Martial arts master Bui Duy Vinh - the one who spreads the martial arts fire of Nghe An

In Nghe An, the Ngo Xuan family is quite famous for being associated with the return of the ancient Het martial arts lineage under the new name: "Nhat Nam". A pure Vietnamese traditional martial arts school is developing strongly in Vietnam, Russia, the Baltic countries and the European Union. The head of this school is Professor, Martial Arts Master Ngo Xuan Binh (Chief of the School).

The origin of Nhat Nam martial arts comes from the land of Chau Hoan (the ancient Thanh Nghe Tinh region). During the Tay Son period, when Emperor Quang Trung marched through the Thanh Nghe Tinh region, many famous generals and outstanding Nhat Nam martial artists joined the army and liberated Thang Long in the spring of Ky Dau 1789.

During the Nguyen Dynasty, Nhat Nam martial arts declined and was limited to small families. It was not until 1983, more than 200 years later, that Nhat Nam martial arts was revived. In 1989, the first class of Nhat Nam martial arts students was opened in Vinh City. And since then, Nghe An martial arts has witnessed an outstanding successor - Master Bui Duy Vinh.

Graphics: TK

Burning passion

Among more than 200 students of the martial arts class opened by martial arts master Ngo Xuan Binh, Bui Duy Vinh is the youngest, studying 4 months late from his seniors, but this boy has quickly affirmed his innate martial arts talent and quickly became the head of the Trang (class leader) after only 3 months of hard training. However, the path for Bui Duy Vinh to become a disciple of the Nhat Nam sect was like a predestined fate.

Born in 1972 in Le Mao ward, Vinh city in a family with no tradition of sports or martial arts, but Bui Duy Vinh's passion for martial arts was passed down from his older brother who had served in the military. One day, the younger brother Bui Duy Vinh was given a book by his older brother. Being hyperactive and mischievous but interested in martial arts, Bui Duy Vinh flipped through the first pages and immediately, his heart stopped beating, his whole body felt hot.

The 14-year-old boy Bui Duy Vinh felt something and realized that this was truly a treasure that he had been waiting for a long time. He studied the book enthusiastically, kept it by his bedside, and that passion gradually seeped into his veins. Although he treasured the book, Bui Duy Vinh did not study it alone, he invited a group of friends to explore and learn together...

Martial artist Bui Duy Vinh seemed to wake up when he had the book "Nhat Nam" in his hand. Photo: Sy Hieu

It turned out to be the book “Nhat Nam” compiled by Professor, Associate Professor, Martial Arts Master Ngo Xuan Binh. After many years of nurturing the dream of becoming a disciple of the Nhat Nam sect, in 1989 the opportunity came to Bui Duy Vinh when Master Ngo Xuan Binh opened a class. Intelligence, agility and talent were part of it, but the “martial” spirit and extraordinary willpower helped student Bui Duy Vinh absorb all the best things passed down from Master Ngo Xuan Binh.

Three consecutive disqualifications

Martial arts master Bui Duy Vinh recalled: “At that time, we had never thought about the training regime and conditions. Just being able to practice martial arts and train made me feel happy. The martial arts environment inevitably had injuries, even serious injuries, but it was thanks to martial arts that helped me become strong and overcome all difficulties and physical pain.”

In 1992, Nghe An Province Sports Training Center established a team to participate in the National Freestyle Martial Arts Tournament in Binh Dinh. Before participating in that tournament, none of the members had any idea what the martial arts arena was like, they had only read and heard about it.

Bui Duy Vinh prepared for that tournament by buying ropes to make a ring for the fight, even without knowing or having personal clothing or insurance. Luckily, Bui Duy Vinh received a pair of gloves from a friend who came back from Thailand. The whole team took turns using those gloves to practice. That trip was also the first time Bui Duy Vinh and his teammates got acquainted with this sport.

