“An Den” - The golden boy in martial arts

(Baonghean) -In 2003, the recruiters at Nghe An Sports Training Center were all apprehensive about the small boy born in 1987 who came to apply for martial arts. But 3 years later, he became the “Golden Boy” in the martial arts world.

When the bell rang to signal the end of practice, in his martial arts outfit, sweat drenched his face, national boxer Nguyen Van An stepped out of the practice floor. I was impressed by his deep, determined black eyes, but a little surprised by the physique of this “golden boy”. As if he could guess my thoughts, An smiled softly: “I used to be smaller than I am now.”

He was the youngest of four children in a poor farming family in Van Dien commune, Nam Dan district. An's house at the foot of Dun hill had a temple dedicated to King Mai Hac De. As a child, stories about the Black King raising the flag to start the Hoan Chau uprising against the Tang Dynasty's invasion had instilled in An a martial spirit. From then on, the dream of one day following the path of martial arts, helping the innocent and eliminating evil, was formed in him.

During the buffalo herding sessions, the villagers often taught him traditional wrestling moves. One day, because he was so engrossed in wrestling that he forgot to bring the buffalo home, his father gave him a beating and forbade him from learning wrestling.

Despite his father’s objections, the young Nguyen Van An still nurtured his dream as he grew up. When he heard that Vinh City was recruiting martial arts athletes, he ran away from home to attend the audition. The audition members refused, but coach Bui Duy Vinh – his future teacher – agreed to let An train, because this teacher saw in the boy a strong determination, an indispensable element of martial arts.

Not letting down his teacher's trust, An practiced enthusiastically. After 2 years at Nghe An Sports Training Center, in 2005 Nguyen Van An was called to the provincial team to compete in the national youth championship. Right in this "debut", An brought home the national Bronze Medal.

In 2006, An continued to win 3 more Gold Medals in the tournaments: National Youth, National Cup, National Sports Festival... In that year, Nguyen Van An was honored to be called to the Vietnam national Boxing team, participating in the Asian Youth Boxing tournament. In that tournament, the Vietnamese team had 14 boxers participating in the weight categories, but all were eliminated in the first round. The "short and light" Nghe An boy went all the way to the finals and that time Nguyen Van An won the Asian Gold Medal in the 48kg category. An recalled, "When the Vietnamese national flag was raised, my tears flowed in the bustling sound of the national anthem". For many consecutive years after that, in domestic tournaments, the National Gold Medal in the 48kg category was only won by boxer Nguyen Van An.



Nguyen Van An (red shirt) at the Asian Championship

Up to now, although only 26 years old, An's medal collection of all kinds has 14 medals, including 7 Gold, 4 Silver, and 3 Bronze medals.

Head martial arts coach Bui Duy Vinh said: “In recent years, martial arts has brought the most medals to Nghe An sports. Nguyen Van An has made a significant contribution to this.”

Commenting on his disciple, Mr. Vinh said: “In competition, An has a very tactical mindset. In training and living, he is very professional. Especially his willpower.”

I asked An: “Have you ever thought of giving up because of the hard training?”. An said: “Yes, those were the months of losing weight to prepare for the competition. The weather was 40 degrees in the summer but we had to wear raincoats, practice under the sun, eat only half a bowl of rice for each meal, and limit our water intake. Maintaining that regimen for 3 months straight allowed our body to lose 6kg of weight. The hunger pangs even appeared in our dreams, we always dreamed of going home to eat a delicious meal.”

“Have you ever regretted choosing this path for yourself?” Without hesitation or thought: “Martial arts has given me many things, except for money. But the greatest thing I have now is my thinking, my martial spirit.” “In the past, I thought that when I had martial arts, I would use my strength to punish the wicked and eliminate injustice. But since becoming a professional martial artist, I have always followed my master’s teachings: A martial artist should not attack someone who is weaker than me and does not have martial arts. I can only use morality to influence the unruly.”

Pointing to a small scar on his eye, An said: “Once, due to a misunderstanding, three people punched me until I bled. I didn’t fight back, but I lifted a floor tile and punched it straight in the face. The tile shattered into pieces, and all three people left.”

Currently, Nguyen Van An is in his third year of studying Physical Education at Vinh University. When asked about his future plans when he is no longer competing at the top level, An thoughtfully said: “The path of martial arts is very thorny and cruel, only those who love it can achieve success. There are many students with very good martial arts qualities, but when comparing the difference in salary and benefits compared to other sports such as football, they gave up halfway.”

I read in this boxer's eyes sympathy for those who give up. Because An himself, a national champion, currently, after deducting food expenses, only receives 2 million 400 thousand VND in allowances per month.

“I am 26 years old this year, have been practicing martial arts for 10 years, and can compete for a few more years. I just hope that after graduating from university, I will find a job and then think about marriage and children.”

At the 2013 National Kik Boxing Tournament held in Dak Lak Province, boxer Nguyen Van An won all the way to the finals, where he had to meet his junior brother. In that Nghe An medal match, boxer An only received a Silver Medal, while his junior brother received a Gold Medal. After the match, An bowed to his coach: "I apologize to my master."

Nguyen Van An's fellow students all said that An apologized to his teacher for his dishonesty in that match. But that was a respectable martial dishonesty!

The Son