Cuong Nhu, the hard & soft Vietnamese way of fighting. The Vietnamese martial art of Cuong Nhu was born in 1965. Although its peers may consider the system a “youngster”; Cuong Nhu’s foundation is as old as the oldest martial art.

Literally translated, Cuong Nhu means hard and soft. The hard or Cuong techniques are the system’s blocks, punches and kicks. The soft, or Nhu, denotes the styles circular movements of Aikido, Wing Chung and Judo. The art of Cuong Nhu is the result of combining Shotokan, Tai Chi, Wing Chung, Judo, Aikido, boxing and Vovinam.

Vovinam is an ancient Vietnamese form of hand and foot fighting that is grouped into animal styles. Vovinam’s training begins with the tiger style followed by the monkey, crane and panther styles. The snake style is taught last.

The Vietnamese tiger style is characterized by power and strength.

The panther style is very mobile and quick using a variety of flying kicks.

The monkey style emphasizes grappling and infighting techniques.

The crane style includes long range circular motions and fast hooking parries.

The snake is the most efficient of all the Vietnamese animal styles, and is probably the best system for fighting larger opponents.

Its arsenal includes throws, sweeps, stamping kicks and flying kicks.

The snake stylist does not directly oppose his opponent’s strength. He relies on deception and indirection to get the upper hand utilizing feints and fakes against his opponent.

Most snake strikes are delivered with the spearhead, which is aimed at the eyes or throat.

Cuong Nhu was founded by the late O'Sensei Ngo Dong. Today, Cuong Nhu’s current head/leader is Grandmaster Quynh Ngo who teaches in Jacksonville, FL.