Haidong Gumdo (Korean Swordsmanship)
해동검도Modern Korean sword art with forms, cutting and practice sparring. Its founder, origin and name were disputed, even in court.
Quick Facts
South KoreaCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
About Haidong Gumdo (Korean Swordsmanship)
Haidong gumdo is a modern Korean sword art. The encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World (2001), whose article was written by a practitioner of one of the lineages, states that Kim Jeong-ho (Kim Jung Ho in its transcription) began training in 1962 and in 1982 opened the first haidong gumdo dojang in Anyang. According to the martial arts website Mookas, Na Han-il's side claims that the founder is Na Han-il and that the first dojang was a dojang in the Seoul district of Seocho in 1984. Mookas also gives 1982 and Anyang.
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Martial Arts of the World warns that many fantastic claims circulate about the origin of many Korean arts, especially haidong gumdo. The French Haidong Gumdo Federation states in its press release that the art arose on the battlefields of the kingdom of Goguryeo. According to Martial Arts of the World, the forms were taken from the manual Muyedobotongji of 1790. According to the same encyclopedia, instruction rests on methods of sword work made up of solo pumsae forms, from the two-handed ssangsu kumbup for beginners to the advanced jangbaek kumbup, including work with two swords. The drawing and returning of the sword, which open and close the forms, is according to it largely derived from the Japanese iaido kata. Practice sparring is done first with a bamboo sword, later a wooden one and finally a real one. The dispute over the name was dealt with by courts. The daily Hankook Ilbo states that the Seoul district court in May 1997 rejected a motion for a preliminary injunction against Na Han-il filed by the World Haidong Gumdo Federation, led by Kim Jeong-ho. The world championship is organized by the World Haidong Gumdo Federation together with the Korean association of its lineage and, according to the website inews24, it was announced for July 2026 in Pyeongchang.
History
Martial Arts of the World (2001) states that Kim Jeong-ho began training in 1962 under Jang Baek San and in 1982 opened the first haidong gumdo dojang in Anyang in Kyunggi province. The website Mookas adds that he opened the dojang in July 1982 at the age of 29 and moved it to Seoul in 1983. According to the same site, Na Han-il's side claims that the founder is Na Han-il and that the first dojang was established in Seocho in 1984. Korean Wikipedia, written from the view of Na Han-il's association, states that the Anyang branch closed after six months and that the name haidong gumdo came into being in 1983.
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According to Martial Arts of the World, in 1990 Na Han-il and Kim Yun Chae left the original organization to found their own federation, the split being amicable according to it. The daily Hankook Ilbo states that on 8 May 1997 the Seoul district court rejected as unfounded a motion for a preliminary injunction against Na Han-il in a dispute over the use of the name, filed by the World Haidong Gumdo Federation led by Kim Jeong-ho. According to SBS television, in December 2000 the Seoul high court rejected a motion to ban Na Han-il's textbooks and videos, though it acknowledged they contain the core of simgeomdo, which the petitioner had created. The website Mooyenews cites a court decision of 2001, according to which haidong gumdo was jointly developed and spread by Kim Jeong-ho and Na Han-il. Martial Arts of the World writes that many fantastic claims circulate about the origin of haidong gumdo, partly because the art remains little known even in Korea. The French Haidong Gumdo Federation states in a 2014 press release that the art arose on the battlefields of the kingdom of Goguryeo as swordsmanship against several attackers and that Kim Jeong-ho codified the techniques.
How it differs
Haidong gumdo differs from Korean kumdo, which according to Encyclopedia of Korean Culture derives from the Japanese kendo spread in Korea from 1896, in the purpose of the bamboo sword. According to the encyclopedia, kumdo is a contest between two competitors in protective gear who strike designated parts of the body with a bamboo sword. Martial Arts of the World states that in kendo technique gave way to sporting pressures around the bamboo sword, whereas haidong gumdo uses it only as a training aid in fights and does not change technique because of it. Both haidong gumdo and kumdo refer to the Korean swordsmanship bonguk-geom. The newspaper Korea Herald states that kumdo includes the Korean techniques Bonguk Geombeop and Joseon Sebeop, needed for advancing to higher grades, and Martial Arts of the World places bonkuk kumbup among the methods of haidong gumdo.
