Opening of the 34th National Traditional Martial Arts Championship, 2025

Attending the opening ceremony were Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Anh, President of the Vietnam Traditional Martial Arts Federation; International Grandmaster Le Ngoc Quang, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Traditional Martial Arts Federation; Comrade Nguyen Thi Thanh Lich - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee; leaders of departments, branches and sectors of the province; especially the participation of 686 heads of delegations, coaches, referees and athletes from 29 delegations nationwide attending the tournament.

Delegations participating in the 34th National Traditional Martial Arts Championship

In her opening speech, Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Thanh Lich emphasized: Traditional martial arts of Binh Dinh appeared very early, from 1471 under the reign of King Le Thanh Tong in Hoai Nhon, then traditional martial arts began to form, develop, and developed most strongly in the Tay Son period and the 18th century. Throughout the struggle of the Vietnamese people, traditional martial arts have also accompanied and grown along with the history of the nation's development.

It can be said that Binh Dinh in the past, now Gia Lai province, is one of the localities with a strong martial arts movement and is the cradle of Vietnamese traditional martial arts. The process of preservation and development has been approved by the Government to be included in the dossier to the United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for consideration and inclusion of the intangible cultural heritage "Binh Dinh Traditional Martial Arts" in the List of Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

This martial spirit not only trains us in strength, trains people in humanity, justice, courtesy, wisdom and trust, but has truly become a unique cultural feature of human beings.

Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Thanh Lich spoke at the opening ceremony.

The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee hopes that through this tournament, athletes will not only compete in martial arts but also learn and share more about the martial spirit and cultural features of their locality, thereby contributing to creating a great national unity bloc to build and develop a strong and prosperous country.

He believes that with the careful preparation of the Organizing Committee, the enthusiasm of the athletes, and the enthusiastic cheers of the audience, the 34th National Traditional Martial Arts Championship will be a great success, bringing spectacular and dramatic matches, contributing to widely promoting the image of Vietnamese traditional martial arts to domestic and international friends.

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Anh, President of the Vietnam Traditional Martial Arts Federation, beats the drum to open the 2025 National Traditional Martial Arts Championship.

The 34th National Traditional Martial Arts Championship in 2025 took place from August 2 to 12, in Quy Nhon Ward (Gia Lai Province). The tournament had the participation of 686 martial artists, coaches, and athletes from provincial, municipal, and industry units nationwide participating in 2 competition categories, including: Boxing category, athletes competing in 3 age groups: 17 - 40 years old, 41 - 50 years old, 51 - 60 years old. Units choosing to compete in boxing stipulate 20 male and female categories; boxing chooses 8 male and female categories, and sparring 3 categories.

In the competition, the tournament is organized for the age group of 17 - 40 years old, including 27 weight categories (15 weight categories for men and 12 weight categories for women). Athletes compete in individual knockout matches.

Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Thanh Lich presented flowers and souvenir flags from the Organizing Committee to domestic delegations attending the Tournament.

The Gia Lai province traditional martial arts team (Binh Dinh Traditional Martial Arts Center) participated with 11 coaches and 67 athletes, determined to maintain the first place in the entire delegation in 2 events.

The 34th National Traditional Martial Arts Championship in 2025 is a meaningful sporting event, demonstrating efforts to preserve and develop the quintessence of Vietnamese Traditional Martial Arts, while creating a space for exchange and learning between martial arts schools across the country; meeting the needs of enjoying sports activities of people and tourists; at the same time contributing to promoting the image, introducing tourism potential and attractive destinations of Gia Lai to domestic and foreign tourists.