The martial art of nonviolence

When he was 15 years old and living in Saigon, Dang Thong Phong was forced to give up his study space at home to a brother-in-law who used it to teach judo. At the time, he wasn’t sure how

this intrusion would affect him. But the question was answered after he began taking lessons himself, spending at least three hours a day learning the martial art. Today, the 65-year-old,

5-foot Westminster resident teaches 180 students, 6 to 65 years old, at the Westminster school that he started in 1988. And he is about to celebrate 50 years of devotion to the art. As

founder of the aikido school Westminster Aikikai, and the Tenshinkai (a form of aikido) International Headquarters, Phong has been the sensai (master teacher) to hundreds of students over

the years. His students and associates respect and admire him, but there was a time when it was much different for him--in Vietnam. The North Vietnamese held him prisoner after South Vietnam

fell into Communist hands in April 1975. As a South Vietnamese officer he spent 7 1/2 years in prison, attempting to escape 17 times. On the 18th attempt, Phong succeeded and made his way

to the U.S. in 1986, he said. As the result of his own and his country’s struggles, Phong vowed to promote the form of aikido called tenshinkai as a way for nonviolent global solutions. “I

chose aikido for its harmonious elements,” Phong said. “I want to teach youth to live in an understanding, loving [and] harmonious society and to avoid war.” Student Eugene Howell, 66, has

been studying under Phong for more than six years and has seen a change in himself. He was a man with a very short temper and now has more patience, he said. “My physical condition has

improved as well as my philosophy on life,” Howell said. “I don’t snarl and gnarl in traffic.” Phong was awarded the Golden Life Achievement Honor for the second time in March 1999 by the

World Martial Arts Hall of Fame. Alex Murashko can be reached at (714) 966-5974; Thuy-Doan Le can be reached at (714) 520-2510. MORE TO READ