Kumdo

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Kumdo
Hangul 검도
Hanja 劍道
Revised Romanization Geomdo
McCune-Reischauer Kǒmdo

Kumdo is a modern martial art of fencing, the Korean equivalent of Japanese kendo. It is also romanized as kǒmdo, gumdo, or geomdo. The name in hanja is 劍道, equivalent to the Japanese 剣道, literally translating to "the way of the sword".

Contents

[edit] History

 It has been suggested that Korean swordsmanship be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

[edit] Ancient Korean fencing

According to the Army Account of Military Arts and Science (Hanzi: 武備志; Pinyin: Wǔ Bèi Zhì), a Ming dynasty strategy book written in 1629 by Mao Yuanyi, Korean fencing (朝鮮勢法; Cháoxiǎn shìfǎ) was a martial art that had reached Korea through Chinese martial artists. Much of this text was based on earlier works by Ming general Qi Jiguang, who successfully adapted and emulated the use of the Japanese katana by developing the wodao, to respond to the prevalent threat of the Japanese wokou or pirates. Chosun Se Bup, one of the few surviving techniques of historical Korean swordplay, is based on this work.

However, warriors were regarded as secondary to scholars during parts of the Goryeo Dynasty and much of the Joseon Dynasty, due to the heavy influence of Confucianism and martial arts other than traditional Korean archery were little practised except by members of the military. As a result, many arts died out without successors to carry on its traditions. Today, there are only two remaining documents that refer to ancient Korean martial arts[1].

These ancient arts are not popularly considered to be ancestors of kumdo, though some kumdo scholars, including those at the Korea Kumdo Association, believe ancient Korean fencing as outlined in a Silla dynasty book known as Bonguk Geombeop (本國劍法; Korean Sword Method) was the basis of all modern two-handed sword techniques. This belief is not commonly held outside Korea. However, kumdo is not usually understood to be a direct descendant of any of these ancient sword arts, rather it is the Korean version of Japanese Kendo, with almost all kata, techniques, rules and regulations identical between the two.

[edit] Gekiken, kendo, and kumdo

Kendo, then still known as gekiken, was introduced to Korea from Japan at the end of the 19th century as a form of police and military training. During the Japanese occupation, its popularity in Korea spread quickly as part of Korea's first national physical education system. Around 1920, Up until the end of the occupation in 1945, kumdo developed in parallel with kendo.

After the occupation ended, kumdo restructured itself, and the Korean Kumdo Association was formed in 1947. When the Korean National Sports Festival was reinstituted in South Korea in 1956, Kumdo was included as an official event.

Consequently, the modern history of kumdo in Korea can be seen in the following timeline, where Chosun refers to Korea during the Yi Dynasty and subsequent Japanese occupation in the first half of the twentieth century:

  • 1935 Kumdo included in the 16th National Chosun Sports Festival
  • 1938 National Chosun Sports Festival prohibited by Japanese
  • 1945 Kendo began to flourish again after Korea was liberated from Japanese colonialism
  • 1947 Korean kumdo began to restructure itself with the holding of the Seoul Police Kumdo
  • Tournament
  • 1948 Approximately 100 highly ranked kumdo instructors gathered in Changdeokgung Palace and
  • formed the predecessor to the Korean Kumdo Association
  • 1950 The 1st National Police Kumdo Tournament was held
  • 1952 A committee was created to oversee the formation of the KKA
  • 1953 The KKA was inaugurated and became affiliated with the Korean Amateur Sports Association
  • The 1st National Individual Kumdo Championships were held
  • (*Same year that the All Japan Kendo Federation was formed)
  • 1956 Kumdo was once more included as an official event of the National Sports Festival after a break of 20 years
  • 1959 Kumdo became increasingly popular with the President’s Cup Grade Category Tournament, and
  • the National Student Championships
  • 1964 The Student Kumdo Federation became affiliated with the KKA
  • 1970 The Student Federation separated into the Collegiate Federation and the Secondary Schools
  • Federation. The International Kendo Federation was formed and a Korean named as Vice President
  • 1972 Kumdo was included in the National Youth Sports Meet
  • 1979 The news agency Dong a Ilbo joined forces with the KKA in sponsoring the President’s Cup
  • National Championships
  • 1988 The Korean Social Kumdo Federation was formed and followed by the 1st National Social
  • Championships
  • 1993 Inauguration of the SBS Royal National Championships[2]

