Shu-Chun Peng and Phạm Văn Tuấn’s first meeting

The instructor that Shu-Chun mentioned is a young man, only 23 years old, named Phạm Văn Tuấn (Fan Wen Jun in pinyin) who is also known on Facebook as “Tình Phiêu Lãng” (“drifting love”). I contacted Tuấn and received a quick reply. I later learned that Tuấn has come from Vietnam and has been working in Taiwan for two years. He recalls of his two Vovinam teachers with great respect, who taught him Vovinam techniques and instilled in him the honor code of Vietnamese martial arts (Việt Võ Đạo) while he was still in Vietnam. Master Nguyễn Hoàng Đạo is the head of Vovinam movement of Thái Bình province and was his first teacher. After arriving in Hà Nội to study, he continue practicing Vovinam under tutelage of Master Lý Chiến Thắng in Từ Liêm district, Hà Đông, Hà Nội. Tuấn recalls fond memory of his two teachers with admiration saying “both teachers were fantastic.”

Phạm văn Tuấn (bottom), Shu-Chun Peng (Top)

As the sail catching wind, Peng Shu-Chun and Phạm Văn Tuấn complement each other extremely well. Despite the language barrier, Peng Shu-Chun has not mastered Vietnamese language; and Tuấn is not fluent in Mandarin Chinese, however Shu-Chun’s desire to absorb Vovinam techniques and knowledge while Tuấn is very willing to impart his knowledge, knowing that he’s indirectly helping the development of Vovinam in Taiwan. Tuấn works in Kaohsiung City; and every Sundays and when his time permits, he takes the train to Tainan, traveled about 1 hour to meet up with Shu-Chun. They practiced Vovinam profusely for hours. Shu-Chun admires the techniques that Tuấn imparts to him and cherish this special relationship, while Tuấn recognized that Shu-Chun is full of devotion and enthusiasm. As Shu-Chun’s skills are being honed, Tuấn noted Shu-Chun is very “studious” and a fast learner. Furthermore, among Shu-Chun’s many strengths, management and networking are certainly his strong suit.

With solid technical skills under his belt, Shu-Chun has started to open new mainstream classes in Tainan. Besides the classes he taught at elementary schools, the first Vovinam class has been operating regularly at Tainan Municipal Xigang Junior High School, which currently has 12 registered students. The Vovinam initiative receives support from many teachers, friends, and parents; but the road is never completely smooth. Some resistance come from people who has not been exposed to Vovinam Việt Võ Đạo discipline, but Shu-Chun would not be discouraged by it. Taking steps to get organized, Shu-Chun officially registered Việt Võ Đạo Taiwan Association and has plan to open many more schools in the future, not only in the local region, but also in Taipei and other areas in Taiwan. Shu-Chun plans a trip to Vietnam next year to visit and learn more Vovinam; and in the future he wishes to travel to visit the international Vovinam friends that he “met” on Facebook.

First formal Vovinam class in Taiwan

The story of Vovinam Taiwan is particularly intrigging because Vovinam Việt Võ Đạo apparently possesses a kind of soft power, only through the Internet, it has the ability to win over admiration of a martial arts coach who has plenty experience of mainstream and well-known martial arts of the world. Peng Shu-Chun builds and develops Vovinam Việt Võ Đạo on the island nation where there are already rich traditions of martial arts from China, Japan, and Korea. From the unique relationship between Peng Shu-Chun and Phạm Văn Tuấn, they had sowed the first batch of Việt Võ Đạo seeds and these good seeds started to germinate on the soil of Taiwan.

Vovinam in Taiwan