kendo and kumdo, what the diff?

[KENSHIN]

i am still new to all this, so please forgive me if it is a tupid question. okie dokie, anyhoo, what is the differences between kendo and kumdo? are they exactly the same? the if so why are they regarded as being different from each other?:confused:

[alexpollijr]

Oh no.

There has been discussion about it in the past. But now everyone seems to agree that it's the same sport, with minor changes in the Korean side like different Kata, striped koshita-less hakama and different shinpam flag colors.

[KENSHIN]

so what are those differences...i am really curious. Please explain in more detail.

[alexpollijr]

The are people here (South Korean in fact) who can tell you with more authority than me.

As far as I know, there are additional korean kata which are way different from the japanese counterparts.

The flags are white and blue, instead of white and red.

Some of the players wear white uniform with black stripes on the side seams of the hakama, and it's often koshiita-less and tightened with velcro.

The style, as mentioned before by Achilles, is a tad more aggressive, as you can see in tournament tapes.

And, of course, the names are in Korean instead of Japanese, so 'shinai' becomes 'jukdo' and 'dojo' becomes 'dojang'.

...and korean kendoka seem to be way bigger than their japanese counterparts :D

Anyway, wait for more complete answers from the guys

[cklin]

Yeah, HOLY COW, did any of you see that guy Yang on the Korean National Team at the 11th WKC? He made the gym look small!!

[durrell4]

While in Kyoto, I watched one of the koreans win a match in 12 seconds (in the early rounds). WOW he was fast I wonder if it genetic Chris Yang is pretty fast as well. I am not sure, but I think he might br Korean?:eek:

D-

[Achilles]

Chris Yang isn't Korean. He's on the US national team. I know him (he's a student at Georgetown and practices around here). He's half Chinese/half Japanese and is fluent in Japanese. He is *not* a kumdo player, he's a kendo player (not that there's all that much of a difference).

They haven't announced the final cut for the US team yet, but I'm pretty confident that Chris will be on it again this year.

I practiced kendo and still practice with Japanese dojos in the area, but my primary dojang is a Korean kumdo school, so I think I'm uniquely placed to comment on this. Unfortunately, I'm swamped right now, but I will comment later.

[durrell4]

"They haven't announced the final cut for the US team yet, but I'm pretty confident that Chris will be on it again this year. "

I'm sure he will he is playing very well. I ve had a chance to play with him in LA, very nice guy and very strong. He did the best on the US team in Santa Clara.

p.s. Did you get a chance to play with Mr. Wada? He was in the area for about 3 years. He is from my dojo in Japan Osaka University Kendo Club?

[stakenaka]

Does anybody know of a website with Korean Kumdo vocabulary? I only know the word muri.
The style of Kumdo is similar to old kendo (pre WWII, when Kendo was introduced to Korea), which was more aggressive than modern kendo. Otherwise, as Alex stated, they are pretty much the same.

[Achilles]

Durrell, not only did I play with Mr. Wada quite consistently, but I also played with your friend Mr. Suda, and acted as his chauffer/translator just two weekends ago when he visited the area.

Now, onto kumdo. Here are the major differences I see:

- No sankyo

- MUCH more aggressive. Repeated striking is permitted and considered worth it if you eventually get the point. This diminishes somewhat in the senior members, and by 1-dan, most students are calming down a great deal and doing pretty much one-shot-one-kill with occaisional exceptions.

- It is MUCH more difficult to achieve 1-dan. I held an AUSKF 1-dan when I joined my dojang and they busted me down to 3-khup (kyu), and that's even a bit of a stretch for my skill level in comparison to other 3-khup students. The average kumdo 1-dan is about the same level as a 3-dan in kendo. This isn't a judgement call, btw (I could care less about rank in any tradition), just a statement of fact.

- Blue/white flag comment posted earlier is accurate. In the national tournament, the mon-myen (men) of one competitor is white, the other blue. Also, the striped, white hakama is for beginners, advanced students wear all indigo, just like the Japanese.

