They may look like models but their training in ancient martial art “Wushu” often leaves them bruised and cut from swords and lances.

Thuy Linh (left) and Tra My

By looking at them, nobody could tell that these pretty girls have suffered from many wounds since they started practicing wushu before their fifth birthday.

World wushu champion Vu Tra My began practicing wushu at a kindergarten located in Tho Nhuom Street, Hanoi. My only remembers that at that time she loved singing and dancing very much. When wushu coach Nguyen Xuan Ha of the Hanoi wushu team visited kindergartens in Hanoi to find kids for a wushu show, she mry My.

Since then My hsd practiced wushu with coach Xuan Ha and joined the Hanoi wushu team in 1997, at the age of 7. Coaches said that My has a talent for the martial art. My’s parents encouraged their daughter to practice wushu to enhance her health.

Thuy Linh is the daughter of former wushu star Nguyen Phuong Lan. When she was a kid, she went to the Trinh Hoai Duc sports house with her mother every day. Seeing famous wushu artists Thuy Hien and My Duc dancing with swords and lances, Linh dreamed of being a wushu artist like her mother as well as Thuy Hien and My Duc.

She didn’t disappoint her mother. At 1.63m tall and with a beautiful face, Thuy Linh looks like a model but if take a look at her rugged hands, which Linh always tries to hide under long sleeves, and only then would you know hard she has worked to be a wushu artist.

Practicing wushu, artists have to spend years to practicing the splits, kicking, throwing their bodies into the air, punching and running.

Their small hands are rough to the touch. “To have strong hands, we have to punch walls,” Thuy Linh said.

They also have many injuries on their arms and legs caused by swords and lances. It a common occurrence for them to go to hospitals for stitching.

“I could not forget long trips far from home when I was not yet six years old. The first Tet I spent away from home was in China. After the New Year’s Eve party, kids like us were brought back to our rooms to watch TV. At that time Linh and I (Thuy Linh) sobbed because we missed our parents so much. Instead of living in close to our parents, wushu artists have to pay for their achievements with their childhood,” Tra My recalled.

It is interesting that although wushu artists are not chosen based on their appearance they are still known for their beauty and their well proportioned bodies.

Both girls also have dreams beyond wushu. Tra My wishes to become the host of a sports show on TV. This year she will take exams at the Institute for Press and Propaganda to help realize her dream.

Meanwhile, Thuy Linh wants to become a wushu coach like her mother and own a fashion shop.

Tra My

Mai Phuong