Who Studies Haidong Gumdo?
Well, lots of people study Haidong Gumdo or
other weapon-centered arts. They all do it for different
reasons too. Haidong Gumdo attracts students of both genders
in equal number from all age categories. You must be capable
of appreciating the power and beauty of the skills you will
learn. You must be able to respect these skills and learn all
the lessons they can teach you. Haidong Gumdo does not require
great flexibility. No one will ask you to kick heads or wrap
your knees around your neck. It does require that you
learn how to safely control falls and learn to tumble safely
with a weapon. You do not have to run marathons, learn to
levitate, walk on coals or fight anyone. All you have to be
willing to do is learn and grow.
The three most important factors in
learning Haidong Gumdo are speed, power and timing. The good
news is that these terms are relative and the curriculum of
the World Federation is such that it tailors itself to the
needs and abilities of the student. If you find that you just
cannot leap your body length, cut and do a dive roll all in
one continuous motion do not worry - there is a less dynamic
option for you. It is a goal of the World Federation of
Haidong Gumdo to enable grandparents, parents and children to
all study together with no barriers. Haidong Gumdo is
also perfect for people who may not want what is typically
offered in most martial arts which is kicking, punching, and
throwing.
What's the difference between Haidong Gumdo
and Kumdo/Kendo?
Most people do not buy or use armour during
their study of Haidong Gumdo like in Kumdo, but most of us have
a bamboo sword (called a juk-to) somewhere. Kumdo is the Korean
pronunciation of the chinese characters for "Sword Way". Kendo
is the Japanese pronunciation of the same characters. There are
very few differences between Kendo and Kumdo. There are endless
differences between Haidong Gumdo and Kumdo. The Federtion chose
to use the g-u-m-d-o spelling hoping to make it easier to
recognize that there is a difference. The root of the difference
lies in that Kumdo revolves around personal combat with one
oponent while Hai Dong Gumdo practices battlefield techniques -
everything with an eye to multiple attacks.
What weapons do you learn to use?
Most training is done with a moggum (hard wood
sword). After black belt the student regularly receives training
with a real sword (jingum) for cutting and gumpup (forms). For
safety reasons the moggum is used in group classes. At higher
ranks, students begin to learn the use of two swords. Haidong
Gumdo does not include other weapons training. It restricts
itself to the use of the sword. The reason for this restriction
is that the officers of the Federation chose to focus the art on
self-improvement rather than the training of medieval warriors.
The sword training is complete but unlike the warriors of the
past, students will not receive training in weapons such as pole
arms or bows.
*Portions taken from
Anthony Boyd's Haidong Gumdo
Website (Please refer to our links page for a link or go to
http://www.stormpages.com/haidonggumdo)