Vovinam Việt Võ Đạo celebrated their 13th Annual Championship Tournament at Yerba Buena High School in San Jose, CA on August 3, 2013. Vovinam students from around the globe showed up to participate in this two-day competition.
Vovinam students from as far as Belgium, Australia and Africa participated in this event.
Our Hoa-Hau Ao-Dai, Tran Le Nguyen Minh helped out at this event by being one of the emcees. Unknown to many, she’s also a Vovinam student, holding a yellow belt. If you scroll all the way down, you’ll see her in her blue uniform, the official color of Vovinam.
Vovinam was founded by Nguyen Loc (1912-1960). As a sign of respect, it’s customary for both students and instructors to bow to him once before beginning their routine.
The Vovinam students from Dallas, Texas.
The Vovinam students from Salem, Oregon.
The Vovinam students from Los Angeles, California.
The Vovinam students from San Jose, California.
Vovinam was originated in Vietnam in 1938 and has been established in many countries around the world. Today, Vovinam students from around the globe gathered under one roof to compete in this annual championship tournament.
They warm up first.
These are the instructors. You can tell by looking at the color of their belts.
Is it a coincidence that the head master closely resembles Mr. Miyagi? Here he is paying respect to the founder of Vovinam, Mr. Nguyen Loc.
All the students sat and listened patiently while different people spoke at the podium.
The National Anthem was sung in both Vietnamese and English. Singer Trung Kien sung it in Vietnamese; whereas, Jenny Dan Anh sung it in English.
The award ceremony.
This student gets a new belt as he advanced one level up. In Vovinam, the color of your belt is not only an indication of your rank but also who you are. For example, blue and yellow are reserved for students of all levels. Red is for instructors. In addition to color, the markings at the end of the belt further indicate ranking within that color.
Vovinam spared no expense making personalized name tags. That way you get to know the name of all your brothers and sisters. Here’s Richard Nguyen (from Dallas, Texas) receiving his certified second degree black belt from the Vovinam Belgium Master.
San Jose Council Member, Kansen Chu and his wife, Daisy, posing with our Hoa-Hau. He was given a honorary scroll for his participation. He’s running for California State Assembly 2014. Can’t you tell?
The Vovinam students from Africa suprised Master Cam Binh with a new outfit.
Each training center received their own honorary scroll to bring back with them.
The Masters receive the gift of time.
Master Cam Binh also received her own scroll.
Singer Trung Kien accepted his gift from Master Cam Binh. Now he’ll never lose track of time.
They warm up a second time.
Let the competition begin.
Singer Trung Kien and Hoa-Hau Ao-Dai 2013, Tran Le Nguyen Minh.
From Hoa-Hau Ao-Dai to Vovinam student, Minh does it both with ease and grace.
If you are interested in learning Vovinam and you’re in the San Jose area, here’s all the information you need to get started.
Video by thePHAMers
Video by Mason Phan
Video by David Su
Video by Mason Phan
Video by Mason Phan
