Lê Sáng develop Vovinam. In 1954, Le Sang accompanied Nguyễn Lộc to Saigon to open a Vovinam school. He opened additional Vovinam schools, and as of 2007, was still teaching the higher-ranked students. In 1960, Nguyễn Lộc passed the leadership of Vovinam to Le Sang. After the fall of Saigon he spent several periods in prison. Leadership passed to Trần Huy Phong (1938-1997). He was born in Hanoi, Vietnam and died in Saigon. Lê Sáng Lê Sáng (1920 – September 27, 2010) was the Chairman of the Vovinam Vietnamese Martial Arts World Federation, a position he held from 1960 until his death.
Vovinam martial art philosophy, e.g. fighting spirit, courage, tenacity, fairness, modesty and tolerance. Above all the training in morality and the way of applying the techniques shape the students' character. Emphasis is placed on recognizing one's ego and overcoming it. In doing so the Vovinam student will gain generosity and tolerance with other people. With the awareness that the most important thing in a human's life are other humans, the final goal is to be able to not only help oneself but also to help others to live in peace and harmony with their surroundings. With the salutation "Iron Hand over