Vovinam (short for ''Võ Việt Nam'', meaning "Vietnamese Martial Arts"), officially known as Việt Võ Đạo (越武道, meaning "Vietnamese Way of Martial Arts") is a
Vietnamese martial art founded in 1938 by
Nguyễn Lộc. It is based on traditional Vietnamese eclectic sources. Vovinam today is considered by the
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to be a "National Intangible Cultural Heritage" as of November, 2023.
Vovinam, based on the principle of "
hard and soft", involves the use of
strikes,
elbow
The elbow is the region between the upper arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and t ...
s,
kicks,
knee
In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...
s, and
wrestling
Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
moves, as well as weapons such as swords, knives, chisels, claws and fans that serve as training devices for reaching optimal control of body and mind. Students also learn defense techniques and
forms. Amongst Vietnamese martial arts, Vovinam is the largest and most developed with more than 60 schools around the world, including
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
,
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
,
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
,
Uzbekistan
, image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg
, image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg
, symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem
, national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, among others.
History

Vovinam/Việt Võ Đạo was founded in 1938 by
Nguyễn Lộc (1912 – 1960) in
Hanoi
Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
, with the intent of providing practitioners with an efficient method of self-defense after a short period of study. Nguyễn believed martial arts would contribute to freeing Vietnam from colonial rule, which had been
ruled by France since 1859, and from outside domination. Vovinam added elements of Chinese and Japanese systems to traditional Vietnamese martial arts, systems, which were thus partially created as a response to the French occupation, meant to promote a sense of national identity for the Vietnamese people.
Hence, it is similar to
taekwondo
Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...
in that it is an eclectic system with combined elements of Japanese and Chinese martial arts within an indigenous framework.
After being invited to demonstrate Vovinam publicly in Hanoi with his disciples in 1940, Nguyễn was invited to teach the art at Hanoi's École Normale, and Vovinam gained in popularity. During the following years, political unrest increased throughout Vietnam; due to the system's nationalist political orientation, the art came under suppression. By 1954, Nguyễn had emigrated to South Vietnam, where he was able to continue to teach and establish Vovinam schools.
His discipline was well received and within the year of arriving, he was even invited to train the police in
Thủ Đức,
Saigon
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025.
The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
. Unfortunately, he would fall terminally ill that same year and have to delegate all teaching to his senior student
Grandmaster Lê Sáng while he relegated himself to backline research & study until he succumbed to his illness four years later. After his death in 1960,
Grandmaster Lê Sáng continued the development and international promotion of Vovinam until his own death on September 27, 2010. During the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
throughout the mid-60's under Lê, Vovinam secured teaching opportunities when its instructors were invited to train officers from the
National Police. However, a brief rivalry was brewing between Vovinam practitioners and
Taekwondo
Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...
when the South Vietnamese government decided to have the hand-to-hand system utilized by the
South Korean military to be the main hand-to-hand system for the
South Vietnamese soldiers and have the
South Korean troops train the South Vietnamese soldiers. The rivalry was only settled when the
Central Military Command later came to an agreement for both Vovinam &
Taekwondo
Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...
as well as
Judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
to be allowed to be taught to
the South Vietnamese military.
The first Vovinam school outside of Vietnam was established in
Houston, Texas
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
by Vietnamese emigrants in 1976 after the
Fall of Saigon
The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...
. By 2000, Vovinam schools had been established in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Morocco, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.
Vovinam now exists without the political overtones it originally carried.
Logo
The Vovinam/Việt Võ Đạo logo is framed in a yellow shield.
This shape symbolizes the harmony of hard and soft. Within this yellow shape, the red text "Vovinam" is written above the marine blue text "Việt Võ Đạo". Beneath the text appears an
''Âm-Dương'' symbol in red and marine blue. The Âm-Dương is surrounded by a thick, white circle, symbolizing the being of the Dao, with the mission to mediate between negative and positive (''Âm'' = Negative, ''Dương'' = Positive), to subdue the two, to enable life of all beings. A yellow map of Vietnam is superimposed on the symbol.
Theory
Hard and soft
The
yin and yang
Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...
theory (Vietnamese: "Âm-Dương" and "Nhu-Cương") states that everything in the universe and on earth is initiated through the interrelation of Âm (negative) and Dương (positive).
As to this theory there are martial arts that prefer the hard over the soft and others that prefer the soft over the hard. Vovinam Việt Võ Đạo does not prefer any over the other. Hard and soft are used equally to adapt to every situation, to every problem.
The student aims to develop the ability to combine hard and soft in combat and in daily life. This aims to develop both their physical abilities and spirit.
Not only the principle of the harmony of
hard and soft but also many other things resulting from the training contribute to internalizing the martial art philosophy, e.g. fighting spirit, courage, tenacity, fairness, modesty and tolerance. Above all the training in morality and the way of applying the techniques shape the students' character. Emphasis is placed on recognizing one's
ego and overcoming it.
In doing so the Vovinam student will gain generosity and tolerance with other people. With the awareness that the most important thing in a human's life are other humans, the final goal is to be able to not only help oneself but also to help others to live in peace and harmony with their surroundings.
With the salutation "Iron Hand over benevolent heart", the student is reminded of the main principle and the goal of Vovinam Việt Võ Đạo with every training. It is also about using the opponent's force and reaction, reaching maximum effect with comparatively little force.
