Philadelphia Kung Fu & Vietnamese Martial Arts/Seven Mountains Kung Fu

om Saigon along with rich traditions of Chi Kung (Qigong) and meditation. Please visit our open family friendly school to learn how traditional martial arts can improve your life.

1968 — 2013: Master Instructor /Founder of Thất Sơn Võ Đạo system in North America (1979). Thanvodao Martial Arts School / Certified Sifu ( 1968 — 1978)/ Shao Lin White Crane, Saigon, Vietnam. Five Ancestors Buddha Martial Art (Re-certified Master, Can-Tho, Vietnam 1994)/ Seven Masters Sprit Fist Kung Fu/ 1994/ Buddha Fist Kung Fu ( Thai) /Master,Vietnam/ Five Ancestors Buddha Martial Art/1996/Re-certified Master/HCM City, Vietnam. Won the First Traditional Vietnamese Martial Arts & Film Expo sponsored by VTV4 (2011)/1990-2012:Winning many International, National & Regional Awards/National Black Belt World Champions 1991, 1993, 1996/ & NBL/ NASKA /ICMAC. Thất Sơn Võ Đạo - The Seven Mountains Way of Spiritual Martial Art - has been well known in Vietnam for centuries. It is renowned for internal energy training, for healing and for graceful Kung Fu forms and powerful fighting skills. It spread through Burma, where it was influenced by the Mystic Buddhist School of Spiritual Martial Art, and through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and over the Seven Mountains into Vietnam. Thất Sơn Võ Đạo combines external and internal disciplines to achieve martial skill. Its flowing cursive motion can appear soft and gentle, but can manifest with explosive power. The art develops kicks and strikes of blinding speed, with the sinuous, winding energy that is Thất Sơn Võ Đạo trademark. Students begin with the short, simple versions of the tiger, dragon and crane forms, with each movement done separately. Sitting meditation and internal energy training are also taught. Later, more difficult movements and forms are added, including the eagle, snake, monkey and phoenix. Advanced students practice in cursive fashion, combining movements smoothly, mixing forceful strikes with energy-gathering pauses. Finally, some students are guided in the Spiritual Form, instilling their movements with energy and inspiration from deep meditation. Internal Energy Training (Chi Kung)
"Chi Kung" is a Chinese term for internal energy training. There are many known methods of Chi Kung for people of various backgrounds and interests. Its benefits include the enhancement of physical strength, mental focus, emotional balance and spiritual growth. The Chi Kung taught in this school is suitable for everyone, including those with no prior experience as well as those who have studied before or who have practiced hard or soft style martial arts. The Chi Kung training teaches how to increase vitality and to decrease stress through peaceful meditation and deep breathing. Students are taught to perform sets of slow and sinuous movements based on seven animals that stretch and exercise the muscles, tendons and organs, stimulating and balancing the energies of all of the body's systems. Students learn how to focus energy into the hands and other parts of the body, and to circulate energy throughout the body. "Proper breathing, daily meditation and exercise are fundamental to the development of internal power." explains Master Phan. "It is through these tools that the practitioner gains access to the primal energy and aligns with the energy's original source." Vietnamese Thất Sơn Quyền Kung Fu and its approximate authenticity preserved in the remarkable reformed Southern-hand base 南拳 , combined with widely influential leg-technique by a traditional Chinese deadly Northern-kick 北腳 characteristics, by itself did not arise from any special kung merits, but from distinctly mixed with Indo-Chinese cultures that is considered the longest among other martial art groups and believed to be the oldest in the southern regions taught & served along with its moral significance in Buddhist, Taoist, & Confucius philosophy. We do not use the art for non-reason. Knowledge of the martial interest in the Kung Ku art cannot be suffice, the Seven Mountains Spirit Fist Kung Fu martial artists must be impelled militaristic virtuously by its spiritual emphasis as well. Carefully refining my martial art insight built upon our traditional teaching that attained through Chinese -Vietnamese kung fu knowledge, I particularized these 3 main levels in our systems through a mystical martial study under a deeply observation. To have a fuller & clearer interpretation of our hand combatant art, with both internal & external outcomes, there is clearly & historically accurate a relation between Chinese Kung Fu & Japanese Karate as mutually inclusive & compatible