Kumdo or Haedong Kumdo?

[Chosen1]

What is the difference between Kumdo and Haedong Kumdo? Which do you think is better? both styles are in my area where i live and i'm gonna check them both out. I just wanted to get some info before hand. Thanks

[Neil Gendzwill]

Kumdo is usually the same as Kendo, but with Korean terminology and some etiquette modifications.

Haedong Gumdo is a modern Korean sword art geared towards showy forms performance with very little connection to historical swordsmanship. They will tell you there's thousands of years of history behind it though.

[John Shin]

I've been practicing Kumdo for 2.5 years and would reccommend Kumdo over Haedong Kumdo. Kumdo is essentially the same as Kendo (except that we learn single person forms that are not taught in Kendo), whereas Haedong Kumdo is very different with acrobatic like moves. Just my opinion though. I don't know much about Haedong Kumdo - so I guess you should check both styles out and decide what you would enjoy more.
Good Luck.
Joe Hibbs

[John Shin]

Chosen1-
I just noticed that you are only about 15-20 min away from the dojang that I attend. If you'd like to attend a few classes and see if you'd be interested in joining, let me know and I'll give you the info.
Joe Hibbs

[Kaoru]

Well, if I was you, I'd check out the many Kendo dojos in Chicago. There are some very high ranking sensei who are VERY good, teaching there.

Here:

Chicago Kendo Dojo
Buddhist Temple of Chicago1151 W. Leland Ave.Chicago, ILTu F 8:00pmContact: George Izui (773)271-6360

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Choyokan Kendo DojoBroadway Armory Park5917 N. BroadwayChicago, ILTu F 8:00pm Su 12:00 noonContact: Dr. Ken Sakamoto(773)871-5500

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Choyokan Kendo Dojo
Golf MainePark District Gym
9229 W. Emerson Ave.
Des Plaines, IL
Sa 5:00pm
Contact: Tom Okawara

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University of Chicago Kendo Club

http://kendo.uchicago.edu/

Bartlette Gym
5640 S. University Ave.
Chicago, IL
Wed 6:30-8:30pm
Contact: Hyonggun Choi (773)702-0187

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Be sure to check these places out.

The Chicago Kendo Dojo beat everybody at this year's MWKF(Midwest Kendo Federation) tournament.

And, if that Kumdo dojo is not a member of the AUSKF(All US Kendo Federation) or the WKA(World Kumdo Association) or the KKA(Korean Kumdo Association), don't bother with it. These are the only legit and recognised Kumdo organisations there are.

If it checks out and is a member of one of the correct organisations, then fine. Go there if you like. Otherwise, go for the Kendo, which is the same thing if the dojo is legit.

Good luck!

Kaoru

[mark]

[QUOTE=Kaoru]Well, if I was you, I'd check out the many Kendo dojos in Chicago.

Reading this thread I just realized that unless you are either of Korean or Japanese ancestry you should probably select the best sensei in your area without regards to whether it is kumdo or kendo.

In Montreal, I don't think there are any kumdo dojo's. As a result our kendo dojo has several members who practiced kumdo in the past and now practice kendo. I will ask them tomorow if they find that it is very different.

[rainmaker]

Apparently, founders of Haedong Kumdo have went to court and they end up telling the truth of actual history of Haedong Kumdo. Here are the facts:

- Haedong Kumdo was founded by Mr. Na, Hanil and Mr. Kim, Jungho.
- Haedong Kumdo started in 1990. Not thousand years ago.
- One of founder, Hanil Na is an TV actor and he was showing his sword cutting skill on TV and it gets really popular after that. Hanil introduce himself as 7th dan in Kumda and he was being sued by KKA(Korean Kumdo Association) and rather he corrected that he is 7th dan in Haedong Kumdo.
- It got nothing to do with legendary Korean swordmanshi from Kokuyro dynasty.

I have been doing Kendo for two years now and I know someone who has been doing Haedong Kumdo. I am really sorry to say this but it is very different than Kumdo...