- Fumikosi (stomping) is emphasized a great deal. Stomping hard is considered important.

- oki-suburi big-motion swings are considered slow and impractical. Apart from the occaisional stretching excercise, we only practice small waza, shiai style suburi.

- Koreans have their own kata system called the Bongook Kumbup. It is based on traditional ancient Korean sword forms.

- Language is different, and in Yunggyuk (kiri-kaeshi) you count instead of trying to carry a single breath.

- Practices in general tend to be MUCH more intense. No breaks, no water. The Korean attitude strikes me as more. . . martial. Driven maybe.

That's just off the top of my head. Keep in mind that this description is based on ONE person's experience at ONE Korean dojang. Your mileage may vary. You can learn more about kumdo and my dojang in particular at http://www.kumdo.com. I hope you'll stop by. This website includes a glossary for Mr. Takenaka.

[durrell4]

"Durrell, not only did I play with Mr. Wada quite consistently, but I also played with your friend Mr. Suda, and acted as his chauffer/translator just two weekends ago when he visited the area. "

Very cool he was here last week we had a chance to practice out here a few times.

As to kumdo/kendo as Tom Boling said and one with a Shinai in his hand is a friend of mine.

Do you have any idea how many people practice Kumdo in the states? I think there are several thousand in Kendo (350 in PNKF alone)

[stakenaka]

Thanks. I had no idea what a dojang was.
Anybody knows why the colors are blue and white? I think it is red and white in Japan to represent the conflict between two major clans in the 12th century, the Heike (Taira) who had Red banners and Genji (Minamoto) who had white banners. Is it the same for Korea?

[cklin]

Achilles: I'm not talking about Chris Yang... Chris is big, but he's not oddly big. There was a giant guy on the Korean National Team last year whose zekken read Yang. I think he was the captain.

He's the dude standing second in the Korean team line in the photo below:

http://www.kendo.or.jp/english-page/World-Kendo-Championships.htm

BTW, how many of you folks were at the 11th WKC? Just curious...

[lewis]

Man...

Big's not the word for that dude. The only way I could get a men on him is standing on a ladder.

[Achilles]

Cklin, I just looked at that picture. My word! He's a giant. That is DEFINITELY *not* Chris Yang.

That guy ought to shelve kumdo for a while and take up basketball. . . or football. . . of get a second job as a construction crane.

[akihiro]

I also saw Mr. Yang (not too hard to miss) at the WKC. There was this one match where he hit this monster kote nuki men on this poor little guy (actually a smaller than average person) which the whole audience felt! I am sure the guy was seeing stars, maybe even galaxies.

[KENSHIN]

cheers guys...:D

[Yo...osh!]

I think of Kendo/kumdo differences as much like football (the world game football, not gridiron).

Nearly evey country in the world plays football. The regulation field is the same, rules are the same, notable techniques are the same.

But different parts of the world play football differently. South Americans and Latin countries like to play "beautiful" football on the ground with lots of creativity, flair and technique.

English football is very agressive, huff and puff and direct, as well as being fast paced. There is less emphasis on technique and imagination.

But in the end, everyone plays football.

Same with kendo. Koreans may have different training methods, strategies, langauge used for shouting, style, and emphasize different things.

But again, in the end, everybody plays kendo. The rules and basic techniques are the same. The objectives are the same. Just 2 different ways of getting to the same goal.

[not-I]

Gosh Yosh, talk about necro-posting -- digging up the dead from two and a half years ago. :confused2
I admire your even-handed approach and basically agree with you.

But if you do a forum search for "kendo kumdo" you'll find that this topic often went up in flames before being discussed to death -- which is where a lot of us would like to leave it. Please let it R.I.P.

Have fun in the forums!

[Surushiko]

Kendo us japanese kumdo is korean

[Hai_hai's_mom]

Kumdo is copied and Koreanified from Kendo which originated in Japan.