Having his right arm amputated after a fierce battle during the war more than 40 years ago just does not prevent Thai Van Hai from learning to play the guitar and mastering the musical instrument.

Hai, who lost his arm when he was only 22, taught himself to play the guitar phim lom, or the scalloped Vietnamese adaptation of the French guitar, when he had to leave the battlefield to return to his hometown in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang.

A guitar phim lom is a guitar whose fingerboard – the wood of the neck between the frets – was scooped out to ease the pressing, giving it the distinctive scalloped appearance. This form of guitar is commonly used in don ca tai tu (southern folk music).

The 65-year-old man even made his way to become a one-armed guitarist, who has been playing for many don ca tai tu bands in the Mekong Delta, and a guitar teacher.

Watch his performance below.

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