觀 氣 道 武 门國 際 聯 合 會 INTERNATIONAL QWAN KI DO FEDERATION Registration N° CHE – 225.793.004 - Bahnofstrass 92 – 5430 Wettingen - SWISS

Uống nước nhớ nguồn

(Every water comes from its spring)

Following the example of the uncountable streams which travel the surface of our planet, the martial art

draws its roots from an immense network of methods from immemorial time. To face adversity of the life

and the nature, the human race always developed answers to its needs for protection.

Drink some water thinking from where it

comes, which is its origin and its spring, it

is a way of reconnecting with any element

which supplies and contributes in

maintaining the life. Through this thought

we dread more as a duty, a tribute sent to

any material, to be everything, any culture,

any civilization which grows more

attractive and is nourishing the life. In other

words, a shape of precious and deep

knowledge which justifies the value of the

"manners". "Lao Tu" said: it is necessary to

close eyes and to put the mouth to the

spring of the creation.

It's the same for the practice of the martial

art, because it is not only the curiosity

which incites in search of its real essence,

of its roots, but it is before any the quest of

ancestral values that justifies the

transmission and the presence of this art in the world of today. The fact of going back up to the origins of the

QWAN KI DO is, for each of the followers of this discipline, the discovery of the historic path which

testifies of the accumulation of so many experiments and which became over time, an inestimable cultural

treasure.

“The one who ignores the things of past can discover nothing for the future ".

A length travels through time

So, to begin such a trip, we need to dive into the deep roots of the method QWAN KI DO, it is advisable to

return at the time of the Dojo (« Võ đường ») « Hổ Hạc Trảo » of the Great master « Châu Quan Kỳ », in

the Vietnam by the middle of 1950s.

If this period is prolific in information by the fact that it is close to contemporary period, it is also interesting

to go back up farther still, towards the end of the 19th century, to be able to become soaked by the most

authentic spring of this martial art.

At these now distant times,

somewhere within a Taoist temple of

the ethnic group of hakkas, situated

in the province of Quang Dông (the

South of China), young Master"

Châu Quan Ky " benefited from the

teaching in martial arts of the

method " Shao-Lin Wo Meï "

transmitted by his great-uncle, a

respectable monk Taoist named

"Châu Quan Hoa". Respectable

"Châu Quan Hoa" was teached by

great masters of martial arts of the

family "Châu" which the existence

of the art such as known at present is

attested from the 17th century, but

we could go back up this genealogy

much farther still …

During the 19th century China crossed a hectic and disturbed time. Middle Kingdom having known several

centuries of lock with the rest of the world was confronted with big upheavals, and numerous Chinese were

obliged to flee their country, forming a Diaspora as well in the bordering countries as on other continents.

Among them Master of martial arts of the name of "Châu Quan Ky". This young master joined the island of

Hong-Kong by sea route. Two years later, he preferred to join a group of monks Taoïtes of Hakkas origin

come to find refuge in the Mekong delta (South of Vietnam), in Trà Vinh. A few years later, by 1950, he

settled down in the Taoist funeral temple of Phú Nhuận, a small bordering village of Saigon.

This locality was close to the place where the family of the young Pham Xuân Tong lived. The story of the

unexpected meeting between the Great master Châu Quan Ky and the young Pham Xuân Tong was already

the object of publications on behalf of the authorities of the World Union QWAN KI DO.

Thanks to all these transmissions from Master to Master, during

numerous centuries, the authenticity of the martial art was protected

until giving birth to the QWAN KI DO in West, thanks to which it

shines again through the borders.

In 1968, the referent of Võ đường « Hổ Hạc Trảo », Master PHAM

Xuân Tong, arrived in France. This date marked then the beginning

of the transmission by Master PHAM Xuân Tong of the art of its

own Master. His technical and educational qualities, his numerous

public performances attracted then a number still increasing of

followers and sympathizers.

In a few years, the art taught by Master PHAM Xuân Tong knew a growing fame icounting within his

school more than 1200 followers only in the South of France.

Quickly, thanks to this reputation, other Vietnamese Masters settled in France and in Europe joined him with

the aim of building collectively a structure crying out and valuing the existence of a thousand-year-old

culture: that of " The Vietnamese martial art ".

Several public performances in France as in other European capitals were successful. Among the most

remarkable in 1972 the one which took place in the Green Spaces Pierre Cardin as well as in the room Pleyel

in Paris.

