Hyeopdo
협도 · hyeopdo
Also known as: 挾刀, micheomdo, 眉尖刀
Korean weapon with a single-edged curved blade on a long shaft, a shorter variant of the woldo; one of the eighteen disciplines of sibpalgi.
Quick Facts
South KoreaAbout the weapon
Hyeopdo (Korean 협도, Chinese characters 挾刀) is a Korean weapon with a single-edged curved blade on a long shaft. Because the blade curves like an eyebrow, it was also called micheomdo (미첨도, 眉尖刀), literally an eyebrow-shaped blade. The oldest written mention comes from the 17th-century Korean combat manual Muyejebo beonyeok sokjip. We have not been able to establish when and from where the weapon reached Korea. The shaft usually measured around 1.5 metres, the blade around 63 centimetres. The hyeopdo closely resembles the Korean woldo, the moon blade, and also the Chinese podao. The later manual Muyedobotongji describes it as a shorter variant of the woldo with a narrower blade that is easier to handle. The hyeopdo is one of the twelve disciplines that crown prince Sado added to the six older ones from the Muyejebo manual during the reign of King Jeongjo, forming the eighteen disciplines of sibpalgi. Muyedobotongji places it in the third volume alongside the woldo, the woldo for mounted combat, and the rattan shield, and records for it the form hyeopdo chongbo.
Related weapons
- Variant of: Woldo
Historical sources
- Muyedobotongji (1790) — Yi Deok-mu, 1790–1795 (hyeopdo (협도) – sestava hyeopdo chongbo, 3. svazek)