques of Binh Dinh’s martial arts.
At present, Master Ho Sung is still continuing to open schools of martial arts from which many masters have been named, providing athletes for Binh Dinh squad of traditional martial arts.
* An Vinh
Thuan Truyen village is famous for rod while An Vinh martial art village became well known thanks to its fists. Huong Muc Ngac is one of famous masters in An Vinh. He learned not only Binh Dinh martial arts but Chinese martial arts; therefore, he became the most excellent master at that time.
His children, such as Bay Lut, Tam Cang, and Chin Giac, all master martial arts. Huong Kiem My, learning martial arts from Bay Lut, is good at both fist and sword. He contributed to develop An Vinh fist techniques.
Alongside Huong Muc Ngac’s school of martial arts, there were other schools. But they no longer existed. At present, only Masters Tran Dan and Van Xuan Ngoc are opening schools of martial arts.
Mentioning An Vinh village, we must talk about master Phan Tho, a living legend in the land of martial art. He was born in 1926 and began to learn martial arts when he was 18. He could perform techniques with 18 types of weapons and uncommon ones. Currently, master Phan Tho still devotes himself to the promotion of Binh Dinh traditional martial arts regardless of his old age.
* An Thai
An Thai martial art village in An Nhon District is the place where three brothers Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Hue, and Nguyen Lu came to learn martial arts.
An Thai village still exists through the ups and downs of time and wars. Many Chinese people came here in the 19th century, dividing martial arts into two groups, Vietnamese and Chinese martial arts, led by Doan Du and Khanh Ngon.
However, both disappeared in the mid-19th century. Diep Truong Phat, often called Tau Sau, opened a school of Chinese fists in An Thai in early 20th century.
Tau Sau was born in 1896. He is a Chinese person, but his grandmother and mother are the Vietnamese. When he was 13, he moved to China and then Hongkong to learn martial arts. He returned to An Thai 15 years later and opened a school of martial arts for more than 40 years.
He improved traditional martial arts, building a system of martial arts basing on different schools. The system includes tiger fists, dragon fists, monkey fists, and snake fists. Basing on the nature of the buffalo, Tau Sau also built five teachings, including patience, solidarity, sacrifice, honesty, bravery and five regulations. He taught many students such as Ba Phung, Chin Ky, Pho Tuan Chuan, and Nam Tuong.
When Tau Sau had passed away, his son Diep Bao Sanh succeeded him as the leader of that school. He changed the name of that school into Binh Dinh-An Thai, shortly called school of Binh Thai. At present, it has been taught everywhere.
Now, in An Thai, only master Lam Ngoc Phu opens a school of martial arts. He is master Lam Dinh Tho’s son.
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