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Haedong Kumdo 1.Dan Essay
Name: Dominic den Drijver (Netherlands)
Date: 28th June 2021
Subjects:
If you can have Good skills & abilities of Jinyoung Ssangkum Ryu HK well in Kumbups, cutting, sparring etc. , what will you do next? How will you develop yourself for your next level in martial arts?
What in your opinion makes our two swords style unique?
What is the relationship between mind and body when practicing martial arts?
How can that be extended to personal life?
For my first Dan in Haedong Kumdo JSKR I was asked to write an essay about a chosen subject. I have chosen the subjects about the JSKR style and how training may affect your daily life. As someone who has trained martial arts since 8 years old I can honestly say that the JSKR (and also Headong Kumdo in general) feels like one of the most complete and pure systems out there. The kindness of the teachers and positive energy in their trainings really pulled me into this style.
After been searching for a good and relatable sword system back in 2019 I saw on Facebook an advertisement about the Seminar in Deventer. I have been teaching the Korean sword for 3 years at that point but was kinda lost. I didn’t know what purpose I had with my group(s) and through the experience of the seminar those 2 days my lessons (both for myself and my students) had a goal again.
First of all I truly believe that a black belt is not a master’s degree, some arts present that it is but in my opinion it is the beginning in your martial arts career. Technically but also personally (mindfully) you start your journey at black belt level. The journey itself to that black belt level opens up your future in martial arts. In the years before you have to learn to be respectful, being kind and helping towards others, dedicated and focused to your goals. Nothing else I experienced in live has taught me these lessons. I truly believe that trough all my martial arts trainings I have become a better person. And one of the reasons I want to train my students to the black belt level is to make them experience the things I have learned these years. For me the JSKR system demonstrates that there can be Martial Arts Masters without arrogance, pride and ego. I think most martial arts really struggle between masters and who has a say over who. If they were taught respect and humbleness we would have far less struggles in the martial arts society today and schools focusing on teaching instead of winning in tournaments. For me after reaching 1.dan I will continue my training, since your skills can always be perfected further. But also seek more mindfulness in our classes. I think in our daily lives there is enough stress and pressure, students shouldn’t feel this in the dojang. The classes I give a form of meditation or mindfulness I can see my students are just as grateful as after a high intensity training. So to answer the question, my next step in my training will be developing myself more towards harmony (personally and in class) between your daily life and your martial arts. So that in your daily life you are also a martial artist
Secondly more about the style of JSKR itself. Before the seminar I never went in depth to double swords. It was there I first experienced a structured session about a double sword fighting pattern and it really spoke to me. Your body language (at least mine) switched from a very aggressive to a more relaxed state, more focused on “flow” then on “winning”. Of course in sparring session you still want to win but in my experience your body language and mindset changes.
In the ssang kumbup forms I experience the same. With the single sword forms I was always focused on specific techniques and stances separate. With double swords those flow into each other naturally, or at least they should. Of course in the beginning you have to learn the specific techniques and stances but after a few times it seems logical how they flow into each other. I think the teachings of meditation and mindfulness also support this.
I have a general interest on martial arts and styles as well and I do a lot of research on the internet as well. There is a fierce battle on platforms like YouTube about practitioners of Kendo calling Headong Kumdo (or Haidong Gumdo) useless and a waste of time and skill. And it is exactly because of those people I have no interest in arts like Kendo at all. Always the fighting mentality, never the respectful and humble mentality. I think that is why our two sword system is so strong. We combine harmony in your body and sword together with respect and thoughtfulness in our training. And you can really experience that in the classes. But it is also good to have the more “hard” arts, since some people are not open to training this way. They need the adrenaline and pressure of a fight to perform. We can only invite them to our dojang to experience it themselves and hope they can see it is not a competition between arts, but we can learn from each other.
Lastly I will answer the question about the relationship to martial arts and personal life. I think the year of 2020 with covid is a very good example. Without my teachings and trainings my live quickly became more stressed somehow. I slept worse, lots of nagging between me and my girlfriend at home. Getting tired more quickly at work but also generally and empty and tired feeling. The moment we started training again 4 months ago my body started feeling itself again. My sleep became better and overall I felt better. The first class after 5 months of no training I felt euphoric and almost was emotional of happiness.
I think this really demonstrates the power of martial arts in your daily life. The effects of martial arts for your body and mind are so positive you really clear when you take it away. Your stamina fades, feel empty, less healthy and daily live gets dull. So for me martial arts is not an extension to my personal life; it is part of my daily life. In the way I approach people in daily contacts, my beliefs about respect but also my own health being. I think without Haedong Kumdo (as well as martial arts in general) I would really miss something in my life. And that is one of the main reasons I teach as well; to fill that gap for my students in their personal life.