Technique
According to Martial Arts of the World, haidong gumdo uses various methods of sword work called kumbup, made up of solo pumsae forms. They include the two-handed ssangsu kumbup for beginners and then, for example, yedo kumbup, bonkuk kumbup, chedok kumbup, ssang kumbup with two swords, wae kumbup with a Japanese sword and the advanced jangbaek kumbup. According to the encyclopedia, the forms come from the manual Muyedobotongji of 1790. Korean Wikipedia states that the twelve movements of ssangsu geombeop are a reconstruction of the discipline ssangsudo from this manual, while the website Mooyenews claims instead that haidong gumdo took only the name of bonguk geombeop from the original. The forms open and close with drawing the sword, a cut and returning the sword, which according to Martial Arts of the World is largely derived from the Japanese iaido kata.
Training
According to Martial Arts of the World, yaksuk kyukgum practice sparring is done with the bamboo sword chukdo for safety. With progress, the same sparring is practiced with a wooden and finally a real sword. The French Haidong Gumdo Federation states in its press release that instruction includes meditation, breathing, sparring, codified forms and cutting, for the most advanced two swords and techniques without a weapon, and that one can train from the age of seven. The same release lists cuts of bamboo and paper among competition disciplines.
Ranks and progression
We have not found a grading system for haidong gumdo in specialist sources. Martial Arts of the World states only the training progression from two-handed ssangsu kumbup for beginners to advanced jangbaek kumbup, and from bamboo sword fights to the wooden and real sword. The English Wikipedia of 2007 stated that the World Haidong Gumdo Federation uses the title samurang in its grading system.
Competition
The world championships are organised, according to inews24, by the World Haidong Gumdo Federation and a Korean association of the same lineage. The thirteenth championship took place in 2024 on Jeju island and the next one was announced for 24 to 26 July 2026 in Pyeongchang. The French Haidong Gumdo Federation, in a press release on the 2014 European championship, lists as disciplines individual and group routines, paper cutting, candle extinguishing, cutting of thrown objects, codified fights, a dance routine, breaking, bamboo cutting and free fight.
Today
Haidong gumdo is led by several organisations. Martial Arts of the World stated in 2001 two Korean federations, one led by Kim Jeong-ho and the other by Kim Yun Chae, and in 1997 and 1998 federations were founded in Texas and New York. The weekly Weekly Kyunghyang describes a third organisation as well, founded in Busan on 24 June 2001 and focused on two-sword technique. The newspaper Hankook Ilbo stated in 1997 Na Han-il as chairman of Korea Haidong Gumdo Association. At the 2026 world championship, according to inews24, the minister of culture, sports and tourism spoke and called it a significant international martial arts event.
Did you know
The English Wikipedia of 2007 stated that the World Haidong Gumdo Federation regards the samurang as elite warriors of Goguryeo, from whom the Japanese samurai were supposed to have descended, but that there is no historical evidence for their existence. According to inews24, the animated film Kpop Demon Hunters, in which Korean swordsmanship appears, aroused interest in haidong gumdo in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded haidong gumdo?
Sources differ. Martial Arts of the World states that Kim Jeong-ho opened the first dojang in Anyang in 1982, while Na Han-il's side, according to the website Mookas, claims that the founder is Na Han-il.
Is haidong gumdo an ancient art?
Martial Arts of the World warns of fantastic claims about its origin. The website Mooyenews cites a court decision of 2001, according to which it was developed by Kim Jeong-ho and Na Han-il.
How does haidong gumdo differ from kumdo?
According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, kumdo is a competition in protective gear with a bamboo sword. According to Martial Arts of the World, haidong gumdo uses the bamboo sword only as a practice aid and rests on forms.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.