Algeria (VNA) - The first Vovinam(Vietnamese martial art) Viet Vo Dao Grand Prix was held successfully inAlgeria on May 4-5.
The event was sponsored by the Vietnamese Embassyand Vovinam Viet Vo Dao Federation in Algeria.
It attracted a large number of martial artistsfrom Vovinam clubs in Algiers city and neighbouring provinces.
Thousands of spectators were present at thecompetition to cheer up the martial artists.
Addressing the award ceremony at the end of theevent, Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria Pham Quoc Tru encouraged martialartists to increase teaching and learning of this sport to spur the developmentof Vovinam Viet Vo Dao in Algeria as well as promote the relations between thetwo countries.
Introduced to Algeria in the 1970s, Vovinam hasbecome popular and is now being practised by over 20,000 people across theAfrican country.
Vovinam Viet Vo Dao was founded by Nguyen Loc(1912-1960) in 1936 but developed in 1938 with a view to providingpractitioners with an efficient method of self-defence after a short period ofstudy.
Vovinam is practiced with and without weapons.It is based on the principle of combining between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’. It is notonly about the training of the body but also of the mind.
Vovinam has to date been practiced in more than60 countries and territories, with millions of learners from thousands ofVovinam clubs.
The sport was included in the 27th SEA Games inMyanmar in 2013 and the fifth Asian Beach Games in Da Nang city in 2016. Itwill be an official sport at the upcoming ASEAN University Games inMyanmar in December 2018.-VNA