Ssangsudo
쌍수도 · ssangsudo
Literally: sword for two hands
Also known as: 雙手刀
A Korean two-handed single-edged sword about six feet long, used at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries and included among the six disciplines of the Muyejebo manual.
Quick Facts
South KoreaAbout the weapon
Ssangsudo (Korean 쌍수도, in Chinese characters 雙手刀) is a Korean two-handed single-edged sword, used only for a limited time at the end of the 16th and the start of the 17th century. The Chinese general Qi Jiguang wrote about it in his training treatise Lianbing Shiji and recommended its use. The Ming army also adopted the sword into its arsenal; the Ming dynasty, however, fell to the Manchus about fifty years later. The sword measured six feet in total. Two feet were taken up by the hilt, and a further two feet of blade in front of the hilt were to be covered with brass or copper. General Qi intended the sword to be carried into battle on carts or entrusted to individually trained warriors. Its length, weight and the difficulty of training, however, meant that the ssangsudo never became a regular part of Korean armament. It nevertheless ranks among the six disciplines of the Korean military manual Muyejebo of 1610, compiled against the backdrop of the Imjin War (1592-1598), which exposed serious weaknesses in the Korean army. The 1759 manual Muyesinbo added to them twelve further combat methods of Crown Prince Sado, and the Muyedobotongji of the late 18th century expanded the set to 24 disciplines.
Historical sources
- Muyedobotongji (1790) — Yi Deok-mu, 1790–1795 (ssangsudo (쌍수도) – jedna z šesti původních disciplín (z Muyejebo 1610 přes Muyesinbo 1759))