The person who popularized Thien Mon Dao (Heavenly Gate Martial Arts School) was Nguyen Khac Cong, a mandarin in the dynasty of King Quang Trung (1788-1792).
With his talent in martial arts, Nguyen Khac Cong made great contributions to the victory of the Ngoc Hoi battle where Cong fought brilliantly using his knife-shaped lance.
A native of Du Xa Thuong village, Hoa Nam commune, Ung Hoa, Cong was keen on preserving his village’s traditional martial arts. He opened a school to spread the quintessence of Thien Mon Dao, which was then developed by five generations of his descendants.
With his talent in martial arts, Nguyen Khac Cong made great contributions to the victory of the Ngoc Hoi battle where Cong fought brilliantly using his knife-shaped lance.
A native of Du Xa Thuong village, Hoa Nam commune, Ung Hoa, Cong was keen on preserving his village’s traditional martial arts. He opened a school to spread the quintessence of Thien Mon Dao, which was then developed by five generations of his descendants.
 A counter-fighting practice in preparation for a festival at Thien Mon Dao martial arts school. Photo: Khanh Long  Thien Mon Dao offers various training programs for people of all ages. Photo: Khanh Long  A tiegong practice session at Thien Mon Dao martial arts school. Photo: Khanh Long  Besides teaching martial arts, master Phan also helps his students to become energetic people. Photo: Khanh Long  Master Phan instructs his students. Photo: Khanh Long  Master Nguyen Khac Phan shows a young student how to create force in fighting. Photo: Khanh Long  Master Phan helps a student to practice. Photo: Khanh Long  A counter-fighting practice session at Thien Mon Dao. Photo: Khanh Long  A practice session at the martial arts school. Photo: Khanh Long  A martial arts ethics session at the martial arts school. Photo: Khanh Long  Thien Mon Dao’s qigong performances at martial arts festivals always impress the audience. Photo: Files |
With a long history and great efforts to preserve the martial arts, Thien Mon Dao is now not only limited to its home village but is popular nationwide. There are 16 schools, 20 clubs and over 10,000 followers across the country.
Thien Mon Dao offers various training programs for people of all ages, which include fundamental martial arts, martial arts for physical training, Kungfu, performing martial arts, counter-fighting martial arts, medical martial arts, and Ayurveda martial arts. Thien Mon Dao’s training programs are always associated with ethics classes for trainees.
“Thien Mon Dao attaches importance to comprehensive training to ensure physical and intellectual wellbeing for trainees. Our training programs fully provide trainees with fighting techniques, qigong, medical martial arts, and martial arts ethics,” said Master Nguyen Khac Phan, Chief of Thien Mon Dao.
Story: Khanh Long - Photos: Khanh Long & Files
