Vietnamese Traditional Martial Arts Are Turning Themselves into Heritage Instead of Combat Weapons

At SEA Games 32 in Cambodia, I stood in the corridor of the Choktong arena, one side was the traditional martial arts ring with only a few dozen spectators, the other side was the MMA ring with thousands of people crowding. That moment reminded me of a sentence an elderly martial arts master once sighed to me: "We have heritage, but heritage cannot feed martial artists." That is not just a lament. It is a verdict for a martial arts tradition that is gradually isolating itself from the modern current. Vietnamese people are proud of Vovinam, Binh Dinh Gia, and centuries-old martial arts schools. But the harsh truth is that in international competitions, Vietnamese traditional martial arts are almost absent or only participate as performances. Meanwhile, Thailand's Muay Thai, South Korea's Taekwondo, and Japan's Karate have become global sports with professional competition systems, cross-national tournaments, and enormous revenue. Vietnamese traditional martial arts remain stuck in a loop: performance, festivals, and praise of the past. The question is not "are traditional martial arts good?" but "why is that goodness not proven in the ring?" I have followed more than 50 martial arts matches in the past 5 years, from domestic tournaments to international events. The data shows a sad reality: traditional martial artists stepping into free combat arenas (MMA, kickboxing) often lose in physical conditioning, punch resistance, and fight strategy. They have beautiful techniques but lack flexibility and adaptability under high-pressure environments. Look at Thailand. Muay Thai is not just a martial art; it is an industry with thousands of gyms, a systematic training structure from childhood, and professional tournaments held weekly at Rajadamnern or Lumpinee. Muay Thai fighters are salaried, insured, and have clear career paths. Meanwhile, Vietnamese traditional martial arts still operate on a family-village model, lacking systematic investment from both the state and private sectors. Good masters are old, young people see no future and switch to MMA or other disciplines. I once interviewed a young fighter who had studied Vovinam for 10 years. He said: "I love traditional martial arts, but I cannot live on it. My friend who studied MMA for 2 years already has a fight contract abroad, while I only get to perform at festivals." That is the story of hundreds of young fighters. They lack opportunities, not passion. And when there are no opportunities, they leave. Some will say traditional martial arts are culture, not something to be commercialized. I respect that view, but I think it is an excuse for stagnation. Culture does not mean standing still. Culture is something alive, evolving over time. Muay Thai was once a ritual, but they turned it into a global sport while preserving its identity. The Thais did not lose their culture when they commercialized Muay Thai. On the contrary, they promoted that culture to the world. Vietnamese traditional martial arts need a revolution. First, build a real combat competition system with prizes, media coverage, and audiences. Second, update training curricula, combining traditional techniques with modern sports science. Third, create stars, role models for the younger generation to follow. No stars, no audience. No audience, no money. No money, no development. I once witnessed a match between a Vovinam fighter and a Muay Thai fighter at an exchange tournament. The Vovinam fighter had beautiful moves, but after 2 rounds, he was exhausted and knocked out. The audience did not see the beauty of traditional martial arts; they only saw a loser. That is the tragedy: good technique but not equipped to fight long. I do not deny the value of traditional martial arts. I am only saying that if we do not change, it will remain only a heritage to admire, not a weapon to fight. And when a martial art can no longer fight, it will die slowly. History has proven this with many once-glorious martial arts. I remember writing an analysis about the weakness of traditional martial arts in modern competition environments, and being fiercely criticized by some masters. They said I was "defaming" the national martial heritage. But I stood firm. Because I did not fabricate; I relied on data and what I witnessed firsthand. People remember me for the explosion, but I remember myself for the bowing down to write. I write because I want Vietnamese traditional martial arts to live, not to die in a museum. Contrarian angle: I could be wrong. Maybe traditional martial arts do not need to become MMA or Muay Thai. Maybe they have their own path, purely preserved, and that is also valuable. But if that path does not produce a new generation of fighters, does not generate income for practitioners, then it is just a hobby of a few, not a living martial tradition. Takeaway: I predict that in the next 5 years, without fundamental change, the number of traditional martial arts students will decrease by 30%, while the number of MMA practitioners will double. And by then, we will face a painful question: Do we want to keep traditional martial arts as a treasure or as a weapon? The answer will determine the future of thousands of practitioners. I stood in the arena, watching a child attentively watching the MMA match and mimicking the moves. Perhaps that child will never know about Vovinam or Binh Dinh Gia. And that is what troubles me most. Not because I hate MMA, but because I pity a treasure trove of techniques slowly being forgotten. A hot-take is never the answer. It is a kick to make others crave the argument. And I want to create a big controversy about the future of Vietnamese traditional martial arts. Because only when people argue, they start thinking. And only when they think, we can act. I need you to get angry before you agree. Because only then will you listen. Listen to me: Vietnamese traditional martial arts are killing themselves with complacency. Wake up before it is too late.