Joseon Korean Swordsmanship from the Source Jedok Geom: The Commander's Sword

By Dr. Nathan Jo

General Li Rusong was a skilled swordsman on the battlefield who struck fear in the hearts of his enemies, and had a ferocious sword style that was so impressive it was taught to the Korean military from the 1590s. Joseon Crown Prince Sado had this form formally recorded in 1759, and from this historic record we can revive the ancient arts and teach truly historic martial arts in the modern day.

Korean Swordsmanship from the Source: Jedok Geom deeply explores the history and swordsmanship of General Li's style and breaks it down into a practical guide that will turn a willing student into a competent swordsman.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tellwell Talent
• Release date: Jan 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9780228886334

Dr. Nathan Jo

Dr Nathan Jo has been dedicated to reviving the art of Jedok Geom since 2017, when he was tired of seeing Korean sword arts with questionable historic connections and wanted to train in a truly historic Korean sword form. He runs the YouTube channel Just a Bug, and teaches the Jedok Geom form to students in Sydney, Australia, focusing on full-contact sparring to simulate real combat. During his study of Jedok Geom, he has spent time researching iaido, gumdo, kummooyeh and HEMA to further understand Asian swordsmanship and to ensure his interpretation of Jedok Geom is effective and practical.

Book preview

Joseon Korean

Swordsmanship

From the Source

Jedok Geom

The

Commander’s

Sword

Dr. Nathan Jo

Joseon Korean Swordsmanship From the Source Jedok Geom

Copyright © 2022 by Dr. Nathan Jo

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Tellwell Talent

www.tellwell.ca

ISBN

978-0-2288-8632-7 (Hardcover)

978-0-2288-8631-0 (Paperback)

978-0-2288-8633-4 (eBook)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Li Rusong and the Imjin War

Lineage

Jedok Geom as a Practical Sword Style

Differences in Swords Used

Basics – Handwork

Basics – Footwork

Attacking with the Sword

Stances

Forms

Daejeok Cheokgeomse

Jinjeon Saljeokse

Kyeokjeokse

Bangjeokse

Hwigeom Hyangjeokse

Yongyak Iljase

Special Forms

Shikgeom Sajeokse

Janggeom Kayongse

The Turo

Part 1 – Advance

Part 2a and 2b – Retreat

Part 3 – Offence

Part 4 – Special Forms

Creating the Interpretation

Afterword

About the Author

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to A. Jo, T. Jo and M. Cho for all your assistance in the creation of this book and for supporting me in my studies of Asiatic swordsmanship over the last five years. Without your help I would never have been able to come this far in the understanding and recreation of Jedok Geom.

Introduction

The Jedok Geom or the Commander’s Sword is a style of Korean swordsmanship based on the sword form of General Li Rusong, an ethnically Korean general in the Ming Chinese army who made a significant contribution in the Imjin war of 1592-1598 CE in Korea.

His swordsmanship was practical and effective and was taught to Korean soldiers and later recorded in the martial arts manuscript Muyedobotongji and its previous iterations. It has applications for both battlefield and duelling swordsmanship and can be practised with a wide range of swords, including both single- and double-edged swords.

His form is designed to be practised in armour against opponents in varying degrees of Asiatic armour. It is a fearsome sword style proven to be effective by General Li Rusong’s performance on the battlefield.

In modern times, martial artists have attempted to recreate General Li’s form from Muyedobotongji and now this mantle has been passed on to you.

This book aims to give you the foundations required to become a skilled swordsman and to preserve the historic swordsmanship that has been passed down for centuries.

I have had the pleasure of training in Jedok Geom since 2017 and have focused on using it as a practical swordsmanship style for sparring in full protective gear. I hope it gives you as much joy and fun as it has given me for all these years.

As a tome, Muyedobotongji was written to provide a concise but effective snapshot of 24 martial art styles including General Li’s swordsmanship to aid soldiers in practising their martial arts forms.

There are no other surviving historical manuscripts on armed combat from Joseon Korea. I have tried to expand on the form as it was recorded in Muyedobotongji to enable people who do not already know the form to have an easier time learning from the basics.

This book is my interpretation of the form, derived from the closest source available—Muyedobotongji—and honed through contextual clues and practical trials. This book cannot be equivalent to formal tutelage; however, with a good martial arts base and effort, it can hopefully teach you the basics of Jedok Geom so that you may make it your own swordsmanship style. Previous training in Korean unarmed or sword martial arts styles may be found helpful to the