# Kumdo????????



## moromoro (Jun 1, 2003)

could someone please explain kumdo, is it unique to korea or is it just simply kendo??


thanks

terry


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## J-kid (Jun 1, 2003)

"The way of the Sword" 

The present form of Kumdo uses "juk do"(4 split bamboo sword) and the "ho goo"(the head and body gear). In Kumdo, if you receive a blow, the battle is over. Under this circumstance one's attitude and spiritual understanding of oneself is most crucial. The statement of "never underestimate your opponent" cannot be more true for Kumdo than anything else. 

The art of the sword in Korea evolved from a martial art heritage reaching back more than three thousand years to the time of the Bronze Age. In 1896 during the era of modernization, the art of the sword, also known as "Ghihuck-Gum," was selected as a mandatory training requirement for the newly established police academy. From there on, Kumdo, the modern amalgamation of "the art of the sword" and "the way of righteousness" from the Taoist philosophy, was developed to be practiced by some as a sport and by others as a means of character development or spiritual refinement. By the early 20th century, Kumdo training had adopted and utilized a practice weapon made of bamboo and lightweight armor that had been developed by the Japanese. This method of practice largely replaced the earlier, more dangerous, methods of training. Yet, the Kumdo popularity had been limited until early 1960 when the practice armor could be mass produced with the latest materials. 

say thanks to martial way for all this info


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## moromoro (Jun 1, 2003)

thanks, do they also do sword drawing as well?


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## J-kid (Jun 1, 2003)

I would like to say probley but my knowledge on this martial art is limited.


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## moromoro (Jun 1, 2003)

do they have ranking structures like the koryu arts of japan, i.e menkyo kaiden??

or is it a typical dan system???


thanks

terry


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## RyuShiKan (Jun 1, 2003)

Kumdo in Korea is the same as Kendo in Japan.
This along with many other arts were brought over to Korea from Japan during the 45 year occupation of Korea by the Japanese.

They use the same equipment and it is practiced with almost identical rituals. 

I have seen Kumdo and frankly I can't seen any differences between it and Japanese Kendo.............just as Korean Yudo and Japanese Judo are basically the same.


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## moromoro (Jun 1, 2003)

> This along with many other arts were brought over to Korea from Japan during the 45 year occupation of Korea by the Japanese.



so it was developed during the occupation, and not an ancient korea art????????????? 

what about the swords they use??/ is it a katana??


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## RyuShiKan (Jun 1, 2003)

> _Originally posted by moromoro _
> *so it was developed during the occupation, and not an ancient korea art?????????????
> 
> what about the swords they use??/ is it a katana?? *




Kendo was developed and refined from around the late 1800s on.
Korea was occupied by Japan for 45 years until 1945.

They use the standard Japnese shinai, men, kote, do, & hakama all of which a VERY Japanese.

(Katanas are not used in Kendo, but rather Iaido and Kenjutsu schools)


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## Zepp (Jun 2, 2003)

I think Kuk Sool Won is the Korean art that teaches the more combative weapons skills (among other things).  

I remember reading somewhere online about various Korean word traditions from before the Japanese occupation.  I'll post the link if I can find again.


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## moromoro (Jun 2, 2003)

> Katanas are not used in Kendo, but rather Iaido and Kenjutsu schools



man i know this, the reason i asked is because i saw a kumdo poster at a korea shop and they where using swords which looked like katana's i just wanted to know do they use live blade?? what type of blade??


thaNKS

TERRY


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## RyuShiKan (Jun 2, 2003)

Kendo/Kumdo don't use live blades or Iai blades


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## moromoro (Jun 2, 2003)

so kumdo uses a shinai, its pretty much kendo...

in a kumdo website they talk about how it is an ancient korean art?? how true is this??


thanks


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## Zepp (Jun 2, 2003)

> _Originally posted by moromoro _
> *in a kumdo website they talk about how it is an ancient korean art?? how true is this?? *



Could you please post the link?  I'd like to see it.


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## aricept (Jun 3, 2003)

I recall having a conversation similar to this one recently, in another forum.  The answer I was given went something like this:

In Korea today, there are two very different styles of sword arts.  One is kumdo, which is basically Japanese kendo.  There are a few subtle differences, I'm told, but basically, it's kendo.

Then there is gumdo - more often called haedong gumdo.  The Korean character that is pronounced 'k', I believe the name of it is 'giok', can also be pronounced as a 'g' - lots of lingusistic terms could go here, but I'll settle for that.  Practitioners of haedong gumdo (HDGD) will generally spell it with a 'g' in English to distinguish the two arts.

HDGD is generally practiced with a live blade for most techniques.  Drawing and cutting etchniques are taught, and sparring is included in the curriculum, though not with live blades, I'm pretty sure.  The focus of HDGD is on mass battles, though, and on battlefield strategies.

I didn't want to feel stupid when posting this, so I found this site:

http://www.stormpages.com/haidonggumdo/

It has much more information on the art than I could present here.

As for them using katana... well, the curved blade is an excellent design for cutting and slashing weapons.  Hard to get around that.

Of course, there's also the school of thought that the Koreans developed the sword-making technology that made the Japanese famous...


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## abzack (Jun 8, 2003)

FYI.  In Haedong Kumdo, we practice drawing, cutting, forms, and sparring, with most of the emphasis on forms and cutting.  There is an excellent book on Haedong Kumdo, but it is in Korean.  I bought mine at the Kyobo Bookstore in Seoul, Korea.
I just tested for my 1st Dan last month.
Check out my web site at www.hoshinsool.tk


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## arnisador (Jun 8, 2003)

It was interesting to look at that site. It looks like you attend tournaments as well then? Is it forms competition as well as sparring?


