Various Excerpts From
“5000 Years of Korean Martial Arts”
In 1597 Admiral Yi Sun-sin eloquently stated what I believe makes a true
martial art master:
“Warriors who embody culture and martial training are invincible.
Those skilled in empty-handed combat and the use of arms must first develop
their own abilities before requiring it of others.
They must be intelligent and mature before they can teach.
They must first become invincible before they can achieve total victory.”
An Appreciation for Archery
One of the many stories concerning the prowess of General Yi indicated
the Korean enthusiasm for skilled bowmanship. During an attack of Japanese
pirates hiding in the Koryo hills, Yi had two horses shot out from under him and
an arrow pierced his leg. Drawing it out and continuing the fight, he sighted a
huge man among the enemy who was dancing about with spear in hand, urging
on his men. Encased in armor, he wore a copper helmet protecting his entire
head. Still, Yi was determined to fell his target and said to his lieutenant, Yi Turun, “Make ready an arrow and when I strike off his helmet, you aim at his face.”
Yi drew his bow and sent his arrow powerfully and directly to the helmet,
knocking it off. His lieutenants’ swift arrow flew directly after Yi’s, bringing the
man down. This demoralized the enemy and they were soon routed.
The World’s First Paratroopers
General Choi suppressed the Kim Yong rebellion and annihilated about
10,000 Mongols. In 1374, his typical ingenuity was displayed when the Koryo
court sent a fleet under his command to the island of Cheju-do, the last
Mongolian bastion in Korea. After repeated failures to scale the high cliffs along
the coastline where the defenders were positioned, he is said to have penetrated
to the rear and recovered the long-lost island by use of paratroopers riding big
kites—believed to be the “first” in warfare. (Yun, 1989)
A Mongol General speaking to Mongol Prince Kublai
Chao Lang-pi, then Pacification Commissioner of the Chiang-huai
provinces, is said to have told Prince Kublai, “Although Koryo is called a small
nation due to its perilous mountains and seas, our nation has used troops
[against them] for over twenty years and they are still not our vassals.”
(Henthorn, 1963)
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Mongol Commander Sartaq Killed by Modest Korean Monk
Koryo’s decision to resist the Mongols provoked a second invasion by
Sartaq which proved fatal to the Mongol commander. In his attack on the city of
Ch’oin-song (Yongin) in 1232, he was struck and killed by an arrow sprung from
the bow of the Buddhist monk Kim Yunhu. Records alternatively say that the
monk completely denied being armed or that it was a “chance” shot. Kim, clearly
observed to have shot Sartaq, declined an appointment as Supreme General as
a reward for killing the great Mongol commander, saying, “At the time of the
battle I was without bow and arrows. How can I presume to falsely receive an
important reward?” Such a high command would not have been offered if there
had been the slightest doubt on Ch’oe’s part that it was the monk who brought
down Sartaq. However, such an attitude on the part of highly adept monks was
not unknown.
An old Mongol General inspection of a Siege
During the siege of Kuju, an old Mongol general, 70 years old, was touring
beneath the city walls to inspect the ramparts and equipment. He sighed and
said: “I have followed the army since I bound my hair [into plaits as a youth] and
so I am accustomed to seeing the cities of the Earth attacked and fought over.
Still I have never seen [a city] undergo an attack like this which did not, in the
end, submit.”
The Mongols said: “This city has withstood many with few. Heaven
protects it, not the strength of men.” Thus satisfied that they had saved face by
identifying their victors as sustained by supernatural power, they abandoned their
siege and left.
For his valiant defense of Kuju, Pak was appointed Senior Councilor of the
Royal Chancellery. Ch’oe told him, “Sir, in the nation, [your] fidelity is really
incomparable.”
General Kyongson leads his “Dare-death squad”
With a large Mongol force at the south gate of the city, Kyongson, leading
his twelve soldiers (a “dare-death squad”) as well as all the patrols of the city,
gave this order to the soldiers as they were going out of the city gate: “Do not
think of your own lives. If fate decrees, die, but do not fall back.” The patrols all
threw themselves on the ground and would not obey. Kyongson ordered them all
to go back into the city and then with only his dare-death squad of twelve soldiers
he advanced into battle. Kim himself shot an arrow and knocked down one
mounted soldier who rode with a black flag in the vanguard of the Mongol force.
Consequently, Kim’s twelve skoldiers were encouraged and fought
strenuously. Hit by an arrow, Kyongson then formed his lines and called his
small group to return.
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The strong sprit of General Kyongson is displayed
Before retreating, the Mongols lit accumulated brush near the wood gates.
After they regrouped, they returned to the assault. Kyongson had positioned
himself in a chair to direct the fighting, during which a Mongol catapult slung a
missile his way. It crossed the wall and landed directly behind him, killing his
guards. His men begged him to move to a safer location. He refused, telling
them, “If I am moving, then the hearts of all the soldiers will move also.” The
expression on his face was adamant and without concern and, in the end, he did
not move.