[edit] Today

The rules and the equipment are almost the same as those of kendo because the two have only been allowed to diverge since 1945. Kumdo tournaments have abandoned some elements of Japanese culture, such as the squatting bow (sonkyo) performed by competing kumsa or kenshi at the beginning and end of a match. The hogu (호구; 防具), or armor, are often simplified compared to kendo's bogu. The scoring flags are different as well; blue and white instead of the red and white found in kendo.

While many practice with the same uniform as kendo, usually indigo-blue, kumdo practitioners have been willing to change elements of the uniform including the colour and other modifications. Many wear hakama without a koshita and use velcro instead. In particular, the Korean national team wears white keikogi or dobok with black trim and stripes on their hakama, in contrast to the all indigo-blue worn by kendo practitioners. This style of uniform has become popular among kumdo dojang both in Korea and in countries like the United States, which have a substantial Korean population.[citation needed]

Forms practiced by kumdo practitioners include the Bonguk Geombop (본국검법, 本國劍法), Chosun Se Bup (조선세법, 朝鮮勢法) and the ten bon or kendo no kata (검도의본, 劍法形), forms standardized by the FIK. Proficiency with these forms is required for rank promotion tests conducted by the Korea Kumdo Association, the de-facto governing body for Korean kumdo, and its overseas affiliates. However, the bon originating from kendo are practiced in a modified manner, omitting the sonkyo bow and using Korean names and terminology in place of the original Japanese.

A few kumdo dojang or schools will also incorporate kuhapdo forms, the Korean variant for iaido in their curriculum as opposed to the typical distinction where iaido is taught as a distinctly different though complementary art, alongside kendo.

While kumdo practitioners can enter and compete in kendo tournaments, many normally compete in their own tournaments for kumdo and avoid kendo tournaments because of a perceived bias against the Korean kumdo style by tournament officials.[citation needed] However, Korea sends a team to the World Kendo Championships or WKC held every three years and have been strong competitors in the past WKCs, with numerous second place finishes in team competition and third place finishes in individual competitions. During the 13th World Kendo Championships held in Taipei, Taiwan from December 8 - 10, 2006, Korea defeated the United States to win the men's team championship for the first time, the first country other than Japan to win a title at the WKCs. The United States had earlier eliminated the Japanese team during the semi-finals.[3]

Though there are many kumdo organizations, the Korea Kumdo Association (KKA), a member of the Korean Sports Federation and by far the most influential and most dominant kumdo organization,[citation needed] claims to be the only official body for kumdo in Korea and serves as the Korean affiliate for the International Kendo Federation or FIK. Korean representatives to the World Kendo Championships (WKC) are typically chosen by the KKA, as the event is overseen by the FIK. The KKA's status is similar to that of the All Japan Kendo Federation, which is the dominant body for kendo in Japan and claims to be the only official body, despite the presence of numerous, but smaller kendo organizations.

There are also a number of kumdo dojang outside Korea, primarily where there are large numbers of Korean immigrants, such as the United States. Many of these dojangs choose to be affiliated with overseas branches of kumdo organizations like the KKA rather than the local FIK affiliate for that country. For example, many of the kumdo dojangs in the United States choose to affiliate with an overseas branch of the KKA instead of seeking association with the All United States Kendo Federation (AUSKF), the FIK affiliate for the US. However, because the KKA is a FIK affiliate, rankings awarded by them, are honored and accepted by the other affiliates including the AUSKF. While kumdo practitioners outside Korea will also compete in kendo tournaments, many choose to compete only at tournaments sponsored by a kumdo organization rather than a kendo organization. One example is the Bong-Rim-Gi kumdo tournament held annually in the summer among kumdo schools in the United States and sponsored by an overseas branch of the KKA in the US.

