(VOVworld) – The 5^th International Vietnamese Martial Arts Festival in Binh Dinh province last week drew more than 1,500 martial artists and masters from all provinces of Vietnam and from 22 other countries. The festival was a meeting place for those who are passionate about Vietnam’s martial arts. Vinh Phong reports:

Themed “Preserving and enhancing Vietnam’s martial arts”, the festival included a number of exchanges and competitions among the participating delegations. The delegates were impressed by the spirit of the Vietnamese people. Vietnamese martial arts have been taught in many parts of the world. Its spread has helped to promote Vietnamese culture. Nguyen Van Dung, Director of the Binh Dinh Provincial People’s Committee, said: “Binh Dinh martial arts have been practiced by many foreign students, who have come to learn more about the spirit of Vietnamese martial arts, which have become more and more widespread.”

Master Oliver Barbey, head of the Son Long sect in France, said thanks to martial arts, he has fallen in love with the Vietnamese land and its people. His master was Nguyen Duc Moc, who also taught Vietnamese as well as the moral principles of martial arts to him and his fellow students.  Oliver Barbey said: “The most important thing I learned from Vietnam’s martial arts was morality. Master Moc came to France at the end of World War II and opened a number of martial arts schools in France, Switzerland, Burkina Faso, and Algeria. We are continuing in his footsteps and following his dream of promoting Vietnamese martial arts.”

Nikokosheva Natalia of Russia has a great passion for Vietnam and its martial arts. She has been working in Ho Chi Minh city and has attended the festival twice. While in Moscow, she studied Vietnamese and researched Vietnam’s culture and history. In particular, she learned about King Quang Trung and the martial arts of his homeland, Binh Dinh. She decided to follow master Ho Hoa Hue to study Tinh Vo Dao, literally translated is the Purity of martial arts: “I was introduced by my Vietnamese friends to Tinh Vo dao. They told me that master Ho Hoa Hue was a great master and Tinh Vo dao was very special. Tinh Vo dao is suitable for weak people and women, who with flexible and gentle moves can defeat even stronger adversaries. Many of my Russian friends have also been practicing Tinh Vo dao. One who learns martial arts must be moral, behave properly, and help others.”

Attending this festival were descendants of the masters of many Vietnamese martial arts sects. They began to learn at the age of 5 or 6 and have been promoting Vietnamese martial arts around the world. Ryabova Valerya has been practicing Tinh Vo mon for 15 years. She said: “I’m very happy to come back to this festival and I like this place so much. I have taken part in this festival 5 times. Every time I come back here, I’m very happy. My father introduced martial arts to me about 10 years ago. I fell in love with martial arts because in this sport, I can feel the spirit of power and the martial spirit.”