VietNamNet Bridge – The International Vovinam Federation (IVF) was inaugurated in HCM City last weekend with the hope of lifting the profile of the martial art around the world.

IVF’s establishment was aimed at developing Vovinam worldwide and maintaining the traditional value of the martial art.

The organisation, which will be run in accordance with the International Olympic Charter, will be based in HCM City and supported by Vovinam agencies around the world.

Nguyen Danh Thai, Vietnam’s deputy minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will be the JVF president. Vo Danh Hai, general secretary of the Viet Nam Vovinam Federation (VVF), will also be the general secretary or the IVF.

VVF Chairman Le Quoc An will be the IVF’s standing vice president. The local Vovinam Federation’s Nguyen Van Chieu and Dang Thanh Tam will be in charge of technical issues and finance respectively.

The international association’s remaining vice chairmen will be Jean Pascal Kinda of Burkina Faso, Mohammad Nouchi of Iran, Yuri Popov of Russia, Francis Didier of France, Florin Macovei of Romania and Danka Abramiuc of Singapore.

Speaking at the congress, Thai said IVF’s establishment was aimed at developing Vovinam worldwide and maintaining the traditional value of the martial art.

“It would be a roof for the big family of Vovinam artists around the globe. It will help further develop Vietnam’s traditional martial art in other areas of the world,” he said.

Vice president Kinda said, “Vovinam first appeared in Africa in 1988 and since then we have been learning to master the spirit of the Vietnamese martial art. I believe that this spirit will be enhanced with the setting up of the IVF”.

Hoang Vinh Giang, who is vice chairman and general secretary of the Viet Nam Olympic Committee, said, “The IVF was established to monitor and develop Vovinam around the world.”

The Vietnamese martial art of Vovinam or Viet Vo Dao was founded by the late Nguyen Loc in Hanoi in 1938. It is a combination of various traditional Vietnamese traditional martial arts and Oriental philosophy. The martial art focuses on the principle of hard and soft.

The name is a portmanteau of vo meaning martial arts and vinam standing for Vietnam.

The first World Vovinam Championship will be held in Vietnam next April.

(Source: Viet Nam News)