The Glorious Tây Sơn
Võ Cổ Truyền
'Võ cổ truyền’ refers to the traditional martial arts practice that is specific to Vietnam. Vietnamese martial arts is a combat tradition that dates back over a thousand years. It is a collective term that describes a number of different regional and family styles, each with its own skills that are passed down from generation to generation. Martial arts played an important role throughout Vietnam’s history.
King Quang Trung
Vietnamese traditional martial arts experienced a heyday under the reign of the Tay Son dynasty, in the 18th century. The three Tay Son brothers were leading an uprising against invaders to pacify the country. King Quang Trung (Nguyen Hue 1753-1792), one of the three Tay Son brothers, thoroughly applied Vietnamese traditional martial arts to military affairs and defeated his enemies in 1789.
Võ Triều Tây Sơn
As a martial arts prodigy, he gathered hundreds of martial arts schools and generals and refined the embodiment and system called “Võ Triều Tây Sơn” (Tay Son dynasty martial art). In developing a new martial arts practice, he chose to eliminate the complexity of previous martial arts practices. He believed that keeping the essential forms would make it easier to fight in battle. He created a martial arts practice called “Võ Trận Tây Sơn” (Battlefield Tay Son Martial Art). “Võ Trận Tây Sơn” left behind many martial arts lessons of great historical value for the greater system of traditional Vietnamese martial arts such as, “Tây Sơn bí kíp mộ hồn thao “(Tay Son’s Secret Life and Soul Sports). King Quang Trung left behind a great career with unrelenting grief for the whole Vietnamese nation.
