Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat. Martial arts are studied for various reasons, including combat skills, fitness, self-defence, sport, self-cultivation (meditation), mental discipline, character development and building self-confidence. A practitioner of martial arts is referred to as a martial artist.

There are many styles of the arts, such Muay Thai, TaeKwondo, Karate, Prey Mantis, Boxing, Kick Boxing, Judo, Jujutsu, Kendo, Ninjitsu, Muay Boran, Bare Knuckle Boxing Etc.
Martial art is used in films for entertainment, such as Jet Li, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. These are all examples of people who star in Martial Arts films.

Master Tung Dinh,  a renowned  Martial Arts Instructor who attained the rank of 5th Degree Black Belt is currently in the country and is among the visiting tourists of the first-ever Smiling Coast  Tours in the Gambia.

During his visit to The Gambia, he conducted a training demonstration with Gambia Martial Arts Academy at the St. Peters Senior Secondary School on Saturday 18th July 2009, where other sports such as football and basketball took place on the same day, organised by the Smiling Coast Tours.

The exhibition took the form of a group rehearsal, individual demonstrations and   performance on Taekwondo by Master Basiru Chio, Karate by Master Tung Dinh and Master Danso and Vovinam Viet-vo Vao.

There were board breaking exhibitions for kids and for Master Dinh.

In 1975, 12-year-old Tung Dinh was part of a sea of refugees from South Vietnam who arrived in Murray, KY, in US. Dinh’s father worked for the United States military and was able to arrange to get his immediate family out of South Vietnam, just seven days before it fell to the North.

After adapting to their new found home, Dinh learned to love the USA and his freedom. As a young boy, Tung studied Japanese Karate in his homeland of Vietnam. It was after making his home in Murray that he began to study Tae Kwon Do.

During his college years at Murray State University, he used to practise his craft in the evening, while studying pre-med during the day.

The 21-year-old in 1983 took over the mantle of teaching from his instructor when he passed away.

Tung soon hung up his stethoscope and assumed his Martial Arts teaching responsibilities.

Through the years Tung Dinh has become known as a talented martial arts Instructor (having attained the rank of 5th Degree Black Belt), and has also become a respected businessman and community leader in Western Kentucky.

From his management of Quest Fitness Centre and Martial Arts America, to the oversight of three-day care centres, to his involvement in the Character Counts Programme in local schools and numerous other community activities, Tung Dinh is living his American dream.

Tung served in the US Army for thirteen years in the National Guard and climbed the ladder to become a Captain in the military.

“Every 5 years, Dinh commits himself to complete an almost super-human feet to celebrate as a form of gratitude for the freedom that he and his family enjoy in the United States”.

In 2000, he set out to celebrate his freedom by running 100 miles in one day, that is almost 4 complete marathons.

In 2005, Dinh travelled to Gold’s Gym in New York City to perform 30 hours of sit-ups. At the end of 30 hours, he had completed more than 30,000 sit-ups.

The determined Martial Arts instructor’s eyes are now turned toward his 35th year of freedom in 2010, when he plans to travel to Washington DC to complete an amazing 35 hours of sit-ups.

Dinh firmly believes that he can and you can do anything you set your mind to do. He is frequently heard around the centre quoting one of his favourite mantras, “If you try, you fail; if you commit, you succeed.”