The home of Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue, Binh Dinh province has a long history of military valor. Reaching a height at the Ngoc Hoi - Dong Da victory in 1789, Binh Dinh's martial arts epitomize Vietnam's spirit of resistance against invaders.
Binh Dinh's martial spirit is a symbol of pride. Binh Dinh was once an unpopulated land full of wild beasts and dangers. When the first Vietnamese people settled here, they needed to learn martial arts to protect themselves. Settlers adapted and improved folk martial arts. After grueling days in the fields, peasants founded martial arts centers in the schools and villages and practiced martial arts in the evenings.
Binh Dinh martial arts focus on stamina, martial practices, armed martial practices and spiritual training. Compared to other schools, traditional Binh Dinh martial arts teach students practical fighting skills for combat. Weapons such as arrows, blades, whips (chain-sticks), rakes, tridents, chains, silk scarves and hook-ropes were closely related to people's labor. A typical weapon in Binh Dinh is the whip, which is handled in unique ways. Practitioners were taught to fight using simple and easily-found weapons.
Despite being practical and popular, Binh Dinh traditional I arts are also highly academic, based on the rules of yin-yang, the Five Elements and the 1-ching. This art is mental as well as physical. Binh Dinh martial arts depend on opposites: soft and hard, attack and defense, strength and weakness, inside and outside. Moves are unpredictable and suitable for Vietnamese people's physiques. Every part of the body, from the head to the limbs and the elbows, is used if necessary. A martial master is supposed to "move like a leaf and stand firm like a cliff", to be courageous, calm, skilful, shrewd and able to distract his opponent. The feet are usually on the ground. Scissor kicks are rare, as they result in imbalance and provide opportunities for opponents.
Students are meant to absorb lessons of human virtue, morality, kindness, loyalty, intelligence, prestige, gratitude to the ancestors, and martial spirit against invaders. Binh Dinh's traditional martial arts reached a height in the Tay Son Era with three brothers, Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Hue and Nguyen Lu, and martial generals Tran Quang Dieu, Bui Thi Xuan, Ngo Van So, Nguyen Van Tuyet, Dang Van Long, Vo Van Dung, etc.
Stories about the Three Heroes of Tay Son; the Seven Brave Generals of Tay Son; the Five Female Masters of Tay Son; the Six Legends of Tay Son; and the Four Masters of Tay Son are rooted in fact. These martial leaders remain a source of pride for Binh Dinh martial arts in particular and Vietnamese martial arts in general.
Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue, an exceptional king and Illilitary leader, helped to cement the reputation of Binh Dinh's martial arts. Under his reign, unique literary traditions blended with illustrious military deeds, confirming Binh Dinh's reputation as a literary and martial center.
As another spring comes to Binh Dinh, we are all reminded of our pride in this historic land, where generations of people have devoted their lives to protecting our fatherland.
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