Watching wrestling in Sinh village in early spring.

The wrestling arena is bustling with activity at the beginning of spring...

Sinh Village is one of the earliest villages established in Dang Trong (Southern Vietnam), located on the banks of the Perfume River. Across the river is Thanh Ha, a famous river port during the time of the Lords of Dang Trong, also known as Pho Lo, and later as Pho Bao Vinh, a bustling trading center near Hue city. It was also a cultural center of the former imperial capital, with Sung Hoa Pagoda within the village, once one of the largest pagodas in the ancient Hoa Chau region.

"No matter where people go or what they do"

"On the tenth day of the month, remember to return to Sinh for the wrestling festival."

According to the elders of Sinh village, the traditional wrestling festival has a history of over 200 years and has continuously developed to this day. After the ritual offerings on the 9th day of the Lunar New Year to pray for good fortune in business for the entire village, the wrestling festival is held on the 10th day.

Unlike wrestling festivals in other villages, the people of Sinh village organized the wrestling festival purely as a form of entertainment after the Lunar New Year, praying for favorable weather and good harvests, rather than for the purpose of selecting wrestlers for the feudal court at the time. The more strong, skilled, and talented wrestlers there were each year, the more prosperous that year would be.

The village's customs also stipulate that wrestlers participating in the competition do not necessarily have to be from the local area, and any spectator can enter the wrestling ring. In addition to the "Cạn" prize for the champion, the village also sets aside a sum of money to reward all wrestlers participating in the festival.

Perhaps because the entry requirements were quite simple, in the old days, young men from all over would flock to Sinh village to compete and test their skills at the Lai An village communal house before the village's wrestling festival.

The beauty of the chivalrous spirit...

The Sinh Association places great emphasis on the spirit of martial arts, forbidding foul play, vicious attacks, and dangerous blows that endanger lives, such as breaking, twisting, or locking joints, headbutting, pressure point attacks, kicks, punches, grabbing hair, and attacks on the genitals, throat, or eyes.

If two wrestlers are locked in a stalemate, the referee will penalize them and force a change in wrestling position (kneeling) to quickly end the match. Wrestlers are divided into two age categories: under 15 for teenagers and over 15 for young adults, with a weight difference of around 10 kg.

Each wrestler who wins three consecutive matches advances to the next round and continues to compete in knockout matches to reach the final. While in the past, physical strength was sufficient, nowadays wrestlers need additional techniques to have a chance of winning.

Team spirit is very important in the localities; if one wrestler from a village loses, another immediately steps up to take their place. Each year, over a hundred wrestlers participate enthusiastically throughout the day. Losing a match means waiting until the following year to settle the score, so wrestlers train all year round and cultivate their morals in preparation for the spring competition. Villages with strong wrestling movements include Phu Mau, Phu Thanh, Phu Duong (Phu Vang district), Hai Duong province; Huong Phong, Huong Vinh (Huong Tra district), Thu Le (Quang Dien district), and Huong So (Hue City).

Services that go hand in hand with wrestling...

To attract visitors from afar, during these days, the villagers organize many folk games such as Bài Chòi (a traditional Vietnamese card game), call-and-response singing, and Tứ Sắc (another traditional Vietnamese card game) to entertain tourists. Due to the hospitality and prestige of the Sình village wrestling festival, this event has been held regularly and without interruption for over 200 years. Along with the main wrestling arena, the night before and throughout the festival, food stalls selling beef noodle soup, bánh bèo (steamed rice cakes), bánh nậm (steamed rice dumplings), bánh bột lọc (tapioca dumplings), offal porridge, bánh canh (rice noodle soup), and sweet soups are available throughout the village to serve visitors celebrating the Lunar New Year. And until the New Year celebrations are over, life returns to its normal rhythm, signaling the start of a new year of work. Sình village wrestling is a long-standing martial arts culture that has been preserved as a distinctive feature of the people of Thừa Thiên province.

Additional information

- Sinh Village is located about 7 km from the center of Hue city, and the road is easily accessible by motorbike and car.

- Rules of the wrestling ring: no tickling, no breaking arms, scratching, choking, pulling down pants, acupressure, or drinking water during a wrestling match. Visitors can also register to participate in the wrestling competition if they wish.

- Tourists can buy traditional folk toys as souvenirs, such as bamboo horns, drums, frog horns, and cicadas, or admire the traditional toy-making process, such as crafting toys from bamboo, clay, and colored paper. Additionally, visitors can tour the famous painting workshop in Sinh Village. Sinh Village paintings are primarily used for religious purposes by the local people.

Vinh Phan