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Ñaëc san Vieät Voõ
Ñaïo nhaän ñöôïc baøi vieát
cuûa caùc em moân sinh
do voõ sö Huyønh Troïng Taâm chuyeån sang. Thaân gôûi ñeán hai
voõ sö Trong Taâm vaø
Thu Haø lôøi caûm ôn vaø
chuùc naêm môùi thaønh coâng
vaø haïnh phuùc. Ñ.H. Nghóa Kinh goi
chi cam nghi trung thuc cua cac mon sinh trong chuyen vien tham Florida
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By: Quan Nguyen
Florida
Trip
I really did not want to go to
Florida to train during the Christmas season because I wanted to spend it with
my family, even I have being reviewing all week to ready for the Vovinam Yellow
Belt second degree test. In order to prepare for getting a second degree Yellow
belt (high level instructor) there are a number of very specific requirements
as: We must practice and review the entire Vovinam program from beginning up to
Yellow Belt First Degree. This level requires about seven years of training. We
must practice and review the entire Vovinam program from First Degree to Second
Degree. This level requires at least 24 months of training: 15 sword fighting
techniques, 21 leg techniques, blocking and open techniques level 2-3, Vien
Phuong form, Dual fighting level 3, Tinh Hoa Luong Nghi sword form, Nhu Khi
Cong form level 2… We must also spar with three students and wrestle with other
three students. We have to do the power/ strength test, do at least 45 lobster
jumps. This is probably one of the
most important part of our tests. We will not be able to go forward with the
tests or complete the test without doing this number. However, if we make extra
jumps, we will get half point for each extra jump and will get additional points on our overall score.
These extra points will be applied to whichever area we need to make up points. We must also learn more Vovinam Philosophy
for the next level. We have to demonstrate by example the basic principles of
Vovinam. But on the night of December 24, 2003, I still went to Master Tam’s
house with my bag of clothes and my slumber bag arriving around 11:30 p.m. I waited at the house with Hiep, Ahmad,
Aiman, Islam, Simone, Matthew, Peter, Cuong, and Travis. We watched movies
while letting Master Tam get rest so he would have the necessary energy to
drive.
When Master Tam woke up, we all got
our bags and started to pack them in the van. The van became crowded with bags
so I tried to find a comfortable position to sit. Master Tam said he will drive
from 1 am to 6 am then will be Matthew turn. I started to listen to music and
went to sleep for most of the trip. When I woke up, I saw that Matthew was
driving He started to drift off the road because he was falling asleep so he
pulled over, Hiep switched places with him so that he could sleep. After that
we took a couple of breaks at rest stops.
We got to Orlando around 9 a.m. but
we got lost looking for the ramp that would take us towards Master Tho’s house.
Finally we found our way after Master Tam called Master Tho on his cell
phone. When we entered the house, we
lined up to bow Master Tho. We met his sons, Quan and Bi, and his daughter,
Angela. We brought in our bags, put them in a corner, and got ready to eat some
rice for lunch. After that all of us just hung out…. some of us played computer
games and some went outside to play football. Later, we all showered then got
ready to go to a party at Master Tho’s son (Quan) teashop called Lollicup.
There we ate a lot of food and drank bubble tea supplied by Master Tho’s
family.
At the party, Quan, Bi, and Tony showed us some martial arts tricks (?).
It was really cool looking. Karaoke was
going on inside and Quan was doing a Michael Jackson performance -- even did
the moon walk. But I got bored watching
some of the other guys flirting with one of the girls, so Aiman and I went
outside and practiced some for our test. The party went on for a really long
time and we finally left at 1 am...
Everyone got ready and we all went to bed so we could wake up early to
go practice.
December 26, 2003, we woke up and
ate breakfast then got ready for Vovinam. We arrived at the Master Tho’s dojo;
Quan and Hung showed us the leg techniques with the safety procedures. We all reviewed the leg techniques that we
being practicing for many years, then went to eat Pho at the Lollicup. After
lunch, we went back to the dojo to continue reviewing leg and sword techniques.
Later we went home to get ready to go to Master Tu’s house for more Vovinam
techniques review... There we ate and sang Vovinam Vietnamese songs with Master
Tho’s and Master Tu’s Vovinam students and Vovinam parents... When we left
Master Tho’s wife had to show us the way home because Master Tam and Ha stayed
to discuss about Vovinam activities.
At home we all practiced then we
got out mats, Tony and Quan showed us some martial arts tricks. After we got ready
for bed, Master Tho’s son, Quang, showed us some Vovinam tournaments and
performances on a video. I went to sleep because the next morning was our test
for yellow belt 2nd strip.
December 27, 2003, my whole body
was aching by doing to much the leg techniques from yesterday. Everyone’s body
ached so we got medicines from Master Tam but it did not help that much. So we
had to take the test with our muscle aching really badly.
When we got to the dojo, I started
to get nervous. I didn’t do well on the test. I messed up during duel fighting
number 3 because I forgot one part. During sparring I accidentally broke
Aiman’s nose because I was used to the sparring mask with a head cage in the
front. I felt really bad that I broke his nose. After the test, we all went
back to Master Tho’s house and showered. We all put our bags in the van and
left to go to the Lollicup for a small party. The party only had some people
from Florida Vovinam. We ate food and played some pool. It was great to finally
relax from the test because everyone was pretty tired. We said our goodbyes to
the Vovinam students at the party and went back to Master Tho’s house.
Master Tam went to sleep so he
would be able to drive all night.
