Taming the Past: The fabrication of Vietnam’s National martial art

Identify and explore an instance, relating to Southeast Asia, of how “what we know” is affected by political, institutional or ideological (or other) factors.

On the first week of November 2009, Vietnam hosted the third Asian Indoor Games (AIG 3). This was an opportunity for the state to usher in the new Vietnam that it would like to present to the international audience. At the opening ceremony, the Vietnamese state choreographed a splendid martial arts display to officially introduce Vovinam Viet Vo Dao (Vovinam) as the quoc vo (National martial art) of Vietnam.[1] Said to be the embodiment of the martial traditions and the fighting spirit of the nation and its people, the promotion of this particular Vietnamese indigenous martial art as a sporting event was lauded as presenting a vision of a Vietnam of peace, friendliness and hospitality to the world.[2] However, Vovinam has only been recently portrayed in media as the traditional Vietnamese martial art due to political inclinations of the Vietnamese state for the need to elevate and secure Vovinam as quoc vo of Vietnam. The making of Vovinam as quoc vo of Vietnam essentially entails the corporatization of the martial art organization to maintain the state hegemonic control over organizations deemed important and crucial to the state status quo. The history of anti-communist involvement of Vovinam and the subsequent repressive state measures taken against the organization had resulted in a history of disapora of Vovinam disciples. Corporatization therefore, is a direct effort to tame the subversive past of Vovinam by officially making it state agency.[3] In light of Vovinam’s political past and its overseas connections, corporatization was even more essential in the current climate of reengagement with the outside world. Thus, elevating Vovinam to Quoc Vo must also be viewed as a pre-emptive measure to neutralize the potential threats of Vovinam. This paper aims to provide a nuance understanding of the varying interests of the different actors: the state, the Vovinam organization, disciples and the Vietnamese people in general and how these different interests actually converges to result in this ongoing instance of inventing traditions and knowledge formation.

The Vovinam Martial Arts Display at 3rd AIG made up of 1000 university students from Hanoi

It is not uncommon for states to create an imagined shared culture that can be symbolic of the nation and its people in an attempt to assert its identity in the family of nations. The fact that the Vietnamese state is attempting to do so finally, by the introduction of Vovivam as national martial art, is seen as a welcome sign that the communist state has finally begun to move on from its war torn past to one that is willing to engage with the outside world through friendly cultural exchanges. Indeed, the Vietnamese state’s exorbitant bid to host the AIG with support for the people speak volume of its new vision and attempt in re-positioning itself on the world stage.

On first glance, what the Vietnamese state is doing can be seen as harmless as its promotion of pho as the national dish or the ao dai as the national costume: different components in the formation and assertion of a distinctive culture symbolism for the nation. However, there had been dissatisfaction in the choice of Vovinam as quoc vo by martial artists of other traditional martial arts in Vietnam who see Vovinam as a synthesis of many foreign martial arts types.[6] The founding of Vovinam during the colonial era also did not seem to qualify the martial art as traditional relative to the other more well known traditional practices in the country. Even Vovinam disciples agreed that Vovinam is only more visible in Southern Vietnam just a few years back. However, the state has argued that efforts have been stepped up to bring Voivnam to all parts of the country.[7] Most importantly, the formal acknowledgment of Vovinam as quoc vo backed with the appointment of important cadres from the community party to head the newly formed Vovinam federation meant that the state is serious in institutionalizing the knowledge that Vovinam will be representative of Vietnamese martial arts and that there will be little or no further debate on the state’s choice for Vovinam as quoc vo for the Vietnamese.

It is crucial to question at this juncture if the state is solely interested in inventing traditions and culture. For the ease of administration, many societal organizations have to be registered with the state and governed with certain set of guidelines. However, the degree of control that the state intends to impose on Vovinam is much beyond. The elevation of Vovinam to quoc vo status is not just a reflection of the state’s interest in promoting a particular facet of Vietnamese culture but rather, a political strategy aimed at controlling potential subversive elements of Vovinam in view of its historical past. The opening up of Vietnamese society after Doi Moi policy heralds a period of openness in the society and also increasing communication with the outside world.[8] The state is facing a conundrum with previously scrutinized and policed organizations riding on this officially sanctioned relaxation to establish contacts with overseas members. There is a need for the state to search for a new method to control the overseas contacts of Vovinam organization and it would be even better, if these overseas contacts can be of use to the interests of the state. That the Minister of Foreign Affairs is the president of the Vovinam Federation is therefore not a mere coincidence.

