Kummooyeh is the way of the Korean sword. Also called Kumdo, Gumdo, or Geomdo for short. Those words are a translation of the meaning of the word 'sword art' in the Korean language. The meaning of Kumdo is the same as 'Kendo' in Japanese.
Like other martial arts, Kummooyeh trains the body, the mind, and the spirit. It also teaches self-defense, self-confidence, character development, patience, concentration, meditation, and etiquette. If you learn it, you must learn how to respect others, above all. Along with those lessons, you learn sword forms (patterns), sparring, cutting, and many other dynamic drills.
The basic sword used in Kummooyeh is the traditional Korean long sword, which looks quite similar to a Japanese Katana. The blade is slightly curved, and only one side is sharp. Most training is done with a hardwood sword (mokgum). After achieving a black belt, the student regularly receives training with a real sword (jingum) for cutting and forms. For safety reasons, the mokgum or kagum (blunt metal sword) is used in group classes.
As you can imagine from the expression "the sword art that can be practiced by 3 generations," there is no limit to learning Kummooyeh. Starting from the age of 15, teens, adults, and even seniors can practice this sword art. It is not that difficult to see children, parents, and grandparents exercising together in Korea. Seeing people of the ages of 50 or 60 who start to learn this sword art is not unusual either. You don't need any martial arts background to start training. Kummooyeh is open to everyone!