Matthew, Aiman, Ahmad, Cuong,
Travis, Quang, Peter, Hiep, and I started to watch a Donnie Yen movie. After
the movie, we played video games and it was very funny. Quang kept slapping
Islam in the back of the head because he kept talking too loud, we worry that
noise will wake Master Tam up. We watched another movie. Around 1 am we were finally going to go back
to Charlotte so we said goodbye to our hosts. I slept the whole time back,
Master Tam drive saved. We got back to Charlotte around 9:30 a.m. on December
28, 2003.
In addition to all the training, watching
new techniques and eating, it was good to meet people from other cities who
were also in Vovinam and to make new friends.
Friends who held the same standards and lived their lives by the same
principals of Vovinam. Some of the boys
were flirting with one of the girls – I found that boring until a girl from
Vovinam asked me for my AOL screen name.
Of course, I gave it to her.
Overall, I think this was an excellent experience and I would enjoy
going again.
My Trip to Florida
By Ahmad
Abdelrahman
My trip to Florida was
great. It all started when Master Tom
said that we would be going to Florida in Christmas to get our second strip for
our yellow belt. I did not worry about
its being over the Christmas holidays, because my family does not celebrate
Christmas. The only thing of my worry is
the training program, not just for yellow belt second degree, but we have to
review all things from 8 years ago sink I start came to Vovinam. After to
Master Tom and Master Ha took turn to help us review all Christmas week, 10
hours a day, I believe I get that,
include leg techniques, form, dual fighting, weapon, wrestling….
We were supposed to leave at
6:00am on the 25th of December. Instead,
in order to make it easier on all of us, we met at Master Tam's house on
Thursday, the 24th of December at 9:00 pm. While he was sleeping so he can stay
awake to dry for us, we all watched the movie “Kiss of the Dragon”. We started
putting everything in the van at midnight so that by 1:00 am we would be ready
to leave. At one o'clock we all started getting into the
van.
Our three drivers were Matthew,
Hiep and Master Tam. Master Tam started
from 1 am to 6 am, and a few people went to sleep for awhile, but woke up after
an hour or two. About four hours later,
we stopped at a rest station so we could stretch and use the bathroom. When we got back on the road Matthew started
driving during that time we listened to music and talked and had fun. He drove for about two hours.
We stopped at another rest
station and Hiep took over driving and he drove for about two more hours. It took us a total of 10 hours to get to
Orlando. When we got there, we saw lakes
and palm trees. It was a very beautiful
scene. When we got arrived in Orlando we
went to Master Tho’s house. There we met
and made our best first Vovinam friends in Florida. They are the sons and
daughter of Master Tho – Quan, Bue, Quang and Angela. They were very nice to us and they made us
feel right at home.
Upon arrival, we went to the Dojo we
were going to practice in. Quang took us to his store – the Lilly Cup. It was kind of a little restaurant. They served drinks with little balls on the
bottom that tasted like gummy bears and served us food I had never seen or
tasted before. It all tasted great. We also met other Vovinam students - like my
new friend Tony - and others who were also there to study for their next
level. They showed some cool kicks and
tricks that we learned to do. We went
back to Master Tho’s house about 1:00 am to go to sleep.
We woke up at 8:00 am and went to the
Dojo where we learned and practiced leg techniques and sword techniques until
2:00 pm. For some of us these techniques
were more difficult to be save, even we learned and practiced many time
before. I found them to be easier than
they looked. We went back to the Lilly
Cup for lunch. They served us duck,
chicken and other foods new to me. It
was great to try foods prepared so differently to what I am use to eating. After lunch we went back to the Dojo to
practice until about 5:00pm.
Another Master , Master Tu
invited us to his house where we met some other Vovinam people. We were there until 8:00pm and went back to
Master Thos’ house to practice some more because the next day was our TEST DAY. We turned out the lights to sleep at
1:00am. I awoke at about 6:00am and
started reviewing for my test which was to begin at noon.
Master Tam said that we all did
well. So after we were all done we went
to the Lilly Cup and relaxed. When we
went back to Master Tho’s house (about 9:00pm) the Master’s went to sleep and
the kids stayed up and had fun. Some of
us played on their X-box and then we watched a very funny movie “Volcano High”
which was very cool. When Master Tam
awoke we left at 1:00am to go back home.
While there I had the chance to
learn more from others, to practice and practice and the challenge of taking my
Test. It was such a relief to complete
it. I got to meet and watch other
Masters perform, to meet a number of interesting kids from other Vovinam
places, to try new things (especially new foods) and to make new friends. I had
a lot of fun there and even enjoyed our trip down and back. I hope some of the people I met will come to
Charlotte to visit and when they do they will have as much fun here as we did
there. I really enjoyed my time in
Orlando and I thank everyone there for everything they did for us.
The Trip to Florida
By
Airman Abdurrahman
Before we went to Florida, we all met at Master Tam’s house. My fellow yellow belts and I arrived at his house at nine and our departure time was set for one am. We all put our bags of clothes and food in the van that Master Tam had rented. During the whole ride down to Florida I was asleep. I was so tired fro all week, 10 hours a day training and review Vovinam form, techniques, dual fighting …
We arrived at Master Tho’s house around 12:00am. When we entered the house we bowed to the Master. His two sons and daughter greeted us after we respectfully bowed. We then got to know each other. After resting for about three hours, we went to the Dojo that we would be practicing in.
