Haidong gumdo

Haidong gumdo , also called Haedong kumdo , is a Korean Martial art handling of the Saber (standard Katana).

Presentation

Haidong gumdo is built starting from very dynamic movements, and the power of each technique captures often as well the eye of the practitioner as the imagination of this last.

The simple definition of art is, indeed, already evocative: Haidong Gumdo literally means “the way of the ray of the sun which illuminates beyond the sea of the East”.

This definition refers, obviously with the geographical aspect of the Korean Péninsule and takes into account the elements:

Hai refers to my Sea, but also to the Sun.
Dong refers to the East and also to the Sun, specifically the energy of the light released by the sun.
Gum means Epée, Saber.
Do is used here to translate an approach as well physical as mental building a strong personality, in a word, the Way.

With the reading of this definition, it is now easy to have a more precise representation of the level of implication of the Korean combatants and to imagine them, drawn up vis-a-vis the various invaders crossing the seas.

This image of powerful warriors, learning how to control energies of nature by using rules resulting from the natural laws and preserving an irreproachable attitude must remain engraved in our spirits.

Nowadays, the study of Haidong Gumdo offers many search appropriatenesses to deepest for oneself, inducing a physical engagement extremely, and the training of the techniques awakes the direction of the brittleness and the brevity of the life.

The Korea is above all known as the country of the sea of the East, nevertheless, the representation that Haidong Gumdo conveys induced many significances, the general idea remaining around “the sea and of the east”.

The name of art was selected to transmit the symbol of the tradition of the way of the Korean saber, and also to have at the head the representation of the first rays of the sun, as implacably held up as a saber “carrying out justice with the energy of the sunlight reflected by the sword”.

The art of Haidong Gumdo is thus practiced with several categories of weapons, and a joint base of techniques so that each pupil can seek ahead the gasoline even of the practice.

Championships

Every two years are held the Championships of the World Haidong Gumdo in Korea.

These Championships gather the whole of the teams come from the four corners of planet in order to divide before a a whole passion and a common ideal.

The last Championships of World 2004 thus made it possible more than 25 different countries to be found in Korea under the Dome of Pyongyang and to engage the various exercises towards the qualification and the final objective, to cover the title of Samourang in the selected category, supreme honor.

In addition, these Championships knew an exceptional participation of more than: 10000 spectators come from all the provinces of the South Korea, supported and encouraged Mayors of the various regions represented in order to exhort their favorite applicants with the supreme title.

At the time of these Championships of the World, a ritual opening ceremony of a particularly rare beauty allows the whole of the candidates and the spectators to discover all the aspects of Haidong Gumdo during the many demonstrations, while opening the doors of the Korean culture to the still ignored multi-facets of the general public.

The opening ceremony of the Championships of the World of Haidong Gumdo leaves an indelible mark in the spirits of all the spectators, practitioners or not.

For this unique opportunity, the representatives are officially selected by World Federation off Haidong Gumdo in order to transmit with the most possible accuracy the spirit even of Article.

All the aspects of Haidong Gumdo are shown at the time of the opening ceremony, except for the naked techniques with hand, without saber, which are not, they, reserved that for a certain elite.

The largest Masters thus have the possibility of showing their dexterity and their experiment with complete freedom in a program which they especially conceived for this occasion.

The most complex exercises of the discipline are developed, and this, in a nourished environment of applause.

Some of the most interesting aspects of this ceremony are obviously the majesty, the fluidity and the speed of the movements declined with an absolute control of the environment, Stress, Endurance in spite of the complexity of the tests always increased in order to estimate its own limits.

It is thus easy to understand that this ceremony is a real key period of the Championships of the World, because it does not rest only on the simple research of the physical performance, but brings real elements of comprehension on the Korean culture.

Such is also one of the objectives of Haidong Gumdo, to bring a major comprehension on the Korean rites and practices traditional while conveying the values of martial arts, to transmit in finality beyond the practice the deep respect of the human values, the saber being only one concretization of the chivalrous aspect of this personal step.

