Visitors to Thua Thien Hue province can tour traditional craft villages, listen to local chants while boating on the Perfume River, spend a day in Tam Giang lagoon, relax at Thuan An beach. They can also enjoy a beautiful martial arts performance by local martial artists.Martial artists range between 18 and 28 years old. Most take martial arts to become healthy and gradually become hooked on it. Under the tutelage of martial arts instructor Truong Quang Kim, they have become martial artists. "I had the idea of introducing Vietnamese martial arts to foreign visitors 12 years ago. When I performed traditional Vietnamese martial arts, the audience seemed very excited by it. So I recruited some orphan children, trained them and took them to my performance. Some people like our performance so much that they come to visit my martial arts school. I think our performance attracts tourists to Hue", said Kim.

In the beginning, Kim and his students at the Van An Phai martial arts school only performed for tourists from Denmark and France hosted by the Hanoi Vietnam Tourism Company. Ms Duong Thi Cong Ly, an employee of the company’s Hue branch says foreign tourists like the beautiful gestures of Hue martial arts very much and they are very impressed with Kim’s performances. Tours of this martial arts school are now included in many tourist itineraries. "Many travel companies have brought foreign visitors to these shows. They sell individual tickets or blocks of tickets. In addition to visiting ancient palaces and gardens, tourists now have an opportunity to learn about the lives of military mandarins of the Nguyen dynasty", said Ly.

A martial arts performance in Van An Phai school - Source: Internet

Kim says Hue’s martial art is unique for its beautiful gestures and sequences: "Our martial arts gestures resemble animals trying to defend themselves. They are different from other types of martial arts as they originated in the Nguyen dynasty’s citadel and could only be learned from books. We are very interested in performing thanks to audiences’ applause".

Martial artists at the Van An Phai school practice martial arts to become healthy and increase their self confidence. Nguyen Ngoc Ty, one of Kim’s students said: "This type of martial arts originated in the Nguyen Dynasty. It’s exercises help people become healthier".

Many tourists are surprised to see strong performances by slender girls, who brandish weapons and demonstrate fighting gestures flexibly and beautifully. At a cost 2USD for an individual ticket and 100USD for a group ticket, tourists can enjoy a 45 minute performance of traditional martial arts of Vietnam’s former capital.

Lan Anh