[rainmaker]

One more correction. WKA is not part of IKF(International Kendo Federation). So if you get your shodan from WKA, then technically, you are not qualified for shodan in AUSKF....

And, if that Kumdo dojo is not a member of the AUSKF(All US Kendo Federation) or the WKA(World Kumdo Association) or the KKA(Korean Kumdo Association), don't bother with it. These are the only legit and recognised Kumdo organisations there are.

[Kaoru]

One more correction. WKA is not part of IKF(International Kendo Federation). So if you get your shodan from WKA, then technically, you are not qualified for shodan in AUSKF....

Ahhhh...Thank you VERY much for that bit of info. I was not clear on that. I've been wondering.

Kaoru

[ChaShu]

I've been practicing Kumdo for 2.5 years and would reccommend Kumdo over Haedong Kumdo. Kumdo is essentially the same as Kendo (except that we learn single person forms that are not taught in Kendo), whereas Haedong Kumdo is very different with acrobatic like moves. Just my opinion though. I don't know much about Haedong Kumdo - so I guess you should check both styles out and decide what you would enjoy more.
Good Luck.
Joe Hibbs

Hi John/Joe-san. Very interesting to hear about the single person forms that you practice in kumdo. Do you know of any internet sources/video demos about them? I'd love to get a look at them. Kamsamnida in advance!

[rainmaker]

This is Haedong Kumdo style...
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/mlim2...s/haedong1.wmv

They claim that Haedong Kumdo is rather one to multiple fight situation, such as War. So they need lot of moving and jumping technic. I still think it will make you get tired very quick though....

[ChaShu]

This is Haedong Kumdo style...
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/mlim2...s/haedong1.wmv

They claim that Haedong Kumdo is rather one to multiple fight situation, such as War. So they need lot of moving and jumping technic. I still think it will make you get tired very quick though....

The fight sequence reminded me of some sort of Errol Flynn swashbuckler stunt sequence. The cutting exercises looked like a fancy form of tameshigiri, and the sword form looked suspiciously a lot like tai-chi sword forms, with tassle and all!

[ahmed61086]

This is Haedong Kumdo style...
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/mlim2...s/haedong1.wmv

They claim that Haedong Kumdo is rather one to multiple fight situation, such as War. So they need lot of moving and jumping technic. I still think it will make you get tired very quick though....

That stuff looks pretty Fn cool if you tell me. I mean, it looks Hollywood worth, lol. It might not be a legit style, but it sure is impressive.

Ahmed.

[John Shin]

Hi John/Joe-san. Very interesting to hear about the single person forms that you practice in kumdo. Do you know of any internet sources/video demos about them? I'd love to get a look at them. Kamsamnida in advance!

Hello ChaShu. I haven't seen any video on the web that references the forms - though I haven't really looked too hard. The five forms that I had to learn for my 1st dan are called:
-Ch'ung Gum
-Hyo Gum
-Shin Gum
-Yong Gum
-In Gum

There is one more that I'll be learning called Bon Guk Kum Bup, which you may have seen drawings of.

They're single person forms fighting and defending against 4 imaginary opponents. There are roughly 22 - 30 moves per form and consist of forward, backward and sideways moves in all directions. They are practiced with a dull sword similiar to an Iaito. They're hard, but once perfected, they're A LOT of fun to perform. Maybe someone else can direct you to a web site with video.

Hope this helps.

Joe hibbs

[Mr. Donigan]

Kumdo is usually the same as Kendo, but with Korean terminology and some etiquette modifications.

Haedong Gumdo is a modern Korean sword art geared towards showy forms performance with very little connection to historical swordsmanship. They will tell you there's thousands of years of history behind it though.

there is a shin-kendo dojo in my area. I had never heard of shin-kendo so I looked it up online. It reminds me of the haedong gumdo. Do you know anything about shin-kendo? Me, I'll personally stick with kendo.