In his younger years he was training traditional, Vietnamese martial arts. At that time Vietnam had to endure almost 100 years of French colonialization. To his belief a strong nation could only arise if its youth was trained - a strong body, a clear mind, and a "pure" soul. He was determined to make changes.
He began studying various martial arts. He read books about history, arts, health, philosophy and religion. He united all his experiences in a new martial art and philosophy. It was so far patriotically influenced as it was made by a Vietnamese for Vietnamese people.
The variety of the sources is reflected in the variety of the techniques.
Vovinam spread the world by Vietnamese emigrating from Vietnam mostly over France. After Nguyễn Lộc's death 1960 Le Sang took worldwide responsible for the further development and the worldwide