List of Vietnamese Martial Arts Styles

This section provides details about major and minor Vietnamese martial arts styles. It covers styles such as Vovinam, Binh Dinh Region Martial Arts, Vietnamese Traditional Wrestling, Nhat Nam and many others.

Please be aware that this section is focused predominantly on the Vietnamese martial arts styles widely practiced inside Vietnam (as opposed to Vietnamese lineage schools located in other countries). Moreover, this section does not include non-Vietnamese martial arts styles that are widely practiced in Vietnam such as Taekwondo.

For the martial arts of other countries (i.e. China, Japan and Brazil), please visit Black Belt Wiki’s main Martial Arts Styles section.

Vietnamese Martial Arts – Click on each style for more information

Northern Vietnamese Styles

  • Nam Hong Son – A modern eclectic school developed in the early twentieth century utilizing features of Binh Dinh region martial arts and Hong Gia Quyen.
  • Nhat Nam – A style developed in the rural farming communities of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces.
  • Dau Vat or Vietnamese Traditional Wrestling – A style of grappling originating in Ha Nam Province that traces it lineage back more than a thousand years.
  • Vovinam or Viet Vo Dao – Vovinam is a Vietnamese style that involves unarmed combat, grappling, weapons training (i.e. sword and staff), etc. This martial arts also uses forms (katas) such as Khai Mon Quyen, Tan Quyen and Thap Tu Quyen.

Central Vietnamese Styles

  • Binh Dinh Region Martial Arts – A range of family and monastic lineage martial arts developed in the south central province of Binh Dinh.
  • Van An Phai – A style practiced by the Imperial Guard of the Nguyen Dynasty based in Hue city.

Southern Vietnamese Styles

  • Ba Tra Tan Khanh – A style developed in Tan Khanh Village in southern Vietnam.
  • Nam Huynh Dao – A school with historical roots in the Nguyen Dynasty that was popularized around Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
  • Sa Long Cuong – A martial art based upon Binh Dinh region styles developed in the coastal region of Phan Thiet.
  • Seven Mountains Region Martial Arts – A culmination of styles and practices developed in the isolated Seven Mountains region along Vietnam’s southwestern border.

Sino-Vietnamese Styles

  • Vinh Xuan Quyen – A Vietnamese lineage of Wing Chun popularized by Nguyen Te Cong.
  • Hong Gia Quyen – A southern Vietnamese lineage of Hung Gar Kuen.
  • Thieu Lam Quyen – A cumulative term referring to a range of ’Shaolin’ lineage martial arts.

Foreign Influenced/Blended Styles

  • Cuong Nhu – Cuong Nhu is a Vietnamese-American hybrid martial arts that combines elements from Shotokan Karate, Aikido, Judo, Wing Chun, Vovinam, Tai Chi and Boxing.
  • Linh Quyen Dao – A modern eclectic system devised from a number of Vietnamese and foreign martial arts influences.
  • Qwan Ki Do – Qwan Ki Do (Quan Khi Do) is a Vietnamese martial arts founded by Pham Xuan Tong in the 1960s.

Reference Sources

  1. Style information kindly provided by Gus Roe, Author of The Martial Arts of Vietnam: An overview of the history and styles