Many Koreans, who remember Japan's occupation and suppression of Korean culture from 1910 to 1945 and continue to harbour anti-Japanese resentment, practice kumdo claiming that its origins and that of koryu kenjutsu, the forerunner of modern Japanese kendo, lie in ancient Korea. Others concede that Japan is where further refinement of the sword arts took place, but consider kumdo part of traditional Korean culture, thus claiming kumdo to be as much of a birthright for Koreans as kendo is for Japanese. However, they are willing to admit that the Japanese were instrumental in developing much of the equipment and methodology used in modern kumdo.

In competition, the main differences between kendo and kumdo are stylistic. Kumdo practitioners generally favor a dynamic style of play, focusing on using fast, aggressive, and effective small motion strikes to create openings for attacks. Kendo practitioners however, focus on the perfect single strike, waiting patiently for an opening and the correct timing to land an attack, typically slower and larger in motion than a kumdo stylist. In recent years, with frequent contact between kendo and kumdo stylists through cross-training and competition, this distinction has somewhat blurred, as individual practitioners of either kendo and kumdo have preferred styles of play.

[edit] Terminology

Kumdo uses Korean language terminology exclusively, though much of it is cognate with the original kendo terms. For instance, the criteria used to determine whether a point is scored is known as gigeomche (기검체; 氣劍體), instead of ki-ken-tai-ichi (気剣体一). This name derives from the same Chinese roots; "gi" (氣) for qi or spirit, "geom" (劍) for the sword, and "che" (體) for the body. Below is a table comparing some other similar terms and their corresponding Chinese characters. Note slight differences in the appearance of some characters are due to Japanese use of shinjitai characters.

Terminology

 

kendo(剣道)

kumdo(劍道)

sword

shinai(竹刀)

jukdo(竹刀)

armor

bogu(防具)

hogu(防具)

[edit] Organizations

  • Korea Kumdo Association (KKA) - the de facto governing organization for kumdo in Korea due to its size and its influence through their heavy promotion of the art in the media. The art promoted by them, Daehan Kumdo (大韓劍道), is virtually identical to kendo, with noted changes to reflect Korean cultural influences and methodology, and is the kumdo which Koreans normally refer to. However, it has been criticized for its affiliation with the FIK, which is dominated by practitioners of Japanese kendo, and for developing kumdo along the lines of Japanese kendo. The KKA has established overseas branches in other countries which have substantial Korean populations and have kumdo dojangs or schools. Unlike most of the FIK affiliates, including Japan, they wish to see kumdo/kendo become an Olympic sport as with Judo and Taekwondo. It traditionally claims that kumdo's origins lie in the Hwarang from ancient Silla.
  • World Kumdo Association (WKA) - founded around 2001 as a merger of thirteen smaller, rival kumdo organizations, they are critical of the KKA and seek to become a rival to the FIK by having kumdo included in the Olympic games with them as the recognized governing body ahead of the FIK. They are proponents of changes to the format and scoring system, advocating the use of electric scoring as with fencing. Although they have strong political ties with people who were involved in making Taekwondo part of the Olympics, their membership is far smaller in number to that of the KKA and many FIK affiliates. Some WKA officials are noted as being practitioners of taekwondo rather than kumdo. It claims affiliates in other countries as well.
  • Haidong Gumdo, founded by members who seceded from the KKA. Haidong Gumdo is significantly modified in style from standard kumdo, emphasizing what they consider a native Korean "battlefield" style of combat over the one-on-one dueling style found in standard or Daehan Kumdo. As such, it is unrelated to modern, standard kumdo, although it also claims to be kumdo.

[edit] Foot notes

  1. ^ Kumdo The Korean Art of the Sword
  2. ^ Bennett, Alexander. Korea - The Black Ships of Kendo : the internationalization of kendo and the Olympic Problem. Kendo World.
  3. ^ Scanlan, Sean. South Korea crowned team kendo champion. Taipei Times. Retrieved on 2007-02-11.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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