Versatile martial arts athlete

(Baonghean) - Among the prominent names in martial arts in the province, Nguyen Van Duc is known as a versatile fighter in all three disciplines: traditional martial arts, boxing, and kickboxing. This athlete, born in 1990, has repeatedly brought glory to Nghe An sports.

When asked, "What led you to sports, especially martial arts?", Duc smiled and said, "My uncle, Bui Duy Vinh, the coach of the Traditional Martial Arts department at the Provincial Sports Center, discovered that I had good physical aptitude, suitable for martial arts. From then on, I studied with him and received dedicated guidance from the coach in my first steps on the path of traditional martial arts." After only 3 months of training, Duc was already performing the forms and weapons with "refined" technique, so he was selected for the provincial traditional martial arts team. After a period of diligent training, Duc was trusted by his coach to "test his mettle" at the 2007 Youth Kick-Boxing Competition in Quang Ngai. Also in 2007, at the National Youth Traditional Martial Arts Championship held in Nghe An, Duc won the Gold Medal. This first success further motivated Duc to train diligently, maintaining a stable performance and continuously winning medals at the annual national youth traditional martial arts competitions. Originally a traditional martial arts athlete specializing in powerful punches, he nevertheless entered kickboxing competitions to gain experience and learn. In 2009, he participated in the first Asian Indoor Games (AIG) held in Thailand. Despite only recently trying the sport, Duc overcame many boxing opponents from other countries, winning a Bronze Medal.

Nguyen Van Duc (left) wins the first Asian Martial Arts Games in Thailand.

Expressing his passion and reasons for choosing traditional Vietnamese martial arts, Duc shared: "This is a national sport encompassing both martial arts and martial philosophy, created by the Vietnamese people themselves. This traditional cultural heritage of the Vietnamese nation, in addition to combat skills, also educates the spirit, develops personality, and is excellent for health. Martial philosophy is an ideal way of life. As for kickboxing, it's a system of physical exercises; participating in this sport will help you improve and enhance your physical fitness, increase the flexibility and dexterity of your body and nervous system, and improve your physique."

Speaking about his student, coach Bui Duy Vinh commented: "Duc is an outstanding athlete in terms of physique and is very diligent in training and eager to learn and accumulate experience from those who came before him, especially coaches who have achieved high results."

As a professional athlete, Duc has to train hard every day, but he still manages to study Physical Education at Vinh University and enthusiastically participates in sports activities at the school. Sharing his future plans, Duc said he is trying to improve his skills through training and studying to win more medals at world championships. His immediate goal is to win a high-ranking prize at the 7th National Sports Congress in 2014.

Text and photos:Pham Ngan