Modern Korean Swordsmanship

There are several indigenous Korean sword arts, as well as several ‘reconstructed’ sword arts. To add to the confusion, in Korea the word ‘kumdo’ still retains its very generic meaning, so it refers to any sword martial art.

Haedong Kumdo (in all its varieties, including Kukje Haedong Kumdo, Hankuk Haedong Kumdo, Daehan Haidong Gumdo, Saegye Haedong Kumdo, Chon-tong Muye Haidong Gumdo, and others) is a recent native Korean sword art established in the 1970’s and based primarily on Gicheon, with some elements from Shim Gumdo and some adaptations from 18th century military manuals. It should also be noted that the Silla Dynasty (57BC – 935AD) book Bon Kuk Gum Bup formed the basis for two-handed sword techniques in ancient times, and therefore plays a part as an original source of modern Haedong Kumdo.

Bonkuk Gumbup (“Our Land sword techniques”) is a native Korean sword form that is documented back to at least the 1700’s.

Gicheon is a temple-based martial art that has a sword component. It is an indigenous Korean art which shows Chinese influence in style, but it is possibly an earlier Korean sword art than Bonkuk Gumbup.

Sip Pal Gi (“18 methods”) is a reconstruction of ancient Korean weapons arts, including sword and crescent spear among others. The techniques used are based on written manuals of military training methods from the early 1700’s.

Muye E Sip Sa Beon (“24 warrior ways”) is a reconstruction of 24 different fighting techniques (23 with weapons, including at least two sword styles, and 1 empty-handed method) based on military training records from the late 1700’s.

Shim Gumdo is a recent (1930’s/1940’s) native Korean sword form based on the meditations of a Buddhist monk in a monastery, as a key to ‘mind-sword enlightenment’.

Hangumdo is another modern art, pulling in elements of Haedong Kumdo, Japanese arts, and the Korean alphabet. Strike names and combinations are drawn from and named after the strokes required to form the letters in Hangeul (the Korean alphabet).

Guhapdo is a Korean version of Japanese Iaido, imported during Japan’s occupation of Korea.