Yedo
예도 · Yedo
Literally: „Sharp sword“
Also known as: Joseon sebeop, Joseon Saebeop, Chaoxian shifa
A Korean fencing form from the military manual Muyedobotongji (1790). It is based on the 24 stances of Joseon sebeop, recorded by Mao Yuanyi in his work Wubeizhi.
Quick Facts
About the kata
Yedo (예도, 銳刀) is a chapter of the Korean military manual Muyedobotongji, compiled in 1790 under King Jeongjo. According to Bok Kyu Choi (Acta Periodica Duellatorum, 2020), it combines two fencing styles: the separate stances of Joseon sebeop and a continuous sequence practiced in Joseon under the name yedo at the time the manual was compiled. The historian Choi Hyung-guk, writing in Suwon Ilbo, counts 24 separate stances, to which the manual added four more from the continuous sequence (예도총보); together there are 28. The base of the form was recorded by Mao Yuanyi in the military treatise Wubeizhi, who noted that he obtained this method from Joseon. The year of publication differs among sources: Choi Hyung-guk gives 1621, the English Wikipedia 1629. The name 銳刀 itself is translated by the English Wikipedia, in its list of the Muyesinbo manual's disciplines, as sharp sword. As the typical movement, Choi Hyung-guk describes turning the sword hand as if turning a drill, with the blade rotating counterclockwise. In today's kumdo, according to the English Wikipedia, Joseon Saebeop is practiced alongside the form Bonguk Geombeop and the bon set, and the Korea Kumdo Association requires mastery of them in rank examinations.
The kata in different styles
| Style | Name in the style | Movements | Kiai |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kumdo | Joseon Saebeop | — | — |
Creator and history
According to the English Wikipedia, the 1759 manual Muyesinbo added yedo to the older Ssangsudo section. The 1790 Muyedobotongji is, per Bok Kyu Choi, the last Joseon military manual: it added six mounted arts to the existing eighteen. Choi Hyung-guk writes King Jeongjo had it published in Korean script too, so soldiers who could not read could understand it.
Differences between styles
In the Wubeizhi, per Bok Kyu Choi, Joseon sebeop is fencing with a double-edged sword; the Muyedobotongji renamed it yedo and replaced the double-edged sword with a single-edged one. The English Wikipedia describes the yedo sword as single-edged, about three feet long, usually wielded one-handed. Per Choi, individuals and groups from Korean kumdo, Haidong kumdo, and Bongukgeom today reconstruct the Muyedobotongji forms. Choi distinguishes living transmission, which evolves with tradition, from book-based reconstruction, not limited by tradition's inertia.