VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam planned to include karate in the nationwide school curriculum from next year following a co-operation project with the Ministry of Education and Training, said Vu Son Ha, head of the karate section under the National Sports Administration in an interview yesterday, Dec 8.


The martial art, which has been an official sport of the National Student Sports Games since 2002, is already a regular activity in schools across 10 large cities and provinces including Ha Noi, HCM City, Da Nang, Thua Thien-Hue, Can Tho and Hai Phong.

Karate is also a favourite in sports centres nationwide.

“We are going to work with the Ministry of Education and Training to promote karate in mainstream education at junior and secondary schools throughout the country. Currently, taekwondo and Vietnamese martial arts (Vovinam) are the two main sports at junior and secondary schools,” Ha told Viet Nam News.

“By incorporating martial arts into the curriculum, we hope to find talented young stars of the future.”

Karate has been included in university and college games since 1990, and the country’s karate federation will be making its debut next year.

“The national team has recruited many good students from higher education institutions, but we really want to start developing talent from a much younger age to help the development of the sport in Viet Nam,” Ha added.

There are around 25,000 athletes who practise karate in sports centres nationwide.

Viet Nam has performed strongly in karate at the Southeast Asian Games and Asian Games for decades.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News