This channel is intended to give Gumdo masters and students new ideas, drills, and focuses for their training. Why a lynx? For one, it's a pun. Internet links and making links between different sword martial arts, but more importantly, according to Fiore, one of the swordmasters from way back when, there are four major characteristics a swordsman (he said knight, but swordsman works, too!) should follow and the one I found most resonating was the prudent lynx. In mythology, the lynx could see the future, and my goal for the channel is to help steer the Gumdo community toward higher standards, higher understanding, and higher levels. Keep in mind what I say in the channel reflects my own understanding of Gumdo and not so much what the Federation has taught. You'll find I do things differently from what your master has taught you and that's okay! Take in the information that helps you and discard the rest. Synthesize your own ideas from the old and the new. It's a dynamic martial art!
I trained in Kenjutsu for several years with two different Ryu's. I was invited to observe a Haidong Gumdo class. I was thinking to myself they were doing it all wrong. I did some research into its history and later had a conversation with the Haidong Gumdo school's Master Instructor. I learned that they are two separate martial arts with separate linages. Comparing Korean Haidong Gumdo to Japanese Kenjutsu is like comparing Aikido to Aiki-jujutsu. "Do" is not the same as "Jutsu".
I think this also depends on the school and their focus. For example, I've watched iaido schools try to work on application and kenjutsu schools focus only on flourishes and aesthetics. It's true that the style itself dictates a lot about what it can be used for, but it isn't exclusive.
The truth about all these sword based martial arts is that they're all simulations, even if there's a sparring component or real cutting. The person who you're sparring with isn't actually trying to kill you. The Japanese use Kendo and Kenjitsu for more practical applications for this regard but it's still rules based like fencing. It's also assuming the other person is using a sword and that you have your sword with you - which isn't reality.
Absolutely agree. All sparring is consensual and with an agreed on rules. All forms assume something about the alleged opponent and their level and what they’re using. It will never properly simulate a proper battle unless you’re in one, which means you’re no longer training but doing.
No formal videos like that aside from what I post here. I do also do private lessons and some virtual training. Anyone interested can email me at theswordlynx [at] gmail.com!
Looks real nice, I am waiting on my Katana from VB Armory and a custom order Wakizashi as well to make a matching set. Cant wait to practice and spar with them. It will be fun to see a German Messer and Japanese Wakizashi in a fight.
Oooh, I’ve never used a VB sword. I would imagine a messer would have similar mechanics, but I’m not an expert it it. Maybe my colleague at @Apperceptive_Swordsman would have better insight!
It’s complicated with A LOT of cultural and egotistical baggage. Historically the two mixed simply through contact. The only historical Korean manual we have has sections (whether they’re good or not) dedicated to saying some parts are Japanese. My personal view is that a sword is a sword, historically they’re so mixed and muddied it doesn’t matter unless one is a “purist” or a nationalist. If you look at Gumdo specifically…there are more similarities than differences.
@@thecrw8 In all functional ways that matter, they are the same sword. I personally use either a iaito or this sword when I train outside of Federation events.
So what is the exact point of balance i wonder. Akado never wrote it down on their website, only length and weight. Also does the blade have the 6 sides geometry like a real blade with a thick blunt edge or is it flat like other "katana feder" on the market ?
The balance point is about two inches north of the guard. The shape is the most katana like I’ve used, but it is more flat simply so it can flex at impact. Compared with the Castille, it is much more katana like.
I have been to Japan and have trained in Kendo and Iaido for years in addition to Gumdo. Each are valid martial arts in their own right for their own intentions.
@@TheSwordLynx 진실 : 해동검도는 무술인 나한일과 김정호가 1980년대 초에 창설했는데 후에 이 두 사람이 법정에서 이권 다툼을 벌일 때 고구려 사무랑이 사용했다던 검술은 사실 일본, 그것도 제2차세계대전 당시 군인들에게 검술을 가르쳤던 나카무라 다이사부로(中村泰三郎) 및 기타 일본 육군의 군도술, 혹은 그것의 영향을 받고 난립했던 60~70년대의 잡다한 한국 검술들을 보고 베낀 것임이 낱낱이 드러난다. 그러면서 대한검도회를 일본 쬭빠리라 비하하고 욕했다. 대한검도회를 중심으로 하는 한국의 검도는 일제시대나 해방 후 일본의 검도를 배운 이들이 도입한 무술이다. 그런데 여기서 또 웃긴 게 해동검도의 날선 비판에 자신들의 치부(일본의 것)가 공개적으로 드러나게 되자 80년대 이후 본래 일본의 기술이나 예법, 호구 등을 은근슬쩍 검도에 맞지도 않는 <무예도보통지>에 수록된 본국검법 등을 끌어다가 덧칠하는 짓을 벌이고 있다. 그러면서 어느덧 대한검도회의 검도는 일본의 검도가 아니라 본국검법, 더 나아가서는 화랑의 검법으로 둔갑해 있는 실정이다.
So awesome your channel is still around! Took couple year hiatus from Korean sword to focus on Filipino and thai stuff. Had the interest to get back into haedong gumdo. Best resource on the internet
There is a difference between Korean/Gumdo uniforms and traditional Japanese uniforms. In some Japanese and Korean styles, they still wear the belt/obi on the outside. As for the gi, because we wear paji and not hakama, there is no need to tuck it; additionally, this makes it easier to use the scabbard to draw instead of being hindered by the hakama.
I appreciate that. This channel is just very very niche. Although everyone loves swords, an analytical approach to a forms based Korean martial art founded in the 70s isn’t mainstream.
