The inclusion of Vietnamese martial arts (Vovinam) as a competitive event at the Asian Indoor Games (AIG 3), which will take place in November in Hanoi, has helped raise the art’s position in the world arena.

According to the Vietnam Vovinam Federation, if it is successful in AIG 3, Vovinam will have a chance to become an official event at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), the Asian Games (Asiad) and even the Olympic Games.

From a traditional martial art of the Vietnamese people, in combination with quintessence of some other martial arts, Vovinam has attracted numerous trainees and is considered as a special martial art emphasising internal strength.

Vovinam has enthusiasts in 30 countries and territories in the world. In Vietnam, the martial art is growing in popularity in 40 cities and provinces, with about 20,000 students in the northern region.

In recent years, Vovinam groups took part in international festivals of traditional martial arts and made performance tours to many countries, contributing to promoting Vovinam and the Vietnamese people, land and culture.

Many Vietnamese Vovinam grand masters were invited to Europe and Africa to train high-ranking disciples. For many years, several groups of foreign Vovinam disciples made visits to the martial art’s birth place and attended the international Vovinam festival in Vietnam .

During a visit-cum-performance tour to Hanoi in early August, Vovinam Grand Master Nguyen Tien Hoi, an overseas Vietnamese from Germany, spoke of how the martial art appeared in Germany in 1975 and attracted many students, especially children under 15. Vovinam was introduced on television in the country.

Meanwhile, Coach Pramoth Sooksatit of Thailand , who went to Vietnam to learn Vovinam in early 2007, brought promising martial artists to the World Vovinam Championships in Ho Chi Minh City last July. He said that Vovinam is a martial art with difficult techniques, which is why many people are fond of it.

However, to develop the martial art into an international sports event, General Secretary of the World Vovinam Federation Vo Danh Hai said it is necessary to create regulations for competition suitable with events at the Olympics Games and to have good trainers to help in training at countries with many enthusiasts.

In the short term, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has asked the Vietnam Vovinam Federation to ensure the AIG3 is well-organised and compile a training programme to teach the martial art in schools.

Vovinam was founded by late Grand Master Nguyen Loc in 1938, and includes the use of weapons like swords, knives, cudgels and guns./.