Vovinam Lộc (1912 – 1960) in 1938, with the intent of providing practitioners with an efficient method of self-defense after a short period of study. Nguyễn believed martial arts would contribute to freeing Vietnam, which had been ruled by France since 1859, from outside domination. Vovinam, which Nguyễn synthesized from Chinese styles of kung fu, his own knowledge of traditional Vietnamese martial arts, and elements of Japanese and Korean systems, was thus created partially as a response to the French occupation, meant to promote a sense of national identity for the Vietnamese people. Vovinam thus has anticolonial origins. After being invited
Japanese martial arts rule of thumb, the primary purpose of a "koryū" martial art was for use in war. The most extreme example of a "koryū" school is one that preserves its traditional, and often ancient, martial practices even in the absence of continuing wars in which to test them. Other "koryū" schools may have made modifications to their practices that reflect the passage of time (which may or may not have resulted in the loss of ""koryū"" status in the eyes of its peers). This is as opposed to "modern" martial arts, whose primary focus is generally upon the self-improvement (mental, physical,