Haidong gumdo in France

Haidong Gumdo was established in France in 1997 by the registration of copyright of the French title.

For its part, the French Association of Haidong Gumdo is an authority of the type Association Law 1901 and which seems the privileged interlocutor of the ministry or secretariat of state to youth and the sports.

Several Committees or Commissions were created in order to guide the practitioners in the evolution of their course, in particular:

Committee of the ranks
Commission of practicing for the female representation
Commission of the distinctions
National school of the executives

The French Association of Haidong Gumdo lately received the sharp encouragements of Its Excellence the Ambassadeur of Korea in France as well as its Minister, within the framework of the development of the HDGD in France and Europe, and of course of the reinforcement of the France-Korea relations.

The French Association of Haidong Gumdo represented by its Technical manager (indicated by the official Koreans) was seen decreeing on several occasions the honors of World Fédération off Haidong Gumdo both for its technical quality work completed.

The French Association of Haidong Gumdo develops many introductory courses on all the territory and the number of bachelors knows very a strong growth in spite of the youth of the establishment of the discipline on our hexagon.

In the same way, the national school of the executives supports the exchanges with Korea in order to make profit with the French instructors from additional elements on the contents even from the practice interpreted by the Korean representatives.

History

It is in the old Korean region called “Gogureo” that Haidong Gumdo was born. The first illustrations presenting the practice of Haidong Gumdo go back to one period former to the European Moyen-âge.

The region of the “Gogureo” was very known for its duels of saber, and also its internal conflicts, pushing the various practitioners to refine their technique of survival.

According to the legend, a Master of the name of Séolbong gave the name of Haidong Gumdo to the art developed in the mountains of Changbai during the dynasty of Gogureo whose practitioners were called Samurang.

Following the example many Asian martial arts, Haidong Gumdo builds its techniques on the basis of animal generally mythological such:

the Phoenix reappearing of its ashes,
the Dragon for its power and its many qualities
the Tiger for its agility and its combative behavior.

Throughout the existence of Gogureo, foreign invaders came to attack it without respite, but they underwent each time of the defeats cuisantes in front of its powerful resistance.

The heroic resistance of Gogureotes to push back the great tough offensives of Sui and Tang during tens of years at the 7th century is a notable event in the warlike history of the Middle Ages.

In 612, the army and the people of Gogureo, under the command of the general Ulji Mundok, crushed with brilliance 3 million men of the troops of aggression of Sui; later, under the direction of the famous general Yongae Somun, they thwarted the pressure and the acts of aggression of Tang. The great patriotism of its people and his spirit of assistance to the army were at the base of the power of Gogureo.

The developed culture of Gogureo exerted a great influence not only on of the same Paekje and Silla and the other adjoining countries origin, but also on Japan. The fresco of the tomb Takamatszuga of the prefecture of Nara, the most famous tomb fresco with the Japan, and the gilded mural of the Hougu temple made out of wood, oldest in the world, created all by of Gogureotes.

Gogureo was a great power of the Orient to the Middle Ages, from the size of its territory, of the importance of its military forces, the development of its culture and the duration of its existence.

Following the example all other martial arts, the tradition of the teaching of Haidong Gumdo was done since the Middle Ages primarily in an oral way, of region in region, supported however summary boards of the transmitted fundamental techniques of Master as a Master.

These boards were transmitted in 1961 to the President of World Fédération off Haidong Gumdo, the Large Master Kim Jeong Ho, returning to this last only agent official and recognized ancestral techniques of Haidong Gumdo.

Thus, it is with the assistance of its own Maître whom the Large Master Kim Jeong Ho synthesized the whole of the techniques that he itself had learned, to create in finality Haidong Gumdo current, built on the foundations of the techniques of war specific to the Samourang warriors.

Haidong Gumdo is definitively not a new martial art, because each technique corresponds to particular strategies of combat which proved reliable on the battle fields, putting to the test the whole of the techniques of saber (S) implemented techniques feet fists, projections, fixed assets etc…

External bonds

French site of Haidong gumdo

site of World federation off Haidong gumdo

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