Later we went to his son’s store. It is called The Lilly Cup. It was actually like a mini restaurant. They served us drinks and food that I have never seen or tasted before. It was delicious. While we were there we met a lot of other Vovinam students. They showed us a lot of trick kicks. After more practice we returned to Master Tho’s house and watched television until about one in the morning.
We were awakened at six in the morning and went to the Dojo and started to practice the leg techniques. Master Tho had a unique way of teaching the techniques and it worked! He taught us about safety as well. You can get seriously injured if the techniques are not done correctly. After working hard we went to the Lilly Cup again for lunch and we relaxed until one after which we went back to the Dojo for about another hour and finished the remaining leg techniques. When we were finished working on the leg techniques, we review the 15 sword fighting techniques, Tinh Hoa Luong Nghi sword form and many more, After all done, we went back to Master Tho’s house to get cleaned up.
We were then taken to another Master’s house (Master Tu’s house) for more practicing and dinner and fun. We had to leave after a couple of hours to review for our test because it was the next day. When we got to Master Tho’s house we got their mats out and practiced about three more hours.
When we finished practicing Quan started to show us more stunts and tricks. He is so good and made it look so easy! But it isn’t.
I awoke at 6:30am and practiced until 11:30am getting ready for my test. We went back to the Dojo at 1.00am for our exam. I was very confident about my test. From the start I was in the state of mind that I would pass. I did very well on the forms because I had worked hard preparing for them. I also did well on the other materials but not as good as I did on the forms.
During my test I had to fight three people. I won two of those fights but I lost the third one and in the process I got my nose busted, Master Tam gave me an acupuncture to stop bleeding, I was not so worry. I am not sure how I did on the wrestling portion but I believe I did well. Overall Master Tam said we all did very well. I believe I passed. We left at one in the morning to go back to Charlotte and I once again slept the whole way back.
Our trip to Florida came only after months/years of hard work and training. There is so much to learn. We went to Master Tam’s house to review for the exam every day from December 19th-24th from 8am to 8pm. Master Ha took turns with Master Tam instructing and reviewing programs. The only time not spent in physical training was during mealtimes – food Master Ha made or had brought in. We were all required to view a video on International Vovinam Tournaments to learn other techniques from champions from other countries. The best was, of course, from Viet Nam. We also studied with Master Tho and Master Tu in preparation for the test.
To sum up, I had a great time in Florida and I hope to visit them again. I also hope that they may come and visit us in Charlotte one day. Thank you for all Masters who helped us for our test. I love Vovinam. Vovinam in my heart now and forever.
Training Days to
Testing Days
By Simone
Christina Dewalt
(This article is
written from perspective of only girl in group)
Many years ago. I joined Vovinam Viet Vo Dao at the age of 12
after my sixth grade in middle school. All of the lobsters jumps, training and
sparing came down to my second degree yellow belt test. It seem that the guys were trying to review
in three weeks what usually takes three years to master, such as NHU
KHI CONG FORM NUMBER 2, VIEN PHUONG FORM, TINH HOA LUONG NGHI SWORD FORM,15
SWORDS FIGHTING TECHNIQUES, 30 FIGHTING TECHNIQUES, DUEL FIGHTING NUMBER 3, LEG
TECHNIQUES UP TO NUMBER 21, ALL OPEN
BLOCK TECHNIQUES LEVEL 2… We were also acquiring the knowledge, endurance
and strength that would help us to get through the long week ahead. As the only girl in the group, I felt I was
expected to be the best; even though I was among a group of strong boys. My comments come from a girl all alone among
those boys and from someone who has never before lived in another country or
among people who spoke no English.
December 24, 2003 (Christmas Eve) I spent the whole day at home, preparing
for the trip to Florida and practicing until the last minute. That evening I went to church. Master Tom and Ha showed up late because they
got lost trying to find my church. When
the service was over, I gathered my luggage and left with Master Tam. On the way to his house they couldn't find
their way back to the highway. Around 6:45,
we got to their house. For the next hour
of so I sat alone waiting for the guys to show up.
Matthew was the first to show
up. At four o'clock he was supposed to
meet at the house to go get the van with master Tam; he said no one was there
when he showed up (master Tam got the van).
Ahmad, Aimen and Islam showed up soon after. Peter, Hiep, Cuong, Quan and Travis showed up
later on. By 11:30 our bags were loaded
into the van along with food and drinks.
While Master Tam was resting
before the long drive, the guys and I played games, watched movies, and hung
out like a big family. We left around
one Christmas morning. Master Tam took the first driving from 1 am to 6 am. On
the way many fell asleep, only a few stayed up to either converse or listen to
music. We made at least two stops to use
the restroom or to buy some more junk food.
When I woke up one time, all I
could see was Matthew driving back onto the road. We then stopped to change drivers. We made it to Florida by 9 a.m., but couldn't
find our way to Master Tho’s house. The
directions were passed around to see if anyone had clue to where we were
going!
As soon as we got to the house,
we greeted the family we were staying with and had lunch. Afterwards we cleaned up from lunch and then
brought our things into the house and set them neatly in the corner of a side
room. Everyone lined up for the showers
so we could change clothes. After a few
hours passed, we left the house to attend a meeting and party at a
restaurant. On the way to the
restaurant, we went to see where we would be practicing.
When reached the restaurant we
ate, and then hung out. We waited for at
least an hour for Florida Vovinam people to start showing up. The kids were running around and most of the
time I spent on an orange beanbag. Not only was I the only girl there, I could
not speak or understand Vietnamese. Therefore the music and videos were boring
to me- I had no clue what was being said.
