Korean Stick Arts

[isshinryu guy]

I have recently run across some DVD's by Sang H. Kim from Turtle Press regarding the stick fighting part of his Junsado combat system.

Does anyone know if there is in fact a system of stick fighting that is indiginous to Korea? Do you think he made this system up himself, or is there in fact different styles of Korean stick arts out there that I am un-aware of?

I am wondering of he took some Filipino styles, and modified it. In his double stick system, he uses a reverse grip in the subordinate hand.

Let me know if you know anything about this...Thanks.

[MasterPistella]

I bought that DVD you are speaking of in hopes that it might have had some "traditional" Korean influence. Unfortunately it is something he made up. I still like the DVD. I have a few other's of his also & they aren't too bad. Not crazy about the breathing one. I don't think there is an organized Korean art around weapons like Okinawan kobudo, but the dahn bong (short stick) was used, as well as other weapons.

[Humble Student]

Yep!
His background is more TKD. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Its just TKD is not really known for weapon work. Unless it has been an add on.

[SahBumNimRush]

I have seen this DVD, and I think it was worth renting. That said, I cannot comment on how authentically "traditional KMA" it is.

[MBuzzy]

To the best of my knowledge, there isn't a "traditional" Korean stick art, but in the absence of one...doesn't anything created in Korea by a Korean count?

[David43515]

There HAD to be indiginous weapon work in Korea, it`s brobably just not as well known as TKD. No society ever went to war empty-handed.

[MBuzzy]

There HAD to be indiginous weapon work in Korea, it`s brobably just not as well known as TKD. No society ever went to war empty-handed.

There is a GREAT DEAL of weapon work, but I'm not sure about sticks - at least in the phillipino sense.

NOW, if you look into Hapkido, there is indigenous bong work (bong meaning stick, just like bo in japanese) and they do have different sizes...but it is a completely different world from the phillipino styles.

[cdunn]

There HAD to be indiginous weapon work in Korea, it`s brobably just not as well known as TKD. No society ever went to war empty-handed.

Yeah, there was indigineous weapon work at one point, long ago. However, there are certain problems with transmission to the modern time - First, Korean culture of the late 1700s to late 1800s was not a culture in which the old warrior ways were highly valued. While the warrior classes still existed, the scholar-officals were considred to be higher up the food chain. If you wanted to get ahead in life, you picked up the Four Books and Five Classics.

Secondly, because of their relationship with China, much of of the Korean military borrowed heavily from China, not always to best effect. Of the truly native fighting arts, the best preserved is archery. Further, the Korean military's greatest historic success was at sea. The martial art of naval tactics is not really something you go out and practice idly.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we must remember that Korea basically got crushed during the pertiod between 1895 and 1945. It was not a period conducive to the preservation of native martial arts.

All this adds up to a tremendous loss of the native martial arts. But then again, the native stick-fighting of the British Isles isn't terribly well preserved and perpetuated, either.

[Bill Mattocks]

Is this of any help?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muyedobotongji

They seem to refer to "Kon Bong" as 'stick fighting'.

[shesulsa]

I am hardly a martial arts scholar in that I don't read/write/speak Korean and I am not actively learning to do so. Perhaps someday I will make that leap, it just seems life has so many other plans for me.

That said, I find it continuously amusing yet frustrating that the Korean peninsula - though it has been occupied by other, larger nations a couple of times - is not recognized for the fact that it managed to fight off formidable forces. I've read a couple of summaries of the "reliable" historical accounts (what's left of them) translated to English inferring most of the monks in the buddhist temples were from the peninsula, that equestrian combat skills were brought from the peninsula out to China, Mongolia and Japan.

The most ancient history of the peninsula has been utterly destroyed so it is very easy to say nothing originated there - I'm sure Japan and China would both be very happy to claim that all skills above caveman abilities were introduced TO Korea from THEIR nations. While it's a given that all nations learned, shared and adapted their fighting skills according to the specialties of the enemy, I find these "origination" arguments rather droll, really.

The more I see of other styles, the more I see similarities between and amongst them all.

So pick up a stick and try a few different approaches to its use. Who really cares where it comes from? :)

:asian:

[Humble Student]

I am with shesulsa on this one.

But to answer this one shesulsa

"So pick up a stick and try a few different approaches to its use. Who really cares where it comes from?"

The truth is that the only people who really care are the ones that try to compare who has the bigger (well ya know, lol)
Its all about ego more than anything else.
Sad when you think about it.