Gwonbeop 권법 拳搏 (Unarmed Fighting Skills)

 

Is the term for unarmed methods in Korean martial arts as developed in the Joseon era (15th to 19th centuries). It is the Korean rendition of the Chinese Quan fa (拳法)

Destruction of the Korean palace and its libraries in 1126 as well as the Mongols invasion in 1231 and the subsequent Mongol domination of Korea (Yuan Dynasty 1231-1356) has eliminated any literary history of Korea prior to that time. As a result no first-hand accounts of the origins of Gwon Beop practices in Korea is known. However, in 1145, King Injong (r. 1112-1146) ordered a Confucian Scholar, KIM Bu-sik, to compile Sam Kuk Sagi (lit. "History of the Three Kingdoms"). Some 100 years later a Buddhist monk, Iryeon, compiled the Sam Kuk Yusa (lit.: "Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms"). Both works indicate that militant attitudes between and among the three major States of the Three Kingdoms Period (37 BCE - 660 AD) resulted in each nation developing an institution for training its warriors in Military Science. While the term Gwon Beop was not used, cadets of the Pyong Dang ("educational institute") in the Goguryeo kingdom learned punching, strikes and kicks (K. Ji Leu Ki Beop), while cadets of the Silla Kingdom learned Chil Kuk (kicks) and Soo Bak (punches and strikes). In the Kingdom of Baekje, "empty-hand fighting" (K. Soo Sool) was included in the training. Consolidation of the Korean peninsula under Silla in 668 enhanced the Silla approach to hand-to-hand combat over its neighbors, though continued and repeated conflicts provided opportunity to refine and enhance the material. Infrequent references to Soo Bak contests indicates that contests in unarmed combat, often with considerable wagering by the audience, occurred on holidays and other special occasions up until the invasion and dominance of Korea by Mongols (1231 - 1392).

Later Development

With the end of Mongol dominance, predations and incursions by Wa-Ko, coastal raiding forces of mixed nationalities, provided the Korean administration with some rationale for rebuilding Korean Military installations and units. However, such efforts were undercut by Neo-Confucian thought that disparaged Military practices in favor of leadership by scholars and bureaucrats. As a result, Korea was unprepared for the invasion by Japanese armies in 1591, intent on using Korea as an approach for conquering China. Known as the "Imjin Waerum" (Japanese invasions of Korea), the Japanese advance easily over-ran the Korean army and was stopped only by the Ming Army and the patriotic efforts of Korean nationals formed into "righteous armies" (K. Uibyeong; 위병). In September, 1593, King Seonjo of Joseon (1567-1608) established the Hunlyun Dokam (Royal Military Training Agency). At the encouragement of the Ming General Liu, T’ing, the Korean Prime Minister, Yu Song-Nyong, sought to reorganize the Korean army into a highly structured and versatile organization. His manual for this effort was the Jin Xiao Shin Shu or “Manual of New Military Tactics” written by General Qi Jiguang (1528-1588) and published in 1567. Chapter 14 of this manual addressed 32 methods of using the body for hand-to-hand combat, which General Qi stated was of little use on the battlefield but which contributed to the confidence and conditioning of his soldiers. These 32 methods, gleaned from an examination of 16 major fighting systems in Ming China, were recorded in 32 brief poems, while the practical use and applications were left to the Military Training cadre.

Following the end of hostilities in 1598, the Korean government sought to record all material that they had found useful, rather than adopt the manual of General Qi in its entirety. As a result the Muyejebo sokjip (무예제보 속집 “Martial Arts Illustrations”) by Choe Gi-nam (Hangul: 최기남, Hanja: 崔起南) was published in 1610. Ordered by King Seonjo, the work was compiled by one of the king’s military officers, HAN Kyo, and consisted of 6 fighting systems. These included the Kon Bong (long stick), Dung Pae (shield), Nang Sun (multi-tipped spear), Jang Chang (long spear), Dang Pa (triple-tip spear) and the Ssang Soo Do (two-handed saber). Around the time this work was to be published, four volumes of a Japanese martial arts manual were added as well, leading to the compilation of the Muyejebo Beonyeoksokjip (무예제보번역속집) in 1610. This latter work included some 30 methods of unarmed combat.

During the reign of King Yeongjo of Joseon (1694-1776) the Muyejebo was revised and supplemented with 12 additional fighting methods by Prince Sado who originated the term Shippalgi (“Eighteen Fighting Methods”). Though often confused with Chinese practices of the same name and later 20th Century practices, the term coined by Crown Prince Sado, a shortened form of Bonjo Muye Sip Pal Ban (본조무예십팔반 "18 Martial Arts Classes [of the Yi Dynasty]"), identified this Korean collection of 18 fighting systems. Gwon Beop made a reappearance in this work, albeit in a heavily modified state. Of the original 32 methods cited by General Qi,only some 19 methods were identified. Another 14 methods, for a total of 33 methods, were included in the revision but may or may not have been related to the material of General Qi's Boxing Classic. This revised publication was titled the Muyesinbo (무예신보 “Martial Arts New Illustrations”) and published in 1759.

