My dojang in Igok Dong, Daegu, Keom Mu Kwan (검무관), houses an armory of weapons. The ‘real’ weapons, usually sharp or pointed, are in my teacher’s office and comprise numerous jin-keom (진검) as well as bows (활) and arrows. In one corner of the dojang itself, are numerous ‘long pole’ weapons such as staffs (퐁) of various lengths spears (창), flag pole spears (기창) and wooden moon blades (월도). There is also a ‘live’ moon blade (월도). There are a number of other weapons to which I have yet to be introduced but one includes the three-pronged spear (당파).
one of the flag pole spears (기창)
Some of the Korean bows (활)
Around the dojang are a large number of practice swords. On the walls on display racks are students’ personal ka-keom (가검). Ka-keom are blunt, metal swords used for practice. Usually they are used by senior or black-belt students and the students name is often carved on the blade.
One of the three racks of ka-keom (가검)
Beginners and coloured belts usually practice with the heavier wooden mok-keom (먹검) of which the length and weights vary. A mok-keom can be as cheap as a few pounds to over a hundred depending on the type of wood from which it is made.
wooden mok-keom (목검) for every age of student
The other type of sword found in the dojang are bamboo swords (족도). Once again, these vary in length. The swords are used for practice striking.
The bamboo sword (죽도) used for striking practice (known is Japanese as a ‘shinai’)
On Saturday July 14th, three of us traveled with Master Kwon to the rural spa town of Bugok (부곡) where in an outlying farm, we cut ‘bales’ with jin-keom (진검). Unlike the session in June, despite the monsoon rain, it was surprisingly cool. However, the humidity was still in the air and at the end of the session my suit was soaked.
Danny and a student discuss technique
LC’s katana
My focus on this session was to cut from both the left and right side. On my previous visit I found myself getting in a muddle over how you arrive at the target to cut from a specific side. As a result my first cut was almost exclusively to the right (우내려베기). I’ve since learnt that the first step you take after drawing (발도) matches the same side of the target you will strike. My second focus was in placing the heel of my lead foot on the floor at the same time as launching the strike and the ball of my foot following on contact with the bale. I also wanted to focus on reducing my power and trying to relax more. If you miss the bale, as I did on two upward slashes, it’s quite amazing the exertion you dispense and most of it isn’t required. The bales will slice quite easily with correct sword angle and trajectory and no amount of power will cut them in their absence.
Opps! LC ‘smacks’ the bale. This was the way most of my cuts went.
Each bale, which this time consisted of three cuts: oblique downward slash (naer-yeo begi – 내려베기), oblique upward slash (ol-lyeo begi – 올려베기) and a parallel slash (su-pyeong begi – 수평베기), was initially practiced under speed followed by the actually cutting. In all, I cut twenty bales at 2000 Won (£1) a-piece. On two occasions, towards the end of the session, I cut two bales with successful and clean cuts on each stroke. To finish, we collected all the larger cut segments and stacking them, cut these.
Effortless…
LC, the American serviceman who has joined the school, owns his own impressive katana which is quite different to the Korean jin-keom. It was his first experience cutting bales and he was a little frustrated at his initial attempts but by the end of the session he was beginning to cut successfully.
LC making some nice cuts:
cleaning and sharpening the jin-keom (진검) after use
Master Kwon is able to ‘shave’ the bale a few centimeters at a time
Our destination was a farm in Bugok (부곡), some forty minutes drive from Daegu. Saturday afternoon and with the monsoon season (장마) having started, it was hot and humid. Bugok is a tiny village close to the famous Bugok Hawaii Water Park. The farm has a cutting barn used by numerous schools in the area and they provide ‘bales’ of bound straw, soaked in water for a week, at 2ooo Won (£1) a-piece. Gruesome as it is, the ‘bales’ apparently requite the same force to cut through as does the human neck.
I was a little nervous at the prospect of cutting with a real jin-keom (진검). I worry about the blade flying out of my grip and about ‘sheathing’ it the way I am used to and slicing off a finger in the process.
It takes a little while getting used to holding a ‘live’ blade in as much as it does holding a gun; one is initially very cautious of how it is handled, passed from one person to another and generally where the actually blade (칼날) is in relation to your own body and that of others. And then there is a different feel in weight and balance to that of a blunt practice sword (가검)
a blunt practice sword (가검) on the left, and jin-keom (진검), ‘live’ blades to the right
a jin-keom (진검) without a hand-guard (코등이)
Like all beginners, I was too tense and put far more power into a each cut than necessary. There is much to think about in addition to worrying about holding a ‘live blade;’ I’m still uncertain which foot to step forward with in order to cut to a specific side of the target, then there is the raising of the sword, correct alignment with the target, inhaling at the right time, positioning the arms correctly, being the appropriate distance from the target, angling the blade. Indeed, there is so much to think about that actually performing the cut is the easiest part. And as you’re powering the blade towards the target you’re thinking about moving into the next position for the following 3 cuts.
approaching the target
too much power and despite the successful cut, bad trajectory
I know exactly the ‘feel’ of the technique for which I’m searching, and naturally it’s a long way off, but I’m reminded of some of the simplest techniques in taekwon-do, a basic low section block, stepping forward, for example, and how complex it is for a beginner because there are just as many considerations. And once you’ve mastered the physical elements, you begin focusing on the mental aspects. There are landmarks along the way and with patience the moment arrives when you ‘feel’ the technique and then it becomes a process of recalling the appropriate mental and physical configurations in an attempt to replicate the action on subsequent occasions.
Jin-yong practicing an upward slash (올려베기)
‘Energizer’ delivering a downward slash (우내려베기)
My first cut slightly shocked me because you’d think a ‘live blade’ swung with power would have some effect but all it did was knock into the soggy straw with a thud, like hitting a wet carpet with a stick. With bad technique, wet straw simply absorbs all your power and the bale buckles and falls sidewards. Sometimes it does this dragging your sword to a standstill, the straw creased around the blade like an anchor.
effortless – although it’s difficult to see, the top segment of the bale has been cut
about to upward slash (좌올려베기)
horizontal slash (수평베기)
The other two students, both more experienced than I, had exactly the same experience. My teacher however, cut through the straw with a bright, crisp, clicking sound and did so effortlessly.
We cut through about ten bales a-piece and out of the 40 cuts in total, I did manage clean cuts on at least one of each of the three techniques – downward slash (내려베기), upwards slash (올려베기) and the horizontal slash (수평베기). But even then however, I was aware I was exerting too much power.
