Vietminh, a nationalist coalition who opposed both French and Japanese
colonialism.
In 1942, fearing Vovinam’s potential for resistance, the French puppet
regime ordered the closing of all Vovinam schools and prohibited Nguyen
Loc from teaching. However, he continued secretly teaching his students.
Nguyen’s program maintained a political orientation beyond simple moral
and physical improvement.
At the end of World War II, the French were allowed to return to Viet-
nam in force. By 1946, Vietnam was officially at war with France. Vovinam
was utilized in the training of military cadets and to train militias of remote
villages. Nguyen Loc led his students to join the war effort, where many
distinguished themselves in the field. However, a disagreement with the tac-
tics of the Viet Minh led Nguyen Loc to sever his ties with them and urge
his disciples to follow suit. In retaliation, the Viet Minh ordered the cap-
ture of Nguyen and placed him in the precarious position of being wanted
by both the Viet Minh and the French. He responded by telling his disci-
ples to return to their hometowns to wait for an opportunity. Taking his
own advice, he returned to Huu Bang village. There, he helped organize
and train local militia units in combative techniques. He also assigned in-
structors to the Military Academy of Tran Quoc Tuan.
In 1954, in Geneva, Switzerland, an armistice agreement between
France and the Vietminh was signed that provided for the temporary par-
tition of Vietnam at about the seventeenth parallel, with North Vietnam
under control of the Communist Vietminh and South Vietnam under Na-
tionalist control. Fearing the effects of Communism, Nguyen Loc had im-
migrated to South Vietnam during the early 1950s, opening a Vovinam
school in Saigon and others subsequently. Within ten years, Vovinam be-
came popular around Saigon and its provinces and was introduced into the
curricula of the military and police academies. In fact, Vovinam became so
popular that the Vovinam association refused to open new classes due to
the lack of instructors.
In 1960, Nguyen Loc passed away at the age of 47 because of an ill-
ness. Before his death, his senior student, Le Sang, was appointed to lead
and further advance Vovinam. After a series of clashes with both the South
Vietnamese government and later the Republic of Vietnam, Le Sang was
able to preserve the system created by Nguyen Loc and was instrumental
in the development of its training curriculum and philosophy.
From its creation until several years following the founder’s death, the
system was called Vovinam. The name Vovinamis a blending of two
words: Voand Vietnam. In Vietnamese, Vomeans “martial arts,” and Vo
Vietnammeans “martial arts of Vietnam.” Nguyen Loc shortened Vietnam
to vinam. Hence, Vo Vietnamwas combined to form Vovinam. Then in654 Vovinam/Viet Vo Dao