I felt so left out. About five hours later, they started the Karaoke. At the last moment when I was about to go to
sleep this guy gets up and tries to sing a song by Michael Jackson. He was dancing all around the floor and broke
out with the moonwalk. I took a picture
of it because I thought it was so cute. We left the party around one o'clock.
When we got to the house Master
Tam walked in and gathered those who were testing to explain to us the grading
for the test and other things we would need to practice. Afterward, we all got ready for bed and
anticipated the rising of sun.
December 26, 2003 I was the first to wake up. I cleaned up my little area and jumped into
my uniform. I woke up a few guys and
helped them get ready for breakfast.
After breakfast we prepare to go to the Dojo. When we walked in, we were instructed to
remove our shoes and to stand in a straight line. On the opposite side of the room there was
this cute guy named Hoak. I couldn't
stop staring at him until I had to go up and do leg techniques.
After we finished review with
leg technique number 11 Master Tam made us do lobsters because we didn't say
“Yes Sir” or “Thank you Sir” every time Master Tho told us something. I thought we were no more disrespectful to
the group from Florida. While we were trying to learn how to be safe with the
techniques they sat in any which way they wanted, they talked and giggled and
they even played around a little; no one told them to stop. We were the only ones behaving like true
students, and yet we were yelled at for something as small as not responding
with “Yes Sir”. Master Tam is very
strict about showing respect. I guess
that is very important to learn. I just
wish the others did the same.
After leg technique #18, we took
a lunch break. After lunch we went back
to practicing. As soon as we were
finished with leg technique number 21, we went straight to sword
techniques. I got very frustrated
because I had been practicing one way and had to learn a new way the day before
the test. All of the Charlotte participants knew the techniques, but still had
to learn them again. It was discouraging
because every time we asked Master Tho a question about something he assumed we
didn't know what we were doing – when we thought we did. When it was over I was the happiest I had
been the whole time.
When we got to the house we were
told that would be going to master Tu’s house for more training. We all
showered and waited to leave. When we
got to the house they were so many cars parked outside we had to park on a curve. We got out and walked up to the door. As we walked in, we could hear music and
children. We walked through the house,
and saw where everyone was hiding; they are Vovinam students and parents of
master Tu School. We were then
instructed to fix our plates. I think
Islam accidentally ate pork ribs; he says he thought they were beef ribs. After we ate, Ahmed, Aimen, Islam, Matthew
and I had to sing Vietnamese songs when we did not know what to sing. Again I felt out of place and stupid, because
I had to participate in an activity that had nothing to do with me and that I
could not understand.
My question is: “Couldn’t our
language barrier been taken into consideration.” I know half of the people in the room could
speak English. Why couldn’t we have sung
and spoken more in English. I have been studying Vovinam. I understand many of the philosophies, but I
just do not understand many of the Vietnamese customs. Vietnamese may have been
their native language, but the singing was what I called “cruel and unusual
punishment!” they called “Sinh Hoat”. We even had to sing a song “ Sinh Hoat”,
then Master Tu’s wife presents a gift to Master Ha and I had to present a
present to Master Tu. Some of the guys walked out ready to leave until we found
out that we couldn't leave unless someone to show us the way back. Five minutes later Master Tho's wife
volunteered to leave the party to guide us back to the house.
As soon as we got back to went
straight to practicing for at least three hours. Matthew and I even got Master Tho to help
us. Soon after we were told to go to
sleep. It seemed I was the only one who
listened. When I was trying to sleep the
guys were being very rude - they were loud and very inconsiderate by not being
quiet so I could sleep. Even when Master
Tam and Master Ha came in it disturbed my sleep. I get very tense and angry when someone wakes
me up. I sleep best at home in my own
bed in my own room where it is quiet!
December 27, 2003. The guys and I
woke up to a morning of practice. We had
until 11 a.m. to practice for a test. As
the number of hours faded, so did my confidence. We all became more nervous and worried about
passing our test. Around 11 a.m., we had
only eaten breakfast and we left without a snack. When we entered the Dojo I felt as if I could
hear the heart beats of everyone who was testing. We sat and visualized everything we were to
do on our test. We were told that Master
Tho would score have to test and Master Tam the other. One by one we were tested on our forms, duels
and techniques. When that was over, we
quickly start sparring. I did not know
why we had to waste three hours just to let seven people spar three people
each. We were already tired and hurting
and I felt that was not taken into consideration. Unless, of course, watching the sparring was
also to give us a rest.
I thought my fights were
easy. During my last fight, I had kicked
this one guy in his family jewels a few times because when I tried to kick I
couldn't lift my leg high enough and he actually ran into my for. Because of this I had to choose another
person to fight. I chose Matthew. I beat him.
I kicked hard and his only defense is to block with his legs. His blocking hurt me more than him being
kicked. His legs were bony; his bones
plus my kicking hard equals pain and big bruises! After fighting him, I felt bad because by the
time I fought him he had already lost two fights. When I beat him the only score he could get
was a five. That was the only thing I
thought about for the next half hour.
At the last minute, we were told
that we had to wrestle. We all sighed
with joy. For the last test I chose the
cute guy. It was fun. I pinned him a few
times. In the end I got tired so I
surrendered to the cut guy. I still got
15 points for the fact that I used the correct techniques. When we finished, we all said our goodbyes
and went back to the house to shower and pack since were leaving at 1:00 the
next morning. Many of us had a little
snack before we left for the restaurant where we ended up staying for dinner. First we had chicken with macaroni salad and
cold slaw, later on a Vovinam family brought pizza for us. One was a supreme in the other with a white
in pizza with pineapple.