“The Quan Ky school "

(to the memory of Great Master Châu Quan Ky)

The source of the QWAN KI DO

Master PHAM Xuân Tong was conscious of course that this increasing success was so much due to the

quality of the transmission of the martial art of "Shao Lin Wo Meï" by Master Châu Quan Ky, but also by

that of the Vietnamese traditional techniques " Quan Khi " transmitted by the family of "Pham" by means of

his great-uncle. It was necessary for Master PHAM Xuân Tong to find a generic naming baptizing its

practice. It was difficult to realize such a compromise specifying this double filiation: chinese and

Vietnamese. After a long year of thinking, a bright idea enlightened him in its quest: seen the phonetic link

between the western pronunciation of both expressions, first name of its Master " Quan Ky " and the school

" Quan Khi " Of his great-uncle, it seemed completely sensible and loyal to choose the first name of its

Master. It was thanks to him that Master Pham Xuân Tong been born and grown up in the world of the

martial arts, but by choosing a name with close consonance, the Vietnamese branch was also quoted and

honored. It is so at the beginning, the generic name “Quan Ky " was selected and usual.

The same year, in 1972,

during a meeting of

Vietnamese Masters in

Limoges, was planned the

foundation of a movement

of Vietnamese martial art.

After long deliberations, the

generic name of VietVoDao

was held ("Viet":

Vietnamese, "Vo": Martial

art, "Dao": the Way). This

term evokes the way of the

martial art of Vietnam. Five

Founding Master of this

movement sealed an

agreement to protect the

unity of this movement:

Each of these seven Masters put at the disposal of this new technical organization, "Quyên", Kata or chain of

its own method, this "five" Quyên "" appeared then in the program of the examination to obtain the Black

Belt.

To protect the authenticity of these methods within VietVo Dao, every name of these methods must be

associated in the name of the method of origin (VietVo Dao school " Thanh Long " - VietVo Dao school "

Hàn Bai " - Viet Vo Dao school " Quan Ky "…)

The literary set of Masters Fonder of the movement VietVo Dao decided to trust in Master PHAM Xuân

Tong to hold the function of Technical director. This heavy task consisted then in setting up a common

program intended for all the methods of Vietnamese martial art present within the Federation of VietVo

Dao. From then on, it was made possible to estimate the ranks from the black belt but also to organize

competitions thanks to the set-up of refereeing regulation.

The success of all this work was rewarded by the membership of more than 5000 followers affiliated to this

new Federation!

Afterward, Master PHAM Xuân Tong was again

appointed to realize the first book on the Vietnamese

martial art. This one, entitled “Viet Vo Dao Kung fu "

was published by " Dan France " editions in 1972.

Thanks to the fertile collaboration and to the ceaseless

efforts of all these Masters, the French Federation of

Viet Vo Dao received the ministerial approval of the

Youth and the Sports under N°87S54.

In 1975, a Center of martial arts Quan Ky was

officially declared and created in Toulon. This

training center allows gathering regularly technical

executives of the school QUAN KY until this day.

After several years in the service of common causes, seen the exploit which establishes the development of

the school Quan Ky on the national level as international, Master PHAM Xuân Tong felt the need to direct

his efforts to the mission given by his Master CHÂU Quan KY. He then resigned from his federal function

to dedicate himself more to his own method.

From “the school QUAN KY " to the

“WORLD UNION of QWAN KI DO "

It was in 1981 in the South of France, more exactly in Toulon and a few months later in Italy in Milan that

Master PHAM Xuân Tong, surrounded by his closest pupils, adopted officially a given name better rooted in

the culture of the martial art than that “of school Quan Ky ". For it he inserted simply the term "Do", or

"Dao" in Vietnamese, to become “the way of the school Quan Ky " and together they adopted definitively

this generic name reminding the Sino-Vietnamese origin of its martial art: the « QWAN KI DO – QUÁN

KHÍ ÐẠO »

Since this historic date, a world union was created: the WORLD UNION OF QWAN KI DO which includes

all the countries where the practice of the Qwan Ki Do is present on its territory. At the beginning of this

history grouping, about fifteen nations answered present.

After several decades of existence, the Founder, Master PHAM Xuân Tong, and his collaborators thanks to

the spread of considerable efforts, were rewarded by the membership of about thirty national federations

within this world organization.

From the “WORLD UNION of QWAN KI DO"

To “INTERNATIONAL QWAN KI DO

FEDERATION "

Forty five years later, conscious right now of the extraordinary ascent of the QWAN KI DO in the world,

after the successes which represented five World championships (having taken place every 4 years), it was

necessary to endow this method by means of a bigger scale.

In July, 2012, during the General assembly of nations, in a common agreement, this general assembly voted

unanimously, the creation of an international federal body, which is at the same time the guarantee of the

tradition but also the promoter of the sporting event. A few years later, INTERNATIONAL QWAN KI DO

FEDERATION was officially declared and registered in Wettingen (Switzerland).

Vietnam at opening time towards the world reserved two remarkable rewards which are the ones of the

official recognition of the method but especially a testimony more than laudatory concerning incredible

work supplied by Founder Master Pham Xuân Tong.

First day of spring, the year of grace 2015

The editorial staff of Founder-Office