I really like your breakdowns of the forms, as well as your understanding of how to use forms in general. A white belt practices it as a white belt, but as a black belt the same form takes on a very different meaning and approach. The forms grow as the practitioner grows. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise!
Really enjoyed this talk about footwork, cutting mechanics and contexts. As a HEMA, Kummooyeh and Kali instructor I really enjpyed you talking about the benefits of cross training. Contrast helps us see things better.
I couldn’t recommend cross training enough. Sometimes it introduces body mechanics that don’t help, like if you do boxing footwork in a longsword fight, but it helps you understand why it works for one and not the other in most circumstances.
@@TheSwordLynx Definitely and unless you're trying to streamline your training like a competitive athlete I think having to overcome muscle memory becoming a little messy is more rewarding.
To be fair, the idea of any federation isn’t inherently good or bad, it depends on what it does for its constituents. Dark Vader may have been a little zealous about it!
It is allegedly a style that would use a Yedo, or “short sword”. It’s a very ambiguous term that could refer to a wakizashi length to a standard longsword. It’s simply shorter that a ssangsoogeom, similar to an odachi.
Am thinking for Spirit, I look the 4 from World HDGD as connecting to my military background as being Service before Self. The idea that you are putting the welfare of other ahead of your own personal needs. I’ll try to elaborate on that later when I have more time. Temperance has see more like not falling into being power hungry and letting the desire for power over others to override your integrity
That totally tracks. One thing to consider is Fiore wasn’t about building or maintaining an army, but training individuals to fight. Very different priorities. I like your interpretation of temperance as well.
Hello, I wonder if you would move the camera back a little so I can see the footwork. Would you consider short videos that just step through the moves. I learn a move in class, then I practice misremembered moves during the week lol. If I had a short video then I could refer to it to correct myself, that would be cool.
Which forms are you working on at the moment? It is also worth mentioning that many schools have differing forms from what the Federation currently teaches. I actively try to keep up with the changes, but not every school does.
Yes, actually! The video below is one I’ve personally drilled a lot. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WQNCzu4nf7A.htmlsi=3066rG_1nuLVbeq5
Everyone should try it. He swings the sword with his legs wide apart parallel to his shoulders, but this is not useful in practice as he only swings the sword with his arms to keep his body from shaking. Because just by pushing his body with your fingertips, he falls backwards. Japanese samurai don't stand like this because it's practical. (You don't stand like this in any martial art) In other words, it's just a show.
I would agree that the sitting stance is not intended to be fought in, but it is a conditioning stance like it is in other martial arts like karate and taekwondo. The stance, when done correctly, is stable forward and back when you hunker down into it.
Laughable! Although the sword is being swung using an imitation of a Japanese sword, it is not the way a Japanese sword is used. In Korea, there were only Chinese straight swords, and the Japanese swords were imitations of ones sent from Japan.
If you look at the only sword Manuel we still have from Korean antiquity, the muyedobotonji, there are indeed straight and Japanese swords, but also curved swords. Whether historically they originated from Korea or evolved from another country has been debated without historical certainty.
What an idiotic take. "They only used straight swords" isnt a statement anyone can make. Aside from historical examples proving this to be wrong, it's pretty daft to take a screenshot of a culture at one fixed point in time and apply generalizations that it was never any different than what was popular once.
Hey The Sword Lynx, thanks for making this video! Great vid and great points. I do think aesthetics plays a big part in leg lifts and its a fantastic point. Theres a certain level of athleticism required to do things that others cant and then by all means you deserve to show it off. With regards to leg lift as a counterbalance as I see is used in Haidong Gumdo, I do wonder how much is needed if youre not swinging the sword through the air as youd likely not need the counterbalance when striking something, be it a sword or your target. Definitely athletic though and cool to see nonetheless.
In some ways the counter balance would help power a cut whether or not contact is made, but that does beg the question of if you need to counterbalance that much for a specific move, maybe don’t throw that move. I like it as a prototype to learn to feel out counterbalancing within your body, but in a fight I’m more likely to stay grounded.
If the force of the leg lift was more toward a target, I would then agree. All the leg lifts I’m thinking about have the knee coming more center. In Gumdo we do have kicks for that purpose, but they’re kicks and not leg lifts
This one is very light. The move itself is still viable for heavier weapons, but it’s commonly seen in “creative” weapons forms more about aesthetic than application.
@@TheSwordLynx very interesting videos. Im fascinated by Korean culture (with the exception of kpop 😫) One of my best friends is Korean and it's always fun to hear about different cultural norms, customs and history.
I think some of the words have changed their meaning since the brown book was published. I’m told that the blue book uses the same term as the brown book, and doesn’t modernize it.
From a historical perspective, I agree there is much Japanese and Chinese influence on Korean martial arts. From an application perspective, they behave a bit differently.
They have different purposes. I trained in iaido as well and it is an excellent source of focus, nuance in the draw and put away, and breath work. It is, however, not efficient in body mechanics, application (my favorite example is the fourth kata), or flow. Gumdo is excellent at flow, body mechanics, and speed, but lacks fundamentals apparent in Iaido. On a scale of application, I would put Gumdo above Iaido, but also below HEMA or HJMA.
Hi! Basic question sorry but... Is there a difference between left-handed and right-handed when holding and using the sword or does everyone have to do exactly the same?
From my experience in Japanese and Korean sword martial arts, it’s always been right hand top, left bottom. Now, the placement of the left hand on the hilt can change depending on the style and the tang of the sword, but many usually hold it just top and bottom of hilt.
I would say if you're training for yourself, do it however you want; some HEMA schools or European martial arts allow either way. But if you're training with a group or plan to, it may be a good idea to acclimatize yourself to right on top.