When got back on the van to
leave, the boys started to crack jokes on me.
For the past two days they had been razzing me because I don’t listen to
rap music. At one point on the ride to
the house I started to cry. They
continued to joke, not knowing the how badly this all made me feel and how much
it hurt. It is not easy being the only
girl on a trip like this. This just made
me realize that the older I get my values and interest matter more to others
than my personality. Hiep was trying to
get my attention. I had turned up my
headphones and all I could feel was him rubbing my arm. Even though the rubbing was only to get my
attention. I still found a little
comfort enough to stop crying. When we
got back to the house. I tried to
isolate myself from the guys who were teasing me.
Ahmad and Hiep made an attempt
to clear up their actions. I found out
that all they were doing was counting to three and laughing – so typically a
“boy thing”! But it had hurt. Everyone made sure I was OK.
Later that night, the boys
watched a movie while Peter and I were trying to get the fish to nibble on our
fingers. Master Ha came out to tell us
to be quiet many times. Hiep walked over and sat beside me smiling. In about 30 minutes I fell asleep and Hiep
over to another couch to sleep. It
seemed only about an hour later when I was awakened by Master Tam’s hand on my
shoulder. On my way out the door I said
goodbye to those who had shown us great hospitality. We quickly loaded the van and I tried to get
comfortable and situated. Master Tam
drove for five hours. We stopped for
bathroom breaks but it was torture trying to get out because it seems we
brought more back then we took with us.
We almost left Matthew and Ahmad - they were taking too long in the gas
station. We made several more rest stops
to limber up and to change drivers.
As soon as we got in the
driveway we prayed. Master Tam had said
that an apology should be given to those we have hurt. All of a sudden all the guys turned to me and
said they were sorry for hurting me. I
smiled. We unloaded the van as fast as
we could because it was cold. When we
were finished Master Ha gave everyone at least three grapefruit. Matthew took Hiep, Quan and Peter home. My mom came about five minutes later. I was happy to eat a good American breakfast
and sleep the rest of the day.
During the trip we had our ups
and downs. I still enjoyed myself even
though being immersed in another culture, and being the only girl with a bunch
of guys was very difficult. Now all I have to worry about the 40 lobsters are
have to do to complete my test! Even many thing happen for me like that,
Vovinam, oh my God! Vovinam is never get out of my life from now and for ever,
I think this was an excellent experience fro me to become a good Vovinam
instructor.
Vovinam is a way of Life
My Trip to Florida
By Matthew A Ramirez
“Finally”, I thought, “It’s
over.” I had been worried because I
didn’t feel I had trained enough, especially physically. I was bitter that my shoulder was making it
difficult to do anything. I had been
worried that I would not be able to do enough 50 lobster jumps to complete the
test. Sparring and wrestling three times
had not been easy on my shoulder either, but now I would be able to relax and
let my shoulder heal.
The
following few weeks I was witness to my fellow brothers and sister in Vovinam
as they took the pretest to become second degree Yellow Belts. At the time I was disappointed, they didn’t
do as well as I had thought they were going to; I was especially worried about
Simone. She did not seem to remember
much of anything. I did not say anything
but I did not keep my expression neutral like I should have. I think that if I
had smiled more while they had been testing they would have been more
confident.
Yet,
their trials passed soon enough; although, I remember thinking to myself that
maybe they had it easier than I did; after all they had sparred and wrestled
three times like I did. It seem like
Master Tam was rushing them. It occurred
to me that perhaps Master Tam felt he had to push us because all the higher
techniques needed more than one person in order to effectively learn them. Perhaps, Master Tam wanted another group like
the “Five Heroes”. They were a group of
instructors that would often perform high-level dual fighting forms with a lot
of flashy moves. But when I saw my group
I realized that maybe Master Tam thinks it is the time now for and some of us
in the current group (Quong, Cuong, Quang, Aiman, Ahmad, Simone and myself) to
take over Green Bamboo I, maybe getting
us ready to even lead our own schools?
Whatever
Master Tam’s reasons were, I was very surprised to hear him say “When we go to
Florida you will be taking the test for your next strip, so you go to Yellow
Belt level two”. This was most
upsetting! Master Tam needed us to leave
our families during Christmas to go to Florida!
I thought to myself, “No way! Isn’t Master Tam a Christian? Yes he
is. How will I leave my Mom and sister
alone while I go take a test?” So I say
to Master Tam, “Please let me stay here, I don’t want to leave my family”. But Master Tam got upset and told me “No, you
have to go this is the only time they can get all the Masters together to
verify you. We have planned this for six
months. He reminded me that I said
before that I would go!” I was mad when
he told me this. He said it would be in
December but not on Christmas. Yet I did
not say anything. Instead I said “Okay,
I will go” but I am still mad on the inside because now I have to explain to my
Mom that I won’t be home for Christmas.
I did not think she would understand.
I was surprised later on when I talked to my Mom and told her what I
must do she said, “Okay, but I don’t understand why you have to go during
Christmas. Couldn’t you go at some other
time?” Finally I know, because this is the only time of the year all of student
can have 2 weeks of, this is good for us to training.
