Nguyễn Văn Chiếu


Nguyễn Văn Chiếu was a Vietnamese grand master of martial arts. He was the Chief of Vovinam Council from 27 September 2015 until his death.

Biography

Nguyễn Văn Chiếu was born on 4 November 1949 in Sài Gòn, Vietnam.
His father is Nguyễn Văn Ba.
Nguyễn Văn Chiếu started practicing Vovinam under the guidance of master Lê Sáng in 1965, when he was 16 years old. In 1967, after three years of hard practice, he got his 3-dan black belt and became a master of martial arts.
In 1969, he started to teach Vovinam at Quy Nhơn city in Bình Định province. Bình Định is the homeland of traditional martial arts of Vietnam. Because many masters in Bình Định supported him, after five years, Nguyễn Văn Chiếu opened twelve dojos. He trained many excellent students such as masters Đinh Văn Hòa, Trương Quang Bính, Đỗ Thị Ngọc Long, and Ms Nguyễn Thị Lạc.
In 1975, he left Quy Nhơn and came back to Sài Gòn. He worked as a staff of sport department in 8 District of Saigon.
From 1975 to 1988, his teacher, master Lê Sáng was held in a re-education camp by the new government in Saigon.
At the end of 1976, he tried to persuade the local government to allow him to teach Vovinam.
On 4 February 2020, he died in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Family

Nguyễn Văn Chiếu was married and had one son and one daughter. His son named Nguyễn Bình Định, 3-dan yellow belt in Vovinam, currently works in Department of Sports of Ho Chi Minh City. His daughter named Nguyễn Thanh Nhã. She has nationality of France, her husband is Francois Berrier, a Frenchman.