The current ongoing process of shaping Vovinam to fit into the mould of quoc vo entails the selective remembering and forgetting of the nature of the role of Vovinam in certain critical period of Vietnamese history. What is played up by state media today is the patriotic and nationalistic role of Vovinam during the struggle against colonial rule of France.[9] However, pertinent to this version of knowledge is the necessity in silencing another side of the narrative: the anti-communist stance of the founding father of Vovinam and the organisation. The current strong state support for Vovinam do not suggest in anyway the history of suppression of Vovinam by the communist state after reunification of Vietnam. Arrests and detentions of Vovinam masters, including the current patriarch of the organization, were common and many Vovinam disciples had to flee overseas. Vovinam being more popular before the 1990s in the Europe and America than in its homeland Vietnam is testament to the harsh retaliation of the communist state against Vovinam and the consequent diaspora that resulted.[10]

Today, it is the paradoxical popularity of Vovinam overseas that the communist state sees value to place Vovinam under state corporatism. Rather than continue to alienate certain parts of the Vietnamese population with a hardline stance, the state appears to be reconciliatory with its re-engagement with the Vovinam organization and by extension, the large overseas Vietnamese population who practise or see Vovinam as an anchor to their Vietnamese identity.[11] There are immense potential gains from cultivating warmer relationship with these overseas Vietnamese. Further, the state has demonstrates political shrewdness in adapting to the challenges it faces so that it can capitalize on the popularity and support of other countries towards Vovinam. As a sports event, it is an excellent vehicle for the state in extending a friendly and healthy image overseas.[12] Most importantly, with its existing popularity, the state need not have to expend as much effort to popularize Vovinam as compared to other traditional martial arts which may have a stronger standing in Vietnam.

The attempt to place Vovinam under state corporatism is by no means peaceful. Tensions and splits within Vovinam have occurred between those which still could not reconcile the present developmental directions of Vovinam with the history of repression it had suffered under the communist regime and those who would like to envision a more active role in projecting a new Vietnam at the international stage. Many Vietnamese youths have been responding positively to the call by the state through schools and universities to practice Vovinam.[13] The younger generations have not experienced the war period and do not understand the bitterness that many overseas Vietnamese still feel against the communist state. The “cultural leadership”[14]the communist state has been successful in this instance of knowledge production as it has spurs on social reproduction of this knowledge too as seen by Vietnamese youth who are convinced and therefore persuaded into taking up Vovinam. That the Vovinam organization in Vietnam is being more willing to cooperate with the state shows that the organization understands the benefits of being on the right side of the state if it wants to reach out to more Vietnamese. of this invented tradition of Vovinam as a patriotic martial arts is showing gripping signs of entering the subconscious of many Vietnamese youth. Vovinam is becoming closely linked to their identity as Vietnamese and the manifestation of pride of being Vietnamese in a confident Vietnam today.[15] Thus,

What has been lost in the current making of Vovinam as quoc vo Vietnam? A few letters by elderly Vovinam masters have been circulating within Vovinam online forums. They represented the group of Vietnamese who fled overseas during the period of the communist state repression.[16]The elevation of Vovinam as quoc vo by the state today brings on such backlash due to the history of the not so cordial relationship Vovinam organizations once had with the communist state. The voices of this generation of Vovinam masters would soon be forgotten as what the Vietnamese are interested today is the construction of a confident Vietnam and the positive role Vovinam can play. What we can anticipate in Vietnam is the glorifying of Vovinam athletics as they clinch more medals for the fatherland. All of them lamented the loss of independence of Vovinam for agreeing to be placed under state corporatism, for accepting the politicization of their organization and allowing the activities of Vovinam to be closely scrutinized so as to be “in direct support of existing government programs or …larger state-approved policy goals.”[17]

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