An attempt to study THE CULTURAL HISTORY of TRADITIONAL VIETNAMESE MARTIAL ARTS – Section 2
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HUNG NGUYEN MANH
Vo kinh, as described, is a manual of military strategies, battle tactics, astronomy, geographic information, calculation.
In general, to become a famous military leader, one not only practiced “Thap bat ban vo nghe” (Eighteen sections of martial arts) but also learned other books such as Binh thu Do tran (Military strategy manual), Luc thao tam luoc (Six secret teachings and Three strategies), Binh phap Ton Tu (Sun Tzu’s military tactics).
The manual of military tactics in Vietnam is Binh thu yeu luoc (Sumary of Military Tactics), which mainly consisted of “Sumary of mysterious strategists” by Tran Hung Dao with the cooperation of Loc Khe Hau and The war manual of Đào Duy Từ by Dao Duy Tu.
It is said that in Binh Dinh, there was a book called Tay Son binh phap (Tay Son military tactics) but it has gone missing.
Manuals of teaching and learning martial arts in Vietnam are not only books on strategies, tactics but also about “choosing good days, good time, astronomical and geographical consideration, and others”.
Binh thu (Military manual) mentions five psychological factors, seemingly the basic military strategies, which a military leader needs to master:
– The first factor is harmony, which is considered as the supreme principle for country governing and the art of war.
– The second factor is tactics. Only enter the battlefields when the tactics are decided.
– The third factor is moving forward or backward. Hesitation is not allowed. Dilemma is the most harmful factor in battles.
– The forth factor is the art of battles without walls, ramparts, nor battles.
– The fifth factor is that the leader considers his warriors as his own limbs while the warriors think of their leader as their brains.
Vo ta (Vietnamese traditional martial arts) was a name of Vietnamese traditional martial arts used in Dang Trong (South Vietnam in 17th-18th century).
Many masters of martial arts in South Vietnam (Dang Trong) thought that Vo ta was a rough name for Vietnamese traditional martial arts. The name originated from the dynasty of Nguyen Lords in Dang Trong. At that time, military mandarins were trained to be ready for battles against Dang Ngoai (North Vietnam in 17th-18th century).
However, Hue and Quang Nam considered Vo ta as a military classic, which was often used by Bach Ho martial arts style. Moreover, some new martial arts styles also used this name such as Bac Viet vo, Tien long Quyen dao (before 1975).
Prior to 1975, many masters of martial arts thought that Vo ta had been misunderstood as Binh Dinh martial arts. Perhaps it was because Binh Dinh martial arts flourished and became more famous than other martial arts styles. Therefore, all the martial arts forms such as Ngoc tran ngan dai (Moc thieu thao phap), Roi Ngu mon, Lao Mai quyen, Thao quyen were classified under Binh Dinh martial arts.
There was a song called “Ca quyet vo ta” (The techniques poem of Vietnamese traditional martial arts) as follow:
Martial arts are mysterious;
What should you do in a fight.
How to strike with your fists, and how to kick?
Attack like a hurricane.
You should master the five elements.
And know by heart metal and fire.
“High kick, fast kick, strike – alternating movement and sudden stillness.”
Have you practiced the seven techniques of attack, the three techniques of defence?
Stances are difficult indeed.
Horse riding stance and front stance must be solid.
Practice them continuously for three years.
Then practice forms, again and again.
Do not confound the four directions.
You should remember the words Ngan dai ngoc tran.
The attack techniques like clouds flying across the sky.
The foot rushing forward like a shooting star.
Adjust your fighting style to any given area: confined or large – use it to your advantage.
Know how to deceive, know how to strike.
Be a man to fight.
Be a hero to win.
Do not be pretentious.
Be humble. Be polite. Strive for wisdom.
Be poised when facing the fiercest opponents.
Bravery and good martial arts are born in our minds.
Practice martial arts to the best of your ability.
Defending yourself, defending your people, defending peace – those are eternal endeavours.