Soon
we were studying very hard 8 hours a day for all Christmas week. Then we could
go to Florida. I was mad at myself then because
I had passed the pretest for Yellow belt two but when Master Tam and Master Ha
say Matthew, we want you to start practicing the new forms right away” I said
“I am so tired! I’ll just watch Quong, Cuong, and Quang practice instead.” So instead of doing the new forms with them I
only watched. I was so tired that I
could not pay attention.
Now here we were at the Masters’
house. Everybody is training hard to
learn everything like Nhu Khi Cong Form II, Tinh Hoa Luong Nghi Sword form, Vien
Phuong form, Sword fighting techniques, dual fighting level III, leg
techniques… they also look at the Tournament video of VN to get some fancy move
from the champion, but I felt like I was so far behind. Soon I had to leave early because I have to
go to work early in the morning. I was
very upset and jealous of my brothers and sister because they got to stay and
learn everything. So that is what the
remaining days before the trip were like.
I would come late to practice because of work and then I would leave
early to go to sleep. I became envious
of my brothers and sister but there was nothing I could do. I had to ask for time off already for the
trip and was afraid if I asked for more that I could have been fired.
Finally
it is Christmas Eve, Simone called and asked me to come to the Masters’ house
early but she did not say why. I was
doing chores for my mother and when I told her I had to leave early she got
very mad and said things to intentionally hurt my feelings. I did not want to make my Mom sad and angry,
but as an adult I had to live up to my commitments.
When
I arrived at Masters’ house there was Simone, dressed like she had just come
from School. She told me she wants to
practice Duel Fighting #3. I remember
thinking “Is she serious? If we don’t
remember it by now then how will we remember it for the test?” However, we practiced it anyway. That is all we did, over and over again more
then 20 times until the others arrived.
By the time everyone was gathered at the Masters’ house Simone and I
felt we could do the form but it would be ugly when we had to do it for the
test.
At
this point I was very depressed because I only knew the three barehanded forms
and I did not even know them that well.
I did not remember all 30 fighting techniques, 21 leg techniques, 15
sword techniques or the sword form.
I
realized that I was going to be like Simone on the previous test only worse
because I would have to perform alone in front of an unknown number of
Masters. I was very scared and depressed. I felt like I was the only one who didn’t
remember everything! My trip to Florida,
I thought, would be a sad one because I was uncertain if I could pass the test. If I failed everybody would be disappointed
in me. At first this was all I could think
about. Then I said “No! I will go
to Florida and I will train hard and I WILL pass the test!”
So
I told everyone that I must go but I’ll be back in a few hours. When I went inside the house I finished all
my work for my mother and then I talked to her again. She told me she was still angry but she
understood that I am now an adult. She
told me I just needed to do what I thought is right. So I kissed her on the cheek and told her
goodbye. I packed the things I needed
for the trip and went back. Soon after
my return we left.
It
was a long journey, master Tam drive from 1 am to 6 am, and I am sad to say
when it was my turn to drive I could not stay awake. I had stayed up all night because I had
thought to myself that someone should stay awake to help them drive. I was unhappy because I had let Master Tam
down and even put everyone else at risk.
Later when everybody was told about it they thought it was funny. But I didn’t tell them that I was ashamed
that I couldn’t drive the van the rest of the way to Orlando.
When
we got there we didn’t train right away.
Instead we got to spend time with our Vovinam brothers and sisters from
Florida. It was fun; yet the whole time
I was worried about the test. Sometimes
I would go off alone and review by myself but someone would always show
up. At first I was irritated but then I
realized that maybe my brothers and sisters just wanted to spend time
together. Soon this proved to be true
because the brothers and sisters from Florida were showing us how to do new
moves. I still was so worried about the
test I would keep sneaking off to practice some more. Every time I would go out to be alone someone
would come to join me. Although I was
rarely alone I realized that I was grateful that my brothers and sisters were
interested in spending time with me and in helping me to be stronger in the
Arts of Vovinam. So whenever they would
come by I learned to always be happy that they came. And sooner I did feel
better.
There
was time later to learn everything else – although I knew I would not remember
everything very well I still trained hard because I was determined to do the
best I could possibly do on the test. I
was so grateful to my Vovinam family in Florida because they were willing to
help me learn everything I needed to know for the test. Even when I had to ask them more than once
and they would stop to correct me when they saw me doing something wrong – then
I was really glad they were there.
When the day came to take the test
I was not nervous because I knew I had practiced as hard as I could. I knew that I would not have the best score
on the test but I was confident that I could still pass. I told myself that whether or not I passed
the test I would be satisfied with the results because I had done my best. I realized at that moment that if I passed
the test it was because of the help from my brothers and sisters in
Vovinam. I also realized that if I
failed the test it was my own fault for not being strong enough in mind and
body to succeed. This test was not just
for a score, it was a step in becoming stronger in mind and body.
Whatever happens, I vow to always
keep training, to keep trying to strengthen myself and improve my skills and
understanding of Vovinam philosophy until the day I die because Vovinam Viet Vo
Dao represents a way of life. A way of
life that I will continue to practice as long as I live.
The
Test At Orlando Florida
Quang Le
Most of the yellow belts of North Carolina's Green Bamboo Vovinam class went to
Orlando Florida on Christmas. This trip was planned so that could train with
the Florida Vovinam students. The first
strip yellow belts like Cuong, Quan, Matthew, I and a few others could take our
tests for a promotion to become second strip yellow belts (high level instructor).
