Vietnam's HCM City to host world martial arts festival 2015

The World Martial Arts Festival 2015 will be held here from April 19 to April 25, with participation of more than 300 guests and martial artists from different countries and regions, organizers announced on Monday.

The festival, the first of this kind ever held in the city, themed "The quintessence of martial arts - Integration and Development," will highlight the sporting spirit of martial arts among members of the World Martial Arts Union (WoMAU), especially encourage more youngsters to train martial arts.

It will feature performances by followers of 20 martial arts schools coming from countries having long-standing martial arts tradition such as China, Japan, South Korea, India, Uzbekistan, Sudan, South Africa, Brazil and Canada. 16 martial arts groups from host Vietnam will be among participants, showing off the country's traditional martial arts schools, including the Vovinam.

Besides competitions in team and individual events for the World Martial Arts Union (WoMAU) Cup, various activities will be held during the week-long festival, including exchange of martial arts performances between local and foreign sports centers and schools, international seminars on martial arts related topics, and tours to visit local cultural and tourist sites.

Co-organized by the Vietnam General Department of Sports and Physical Training, WoMAU, and HCM City People's Committee, the festival will take place concurrently with a series of cultural and tourism events to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the country's reunification. Endi