What weapons are Taekwondo?

[skribs]

At my school, our black belts train in quite a few different weapon skills, including:

• Nunchaku
• Eskrima/kali sticks
• Bo staff
• Knife
• Sword (Katana)

I've also taken it upon myself to learn the 3-section staff and the lightsaber, but those are outside the scope of my school's curriculum.

I'm just curious as to which of these are weapons Taekwondo will typically use, and which are more likely borrowed from other disciplines.

What would you categorize as a Taekwondo weapon?

 

[Tony Dismukes]

I'd say that all of those are borrowed from other traditions.

 

[Flying Crane]

I enjoy lightsaber fencing with my four year- old son. We go outside when it gets dark, for the full effect.

It is surprising how effective his unpredictability is, for keeping me on my toes.

 

[skribs]

I'd say that all of those are borrowed from other traditions.

Yes, but I'm wondering if some are typically used by TKD schools as well.

 

[Flying Crane]

Yes, but I'm wondering if some are typically used by TKD schools as well.

Has your instructor indicated how these weapons came to be adopted by your school? Perhaps it was his decision or that of his instructor, or somehow more widespread by the early TKD leaders? Where did the training come from, for the basis of these adoptions?

Curious: what is the source of your three-section staff training? To my knowledge that is pretty exclusive to Chinese stuff.

 

[TrueJim]

I know a guy, as talented as he is handsome, who wrote an article on this topic:

Taekwondo Weapons Training

 

[hoshin1600]

all of the weapons you mentioned are about as traditional to TKD as the light saber.
i think many schools train with those weapons not just TKD for tournaments but this should in no way be confused. the modern tournament training of weapons is primarily a fictional type of training and has almost no continuity with the traditional weapons training.

 

[TrueJim]

P.S. One could even argue that if we want to get technical about it, bayonet might be a weapon that could be called a natively taekwondo weapon, since bayonet training was (as I understand it from my reading) included in the original training curriculum that General Choi put together for the military. I would imagine that knife training must have been part of that curriculum too? I don't know if any of the other kwan outside the military were training in weapons.

So my answer would be: bayonet! The weapon of choice for taekwondo!

 

[hoshin1600]

I know a guy, as talented as he is handsome, who wrote an article on this topic:

Taekwondo Weapons Training

"The Ssahng Jeol Bong once served the farmer in harvesting his crops by separating the grain from the shaft. The farmer would beat the crop with a tool that comprised of a long staff with a shorter stick attached to the end by a rope"

This statement isnt actual true. its an urban legend of sorts.

 

[skribs]

Has your instructor indicated how these weapons came to be adopted by your school? Perhaps it was his decision or that of his instructor, or somehow more widespread by the early TKD leaders? Where did the training come from, for the basis of these adoptions?

Curious: what is the source of your three-section staff training? To my knowledge that is pretty exclusive to Chinese stuff.

Youtube, and adapting my knowledge of bo staff and nunchaku. Plus a little bit of just playing with the thing and figuring out what works and what smacks me in the face.

I know a guy, as talented as he is handsome, who wrote an article on this topic:

Taekwondo Weapons Training

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you wrote this.

 

[WaterGal]

Bo staff, nunchaku, etc are commonly taught at Taekwondo schools, because they're fun and kids think they're cool. I don't think any of them are particularly traditional, as far as I know. For traditional Korean weapons training, you might want to pick up a copy of the Muye Dobo Tongji (18th century Korean weapons training manual, you can buy it on Amazon), which is mostly spears/polearms and swords.

 

[Martial D]

and the lightsaber,

Uhh..how exactly do you train with a weapon that doesn't/can't exist?

 

[skribs]

Uhh..how exactly do you train with a weapon that doesn't/can't exist?

Obviously not a real one. But check out Ultrasabers, Saber Forge, Vader's Vault, Kyberlight, and I think a few I'm missing. They make dueling-grade saber replicas.

 

[pdg]

Uhh..how exactly do you train with a weapon that doesn't/can't exist?

If you can prove it doesn't/can't exist in a galaxy far far away, I'll give you a cookie

 

[skribs]

Bo staff, nunchaku, etc are commonly taught at Taekwondo schools, because they're fun and kids think they're cool. I don't think any of them are particularly traditional, as far as I know. For traditional Korean weapons training, you might want to pick up a copy of the Muye Dobo Tongji (18th century Korean weapons training manual, you can buy it on Amazon), which is mostly spears/polearms and swords.

Traditional wasn't a criteria

 

[Flying Crane]

If you can prove it doesn't/can't exist in a galaxy far far away, I'll give you a cookie

Well, the laws of physics are applicable everywhere in the universe. If not, then the universe would fly apart.

So it’s possible that technology has been developed that we have simply not yet figured out, or that aspects of the Laws have been figured out by others but not by us.

But either way, it needs to be consistent with the laws of physics.

 

[Martial D]

If you can prove it doesn't/can't exist in a galaxy far far away, I'll give you a cookie

The Klingon empire had them all destroyed in that particular universe(the one where photons just kinda do their own thing I suppose)

 

[pdg]

Well, the laws of physics are applicable everywhere in the universe. If not, then the universe would fly apart.

So it’s possible that technology has been developed that we have simply not yet figured out, or that aspects of the Laws have been figured out by others but not by us.

But either way, it needs to be consistent with the laws of physics.

According to wookieepedia D) a lightsaber is a plasma blade.

That being the case - I have one, that works.

 

[WaterGal]

Traditional wasn't a criteria

Okay, well, then, on the criteria of "more likely borrowed from other disciplines", I'd say: all of them.

But they're fun, and add value to the program, so lots of schools teach some kind of weapons. We teach staff and nunchaku at black belt level. I think that's part of why we have good retention after black belt.

 

[Dirty Dog]

At my school, our black belts train in quite a few different weapon skills, including:

• Nunchaku
• Eskrima/kali sticks
• Bo staff
• Knife
• Sword (Katana)

I've also taken it upon myself to learn the 3-section staff and the lightsaber, but those are outside the scope of my school's curriculum.

I'm just curious as to which of these are weapons Taekwondo will typically use, and which are more likely borrowed from other disciplines.

What would you categorize as a Taekwondo weapon?

None of them. Any weapons taught in your system have been imported from other systems. Taekwondo, as it was originally developed, includes zero weapons.