The Republic of Korea, a neglected little country in southeast Asia, that lives in the shadow of it’s behemoth neighbor China and is often in competition with it’s goodie-two-shoes cousin Japan. Korea has a rich and turbulent history, a strong national identity, has been a major player in global politics, and is one of the largest economies in the world. Yet despite its military, economic, and technological achievements Korea always seems to come in second or third place. When you think of cars, Honda comes to mind before Hyundai, and when you think of electronics Sony comes before Samsung. Naturally when you think of kendo, you think of its birth place Japan. Everyone wants to come to Japan to learn kendo; very rarely do people choose Korea over Japan when it comes to having a bamboo bash abroad.
When the subject of kendo and Korea comes up many talk of “kumdo” as a bastardized version of the fencing art we all love. Even with Korea’s success at the World Kendo Championship and an over all extremely high level as a nation, kendo in Korea is often talked about as if it is something different. We’ve all heard the kumdo versus kendo argument a million times, but is there really a difference? I was always of the opinion that there was not, however I realized I had nothing to base this opinion on other than hearsay. I remember how many assumptions I had made about kendo in Japan turned out to be rather misinformed after living here. So for some time now I have been quite interested in hoping over to the ROK to experience it first hand. On September 22nd I did so.
The plane over was full of Korean businessmen and Japanese who were eager to visit the locations of their favorite Korean dramas (I won’t even get started on that subject). I however was a man on a mission. I traded luggage space, leaving pants, socks, and t-shirts at home, to fit my bogu and a couple of bottles of sake. Only the necessities of course. This trip was either going to prove or dispel the myths about kumdo. So was their a difference between kumdo and kendo? I’m sure the suspense is killing you, so I’ll cut to the chase. No. Surprised? I didn’t think so.
Common myth number one: there is a difference in style between Japanese and Korean kendo. Well duh, of course there is a difference. There are differences even within Japan itself. Not enough of a difference to make kumdo a whole other beast though. Even in Korea I was told on more than one occasion that I have a very Japanese style, that Koreans were more physical and aggressive while the Japanese took a more strategic approach. I knew then and there that was a mistake because I’m about as strategic as a brick thrown through a plane glass window. And although I know that this was not the intent behind this comment I found it to be a little unfair to the Koreans, because it made it seem as if they just throw everything they have at you without any thought behind it. Those I fenced sure did not do kendo that way.
Common myth number two: kumdo uses different equipment and different rules. Other than a lack of koshi-ita and sonkyo, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two. I didn’t see any doh buttons being used (actually one chap did use them now that I think about it) or pull on men towels, and the only Velcro I saw was on some of the hakama after close inspection.
Common myth number three: Koreans hit harder. Absolutely not true. In fact one of the fellows was told to use more tenouchi because he was hitting too hard. I on the other hand felt like I get clobbered much harder in Japan, and in retrospect feel that maybe I was hitting pretty hard during practice in comparison to others.
I only practiced at two different dojos in one city so I wouldn’t be so bold as to say “kendo in Korea is ______ “, but I feel I got pretty good representation. The first place I went to was the United States Forces Korea kendo club, located at the Yongsan Garrison in the heart of Seoul. Because of a misunderstanding on my part I was under the impression that I was going to be attending keiko with the Korean army, which would have been the absolute top notch of kendo in Korea, however I was even more pleased to be practicing at the American base because it gave me a better perspective of who practices in Korea. The USFK club is a rather young club that is run by a few strong Korean sensei teaching US servicemen and civilian contractors. It was interesting to be practicing at the same base my father was stationed at some fifty plus years ago. The club was run well and everyone practiced very hard. The club serves as a great cultural exchange for the men on base and an excellent way to expose more people to kendo. Other than the gym rattling periodical from UH-60 black hawks flying low overhead, and having to check in with your passport and photo ID before entering the camp, it did not differ from any other dojo I have been to in the US or Japan.
