A Page from My Diary:
The 16th Annual Overseas Vovinam Tournament

In early July I attended the 16th Annual Overseas Vovinam Tournament in San Jose, CA. which and was hosted by Vovinam Viet Vo Dao America and its founder Master CamBinh Nguyen. It was amazing! But before I share my thoughts on it, let me give you a quick background on how the Tournament came to be.

Master CamBihn started the tradition of Annual Overseas Vovinam Tournament over sixteen years ago. Throughout the years the tournament took place in California, Maryland, and North Carolina just to name few places. The Tournament gathered attention of masters and students from overseas and nowadays Vovinam students from all-round the globe participate in this two-day event. Vovinam Masters and students from as far as Australia, Vietnam, Belgium, Italy, and Canada; and within US: Texas, Massachusetts, Oregon, North Carolina, Maryland, and California, just to name few, came together to participate in The 16th Annual Overseas Vovinam Tournament.

As I mentioned, I had a chance and privilege to attend the Tournament and let me tell you there is no other event like this. I arrived to San Francisco airport (TIP: only 45min to San Jose, but airline tickets were greatly cheaper) on Tuesday, several days before the Tournament, and was immediately welcomed by Master CamBhin who kindly offered to pick me up from the airport.
Now, Master CamBhin has a great passion and love for Vovinam. Her excitement for upcoming event filled up the car and you could tell she was ready for it to start. When we arrived at Master CamBhin’s house, which she generously offered to the Tournament participants stay at, I immediately was welcomed by familiar faces of my from the last year’s tournament and introduced to those who I have not met before.
The most beautiful thing about being part of Vovinam community is that you belong to a brother/sister hood, you are a part of something bigger then yourself. That amazingly positive feeling is evident, and I experience it every time I am a part of Vovinam gathering. No matter where you are from, what your age is, or belt level we are Vovinam, we are brothers and sisters. Yes, we compete during tournament, but yet when the competition is over we train, learn from each other, laugh, and have fun together.

One of my favorite parts, except the tournament itself, are after tournament activities and the evening gatherings, where we all share our stories of how we entered Vovinam path, we have philosophical and historical debates on Vovinam and its community. We give each other opportunity not only to know one another better but also to build long lasting relationships that cultivate Vovinam.
One thing that I have learned about Vietnamese culture is that people have big hearts and are extremely welcoming. The level of hospitality experienced during the Tournament is nothing like I have ever experienced before. People are kind, friendly, extremely accommodating and supportive. They want you to have a great experience and get out of their way to make it happen. The sense of community coming together to make the event successful is refreshing and inspiring. Positive energy was infectious, everyone was excited to be at the Tournament. Vovinam Masters, Students, and their families collectively helped to make it a successful event.

As a non-Vietnamese speaker I truly appreciated the efforts of all the Masters and my fellow students to translate from Vietnamese to English as much as possible of the content of our evening discussions as well as during the tournament. I truly do believe it not only contributed to better communication and enhanced sense of belonging to Vovinam community but also made the time more enjoyable.
AND there was food!
I mention food?! It was amazing!!! For those who love Vietnamese food like me, I was in culinary heaven! Special thanks to all the parents and most importantly to Chef Thien Nguyen who made us homemade delicious meals during those days! Thank you!

So, where do we go from here?
In my humble opinion I believe that The 16th Annual Overseas Vovinam Tournament was an extremely successful event. I am looking forward to the next year! I truthfully have confidence the Annual Overseas Vovinam Tournament will only get better in the future. The attendance at the Tournament has being increasing with every year and I would hope that it continues to grow. In my humble opinion, through the contribution of Vovinam community in promoting the event, spreading word in various languages across the world via social media like Facebook and Twitter, and extending invitations to Vovinam communities inside and outside the U.S., the Annual Overseas Vovinam Tournament has a potential to be one of the major international Vovinam events.

Until then, I cannot wait to The 17th Annual Overseas Vovinam Tournament!

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

· Master Canbihn, for your dedication, hard work and commitment in creating such a wonderful event
· All Vovinam Masters and students for your help, dedication and participation. Keep coming back!
· All parents who supported us, gave us shelter, feed us, and drove us around. Your support is much appreciated

SPECIAL PERSONAL THANKS TO:
· My Master, Yanni Nguyen, for introducing me to Vovinam and making me part of this amazing community. Thank you for your never-ending encouragement, support and dedication to your students. Go Vovinam Maryland! – We appreciated you greatly
· And finally but most importantly to “My better half” for supporting me thought all those years in pursue of my passion. I love you!

Aleksandra “Ola” Modrow
Vovinam Maryland