We all had to wait for each other to meet at Master Tam's house. Some who came with me were Cuong, Quan, Matthew, Hiep, Simone, Ahmad, Amian, and Islam. Including Master Tam and Master Ha, there were twelve of us. At 1:00 am we left Charlotte and most of us went to sleep in the car. Since we were staying with Master Tho, we went to his house when we arrived in Orlando at 11:00am. We all bowed to him and his Vovinam students. They had something for us to eat right away.
All the masters went to sleep to get ready for some Vietnamese program at Master Tho's restaurant (Master Tho has a 2 restaurants called Lollicup). While the masters were sleeping the rest of us were either playing on the computer or playing football, other try to review for the test even though they told us to go to sleep. But we already slept enough in the car. Well Cuong, Quan and I were playing Unbound (a game on the internet). The others stopped playing football and started to watch the Fast and the Furious 2. It was about 4pm when all the Masters woke up. It took forever for us to get ready for the party because everyone had to take a shower. The scary thing was we used up all of the warm water so I ended up taking the coldest shower on the face of the earth.
We got to the Lollicup restaurant about 6pm and just hunged out there waiting for lot of people to come. Master Ha was singing karaoke and all of us were sitting on a binnie bags. Some of us were playing foosball and then 2 hours later people started showing up. We all partied and listen to Vietnamese music. Some of us went in the back with some of the Orlando Vovinam students and they showed us flips, some cool air kicks that they called "tricks". After watching them for awhile, they were teaching us how to do them. So we did this till 11 p.m. When we got back to Master Tho's house and went to sleep.
We all woke up about 7:00am and ate rice. We had to leave to go practice our Vovinam. We went to Master Tho's gym where we started practice right away. Mostly we did leg techniques from number 11 to 21. When we got to number 16 or 18 we ate some lunch. It took us like 5 hours to practice and eat. After lunch we went back to the gym and practiced the rest of the leg techniques. After that some people did forms. I had to do tiger dragon form which I forgot. It was bad because I didn't even remember the first move (Master Tom know who forgot what, so he pointed each of us do what he want us to review) I got through with that and then I had to do Nub Chi Cong form two. Then we practiced sword techniques. The sword techniques were a lot different from what we learned in Charlotte and in the video Tournament from Vietnam. Some people were complaining because they were getting frustrated about learning something totally different. Master to say: it is good for us to learn some thing new, we need to know all.
The class was over at about 6:00pm – we practiced about 10 hours breaking only for lunch. So we went back to the house and got ready to go to another practice and party. I think this practice was held at Master Tu's house. Now Master Tam was going with Master Tho so the rest of us were in the car. Mathew was driving and some of us teased him because his turns were so sharp.
We stayed at Master Tu's house to eat and drink and play some Vovinam games and sing some Vovinam songs. Then we wanted to go home but no one could show us the way home because the adults were staying over. So Master Tho's wife volunteered to show us the way home. When we got home we all practiced for our test for the next day. We trained in the back where Master Tho's gym was. Then Tony came. Quan and he (the one from Florida) got some mats out to do tricks. They placed it in the living room. When Master Tho came home he showed Mathew and Simone the sword technique because they had trouble with it.
Before we went to sleep Quang (one of Master Tho's sons) showed us a movie that he and his friends made. It was pretty cool. Then we finally went to sleep.
It was 7 in the morning and we all ate soup. Peter and Islam were still asleep but it didn't matter because they weren't taking the test. The rest of us were practicing for our test that would begin in the next 3 hours. Quan and I had shoulder pains and could barely move them. So master Tam gave everyone pain medicine which were herbs. It didn't seem to help much and it seemed like it made us slow down. We packed up anyway and went to the gym. Right after we got there our pain gone. We took our test immediately, we were really nervous and we messed up a little.
Then we had to spar all of the people who took the test – we all had to spar three people and wrestle thee other people. It took us thee hours for us to get all of this done. I thought that wasted so much time. So the masters thought that the wrestling should be more saving to get away from get hurt. After that was done, all of us gave speeches on what it was like being in Florida. Then we took pictures to remind us of our trip and new friends.
We all took showers again when we got back to Master Tho’s house and went again to Lollicup. We all hung out there for three hours and then went back to Master Tho's house. We were told we were leaving at 1:00am and Master Tam went to sleep so he can drive back in the early morning. We watched movies and played video games we said our goodbyes and got on the road to go home at 1:00am as planned.
It has been two weeks since we came back from Florida. We had lots of fun in Orlando even though there was a lot of training involved. Although we had been studying long hours in Charlotte for two weeks before our trip, it seemed we practiced Vovinam a lot more then we
Trained in North Carolina. I was glad for the opportunity to go there but was so glad to get home. I love Vovinam.
Florida Trip
Cuong
Tran
I’ve been In Vovinam for more than 8 years and I didn’t
take a test for my belt for a long time.
All I do is just teach the other guys so they could be ready to take
their test. I don’t think it’s fair to
me, Travis, and Quan. We got our belt
for a long time, and they just got theirs and they are taking another
test. I didn’t think that was fair.
When master Tam said that there was
going to be a test in
Today
is the day that I was supposed to go to master Tam’s house. I got all packed and ready to go. I made sure everything was packed but I
forgot to pack socks, no!!!!!!!!!!! Good
thing my mom reminded me. I called
everybody to see when they’re going to master’s house. But nobody was home except for Peter. I was going at 9 o clock. So I wait till
When
I got there Mathew, Simone, Amad, and Amien were already there. They ask me to see if their forms and
technique were right or wrong and they did everything right. But their confident wasn’t so high. Later Travis came; he let me listen to his CD
player because I was bored. When Hiep
came we ate noodles and watch Kiss of the Dragon. We tried to keep it down so master could
sleep. Finally Quan came (he was the
last one to come). Shortly after he came
master woke up and we were ready to go.
