Early Life and Martial Arts Passion

Born in 1948 Grand Master Nguyễn Văn Điều, known as Hồng Nhạn started training with his father, Mười Mách, at a very young age. At the age of 15, Grand Master Hồng Nhạn, had his first fight in the ring. He was so afraid of his father that he was determined to win the match. He did win that first fight and from all of the blood spilled in the ring, the ring turned from white to reddish pink. The red color of the ring is how Grand Master Hồng Nhạn received the name of "Red Eagle".

 

*Nhạn is a bird in Vietnam that does not exist in the United States, and there is not an English word for it. When Grand Master Hồng Nhạn came to the United States, he adopted the word "Eagle". 

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Developing His Skill Set 

By the age of 16, Grand Master Hồng Nhạn was in charge of all of his father's Tây Sơn Nhạn schools. This meant he not only handled all of the accounting, but resolved any disputes, supervised other instructors and taught students as well. Additionally, Grand Master Hồng Nhạn's father sent him to study other systems and styles of martial arts. Through this, he learned techniques from many martial arts masters along with advanced healing. As with most families, Grand Master Hồng Nhạn spent many hours with his father, learning techniques from Mười Mách that were not taught to anyone else other than him. 

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Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, Grand Master Hồng Nhạn was Military Police for the South Vietnam Army. He worked closely with the U.S. Military Police and assisted them with training. 

When South Vietnam lost the war and Vietnam was reunified, he was forced to flee Vietnam and seek refuge in the United States. 

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Teaching

In 1984, Grand Master Hồng Nhạn started teaching in the United States. During this time, Mike Pulliam, had heard about Tây Sơn Nhạn from a Vietnamese coworker and decided to go to a class. However, Grand Master Hồng Nhạn was unsure about teaching an American Tây Sơn Nhạn. When Grand Master Hồng Nhạn finally accepted Mike Pulliam as a student, he became the first American student of Tây Sơn Nhạn. 

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