Kendo in Korea

Having just recently spent some time in Seoul at the end of last year (one month in October), I had a chance to join a wide range of different practices at various Dojo across the Capital. While I was in Korea I kept a regular blog of my trip, and decided to summarise my journey here for kenshi247.net, and share with fellow western Kenshi my experiences from the land of the morning calm.

In this article I hope to offer a description of the various types of Kumdo environments, the approaches used by Teachers there, and address common misconceptions about Korean Kendo. Please note that if I use any Korean terminology in this article it is purely out of respect and politeness for the Korean Dojo’s that I visited, a respect that Korean Kenshi also show for Japanese Kendoka when they visit Kendo Dojo’s.

Types of Dojang/Dojo in Korea

There are predominately four main types of Dojang in Korean Kumdo circles that I experienced. Operated by two distinct groups of Kumdoist’s, Amateur players and Professional players.

High School Dojang – Much like Japan these offer a similar level to their Japanese counterparts but are generally speaking not as widespread or common as Japan. Most students in High School clubs will go onto established Kumdo Universities such as Yong-In, and generally speaking become professional Kumdo players in company teams.

University Dojang – these are much more common and widely spread than high school clubs and prove to be popular in most Korean Universities. I visited four University Clubs in Seoul; these have very mixed members from experienced Kenshi who started at high school through to complete beginners. They train daily and often comprise of large numbers of “Old Boys” Senior graduate members and University Staff who return and continue visiting for many years after graduation.

Private Dojang – Private clubs that charge yearly and monthly membership fees and comprise mostly of adult amateur members. Similar in many ways to most Kendo Dojo’s in Europe.

Professional Dojang – These are the cream of Korean Kumdo, similar to how Police Dojo are amongst the strongest in Japan. Interestingly in Korea it’s these teams of dedicated professional athletes that are famous for the strongest Dojo and not necessarily Police Departments. Examples of famous Professional Dojang are Bucheon Shi Chong, Kwanak Shi Chong, Gumi Shi Chong, and Nokia TMC.

Approaches to teaching and practice

Firstly I’d like to make one thing clear; Kumdo and Kendo are exactly the same and this is a view shared by Korean Kumsha and Japanese Kenshi alike. Aside from the different terminology the essence of practice is basically the same, and many Korean player’s deeply admire and respect Japanese Kendo and aim to develop their Kumdo along similar lines. You find that a great many Professional players, and University students alike, have visited Japan on exchange visits, and there are a large number of exchange tournaments and programmes between both countries. Name’s such as Ishida, Eiga, and Miyazaki are spoken with a great deal of admiration from the lowest to highest levels of Korean Kumdo.

Regardless there are definitely some very distinct training methods and trends that are popular in Korea. One of these that stood out a lot to me was Haya Suburi (Barum Mori). Korean Dojo especially University Clubs seem very keen on warming up with a lot of Haya Suburi. We usually did 500-800 before every session, this also included variants such as kote men Haya Suburi. It’s used extensively as a training tool in Korea, much more so than I’ve seen in Japan. Another common theme seems to be Suburi to set patterns, such as three movement suburi, and two movement suburi. Typically in these drills Kenshi cut suburi to a count, lifting the hands on one, stepping forward and cutting on two, and stepping back to Chudan on three. After a cut is finished an ongoing count is kept and the next set pattern started. Similarly with two movement suburi Kenshi swing the shinai step forward and cut in one action on the count of one, and step back into Chudan to the count of two. There are many variants of these kind of suburi drills, that focus on correct posture, form, and cutting action.

Another strong theme is attacking from multiple directions and circumstances, and fluid attack patterns of multiple cuts. Kenshi also have a different and rather interesting approach to Seme and fight often in Chika Maai, coming in fast and deep before cutting quickly and lightly. However this isn’t to say though that they don’t use Seme or don’t understand it. Rather the Kumsha seem to Seme with the body more than the kensen using strong seme-ashi, deep and fast into a close distance, and then use feints and quick snappy cuts, renzoku waza to create openings and score Ippon. This combined with the constant movement from left to right as well as forwards and backwards leads to some very interesting and flexible attacks from directions and angles you wouldn’t expect.