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## abzack (Jun 8, 2003)

I have only been involved in the forms and cutting tournament, however, there are sparring tournaments as well.  During the forms competition, there are individual and team categories, as well as a sort-of "freestyle" category which combines forms and cutting done to music.  Very elaborate.


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## moromoro (Jun 8, 2003)

Haedong Kumdo is that still heavily influend by the japanese, what sword do you use for test cutting????


thanks

terry


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## abzack (Jun 9, 2003)

For practice cutting we use a thin Mok Kum (wood sword) to cut newspaper.  As for the influence, I could only speculate.  I have never studied the Japanese arts.  From what I have seen, Haedong Kumdo has similarities to Iaido (sp?), Kenjutsu, and Kendo, which I believe are three separate arts in Japan.
:soapbox: If you ask a Korean, Korea influenced Japanese sword arts.  If you ask a Japanese, Japan influenced Korean sword arts.  A better answer might be that the historical relationship between Korea, Japan, and China influenced all three countries , the people, and the arts.
I have been reading the Muye Dobo Tongji (an ancient Korean martial arts manual, written by Yi Duk-moo, Park Je-ga and Pak Dong-soo in 1790).  This gives some insight into the relationships between the three countries and the arts from the Korean perspective.
http://www.turtlepress.com/mdtja.html


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## moromoro (Jun 9, 2003)

how does the sword look like????


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## abzack (Jun 12, 2003)

We use a regular wood sword for practicing forms.  We use a thin wood sword for practicing paper cutting.  We use the bamboo sword for sparring practice.
Check out the links below for some pics and info on Korean swords.
I hope this helps.

http://www.hdgumdo.net/english/vision/vision01.html
http://www.song-moo-kwan.net/korean_swords
http://www.kswofmeyerland.com/Korean_Sword.htm
http://www.concentric.net/~sdseong/kmar.vid.hdkd.htm


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## moromoro (Jun 12, 2003)

:asian: 

thanks


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## arnisador (Jul 4, 2003)

An article in the current issue (July 2003) of Budo Intl. magazine discusses Master Han Sang Hyun and Haidong Gumdo.


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## FastEd (Sep 29, 2003)

I had a look at your webpage and I was wondering if you could explain the difference between the International Haidong Kumdo Federation and the Korean Haidong Kumdo Association?  Is one the International federation and the other the representative national  organization ?


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## FastEd (Sep 29, 2003)

> _Originally posted by abzack _
> *For practice cutting we use a thin Mok Kum (wood sword) to cut newspaper.  As for the influence, I could only speculate.  I have never studied the Japanese arts.  From what I have seen, Haedong Kumdo has similarities to Iaido (sp?), Kenjutsu, and Kendo, which I believe are three separate arts in Japan.
> :soapbox: If you ask a Korean, Korea influenced Japanese sword arts.  If you ask a Japanese, Japan influenced Korean sword arts.  A better answer might be that the historical relationship between Korea, Japan, and China influenced all three countries , the people, and the arts.
> I have been reading the Muye Dobo Tongji (an ancient Korean martial arts manual, written by Yi Duk-moo, Park Je-ga and Pak Dong-soo in 1790).  This gives some insight into the relationships between the three countries and the arts from the Korean perspective.
> http://www.turtlepress.com/mdtja.html *




I have seen Haedong Gumdo, and it looks nothing like Iaido, more like Chinese Tai chi/Wushu Saber done with a sword that looks somewhat like a Japanese style Katana.  I have know idea what its origins are.

Haedong Gumdo armour and fighting style looks nothing like Kendo.  Certianly not traditional kendo.

I have seen no paired partner practices that look anything like traditional Japanese kenjutsu.

That begin said, there is the KOREA KUMDO ASSOCIATION which is a member of the International Kendo Federation.


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## abzack (Sep 29, 2003)

"I had a look at your webpage and I was wondering if you could explain the difference between the International Haidong Kumdo Federation and the Korean Haidong Kumdo Association? Is one the International federation and the other the representative national organization ?"

-Actually, I was not aware of the relationship between the IHF and the KHA until I received my Dan Jung.  I received one from the IHF and one from the KHA.  So to answer your question, "Yes, IHF is the international and KHA is the national (Korea)".

"I have seen Haedong Gumdo, and it looks nothing like Iaido, more like Chinese Tai chi/Wushu Saber done with a sword that looks somewhat like a Japanese style Katana. I have know idea what its origins are."

-Haidong Kumdo origins are Korean.

"Haedong Gumdo armour and fighting style looks nothing like Kendo. Certianly not traditional kendo."
-There are different areas of study under Haidong Kumdo, including full armour sparring.

"I have seen no paired partner practices that look anything like traditional Japanese kenjutsu."
-We do paired partner practices with both the mok kum (wood sword) and the kyok kum (bamboo sword).

"That begin said, there is the KOREA KUMDO ASSOCIATION which is a member of the International Kendo Federation."
-I do not know if this is the same as the KHA

I am back in the US now.  I still practice Haidong Kumdo, now at the AAA US Taekwondo College.  It is World Haidong Gumdo Federation / USA Haidong Gumdo Association.  There are some slight differences, but nothing major.
:asian:


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## miguksaram (Oct 16, 2003)

Please forgive me for coming late into the discussion.  I am a practioner of Daehan Kumdo for 4 years.  Yes Daehan Kumdo is pretty much the same as Japanese Kendo however we do practice forms that are distinctively Korean.  Also, we practice Kumsul which is the drawing of the sword and cutting.  

Haidong Kumdo has more of a chinese flavor in the way they do their forms and cutting.  It is supposedly the "traiditional" Korean sword art, but I don't believe they have a lot of documents supporting this statement.

I have a brief history page on this subject:  http://www.koreanma.homestead.com/Kumdo.html

I don't claim this to be the absolute truth, just things I have read in research.


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