During the reign of King Jeongjo of Joseon (1752-1800) the Muyesinbo was revised by PARK Je-ga and LEE Duk-moo beginning in 1790. Supplemented with 6 additional fighting skills, these "new" methods were little more than dismounted methods such as spear, sword and flail which had been modified for execution from horseback. Gwon Beop material was also further modified with the addition of material performed between partners. The material was intended to reflect a combat format in deference to Neo-Confucian thought, by having partners use matched methods which would only produce a "stalemate" rather than a victory of one partner over another. Though ideologically satisfactory, the practice rapidly fell into disuse for its lack of practical combat effectiveness. This revised publication is titled the Muyedobotongji (무예도보통지 “Comprehensive Illustrated Manual of Martial Arts”) and was published in 1795.

Modern Development

The second half of the 19th Century saw a trend towards adopting Western practices and abandoning long-standing traditions. Bolt-action rifles, revolvers and breech-loading artillery not only caused a change in tactics but the very role of the individual fighter. Casualties of this trend were such "cold weapons" as spears, cudgels and sticks, as well as the bow-and-arrow methods. However, the practice of using hand-to-hand combat training as a method of conditioning and building confidence still carried merit. Furthermore, both the Russo-Japanese War (1904) and World War I, demonstrated that the future of warfare lay with frequent encounters among small units rather than between waves of advancing troops. Each country sought to identify effective fighting material with which the individual fighter could protect himself in the absence of a weapon. Korea's efforts were quickly eclipsed by Japan which subjugated Korea (1910-1946) and imposed its customs and practices on the Korean population, especially in the urban areas. Conservative and nationalist elements had long made a practice of retiring to the mountains and rural areas to maintain their practices and beliefs, but in the urban areas such Japanese practices as Kendo, Judo, and Aikido were adopted and given Korean names. In addition, Korean Education as well as Military training of enlisted men and officers focused on Japanese practices and thinking. In the years following the Second World War and the Korean conflict (1950-1953), Korean administrators whose education and training included Japanese practices sought to build a Korean Martial heritage by renaming and reshaping these practices. In this way Japanese Shotokan and Shudokan Karate became the foundation for Taekwondo and Tangsoodo. Further complicating the situation was the indiscriminate use of Korean and Japanese terms between and among these practices.

Korea also had a history of regular trade and exchange across the Yellow Sea with northeastern China generally, and Shandong province in particular. Long a location associated with Military Science and fighting arts, Shandong province had imparted to Korea a variety of arts over the years. Liang Xue Xiang (1780-1860) was mentioned prominently by the Korean Branch of the Mei Hua Tang Lang (매화당랑) as the "creator of the Plum Flower Branch of Northern Praying Mantis, while Lin Ping Jiang, an emigre of the 1940's is known to have come from Shandong province to teach Praying Mantis in the Seoul area. Other Chinese Boxing traditions such as Northern Long Fist (Changquan), Tam Tui (Tán Tuǐ), Baqua Chang (Baguazhang) and Hsing-Yi Boxing (Xingyiquan), all found their way to Korea. With the end of the Chinese Civil war in 1948, ex-patriot practitioners of Southern Chinese Boxing traditions also came to Korea bringing Southern Long Fist and Southern Preying Mantis as well. As in the case of Japanese practices, the introduction of Chinese arts introduced a plethora of new terms, or new meanings for old terms, such as Kung Fu, Sip Pal Ki, Chuan Fa, Chin Na and Shaolin. And as with the Japanese materials, terms and concepts were often used inaccurately, if indiscriminately. During the 1970's and 1980's, a variety of efforts were made to develop a definitive tradition which would represent Korea's Military past. Typically the result was an admixture of material from disparate practices across Korea, cobbled together for political and commercial motives more than anything else.

In 1969, a Sib Pal Gi school was opened by KIM Kwang Seok (김광석) who had begun studying Sib Pal Gi under YUN Myeong Deok (윤명덕) in 1951, initiating a new chapter in Korean Martial Arts history. YUN Myeong Deok had studied Sib Pal Gi in the conservative rural areas of Korea where much of the original material had been preserved. Between 1985 and 2002 KIM Kwang Seok published four books concerning the nature and practice of the Bonjo Muye Sip Pal Ban ("18 Martial Arts Classes of the Yi Dynasty") identified by Prince Sado in 1759. These works included a focused study of the Gwon Beop material as well. KIM Kwang Seok's writings introduced a new era of research and practice into traditional Korean Martial traditions. Research into, and practice of, traditional Gwon Beop methods continues with at least four entities proceeding directly from Kim's original work.