Common misconceptions about Korean Kendo

Korean Bougu and Shinai (Budo Equipment) are inferior to Japan – It is a view often held by people outside of Korea and Japan that Korean made Bougu are lower quality than Japanese counterparts. Having visited numerous Budo-gu in Seoul I can say that this is absolutely not true. There are many examples of very high quality Budo-gu in Korea and Armour is made to an extremely high standard, for example the work of Jeil Kumdo is fantastic and some of the finest Bougu I have seen anywhere. Korea may have a reputation for innovation and pushing the boundaries of Kendo equipment but it is Hasegawa (a Japanese firm) who produce both Glass fronted men, and Carbon fibre Shinai. Armour is still hand made with great care and via traditional methods in the vast majority of Korean budo stores, as it is in Japan. Infact some Korean manufacturers even do work for Japanese firms and Korean armour makers often use Japanese made materials (mengane grills, and Japanese Bamboo in Dou construction). Whilst it is true that Korean Budo stores offer “fancy” goods (such as gold mengane and black rimmed men) these are mostly just cosmetic and still produced to traditional methods. Likewise Korean made Shinai offer some great competitors to Japanese shinai, with high quality Shinai (such as Chong Sim) offering the same balance and reliability as their Japanese counterparts. Yes Korean Shinai are often made with Chinese or Taiwanese bamboo, but so are some Japanese Shinai. Japanese Bamboo is also widely used and imported.

Korean Kendo is not tactical and thoughtless – Approach to initiating attacks maybe different from the Japanese method, and maintaining centre and Seme have a different emphasis from the Japanese approach of one step one cut. However to say that Korean Kumdo is not tactical, or thoughtless attack, is both incorrect and unfair to Korean Kenshi. Fluid and smooth attack patterns and Renzoku waza are a common theme, and to have the ability to perform such a pattern of fast and diverse attacks, pause, watch, and then launch straight into something else whilst the opponent is caught off guard is an amazing skill that deserves respect, and is extremely tactical in its application. Men, Hiki-men, men immediately after the first step of the Hiki-men are both beautiful to watch and very challenging to perform. Again the ability to observe openings and be in the location or position that your opponent is not by multidirectional attacks is also remarkable.

Korean Shiai are vulgar, rude, and unsportsmanlike – Kumdo and Korea more generally often comes under criticism for its fiery spirit and cheering during Shiai. Labeled as unbecoming of Budo and too Sports driven, arrogant and lewd. However I did not experience this at all, infact I found the conduct of the Shiai-sha and the crowd exemplary. One feature in particular in Korean Shiai that is especially great is that after the match the teams walk to the centre of the shiai-jo and shake hands after the final rei. This is a small touch that really brings the teams together and shows a real respect and appreciation, a warmth, for your opponent that is much more genuine than the rigid formalities of some Kendo Shiai Rei-ho, Rei-ho that whilst disciplined is distant and aloof… cold. 
Yes the crowds clap rhythmically, yes they cheer their teams and friends, but this isn’t the crude or disrespectful chanting or swearing of a football match. This was constructive, motivating, and measured. The Koreans in this respect (and infact the Japanese also if we are honest) have managed to get a good balance and acknowledge all the different aspects and stages of Kendo, Shiai for the younger Kenshi, and natural progression into Budo elements as years advance.
It is only us Westerners who generally start Kendo much later in life, and who hold onto this romanticized view of Japanese Budo, that refuse to let go and embrace the fuller picture. Perhaps we would do well to remember this before we are too quick to scald those who embrace Shiai for what it is, a fun and thrilling experience for all involved…

Korean Kumsha dislike Japanese Kenshi – The widespread notion of Korean and Japanese rivalry and antagonism in Kendo, this perceived enmity between Korea and Japan really is a Western myth. There is a genuine deeply found respect in Korea for Japanese Kendoka and Japanese Kendo, infact many Koreas told me that they aspired to have Kendo like the Japanese. Also many Japanese Kendoka have a strong respect for well known Korean players. This was really highlighted to me during the Asia Zone Shimpan Seminar in Seoul, there was a real feeling of friendship and warmth between both camps of Sensei, and the Japanese delegation even congratulated Korea on its 13WKC victory and joked that the Japanese Team were training harder.

To summarise there is no doubt that Koreans like to do things their own way with their own flavour and style, however Kumdo is not a unique and separate entity from what we all know. Kumdo and Kendo are one and the same, with shared methods, teaching ideas, and most importantly the same beauty. If you want to continue developing your Kendo, meet some great people, and open your eyes to new possibilities and approaches, then I thoroughly recommend keeping an open mind and trying a visit to Seoul. When you arrive you will soon realise that many of the stereotypes and prejudices are not necessarily fair, and that a good a training experience as in Japan can be found.