10 principles of Vovinam Việt Võ Đạo
The term ''Việt Võ Đạo'' ("the way (
Dao) of Viet Vo") was coined by the patriarch of the second generation of the Vovinam Viet Vo Dao,
Lê Sáng, with the objective of adding a philosophical dimension to his martial art. This "Viet Vo Dao" consists of ten principles:
# Vovinam's disciples vow to pursue high proficiency in their martial art in order to serve the people and humanity.
# Promise to be faithful to the intentions and teaching of Vovinam and develop the young generation of Vovinam Viêt Võ Dao.
# Be united in spirit and heart, respect one's elder, be kind to one's peers.
# Respect discipline absolutely, maintain the high standard of personal conduct and honour of a martial art disciple.
# Have respect for other martial art schools, only use martial art skills for self-defense and protect justice.
# Be studious, strengthen the mind, enrich one's thought & behavior.
# Live simply, with chastity, loyalty, high principles and ethics.
# Build up a spirit of steely determination and vigor, overcome powers of violence.
# Make intelligent judgments, carry out struggles with perseverance and act with alertness.
# Be self-confident, self-controlled, modest and generous.
(The wording can vary slightly between Vovinam schools)
A "Việt Võ Đạo Federation" was founded on November 3, 1973, in order to reunite some Vietnamese martial arts. Therefore, "Việt Võ Đạo", in Europe, is also used as a generic term for certain
Vietnamese martial arts and philosophies but in Vietnam is only used to refer to "Vovinam Việt Võ Đạo".
Belt system, the uniforms and the colors
Uniforms
From 1938 to 1964, there was no official uniform. Following the lifting of the ban on martial arts in Vietnam in 1963, the first Council of Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao was gathered in 1964 to codify Vovinam, establishing a rank hierarchy and uniforms and codifying the training curriculum according to rank.
The color blue was adopted as the official color for Vovinam uniforms.
A separate development of the "Việt Võ Đạo Federation" in 1973 until 1990 the uniforms' color was black.
In the summer of 1990, Vovinam masters from around the world met at the International Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao Conference in
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
with the goal of creating a structured organization for Vovinam Việt Võ Đạo outside Vietnam (the International Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao Federation).
One of the decisions was that the suit in Vovinam Việt Võ Đạo were now to be blue worldwide.
Belts
The student begins with a cyan belt - the same color as his/her suit.
Blue stands for the factor of the sea, and the hope - the hope in being successful in learning Vovinam. With the following 3 exams, yellow stripes are added to the blue belt. The 3rd yellow stripe is followed by the yellow belt.
Yellow stands for earth. In other martial arts this belt is black. Therefore, a Vovinam student who carries a yellow belt is allowed to carry a black belt. This makes a comparison to other martial arts easier, e.g. in public performances. A person who wears a yellow belt with one or more red stripes is considered an instructor.
Following in a longer period of time, respectively 3 red stripes are added to the yellow belt. This corresponds to the 1st, 2nd, respectively 3rd degree blackbelt (
Đẳng). The exam following the 3rd red stripe is the master's exam. Passing the exam successfully assigns the right to wear a red belt with a circulating yellow border (4th degree blackbelt).
Red stands for the blood and the intensive flame. The student has internalized Vovinam (Việt Võ Đạo) even further. The 5th to 10th degree blackbelt are shown as a completed red belt with 1 to 6 white stripes.
White stands for the infiniteness, the bones; is the symbol of the depth of the spirit. The white belt assigns the master the absolute mastery of Vovinam Việt Võ Đạo. On the white belt thin, lengthwise stripes in blue, black, yellow and red symbolize the whole of Vovinam (Việt Võ Đạo) again. This belt is reserved for the "Chưởng Môn".
Now, Vovinam has two different sets of belt ranking because of the different training program: The WVVF Vovinam (headquarter: Vietnam) uses the traditional program and (headquarter: France) uses the new training program.
Name plates
With every change of belt color the name plate color changes. Blue belt students start off with yellow text on blue
name plates. With the yellow belt the name plate changes to red text on yellow ground. The red belt comes along with white text on a red name plate. The patriarch carries red text on a white name plate. Thin, colored lines in blue, yellow and red are shown on the upper and lower borders of this white name plate.
Specialties
Vovinam has some specialised techniques:
# Đòn Chân Tấn Công
#: A group of leg grappling techniques that is designed to grab the opponent by the feet or legs and take them down using twisting motions usable as a surprise attack in a fight. There are 21 leg grappling techniques.
# Đấm Lao
#: A backfist swung reversely to the temple.
# Đá Cạnh
#: A diagonally applied kick.
Techniques and weapons
*
Hand techniques (đòn tay)
*
Elbow techniques (chỏ)
*
Kicking techniques (đá)
*
Knee techniques (gối)
*
Forms (
Quyền, Song Luyện, Đa Luyện)
* Attack techniques (chiến lược)
*
Self-defense
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of Force (law), ...
(tự vệ)
* Self-defense against knife attack (phản đòn dao)
*
Traditional wrestling (
Vật cổ truyền)
* Leg attack take-downs (đòn chân tấn công)
*
Staff (côn)
*
Sword
A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...
(kiếm)
*
Halberd (dao dài)
*
Sabre
A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...
(đao)
*
Dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...
(dao găm)
*
Machete (mã tấu)
*
Spear
A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...
(thương)
World Championships
Vovinam has
Voninam World Championships since 2002
as well as
Vocotruyen World Championships.
See also
*
Võ Thuật
*
Võ thuật Bình Định
*
Vietnamese martial arts
*
Silat
*
Chinese Martial Arts
Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...
Vovinam University International
Notes and references
External links
World Vovinam Federation (WVVF)European Vovinam Federation (EVVF)US Vovinam FederationVovinam University InternationalVovinam Martial Arts{{martial arts
Vietnamese martial arts
Individual sports