A story of martial spirit and training of the Korean soldier
General Kim Yu-sin of Silla and his group arrived late for an appointed
meeting at the T’ang encampment. Ting-fang was about to have the Silla
governor Kim Munyong decapitated at the camp gate because Yu-sin and the
others missed the appointed schedule. Yu-sin said to his horde, “The Great
General did not witness the campaign at Hwangsan, yet is treating our missing
the appointed schedule as a crime. I cannot accept this shame while guiltless.
We must first fight a decisive battle with T’ang and then crush Paekche.” He
stood at the camp gate gripping a battle-axe, his hair bristling with anger, and the
jeweled sword at his waist leapt instinctively from its scabbard. Ting-fang’s
General of the Right Tung Pao-liang stepped on Ting-fang’s foot and said, “The
troops of Silla are going to revolt,” whereupon Ting-fang absolved Munyong of
any crime. (Jamieson, 1969)
Heroes eager to die for their country
Paekche responded to Silla’s seizer of border towns with a swift thrust by
crack troops. All Silla officers and men except Simna retreated in scattered
confusion. Holding out alone, Simna drew his sword and, cursing madly, eyes
ablaze with fury, lopped off the heads of several scores of men. The bandits
were so frightened that they pulled back their troops, not daring to confront him.
They referred to “Simna at the “Flying General of Silla.” It was also said among
them that “While Simna still lives, one does not approach Paeksong.”
Chinese borrowing from Koreans
That the Chinese borrowed at this time from Koreans is a matter of record.
In the Chinese battle with Koguryo forces for the renowned fortress of Laio-tung,
the Chinese were materially aided by Paekche designed armor which Paekche
had sent as a gift to the Chinese Emperor. (Hulbert, 1962) As history moved on
and records were lost it is most certain this armor by Paekche came to be known
a Chinese not Korean. Many mistakes of this type have occurred throughout
Korean history. How many weapons, armor, literature and other items that were
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Korean in origin, transmitted to China or Japan, and thought to have originated in
those countries has history recorded incorrectly?
The influence of Korea on early Japan
Even as late as 815 A.D., 30 percent of the nobility in Japan claimed nonJapanese ancestry. An early census shows that many of the nobility had Korean
names. The Korean King Syong-myong of Paekche introduced Buddhism to
Japan through a laudatory memorial concerning its teachings, sent in 552 A.D.,
according to the Japanese text Nihongi.
The significant influence of Korea on Japanese culture was further
underlined when, in October, 1978, Japan’s most prestigious private museum,
the Yammato Bunka-kan of Nara Prefecture, opened an exhibit of about 70
paintings which they identified as “Koryo Buddhist.” Previously, most of these
works of art, stolen from Korea by Japanese pirates, had been labeled Chinese
or Japanese.
The difficulty of obtaining information on Korean arms
Boots also mentions in his Introduction the great difficulty in obtaining
information on Korean arms. “There remain living today only a very few Koreans
who have intimate knowledge of the old military things. None of them are writing
their memoirs and soon they will be gone.” This statement illustrates the
circumstances found in Korea at the end of World War II, when Koreans who
held onto the knowledge of an indigenous Korean system were few and often
secluded, and teachers of Japanese martial arts were the only approved
instructors. This situation began the amalgamation of Japanese martial arts with
the remaining fragments of the Korean systems still in general circulation.
Koreans were famous for Bow and Arrows
Since ancient times, Koreans have been identified with archery, inventing
the compound reflex bow. In the old books of China, the people of Korea were
referred to by the use of a character incorporating “great” and the character for
“bow.” Skill with the great bow was so characteristic of the early Koreans that the
Chinese used the word to refer to them and, later, all foreigners or “barbarians”
as the word came to be translated.
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Sword commissioned by the King and given to a favorite body guard
The best Korean sword seen by Boots, and in his collection, had a large
double-edged blade 3’4” (1 m) long and two inches (5.08 cm) wide, weighing 53/4 pounds. For comparison an American Civil War saber weighs 1-3/4 pounds.
On the 10” (25.43 cm) handle was an elaborate inlaid silver design with Asian
characters and a heavy hilt of lotus leaf design, vertically placed. As discussed
before, from the Asian inscription we shouldn’t infer that there is anything
intrinsically Chinese about the Korean sword itself. At that time when anyone
wanted to write in a formal manner, an Asian iconography now identified as
Chinese was used. The characters were inlaid with gold on one side of the blade.
On the other side, also in gold, was the constellation of the Great Bear with two
added stars which, with one in the handle of the dipper, the Koreans call the
“Three Tiger Stars.” This indicates great good fortune in military things on the day
of the lunar calendar when the “Tiger Day” comes on the “Tiger Month” of the
“Tiger Year.” This sword, Boots was told, was of a design given by the king to a
favorite officer of his personal bodyguard and was worn slung across the back by
this mounted officer. This particular piece was ordered to be made on this
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propitious day in the 18th year of 1794. The scabbard was made of wood covered
with black lacquer with a copper cap.
This site and its contents Copyright R. Barry Harmon, 2008