Martial artist Bui Duy Vinh is known for his indomitable fighting spirit in the ring. Photo: Sy Hieu

In his first time in the ring, martial artist Bui Duy Vinh surprised everyone with the winning spirit of a son of Nghe An, his powerful punches that knocked out his opponent. However, when he was about to go to the final match, team leader Nguyen Hoang Thu decided to stop the match. Because he knew that if he continued fighting, both Bui Duy Vinh and his opponent would be in danger, one of them would be "knocked out". Although Nghe An only participated in this competition to test, but with the extraordinary will of this martial artist, it was difficult to predict what might happen.

In 1994, Pencak Silat was introduced to Nghe An, Bui Duy Vinh switched to studying this international martial art originating from Indonesia. In early 1995, he participated in the national Pencak Silat championship. In the very first match, the athlete from Nghe An knocked out his opponent. However, not only did the referee not recognize his victory, but also decided to disqualify him because he violated the rules.

For the second time at the 2nd National Sports Festival, the Nghe An Pencak Silat team won 1 gold medal, 1 silver medal, and 2 bronze medals. Bui Duy Vinh was highly expected but could not win any gold medal. In the quarter-final match, his opponent, while avoiding a punch, was punched in the jaw and fell to the floor. He was again disqualified by the referee, because he was considered to have committed a foul by intentionally hitting his opponent in the face.

Martial artist Bui Duy Vinh and the pants he used for the competition years are kept as souvenirs. Photo: Sy Hieu

Not giving up, in 1996, Bui Duy Vinh continued to participate in the National Pencak Silat Championship with great determination. However, after winning the first round matches like a bamboo split, in the quarter-finals, Bui Duy Vinh was disqualified by the referee because his punch caused a serious injury to his opponent's face.

According to the new competition rules today, such punching situations are still valid. However, at that time, the Pencak Silat competition rules were not yet complete and after 3 failures due to non-professional reasons, Bui Duy Vinh was very sad, he decided to return to Traditional Martial Arts (Freestyle Martial Arts).

At the 1st Vietnam National Sports Congress - 1996, Bui Duy Vinh excellently won the gold medal. Not stopping there, this was the year that marked a resounding victory for Nghe An martial arts at the National Traditional Martial Arts Tournament held in Vinh City. Bui Duy Vinh participated in the Freestyle Martial Arts event, after defeating a series of strong opponents, his opponent in the final match was Bui Van Thieu, a professional martial artist who had won the championship 5 times.

Precious medals that Martial Arts Master Bui Duy Vinh won when he was still competing. Photo: Sy Hieu

Due to lack of experience and limited medical conditions, Bui Duy Vinh suffered from stomachache and stayed up all night before the competition. After going through the stressful quarter-final and semi-final matches, his physical strength was only 30% before the final match. Exhausted before the day of the match, but with the extraordinary will and courage of a Nghe An boxer, Bui Duy Vinh defeated his opponent and won the Gold Medal.

The flagship of Nghe An Martial Arts

Bui Duy Vinh's competitive career was not as illustrious as some other athletes. He used to train with the National Wushu team. He shared: "Maybe I don't have a connection with Pencak Silat and Wushu, but traditional martial arts help me be myself." At the age of 25, Bui Duy Vinh was recognized as a martial arts master. In 1998, he was appointed as the head coach of traditional martial arts at the Nghe An Sports Training Center.

Having just taken on the task, Coach Bui Duy Vinh "went to the mountains and down to the sea" to search for martial arts talents to bring to the Provincial Sports Training Center and build a very strong Nghe An Traditional Martial Arts team with names that later brought glory to Nghe An sports such as: Le Thanh Tuan, Phan Cong Tuyen, Bui Duy Tuan, Le Tuan Dung, Duong Trong Binh, Kha Hoai An, Ha Duc Tuan, Tran Thi Linh, Nguyen Van An, Vo Xuan Thanh... Among them, Nguyen Van An was the only Vietnamese representative to win the Asian Youth Boxing Championship.