Everybody helped put their stuff in the van and we left for
It
was so crowded in the van. A present was
right under my foot so I needed to be careful no to step on it and that was not
a comfortable position is sit. I tried
to go to sleep but I got a little car sick so I stayed up. I look around and most of us were still awake
except for Islam, Hiep, and Peter. We
had a rest stop and when I got off I nearly feel because my legs were asleep
from the bad position I was sitting in.
After the rest stop my car sickness was gone so I could go to
sleep. I don’t know why I keep on waking
up. But one time when I woke up, I saw
the car going to the left. It was almost
about to crash. I yield “OH MY GOD” and
it waked everybody up. Mathew was to
sleepy to drive to Hiep to over (thank God).
Well
I had I nice sleep, I woke up when the sun was up. I tried to go back to sleep but Travis breath
was killer. It stinks so badly. I told him to put the Listerine mouth pack in
his mouth. Since I couldn’t go back to
sleep I just played to game boy and game gear.
I keep on dieing so I stop playing.
We
could have been there faster but we got lost.
When we got there we bow to master Tho.
We look around the house then master Tam told us to get ready, we were
about to go to a meeting and party. We
were the first one there at the meeting.
We waited for about 5 hours till the other Vovinam people came. We waste time buy jumping on the bean bag.
Finally
everybody is here. We started eating and
the food was good. I like the shrimp egg
rolls. It was so good that Amien went
and took about 10 more of them. I, Quan,
Travis, and Amien chow down on the shrimps egg rolls. It was so good that we could have eaten more
but we were so full. I saw the look on
some people face when they saw Amien got all of those shrimp egg rolls. They were all in shock, it was pretty funny.
After
that, we went out to the back, we watch Tony, Quan, and a lot of Vovinam people
do tricks. They did butterfly twist, and
a lot more of difficult tricks. We just
hang around out there until it got kind of cold. When I went in I saw some girls barked at
Islam, so I asked them why you bark at him.
They said every time they saw him he was eating food. I laughed and went back outside. They were still doing tricks. Hung did a back flip it was pretty cool.
After
a while we had to go back in. I tried to
sit down on the bean bag but a whole bunch guys were sitting there with one
girl. I don’t want to say any names but,
it was people from
We
went back to master Tho house and all of us sleep. The next day is when we go to the dojo to
review and practice our leg techniques.
I was always the first one to try it.
I could do all of them except for the ones that look like number
twelve. I keep on trying again and again
until I did it. Half way we went to
eat. At the restaurant I play pool. It was my first time so I sucked. But after about the 2nd game I got use to
it. We ate and went back to the
dojo. We completed the 21 leg
techniques, I was happy that we did because I sort of tired.
That
night we went to master Tu’s house. We
ate and master Ha teach us some weird games and we sang this Vovinam song. Master told us to sing this Vietnamese
song. I didn’t know how to sing so I
just pretend to sing. I think Hiep was
the only one singing.
We
went home early because we had to review for the BIG test tomorrow. When we were at master Tho’s house we review
a bit. Then Tony taught me how to do the
butter twist. It looks hard. I tried and tried but I can’t do it. Then Quan he taught us the kick 540 and
aerial. I could sort of do the kick 540
but my landing isn’t that great. The
aerial, I guess is pretty easy. Quan
said I did it right but some how I didn’t feel like I did right, oh well.
We
got some rest. The next morning we had
to wake up early so we could review my body kind of hurt so master Tam gave all
of us pain medicine. It works for me
right away but I don’t think it work for them.
After all the review we did I still was a little nervous. Actually everybody was nervous. Master Tam printed out the test papers and
explains to us how it works. Uh oh, it’s
the test. I’m so nervous. Master Tho and Master Tam was grading the
test people go up and say what they were going to do and they grade them.
So far I got perfect scores but
then it was Travis turn to do the leg techniques. I had to stand for him. He did everything good except for number 14. He knee me on the side of my head, he tried
again, this time he knee my nose. I got
a bloody nose from his knee. Master Tam
stuck an acupuncture needle in my nose and the blood instantly stop, cool. Then we had to spar. It took for ever. There was this fight where Simone had to this
guy; she kicked him about 5 times in his private parts. It was pretty funny but I wouldn’t want to be
in that guy spot. Then Quan fights
Amien, Quan did a back spin kick straight in Amien nose. At first I thought he just got a bloody nose
but it turn out his nose was broken. Man
that was harsh. I ask him if he was all
right. He said yeah I’ll be fine.
After the test we had another
party but it was a small party. I ate
and after that I played pool again. I
play with this girl name Lisa she was pretty bad so was going to let her win
but then she got the 8-ball in, so she lose.
She challenges me to a rematch and I said I ok. I let her won that time. We were about to leave. She asks what my screen name was for her
friend was and she asked Quan for his.
We got back to master Tho’s
house we played X-Box and watch movies the whole time. We tried not to make much noise because
master Tam got to sleep. It was time for
us to leave. We said our good byes and
were on our way back to
We’re finally back we called our
mom and dads to pick us up. Master Ha
gave all of us grape fruits. I said
thank you and went home with my dad. The