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Concept
Korean martial arts
Summary
Korean martial arts ( or ) are fighting practices and methods which have their place in the history of Korea but have been adapted for use by both military and non-military personnel as a method of personal growth or recreation. The history of Korean martial arts can be traced as far back as the prehistoric era.
Notable examples of unarmed martial arts include taekwondo, hapkido, ssireum, and taekkyon. For armed martial arts, Korean archery, Kumdo, Korean swordsmanship, and knife fighting exist. In November 2011, taekkyon was placed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List.
Wrestling, called ssireum, is the oldest form of ground fighting in Korea, while Subak was the upright martial art of foot soldiers. Weapons were an extension of those unarmed skills. Besides being used to train soldiers, both of these traditional martial arts were also popular among villagers during festivals for dance, mask, acrobatic, and sport fighting. These martial arts were also considered basic physical education. However, Koreans relied more heavily on bows and arrows in warfare than they did on close-range weapons.
It appears that during the Goguryeo dynasty, (37 BC – 668) subak/taekkeyon or ssireum (empty-handed fighting), swordsmanship, spear-fighting and horse riding were practiced. In 1935, paintings that showed martial arts were found on the walls of royal tombs believed to have been built for Goguryeo kings sometime between the years 3 and 427 AD. Which techniques were practiced during that period is, however, something that cannot be determined from these paintings. References to Subak can be found in government records from the Goguryeo dynasty through the Joseon dynasty, until the 15th century, after which its popularity declined It reappears only in 1790 book about martial arts titled Muyedobotongji ().
With the Mongol conquest, the Korean military was reorganized around the mounted archer. Acrobatic horsemanship (masangjae), falconry and polo (gyeokgu) were imported.
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