The difference between Japanese kendo and Korean kendo

by umme
(Bandar Seri Begawan)

I had been told that there is a difference between Japanese kendo and Korean kendo, which is Korean kendo is less smoother than Japanese Kendo.

Could you please tell me more the differences between those two?

Answer: My understanding of Korean Kendo (kumdo) is the difference in pronunciation. They use the same characters for kumdo as we use for kendo. They are exactly the same characters but the pronunciation is different. We say kendo, but they say kumdo.

If kumdo is something I saw a long time ago in these world championships, it was very aggressive, more jumpy and more power- and speed-oriented sword fight. They concentrated more on hitting. In other words, they were more after getting points. However, those Korean kendoists these days do kendo like Japanese one.

What I know is that kumdo uses the same kinds of armour and shinai as we do in kendo. But they have different rules in shiai. I am not familiar with the rules. So I do not know how different they are from the kendo rules.

If you like to know more about kumdo, I recommend this article written by Dr. Alex Bennett.

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