Martial arts master Bui Duy Vinh in a class. Photo: Sy Hieu

Not only does he train for the Nghe An team, he also regularly goes to the districts to teach martial arts in amateur classes throughout the province with thousands of students.

In 2001, realizing that Wushu had great potential and prospects for strong development in Nghe An, Bui Duy Vinh proposed that the Provincial Sports Training Center establish a team. Only 3 months after its establishment, Nghe An won 1 gold medal and 2 bronze medals in its first time participating in the National Wushu Championship.

Just like Wushu, in 2002, although he had only been training for a short time, Bui Duy Vinh registered his athletes to compete in the national Boxing Championship. Funds were extremely scarce, Coach Bui Duy Vinh had to borrow money, run around everywhere and in the most difficult times, he showed the resilience of the people of Nghe An when the Nghe An Boxing team overcame difficulties to win against a series of athletes from strong Boxing teams of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Army, Quang Ngai, Hai Phong...

Boxer Ngu Thi Thuyet - nicknamed "The Undefeated" in the 60kg boxing ring - is one of the excellent students of Master Bui Duy Vinh. Photo: NVCC

In that first competition, 3 out of 4 Nghe An athletes made it to the semi-finals and the Nghe An Boxing team brought home 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal. After this tournament, Nghe An Boxing officially had its name on the "map" of Vietnamese Boxing.

From 2002 to 2007, under the leadership of Coach Bui Duy Vinh and Coach Nguyen Cong Manh, Nghe An Traditional Martial Arts - Boxing continuously ranked in the top 3 strongest clubs, each year bringing Nghe An sports dozens of medals from domestic and international tournaments. Notably, in 2006, Nghe An sports delegation participated in the National Sports Festival and won a total of 8 gold medals, of which Traditional Martial Arts - Boxing alone won 6 gold medals, of which Boxing contributed 4 gold medals and Traditional Martial Arts contributed 2 gold medals.

2006 was also the year that Nghe An Boxing rose to the number 1 position in the country, contributing 8 athletes to the Vietnamese team. With outstanding professional ability, in 2005, Coach Bui Duy Vinh was also invited by the Sports and Physical Training Committee and the Boxing Department to Hanoi to join the National Team's coaching staff to participate in the Asian Championship and SEA Games 23. At the Nghe An Martial Arts Federation Congress in 2007, he was elected to the Executive Committee of the 3rd term (2007 - 2011) and then Deputy Head of the Federation's Professional Committee.

Martial arts master Bui Duy Vinh was awarded the Grand Master title by the Vietnam Traditional Martial Arts Federation. Photo: NVCC

Having devoted his youth to martial arts, martial artist Bui Duy Vinh has had a long and impressive record of achievements from his time as an athlete to his coaching career. He is currently, together with National Coach and Referee Nguyen Cong Manh, in charge of the Traditional Martial Arts - Boxing - Kick Boxing department of Nghe An Sports Training Center. In 2019, he was awarded the Grand Master title by the Vietnam Traditional Martial Arts Federation for his great contributions to the country's traditional martial arts.

"Vinh is a person who is wholeheartedly devoted, lives by his profession and dies by his profession. When Vinh is in the role of a leader, a coach, a caregiver in a corner of the ring, Vinh shows great skill, directs very well and the athletes compete very successfully. I think Vinh is a valuable core of Vietnamese martial arts."

Associate Professor, Dr. Hoang Vinh Giang - Vice President of the Asian Olympic Committee - President of the World Federation of Traditional Martial Arts - President of the Vietnam Traditional Martial Arts Federation

Nearly 500 athletes participate in the 3rd Nghe An Traditional Martial Arts Tournament

(Baonghean.vn) - Nearly 500 athletes from 31 delegations will participate in the 3rd Nghe An Traditional Martial Arts Open Tournament.