Wellness

Getting Back to Martial Art

December 17, 2017

6 min read

Somaneh Bouba

There are few places I feel as alive as when I am practising Vovinam. Vovinam is a Vietnamese martial art. Well-known for self-defence, wellness, and philosophy, its disciples and masters are active worldwide.

I have been introduced to VVD a few years ago whilst living in Senegal and it's been a joy since. But, with my illness, much of last year I had to take leave from it. I am still in pursuit of my black belt. So, it was with great excitement that I resumed last August (2017).

The mere fact that I am managing to keep up with the team during training and 'not screwing up' the great work of my care team, is a personal triumph, challenging me at every session and bringing much growth every class.

The art Việt Võ Đạo also brings me more mindfulness and to a certain extent, a spiritual realization. This starts with its motto, 'be strong to be useful'. It advocates harmony in all matters and in all situations.

"The student aims to develop the ability to combine hard and soft in combat and in daily life. The greatest difficulty is to see through one's own ego and then to overcome it. With the awareness that the most important thing in a human's life is other humans, the final goal is to be able to not only help oneself but also to help others to live in peace and harmony."

It guides one to permanently strive for balance amongst the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. It is surely helping me become more resilient and stronger whilst living with my illness. My current goals are to improve my agility, maintain basic techniques and grow from both a mindfulness and philosophy perspectives.

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