Vietnamese Traditional Martial Arts Facing the MMA Wave: The Challenge of Preserving Soul in Modern Times

The training floor of Binh Dinh Gia martial arts school in District 12, Saigon, at 5 AM only has the sound of ceiling fans rotating steadily and the heavy breathing of fifteen students practicing their forms. No one shouts, no one counts the rhythm. Master Nguyen Van Hung, 68 years old, stands in the corner of the yard, holding a faded rattan stick, his eyes following each movement of his students like a goldsmith examining every line of a precious piece.

I have followed martial arts competitions in Vietnam for over ten years, from cramped fighting arenas in Mekong Delta provinces to modern sports halls in Hanoi. But I have never seen such a clear division as now: on one side, MMA, kickboxing, and boxing tournaments are springing up like mushrooms with prize money reaching hundreds of millions of dong; on the other side, traditional martial arts schools are struggling to keep their students.

Data from the Department of Physical Education and Sports shows that in 2026, there were 47 combat sports tournaments organized nationwide, a 30% increase compared to 2026. Meanwhile, the number of traditional martial arts schools decreased from 1,200 to 850 in the same period. These numbers not only reflect changing tastes but also raise a major question about the strategy for preserving the nation's martial arts heritage.

The truth that few people speak out: traditional martial arts are not disappearing because of a lack of practitioners, but because of the lack of a professional competition ecosystem to retain practitioners.

Master Hung recalls that thirty years ago, his school had over two hundred students. They came to learn for self-defense, for health, and some wanted to pursue a martial arts career. Now, the class only has fifteen students, mainly middle schoolers sent by their parents to... reduce screen time.

"Young people nowadays don't believe traditional martial arts can actually fight," Master Hung says, his voice lowering. "They watch UFC, watch ONE Championship, see people fighting fiercely, then ask me: Master, can our martial arts fight like that?"

That question reminds me of an afternoon in 2026 when I was invited to commentate on a traditional martial arts tournament in Binh Duong. In the ring, two fighters in traditional uniforms performed beautiful but impractical techniques. The audience numbered only about three hundred, mostly elderly people and relatives of the fighters. Meanwhile, at the same time, a kickboxing tournament in District 7 attracted over three thousand spectators, with tickets sold out three days in advance.

The difference lies not in technique but in organization and media coverage. Modern MMA and kickboxing tournaments have professional media systems, sponsorship contracts, live broadcast channels, and carefully crafted character stories. What about traditional martial arts? Most tournaments are still organized in the "traditional" way: lacking media coverage, sponsorship, and even a stage worthy of the art.

But there's a detail few people notice: in modern combat sports tournaments, Vietnamese fighters are using many techniques that originate from traditional martial arts. I watched a fight by Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat at the Lion Championship 2026 and recognized that his striking techniques bore the shadow of the "Lao Ho Thuong Son" form from Binh Dinh martial arts. When I asked him about this, Duy Nhat smiled: "I trained traditional martial arts from childhood; it's in my blood. When I strike, I don't think about form names, just about how to move effectively."

This is the key point that sports managers need to see: traditional martial arts don't need to become MMA, but they need to be "decoded" so their techniques can be applied in modern contexts. Instead of keeping performance-oriented forms, there should be a research division to transform traditional techniques into practical combat moves usable in competitive fighting.

A typical example is the Binh Dinh martial arts school. Its kicking and hand techniques are diverse and highly damaging, but most are only taught within the scope of forms, never tested in a competitive environment. If there were a systematic research program combining veteran masters and modern sports experts, I believe Binh Dinh martial arts could create a unique combat technique system with Vietnamese identity.

I remember sitting for coffee with a Thai MMA event organizer. He told me: "You Vietnamese have a treasure that we don't. Our Muay Thai developed from a single system, but your traditional martial arts have dozens of different schools. If you know how to exploit this, you'll have an incredibly rich martial arts ecosystem."

Those words made me think deeply. While we're chasing modern martial arts from abroad, we're neglecting our own heritage. It's not that no one recognizes this, but current efforts remain fragmented and lack long-term strategy.

A promising sign is the emergence of traditional martial arts clubs combined with modern sports. In Da Nang, the Vo Dao Viet club has built a training program combining traditional martial arts and MMA, with participation from elderly masters and young coaches graduated from sports universities. After two years of operation, the club has over five hundred students, including many young people who initially wanted to learn MMA but were later drawn to traditional martial arts.

"Young people don't dislike traditional martial arts; they just don't understand it," says Tran Quoc Bao, head coach of Vo Dao Viet. "When we explain that Binh Dinh martial arts kicks can be applied in MMA, they become curious. And when they see it actually works, they start to appreciate it."

The Vo Dao Viet story shows a viable path: we don't have to choose between tradition and modernity; we can combine both. However, to achieve this, there needs to be a shift in mindset from the traditional masters themselves. Many masters still hold the view that "traditional martial arts are for moral cultivation, not for competition," and this very view has pushed traditional martial arts further away from young people.

I don't deny the moral value of traditional martial arts. I myself learned a great deal about patience, discipline, and humility from my years of training. But I believe that a martial art truly lives when it's tested in real combat environments. Traditional martial arts need to prove their practical value, not just within the scope of forms but also in actual combat situations.

Looking at neighboring countries, we can learn a lot. Thailand has turned Muay Thai into a billion-dollar industry with professional training, competition, and media systems. South Korea has developed Taekwondo into an Olympic sport with systematic management and development. And we, with over a hundred traditional martial arts schools, still lack a unified development strategy.

There's a story I often tell in my articles: in 2026, I visited a martial arts school in Ben Tre province. The master there was 82 years old, still teaching martial arts daily to about twenty students. When I asked him about the future of traditional martial arts, he smiled gently: "I'm not worried. Traditional martial arts have existed for hundreds of years; they will continue to exist. Only the form may change."

Those words made me think for a long time. Perhaps that old master is right: traditional martial arts won't disappear, but they will change. The question is whether we actively participate in that change, or just stand by and let it transform spontaneously.

In the context of MMA tournaments growing rapidly in Vietnam, with organizations like Lion Championship and Jungle Fight emerging, I believe this is the golden time for traditional martial arts to find a new position. Not by rejecting modernity, but by proving their value in the new context.

I have witnessed many young fighters starting their journey with MMA, then returning to traditional martial arts to learn techniques they couldn't find elsewhere. They don't see traditional martial arts as something outdated, but as a treasure trove of techniques waiting to be discovered. This is the opportunity for traditional masters to open their hearts and cooperate with the younger generation.

Another morning at Binh Dinh Gia martial arts school, I saw a new group of students, all young people in sports t-shirts wearing MMA gloves. They came to register for traditional martial arts after watching a YouTube video about Binh Dinh martial arts hand techniques. Master Hung stood watching them, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. Perhaps he also senses that traditional martial arts aren't dead; they're just waiting for a new door to step into the modern world.

That door is opening, but it needs hands that know how to push. And I believe that if we know how to combine tradition and modernity, ancient essence and modern sports science, Vietnamese traditional martial arts will not only survive but flourish brilliantly in the new era.

There are applause that no one hears, but the fight still needs to be told. And the story of Vietnamese traditional martial arts in the MMA era is exactly such a fight - a fight not in the ring, but in how we choose between preservation and development, between conservation and innovation. The ball rolls past everything; only the storyteller remains. And I, with my pen, will continue to tell this story, until traditional martial arts find their rightful place in the hearts of young Vietnamese.