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Higher education in Vietnam started thousands of years ago, which was sooner than many countries rich in traditional culture in East Asia like Japan or outside the Asia-Pacific region like the United States, etc.
The foundation of higher education in Vietnam must have been inspired by Eastern cultural treasures, in which India and China are two typical contributing countries.
Therefore, the training programs for the leading class of the feudal society at that time all consisted of one general curriculum, no matter whom they were used for: bachelors, literature experts, or masters of martial arts. The curriculum was a combination of three major cultural elements: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism (Taoism). It was used at every moment, every place, and every dynasty, in any classes at the villages (for the majority of people) or at the feudal imperial court (for the relatives of the emperors and mandarins). The three major cultural elements were applied to build the foundation of thoughts and human behaviors based on Confucian patterns. They were used to train civil mandarins and military mandarins (Figure …) with Confucian thoughts.
Some people still have doubt about violent behaviors in this complicated world. However, nowadays, many educators integrate soft skills such as behavioral skills, communication skills, leadership, etc., into training programs to educate modern industrial people. This is not to say that the training program in ancient feudal society lacked these skills. Both civil and military mandarins were driven by philosophy of life, a skill used differently in different times – “Tien vi quan, thoi vi su” (Becoming teachers after stopping being mandarins) or “Quan nhat thoi, dan van dai” (Being mandarins is short-term while being civilians is long-term). Derived from that philosophy, civil mandarins as well as military mandarins must have four skills applied in Oriental academy: Nho, Y, Ly, So (Confucianism, Medicine, Geomancy, Astrology).
Fundamental books used as foundations to train civil and military mandarins at that time were Tu thu, Ngu kinh (The Four books and the Five classics). Besides these books, they must also learn many others. Even though mandarins serving under feudalism were required “trung than bat tho nhi quan” (A loyal subject would not worship two kings), they also built their foundation of fundamental political philosophy based on Confucianism, which was used as a measurement to judge morality throughout thousands of historical years. Beside philosophical thoughts such as Tam cuong, Ngu thuong (Three essential rules and Five cardinal virtues), Tam tong, Tu duc (Three obediences and Four qualities), Confucians also learned the Yi Ching for feng shui and opportunities knowledge or explaining the rise and fall of different dynasties and people’s lives. This knowledge would also help civil military mandarins become more beneficial to the society when they went back to their civilian lives! There were herbalists like Hai Thuong Lan Ong (birth name Le Huu Trac) and Nguyen Dinh Chieu. There was a geomancer teacher like Ta Ao who took care of graves, and houses. There was a teacher of astrology and divination like Nguyen Binh Khiem who was as famous as Notradamus in France. Martial arts experts during feudalism were not different from literature experts. Literature experts researched Tu thu, Ngu kinh (the Four Books and the Five Classics), reporting and paperwork skills, etc, in feudal imperial court. Martial arts experts applied their skills in battlefields. They had to learn about archery, darts, shields, swords, spears, curved-tipped scimitars, cudgels, technical forms or specialized styles such as two-section staff, iron pens, lead pens, etc. Besides, martial arts experts had to practice inner strength, meditation, etc.
Generally, the training content was a part of Thap bat ban vo nghe (Eighteen sections of martial arts).
Throughout thousands years of history, from medieval to the modern and contemporary, there were only about seven times Vietnam was free from constant wars (according to the Ph.D. dissertation on Vietnamese history by a Japanese researcher, conveyed by Prof. Tran Quoc Vuong). During the seven peacetimes, what did Vietnamese emperors and mandarins do? Certainly, they developed those literary backgrounds, in which there was the literary background during Ly-Tran era.
… continue …
SEE MORE:
◊ An attempt to study THE CULTURAL HISTORY of TRADITIONAL VIETNAMESE MARTIAL ARTS – Section 3.
◊ An attempt to study THE CULTURAL HISTORY of TRADITIONAL VIETNAMESE MARTIAL ARTS – Section 1.
BAN TU THU
11 /2019