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Phong Thong Dang
Bio
Phong Thong Dang, also known as Dang Thong Phong, is a distinguished Vietnamese martial artist born in 1935. His extensive martial arts career began in 1950 at the Han Bai Academy of Martial Arts in Saigon, Vietnam, where he trained in Han Bai Duong Vietnamese Shaolin Kung-fu and Judo.
In 1958, Phong expanded his martial arts repertoire by training in Aikido under the guidance of his brother, Dang Thong Tri, who had introduced the art to Vietnam after returning from France. He also began training in Taekwondo in 1963 at the Thu-Duc Military Academy of Martial Arts and Physical Education.
Phong holds high-ranking black belts across multiple disciplines:
- Aikido: 7th Dan
- Judo: 5th Dan
- Taekwondo: 6th Dan
- Han Bai Duong Vietnamese Shaolin Kung-fu: 8th Dan
In 1967, he traveled to the Aikikai World Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, for advanced training and obtained his 3rd-degree black belt in Aikido. Upon returning to Vietnam, he was appointed Technical Director of the Thu-Duc Military Academy of Martial Arts and Physical Education by the South Vietnamese government.
After relocating to the United States in 1986, Phong established the International Tenshinkai Aikido Federation, headquartered in Westminster, California. As President and head instructor, he continues to teach and promote Aikido and other martial arts.
Phong is also an accomplished author, having co-authored several books on Aikido, including "Aikido Basics," "Aikido Weapons Techniques," and "Advanced Aikido."
His lifelong dedication to martial arts has significantly contributed to the dissemination and development of these disciplines both in Vietnam and international.
Aikido is budo. The goal of aikido is the development of personal, social, and spiritual awareness, responsibility, and accountability through the discipline and practice of a martial art. Aikido, empty-handed and with weapons, is the training of the heart and mind for self-defense, if necessary, and for physical conditioning.
By practicing slowly, you actually learn the technique better, because you do not allow momentum alone to do the work. Slow motion facilitates the firing of the neural pathway that activates the muscles used. It also helps you use only the muscles and neurons needed, leaving the others relaxed, and preventing any wasted motion.
Ai can be translated as meaning "harmony," "unity," or "to join and become one." The concept of harmony in combat is hard for most people to comprehend. We are all used to fighting force with force, to meeting attack with resistance. The idea of meeting an attack with love and harmony appears contradictory and impossible.
This emphasis on the philosophy, or worldview, of aikido often makes understanding the art difficult for the beginning student. On one level, the student of aikido must adopt a worldview that accepts violence and attacks. On the other hand, aikido does not meet like with like—aikido does not retaliate with more violence and attacks.
Remember, we do not rise to the level of our expectations, but we do fall to the level of our training.