The other place I practiced was the Korea University kendo club. I would like to start off by saying how thoroughly impressed I was by the student members. The club was run like a well regimented troop, but at the same time maintained an extremely friendly and not overly serious attitude. They had me serve as motodachi and kept my hands full for two hours straight. Even beginners who had only been at kendo for five months did extremely well. Their kendo was strong and the comradeship amongst the members was unparalleled. The KU club boasts a 73 year history, briefly suspended during the Pacific War and at one time moved south during the Korean War. Afterwards we went out for beers and they proved once again to be no different than any other person I’ve had the pleasure of fencing. We all like to scream our guts out in the dojo and cool down with some oat sodas afterwards.
Many thanks to my hosts for providing me with a place to practice and making me feel welcome. With Korea so close and affordable I will definitely be visiting again in the future. For more images of Korea check out my flickr page.
Phew! Finally we can put this topic to rest.
Seriously though, thanks for an interesting first-hand perspective Leiv. Sounds like a really worthwhile trip.
One difference between the two countries’ approach to kendo is that the Koreans have only recently emphasised what you might call a ‘spiritual’ approach to their training. Everyone knows of the many links between kendo and Zen in Japanese kendo practice and folklore. Apparently this is not something that has existed in Korean kendo. That is why it is significant that the coach of the Korean team to the WKC in Glasgow says in the doco “A Single Blow” that they incorporated Zen meditation practice into their training camps. This was apparently the first time the Koreans had made such a connection. I’d be interested to hear your take on this.
Other than that though, your report would put to rest the idea of kumdo separatists in every dojo.
The really big question is did you see any gold mengane? b
[...] http://kenshi247.net/blog/2008/09/28/when-in-doubt-rok-it-out/ [...]
Leivs post is really cool… i’d like to see a reverse article done as well (Albert, are you reading?).
Please also keep an eye on Jons “Kendo in Korea” blog (trackback is above), the URL is:
http://kendokorea.wordpress.com/
@Jon- Great blog. Yay, more stuff to read while I should be working!
@Ben- Alas no gold mengane. I was hoping to get some time to have a look around at some of the shops while I was there but I was pretty short on time. Kind of hard to say to the Mrs. “Honey, can we skip the palace and go look at more bogu?”
Quite interesting what you say about “spiritual kendo”. I wish I had more to add on this subject but I didn’t spend enough time there to dive that deep. I would sure like to hear from Albert on this subject as that seems to be his forte. One thing I can say is that this sort of surprises me. One major difference I noticed between the Japanese and Koreans was their attitude towards religion. Anyone who has visited a temple or shrine in Japan knows that these places are not so much a house of worship as they are a place to get rid of your loose change! I have never met a Japanese person I would consider ‘religious’. I’ve met many who go through the motions; they clap their hands, bow, light some incense, and they are out of there. In Korea however every temple I visited was full of monks and people there to worship (is that the correct word for Buddhism?). The halls were full of people meditating or chanting sutras, and so on. Which is why I didn’t take any pictures of the inside of these places because they obviously weren’t just tourist attractions. My wife who is Japanese was very impressed by this and she said to me “I don’t think Japanese are capable of such faith”. So again I’d really like to hear what Albert has to say about this.
Brilliant twist to a great post!!
I am not religions (nor irreligious, though atheist) but I have a deep interest in this “Japan-Religion” thing. I certainly find the idea of Japanese and our Western idea of ‘religiosity’ to be somewhat….. out of synch. Are they religious? Yes as defined by the Japanese government (with millions of people believers), but No when we define it under our constructs (Christian European for the most part).
I’ve met one proper believer since ive been here. It certainly wasnt one of my favourite sempai who broke and spilled a saucer of sake from my dojos kamidana whilst trying to bat a butterfly out of the dojo with a long pole a few weeks ago…. I think I was the most taken back out of all the people there…..
Hey Guys
Okay. I will get to writing something down in the very near future.
I am also enjoying Leiv’s posts (and also Jon’s experiences here in Korea). Both Leiv and Jon has motivated me to get off my ass and do little more to get organized in regards to kendo here in Korea. A simple gathering is being organized for 10/18 and it should be interesting.
And yes, I will post something up very soon, going to log it in my calendar…
Cheers