The history of Võ
The 18 disciplines
Originally, Võ is the art of war. The word Võ suggests the idea of fighting, of war.
Vietnamese martial techniques are specific to its history. The country was colonised during millenia, by stronger opponent that outnumbered them, and therefore had to create an art which, as the famous XIIIth century general Trân Hung Dao said, fights “the long with the short, the many with the little” and where suppleness is more efficient than hardness. The many occupations of Viet-nam reinforced the secret aspect of Võ, which has nearly always been clandestine.
The martial knowledge was grouped into eighteen disciplines: fights with fists and feet, immobilising, various weapons (spear, sword, sabre, bow and arrow...), using weapons whiles riding a horse, etc, but also strategy and commanding army troops.
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