Võ Bình Định (Martial Arts of Bình Định Province)
Võ thuật Bình ĐịnhTraditional martial arts of Vietnam's Bình Định province, linked to the Tây Sơn uprising. National intangible heritage, villages An Thái, An Vinh and Thuận Truyền.
Quick Facts
VietnamCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
About Võ Bình Định (Martial Arts of Bình Định Province)
Võ Bình Định, in full Võ cổ truyền Bình Định, is the collective name for the traditional martial arts of Vietnam's Bình Định province. The journal Quản lý nhà nước calls it the cradle of traditional Vietnamese martial arts, and according to it the province has dozens of well-known martial arts villages, among them An Vinh, Thuận Truyền and An Thái. It is not a single school with a single founder, and we have not found documentation of either a founder or a year of origin. According to VietNamNet the exact origin remains a mystery, and historians speculate about the 15th century.
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The province is associated with the uprising of the Tây Sơn brothers, Nguyễn Nhạc, Nguyễn Lữ and Nguyễn Huệ, in the second half of the 18th century. Green writes that their victories were partly attributed to the martial style Võ Tây Sơn, often called Võ Bình Định. According to the newspaper Báo Văn hóa, their teacher was Trương Văn Hiến, who according to Giáo dục Việt Nam taught in the village of An Thái by the Côn river. According to VietNamNet, Võ Bình Định has three main styles, An Thái and An Vinh famous for forms without weapons and Thuận Truyền famous for weapons. According to Báo Văn hóa, typical are quyền forms and techniques with the roi staff, and Green gives the curriculum as eighteen weapons with an emphasis on the sword. According to Báo Văn hóa, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism entered Võ cổ truyền Bình Định on the national list of intangible heritage in 2012, and according to VietNamNet it ceremonially proclaimed the recognition on 1 August 2014. In March 2025 the government agreed to submit a nomination to UNESCO. Since 2006 the province has hosted the International Festival of Traditional Vietnamese Martial Arts. In April 2025, according to Báo Văn hóa, the provinces of Bình Định and Gia Lai approved a merger under the name Gia Lai.
History
According to VietNamNet, the exact origin of Võ Bình Định remains a mystery, and historians speculate it arose in the 15th century, when King Lê Thánh Tông sent warriors and generals here. According to Báo Văn hóa, the province states that the art appeared very early and emerged clearly in the Tây Sơn era of the 18th century as a fusion of various currents and schools. According to VnExpress, in Bình Định the arts of natives, immigrants and foreigners mingled, including Chinese fleeing the Manchus. We have not found a documented founder or year of origin.
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Green writes that Tây Sơn fighting is often cited as the original Vietnamese art and gained nationwide fame through the 1773 uprising, when the three Tây Sơn brothers led a revolt and split the country. According to him, their victory was partly credited to the Võ Tây Sơn fighting style, often called Võ Bình Định, and today's practitioners trace their lines to one of the three brothers. VietNamNet dates the uprising to 1771 to 1788. According to VnExpress, because of its merits in the uprising the art was called võ Tây Sơn and today collectively võ Bình Định. According to Báo Văn hóa, the teacher of the brothers Nguyễn Nhạc, Nguyễn Huệ and Nguyễn Lữ was Trương Văn Hiến. According to Giáo dục Việt Nam, he came from Hà Tĩnh, fled after 1765 and settled in An Thái by the Côn river, where he opened a school. He taught learning and fighting, saying that learning without fighting is weakness and fighting without learning leads to violence. VnExpress names masters from before the uprising, from its preparation, and generals from the Tây Sơn era.
How it differs
Võ Bình Định is not a single school but a set of village traditions. The journal Quản lý nhà nước names dozens of martial arts villages, An Vinh, Thuận Truyền and Phủ Thiện in Tây Sơn district, An Thái and Phương Danh in An Nhơn town and An Hòa, Kỳ Sơn and Đại Lễ in Tuy Phước district. According to VietNamNet, the art has three main styles, An Thái and An Vinh renowned for unarmed forms and Thuận Truyền renowned for weapons. A researcher cited by the newspaper Việt Nam News in 2021 states that Thuận Truyền is known for staff fighting, An Vinh for female fighters, An Thái for a stronger unarmed style and the Long Phước pagoda for a peaceful Buddhist approach. Green mentions an account according to which the Vietnamese style Quan Ki Do derives, among other things, from Võ Bình Định.
