Kim (white) and his foreign students

LookAtVietnam Bridge – Seeing many foreign martial arts, which are not superior to Vietnam’s, circulated around the world, Truong Quang Kim trained himself, saved and borrowed money to travel half the globe to promote Vietnam’s Kinh martial arts.

Truong Quang Kim, 54, who is the chief of Kinh martial arts school in Hue city, opened a Kinh martial arts teaching centre in Lyon, France in 2000, with only one wish: “To show the world the essence of Vietnamese kung fu.” Now, Kinh is in nearly ten countries.

Kim, a re-known martial arts instructor recognised by the International Martial Arts Association and the sole inheritor of Kinh martial arts school, is also known as the father of nearly 20 street children.

A great father

Destiny pushed a young, single man to a turning-point in his life. That was a night dating back over 20 years ago. Kim, on the way home, went through Dong Ba market in Hue city and saw two children in the corner of the market.

“I couldn’t see them clearly in the dark but they were very thin and huddled in a corner. That image obsessed me,” Kim said.

Later, Kim tried to seek reasons to call on that corner of Dong Ba market to visit the two children, whose father had died and mother gotten married. They lived with their grandmother but she was very poor so they became beggars. They chose Dong Ba market as their home at night.

One day, Kim’s neighbours were surprised to see Kim coming home with two strange children who looked ragged and dirty. Kim named them Binh (peace) and An (safety) to wish a good future on them. The three-member family lived on Kim’s Kinh martial arts class. Kim also transferred all of his secrets of Kinh martial arts to the two children, wishing to diminish losses suffered by the kids.

That time was a bad one for Hue, as famine attacked the city, so it had many street children. Kim’s heart shivered when he passed street kids so his house had many new members. Hearing that at master Kim’s they would have rice and be taught kung fu, many street children came to ask for his help. Kim received all of them, including thieves, hoping that he could bring them back to the bright path. He had nearly 20 children at that time.

“I can help you but I will not give you rice or money, but the way to help you earn rice and money,” he told street children.

Kim’s neighbours said he was very brave, but Kim thought that these children were at a great disadvantage and he wanted to share their losses.

When self-respect hurt

In 2000, Kim was invited to attend an international traditional martial arts festival in Paris, France. The first things he saw at the competition house in Paris were boards which said, “Karate”, “Teakwondo”, “Shaolin”, etc. These boards were lifeless but they caused strange feelings in master Kim.

“Vietnamese traditional martial arts are not inferior to others but why are they not diffused like them?” he wondered.

These boards remained on Kim’s mind. “China’s Shaolin is taught in Paris so we can teach Kinh martial arts here,” he thought.

The local government was willing to help Kim open a Kinh kung fu class but he didn’t have enough money. But Kim was determined to open a Kinh training club in France at any cost. He sold every asset he owned and borrowed money from every source to open the first Vietnamese martial arts club in Lyon several months later.

Advertising Vietnam through martial arts

When people ask when he will get married because he is over 50, he smiles and says: “When the entire world knows about Vietnam’s Kinh martial arts, I’ll get married.”

“I don’t wish to earn money from teaching Kinh martial arts abroad but to make the whole world know about Kinh and Vietnam’s traditional martial arts,” Kim said.

From a Kinh club in France, Kim has opened many more clubs in the US, Australia, Italy, etc. Everywhere a club is opened, Kinh kung fu is warmly welcomed by locals, which transmits more energy to Kim to realise his dream.

At the age of 54, Kim doesn’t plan to stop. “Many countries in South America and Africa don’t know about Vietnamese martial arts. I will introduce Vietnam’s Kinh kung fu to them because martial arts are part of the cultural tradition of Vietnamese people.”

His work with street children continues as he holds free Kinh classes for them at the An Tay Orphanage in Hue city.

Kinh is a special martial arts used by soldiers in the imperial city during the Nguyen Dynasty. It was created by Thoai Dinh Hau Nguyen Huu Canh under King Gia Long’s reign. Kinh is one of the two remaining traditional martial arts of Vietnam, besides Binh Dinh Kung Fu. At Festival Hue 2008, Kinh martial art shows will be added to a new tour, Cham towers – Phat Tich village – Kinh martial arts.

(Source: TTCT)