A nuanced Vietnamese martial art hits the silver screen and goes international.

The local hit Dong mau anh hung (The Rebel), considered by many the best modern-day Vietnamese action film.

The film brought Vovinam to life via its two stars, Johnny Tri Nguyen and Ngo Thanh Van.

Formerly a stunt man in Hollywood, Johnny Tri Nguyen always dreamt about making an action film in Vietnam. The opportunity came when The Rebel’s director, Charlie Nguyen, asked Tri Nguyen to take on the role of Cuong, the film’s leading character.

“I’ve seen a lot of martial art films from China, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, America and France, but, of course, I’ve never seen Vovinam on the big screen,” said Tri Nguyen, who shot to fame as one of Vietnam’s top leading men after the film.

“When The Rebel hit theaters, the audiences were thrilled to see Vietnam’s own martial art, which is not really a part of their own everyday lives, up on the screen.”

As a former stunt man and martial-arts enthusiast, Nguyen didn’t have much problem adapting to the role. But for his costar, singer Ngo Thanh Van, it was not easy to learn the art’s complicated moves in just a few months.

She practiced hard in the weeks leading up to the shooting, but with no experience in the field, and also as a rookie actor, Van was a bit nervous when she showed up on set.

“On the first day of shooting, a stuntwoman who was also a Vovinam instructor demonstrated one of my first fight scenes for me,” said Van, whose role in the film made her one of Vietnam’s most popular actresses.

“She tried to do the move where she jumps strangle the opponent with her legs. But she fell and sprained her foot and left the set! I was pretty scared and discouraged, but Johnny encouraged me and taught me meticulously, day by day.”

According to her Vovinam instructors, Van quickly gained an aptitude for the martial art.

Thanks to the new reputation, Van was cast to star alongside Tri Nguyen again as the lead in a new action film, Bay rong (Clash).

Johnny said the action in “Clash”, was very different from the more balletic, performance-style martial arts of The Rebel, which was set in the 1930’s. Clash is set in contemporary times.

“The fight sequences are very modern. A lot of kickboxing, ground fighting, street fighting, very raw, very realistic,” said Tri Nguyen.

Van said she’s now had to practice harder than ever as the moves in “Clash” are much more difficult and advanced than what she did in “The Rebel.” She said she had worked on improving her skills every day for months and was confident the film’s action sequences would thrill audiences.

From local to international

Founded by martial art instructor Nguyen Loc in 1938, Vovinam was based on old Vietnamese martial arts dating back nearly 1,000 years before.

But Loc modernized the arts and their philosophies so they could be used as both a physical and mental tool with which to “serve the people and humanity” as Loc said.

Vovinam focuses not only on fighting and weapons, but also acutely on breath control and nurturing one’s humanity and compassion.

The sport is now big outside Vietnam, especially in Russia, France and Iran, where national competitions draw hundreds of advanced contestants.

The first Official International Vovinam Championships were held by the World Vovinam Federation (WVVF) in Ho Chi Minh City Tuesday and Wednesday with the attendance of 150 officials, coaches and athletes from 14 Asian, Western and Middle Eastern countries. Vietnam took home the most medals in all categories, including technique performance and duels. France, Ukraine, Russia and Iran also medaled.

Vovinam has also been spread by French instructor Patrick Levet, one of the world’s leading practitioners. After more than a decade in Vietnam, Levet has mastered the art and now travels the world teaching Vovinam classes and attending the martial art’ events.

Ly Hung, one of three directors of the upcoming historical action epic film Tay Son hao kiet (Heroes of Tay Son), is also using Vovinam in his film.

The film is about the Tay Son Uprising of the 18th century, which lead to the toppling of the country’s feudal lords and the rise of the revolt’s leader Nguyen Hue city, later crowned Emperor Quang Trung, who implemented a series of egalitarian social reforms across the country.

Though the film takes place after the formal invention of Vovinam, the Tay Son fighters did use Vo Binh Dinh, an older martial art that Nguyen Loc had studied and merged into Vovinam, which is really a blend of several older Vietnamese arts.

“Vovinam is part of our national spirit that we have to preserve and appreciate,” said Hung, who is also a martial arts choreographer. “Vietnamese must be proud of what we have, like Korean with Taekwondo, Japanese with Judo and Aikido, and Thailand with Muay Thai.”

Reported by Do Tu