Technique
Green describes Võ Tây Sơn as a martial art still offensive today, with unarmed and weapon forms. According to him the curriculum has eighteen weapons, emphasizing edged ones, especially the sword. According to VietNamNet the extended techniques include eighteen weapon forms, and Bình Định's best weapons are the staff, sword, sabre and spear. According to the newspaper Báo Văn hóa, typical are the loud shouts of students during quyền forms and roi staff techniques. According to the same newspaper, the Hồ family school in Thuận Truyền village is known for the staff and teaches the forms Thất bộ, Thái Sơn, Bát quái, Tứ môn, Ngũ môn, Trực chỉ, Tấn nhất, Tiên ông and Lạc côn.
Training
According to VietNamNet, Võ Bình Định focuses on four foundations, breathing training, unarmed fighting, armed fighting and willpower training. According to the same article, Vietnam's Bình Định martial arts federation split teaching into seventeen forms, and armed fighting uses eighteen weapons, including long staffs, swords, spears and axes. According to Báo Văn hóa, training serves not only self-defense and health but also the education of character, morals and life philosophy. According to Quản lý nhà nước, since 2016 the province has brought traditional martial arts into schools and Hội khỏe Phù Đổng competitions.
Today
According to the daily Báo Văn hóa, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism inscribed Võ cổ truyền Bình Định on the national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2012. VietNamNet states that the ministry announced the recognition on 1 August 2014 at the opening of the fifth International Festival of Traditional Vietnamese Martial Arts, and Nhân Dân places the recognition in 2014. As of August 2023, according to Báo Văn hóa, it was one of two schools of traditional Vietnamese martial arts on the national list. In 2013 the province founded the Bình Định Traditional Martial Arts Centre. By decisions of 2016 and 2022 it approved plans for the protection of traditional martial arts. The international festival has been held in the province since 2006, and by 2025 eight editions had taken place. On 28 March 2025 Deputy Prime Minister Mai Văn Chính agreed to the submission of a nomination to UNESCO. Traditional martial arts are overseen by the Vietnam Federation of Traditional Martial Arts, whose founding was authorised by a decision of 19 August 1991. In April 2025 the provinces of Bình Định and Gia Lai approved a merger under the name Gia Lai.
Did you know
A popular saying cited by VnExpress holds that whoever comes to Bình Định will see girls fighting with the roi staff and practising quyền forms. Green writes that in the 20th century the most popular Vietnamese systems were considered to be vovinam, Kim Ke and Võ Bình Định. Martial arts teaching at the Long Phước pagoda began, according to Báo Văn hóa, about thirty years ago at the initiative of the venerable Thích Hạnh Hòa and stresses Buddhist ethics. According to the same daily, grandmaster Phi Long Vịnh is a ninth-generation descendant of Trương Văn Hiến and learned the form Ngọc Trản thần công from family tradition. Since 2012 the province has supported selected martial arts schools for tourism.
Frequently asked questions
What is Võ Bình Định?
The collective name for the traditional martial arts of Vietnam's Bình Định province. The journal Quản lý nhà nước calls them the cradle of traditional Vietnamese martial arts. It is not a single school but dozens of village traditions.
How is Võ Bình Định connected with the Tây Sơn uprising?
Green states that the victories of the Tây Sơn brothers in the 18th century were partly attributed to the martial style Võ Tây Sơn, often called Võ Bình Định. According to Báo Văn hóa, their teacher was Trương Văn Hiến.
Is Võ Bình Định on the UNESCO list?
Not as of 28 March 2025, when the government agreed to submit a nomination to UNESCO. According to Báo Văn hóa the ministry entered it on Vietnam's national list of intangible heritage in 2012, according to VietNamNet and Nhân Dân in 2014.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.