Binh Dinh Traditional Martial Arts: Living Heritage, With Unique Identity

For Binh Dinh people, practicing martial arts is not only for self-defense and health training, but also a way to cultivate and teach character, morality, values, ethics, and philosophy of life.

On January 5, the Department of Culture and Sports of Binh Dinh province coordinated with the Institute of Cultural Research to organize an international scientific conference to protect and promote intangible cultural heritage and traditional martial arts of Binh Dinh. At the conference, domestic and international experts discussed the work of preserving and promoting the heritage of traditional martial arts of Binh Dinh. In particular, experts proposed solutions for UNESCO to recognize traditional martial arts of Binh Dinh as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Binh Dinh is considered the cradle of traditional Vietnamese martial arts (Photo: Cong Son).

Mr. Hoang Dao Cuong, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, emphasized that Binh Dinh traditional martial arts with its historical, cultural and philosophical depth is one of the intangible heritages that need to be protected and promoted. Binh Dinh traditional martial arts originated from ancient times, closely associated with cultural life and are passed down to this day. Martial arts have become a part of spiritual culture, sports activities to train physical strength, intelligence and spirit, creating the cultural identity of Binh Dinh people. In 2012, Binh Dinh traditional martial arts was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage.

In 2012, Binh Dinh traditional martial arts was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Photo: Cong Son).

Dr. Pham Dinh Phong, a martial arts expert, said that Binh Dinh traditional martial arts is a unique crystallization of Vietnamese martial arts, contributing significantly to the formation of the personality and character of Binh Dinh people. Prof. Dr. Frank Proschan, a former senior expert of UNESCO, was impressed with the core spirit of Binh Dinh traditional martial arts and emphasized the importance of protecting this heritage for future generations. Mr. Nguyen Tuan Thanh, Permanent Vice Chairman of Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee, affirmed that traditional martial arts is the soul of Binh Dinh land and people, not only a martial art but also a means of training the mind, intellect, and physical strength, demonstrating the martial spirit and self-reliance of the nation. Source: https://dantri.com.vn/doi-song/vo-co-truyen-binh-dinh-di-san-song-mang-ban-sac-doc-dao-20250106065043914.htm