Vovinam

From Martial Arts, MMA, Karate, Kungfu Information Source

The article is incomplete or needs improvement This article covers an essential topic and is in need of expansion by contributing to Wikimartialarts. Please follow the guidelines in the Manual of Style and complete this article to the highest level of quality before continuing on smaller articles.

Vovinam

Vovinam or Vovinam Việt Võ Đạo is a Vietnamese martial art that emphasizes self-defence, health, and personal development. Its techniques include hand and elbow strikes, kicks, throws, and escape techniques. This art combines elements of Chinese martial arts, weapons forms and traditional Vietnamese wrestling in its training. Advanced forms of Vovinam train students to combine the techniques and learn to defend themselves against armed opponents.

[edit] Ranking

• Light Blue Belt
• Navy Blue Belt O
• Navy Blue Belt 1
• Navy Blue Belt 2
• Navy Blue Belt 3
• Yellow Belt 0
• Yellow Belt 1
• Yellow Belt 2
• Yellow Belt 3
• Preliminary Red Belt
• Red Belt 1
• Red Belt 2
• Red Belt 3
• Red Belt 4
• Red Belt 5
• Red Belt 6
• Preliminary White Belt
• Rainbow Belt
• White Belt

Students begin with a light blue belt, the same color of their uniform, which they must hold for at least 3 months before testing. Following the light blue belt, is the navy blue which stands for hope. Beginning with Navy Blue 0, a student works their way to Navy Blue 3, and is prepared to test for the instructor level. They must wait at least 6 months between each Navy Blue Belt test, and a year before testing for the instructor level.

After successfully passing the test, the student receives a Yellow Belt with 0 stripes. Yellow, which stands for the skin of people. It symbolizes that Vovinam is now in their skin, and they are prepared to teach it to younger disciples. Yellow is equivalent to Black in other martial arts. After testing for 3 stripes, the disciple is prepared to move on to the master level. They must hold the rank for each level for at least 2-3 years, before being able to move on.

Note: Yellow is equivalent to a Black belt, so in tournaments in which Taekwondo or Karate is involved, it is usually noted that Vovinam practitioners wear black belts.

After the yellow, they will be able to reach the rank of Preliminary Red Belt, which is a red belt, with two yellow stripes running parallel against the long side of the belt. This is equivalent of a 4th Degree Black Belt. After holding the rank for a certain amount of time, they may test for Red Belt 1 Stripe, which is equivalent of 5th Degree Black Belt. The most they may obtain is 6th Degree Red Belt -10th Degree Black Belt. Red means that Vovinam has now reached the blood of the disciple.

After that, ONLY the senior masters, which originally practiced with the founder may obtain the rank of Preliminary White Belt. ONE person, Grand Master Le Sang, has achieved the rank of Rainbow belt, which is a White Belt with Blue, Yellow, and Red lines running longitudinally along the belt. The White Belt has been held by only one person, the Founder, the Late Grandmaster Nguyen Loc. White means that the disciple has practiced for a lifetime, and White is now in the bone of the disciple.