approaches to defining the martial concept. Our hard linear form (trực quyền pháp) represents the simple fighting concept taught by conditioning through the hard Chi Kung (hard qicong, ngạnh hoặc cương công). The seconds is consisted of the cursive style though gentle but elastic through flowing-continuous complicated hand-sets that can penetrate through the opponents when needed to, that also based on the soft internal Chi kung ( soft qigong, nhuyễn công) . Unlike many other systems, on the 3rd level of our final touch for that completion in mastering the art is the combination of linear & cursive forms’ usefulness being surrounded by the skill which is the final product of the complete system. Accordingly, we fight silently or explosively depending on the situation; to a point of fighting little, but dynamic coherently to injure the opponents according to the responsive attitude when we are ready in action, like a tough cat quickly making a decision though by itself it is a peaceful martial art. With the profusion of many specific warring incidents of the lasting worth available from ancient battles established a point of view that to dominate any situation in combat & maybe similar or unlike many other martial systems, this Indo-Chinese ( Hoa Tạng) of our mystic Seven-Mountains Spirit Fist Kung Fu contains boldly the physical “animal forms”, demonstrated variable techniques in all-corner fighting direction as well as the classic ground fighting, initiated & also explained through the Ba Gwa 4-directions like 四象 ( Tứ Tượng). It can be seen in the White Crane Thất Sơn from the Ba Gwa’s 八卦 intermediate -form used in Chinese ancient cosmology. It divides into 4 main fundamental principles South, North, East, West 乾,坤,坎,離 as a narrowed-down of ½ directions of interrelated concepts to render them effectively. Each pair of vertical or horizontal of the diagram contains the identical forms corresponded to left or right wings fighting concept from 1 to 4, or multiple-opponents (demos already given). The forms also are related to the general view in five elements 五行Metal , Wood, Water, Air, and Earth: 乾（天）、兑（泽）= 金，巽（风）、震（雷）= 木，坎=水，离=火，坤（地）、艮（山）= 土. The fighting application externally & internally by itself just is a potential united Kung Fu “form”, called “kata” ( in Japanese) , “Chuan Fa” ( Chinese) , “Kuen” ( Cantonese), “Quyền”( Vietnamese) …for our students sharpening the skill daily & apparently for form-training advantages alone, or at least beneficial for practicing with or without partners if not using in sparring condition! Each direction is consisted with segment of fighting forms of the entire bird characteristics respectively. Due to the diagram structure & mixed with calligraphic arrangement, the martial advantageous form are in a combination of linear & cursive Kung Fu animal forms expressed & referred to the animal styles, but here I just point out an Ex like in Crane or all-bird-family (Crane, Eagle, and Phoenix) elements. Though the carne itself is very gentle being, & the crane form can be flexible whether in soft or hard strength that cannot be conquered suddenly by force attacked coming from opponents like a string or a hammer can do its job depending how to apply them. Its hard technique is referring to the hard styles like in Shao Lin, or later as Hung Gar , or seen in Okinawan Karate forms that are hybrid from the original militaristic Chinese “White Crane Kung Fu” knowledge, & the modern Tai Chi Chuan(s) are the modified from ancient Chinese soft style of Kung Fu also. Conclusion, our boldly revolutionary ideas has been indicated from an ancient martial system, refined by previous masters, managed with general superior knowledge & taught in mystic kung fu style to teach learners the realistic military combating art of strength & advantage that knowing how to observe the enemy’s movements; when perceiving them to reach the finished goal first ( first-comes; first served). By itself, it is just an animal Kung Fu art serves as a martial dance, but in real life situation, it is presenting a deadly Kung Fu dance. Remember mostly believed in all Asian martial arts, & here is my suggestion! A good fighter must have a good martial form for a greatest kung-fu shill in a long run achievement! This is a moral kung fu devoted wisdom in the art of martial rule of a cleverly fighting idea to share. When Kung Fu & morality are adequately championed & I don’t teach you how to kill a person, but this is the logical kungfu art of a superior classic martial quality of an assured finality we try to accomplish to have on the spiritual kung fu path, done by many uncountable lineage & anonymous masters taught by me in many years of assiduous training.