Johnny Tri Nguyen brings Vietnamese martial arts to the international arena, putting his faith in female martial artists

For martial arts enthusiasts, the name Johnny Tri Nguyen is no stranger. He is not only a talented actor but also a martial artist with the family martial art Lien Phong Quyen.

He not only opened Lien Phong martial arts school to teach martial arts but also successfully organized prestigious martial arts tournaments such as Mekong Fighting Championship, Coco Championship and Dragon Fight League. With passion and enthusiasm, he founded the mixed martial arts tournament - MMA, "Gods of Martial Arts - GMA", to create a stepping stone to bring Vietnamese martial arts to the international arena by 2024.

Giving back to martial arts

"Since I was a child, I grew up in a family that was attached to martial arts. Everyone in the family often talked about martial arts and practicing became an indispensable part of life. It was this passion that brought me to cinema" - Mr. Johnny Tri Nguyen shared.

Mr. Johnny Tri Nguyen created a tournament to develop and give back to Vietnamese martial arts.

When he was young, he and his brother Charlie Nguyen often made martial arts clips and participated in many tournaments. From there, his passion led him to music video projects, movies and became a stuntman in American television shows.

After that, he participated in film projects in Thailand, returned to Vietnam and made a special mark with the film Heroic Bloodline, the work that brought his name to new heights.

"The audience remembers me most through my roles in martial arts films. Martial arts have always been associated with my life. When I returned to Vietnam, I thought about creating a tournament to repay the martial arts - where I grew up and succeeded. Martial arts is not only a passion but also a responsibility, helping to build a martial arts culture and opening up opportunities for young people who are passionate like me when I was young" - he expressed.

Creating an MMA tournament, a sport that is growing very widely in the world, according to Johnny Tri Nguyen because it is also one of the fastest growing sports in the world.

"The special thing is that the sport is not bound by any national factor like Muay Thai of Thailand, Karate (Japan),... when developing internationally it will face many difficulties, like Muay Thai in a certain culture will have national pride, but MMA will not have that. This sport will develop well everywhere. MMA is also more suitable for Vietnamese people, the way of competing, it is more tactical, the cleverness of the fighter is very important" - he added.

Tournament to find the title "Martial God" from champions in martial arts in Vietnam

After many successful tournaments, this martial artist realized that it was time to build a professional tournament. In 2024, despite the difficult start, GMA still had initial successes that made this martial artist very excited.

Regarding the name Than Vo Viet, Mr. Johnny Tri Nguyen expressed: "This name seems quite arrogant but still has appropriate elements. MMA is a competition format in all martial arts, from boxing, Muay Thai, Vovinam or any combat sport can compete in MMA. So if the champions of all sports can compete in this space, the person who is superior in more than one sport, then I will call it Than Vo Viet Nam".

The tournament is where champions in different disciplines compete - something people are often curious about between a Muay Thai champion and Kickboxing, or another martial art competing. That is what GMA 2024 has brought to the fans.

Bringing GMA to the international arena

According to him, the tournament needs to have its own characteristics to make its mark, just like how the UFC in the US differentiated itself with the iron ring, while Brazil and Japan previously only used ropes. If you just copy previous tournaments without unique elements, sooner or later you will fail, like the case of Bellator - which once competed with the UFC but had to close down.

In a martial arts match between two cultures, there will be requirements for costumes and drums to suit each country, creating the best of each country's culture. Even the stage, with the highlight being the lantern in the middle of the field, will incorporate images of each country.

Lanterns create highlights and incorporate cultural images of each participating country.

"In the beginning, we were surprised to receive cooperation from the federations. GMA's competition rules were built similar to international tournaments, marking a big step forward. Previously, domestic martial arts still limited some moves to help fighters access them easily. But this step forward can help them compete on par with international tournaments thanks to the standardized rules. This opens up opportunities for them to reach the global playing field. Building competition rules is the core factor that creates the success of a tournament" - the Vietnamese martial artist recalled.

He wants GMA to become an event that is not only purely sports but also has entertainment and artistic elements, creating a special attraction. Fighters competing at GMA are encouraged to show their boldness, bringing an attractive experience to the audience - the foundation for the tournament to develop strongly. He said that the season has passed but there have been mixed opinions from experts and audiences but will accept and improve reasonable things.

According to Mr. Johnny Tri Nguyen, this year the tournament will be brought to the international arena. The first arena will include 5 Southeast Asian countries. In the following years, the tournament will expand to countries in the region with more established MMA such as Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and the 10-year plan of the tournament will include fighters from Japan and Korea.

Mr. Johnny Tri Nguyen hopes that Vietnamese MMA can catch up with world trends.

"The tournament is organized to connect internationally, expanding to 5 Southeast Asian countries. In each country, the tournaments will honor their own martial arts gods, selecting champions to compete with martial arts gods from other countries. The competition between the two best people from two countries not only brings excitement but also arouses national pride and the spirit of competition in martial arts culture. This not only stimulates Vietnamese martial artists to practice hard to defend the throne but also creates great excitement for the audience to watch, contributing to the strong spread of Vietnamese martial arts culture" - Johnny Tri Nguyen expressed his wish.

Will create a playground for women

For the Vietnamese martial artist, this tournament is not only a place to connect and bring Vietnamese martial arts to the international community, but also a bridge connecting martial arts together.

MMA in Vietnam is currently developing strongly. Currently, the GMA tournament is only for male athletes, but according to Mr. Johnny Tri Nguyen, there is also interest in women.

"I have long noticed and have a special interest in women when participating in other sports. Vietnamese women have outstanding potential with impressive sports genes and often achieve higher results than men in many sports" - the Heroic Blood actor expressed.

However, expanding to women's weight classes at GMA will take time to develop. Currently, the number of female martial arts athletes in the country is limited, and competition in the weight classes is not exciting enough. When conditions are ripe, the tournament will create a playground for women, where this martial artist believes that women can shine brightly. At the same time, Johnny Tri Nguyen revealed that GMA International will soon have a category for women.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/johnny-tri-nguyen-dua-vo-viet-ra-quoc-te-dat-niem-tin-vao-cac-vo-si-nu-196250129203025898.htm