In 1789, King Chongjo, ruler of the Yi dynasty, ordered General Yi Deokmu to compile an official textbook on all martial art forms present in Korea. The result was the Muye Dobo Tongji (“Comprehensive Illustrated Manual of Martial Arts”). Written by Yi Deokmu, Pak Je-ga and Baek Dong-soo, it was published in four volumes in 1795.
Volume 1
- Long spear or lance – Jang chang, a 1.5m spear made from the wood of the yew tree. It can also be made from a similarly soft wood, including bamboo in the right climate. It was considered the most effective conventional weapon on the battlefield due to its flexibility and length. The jang chang was widely used in the battle to retake Pyong-yang Fortress during the 1592 war between Chosun (Korea) and Japan.
- Long bamboo spear – Juk jang chang, a 6.1 m spear tipped with a 4-inch blade where the shaft was made of bamboo which gave more flexibility.
- Flagspear – Gi chang, a 2.7 m staff with a 9-inch-long blade at the end.
- Trident – Dang pa. The middle spear was longer for deeper penetration. It is between seven feet, six inches and eighteen feet long and has either an iron or wooden tip.
- Spear on horseback – Gi chang. Use of the Ki chang on horseback.
- Thorny spear – Nang seon, a spear with nine to eleven branches or thorns extending out from the main shaft, each studded with small metal hooks. These thorns could be dipped in poison.
Volume 2
- Long sword – Ssang su do. Sword that had to be handled with both hands.
- Sharp sword – Ye do, also known as dando or hwando. A double-edge sword was called a geom while a single-edged sword was called a do.
- Japanese sword – Wae geom. This chapter describes the use of Japanese swords. Their use was studied during the Imjin Waeran (Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98)).
Volume 3
- Commander sword – Jedok geom. Like the Yedo, carried around the waist.
- Korean sword – Bonguk geom. Also known as sin geom. Represented the swords used by the hwarang from the Silla dynasty. It bore close resemblance to the double edged sword of the Eastern Han.
- Double sword – Ssang geom. A set of equally sized swords.
- Double sword on horseback – Masang ssang geom. This chapter describes the use of ssang geom on horseback.
- Halberd – Woldo. A weapon, literally “moon knife”, which is often compared to a European halberd although it more closely resembles a glaive with a large head.
- Helberd on horseback – Masang woldo. This chapter desbribes how to use the wol do on horseback
- Short halberd – Hyeopdo, a shorter version of the wol do.
- Shield – Deungpae. The use of a shield with a throw sword or throwspear. This chapter counts for two separate methods.
Volume 4
- Unarmed fighting – Gwonbeop. This chapter contains eighteen forms for unarmed fighting.
- Stick – Gon bong. This chapter describes how to use the long stick in battle.
- Flail – Pyeongon. This weapon is made out of a long and short stick connected with a piece of rope or chain. Instead of a steel ball of spikes, the short stick acted as a flail, overfitted with a steel skin that had many painful protrusions.
- Flail on horseback – Masang pyeon gon. This chapter described how to use the flail while riding a horse.
- Korean polo – Gyeok gu. A game that resembles polo. Used to upgrade the riding skills of the cavalry, this sport was uniquely played by the Goguryeo cavalry as early as 400AD.
- Equestarian skills – Masang jae. Six equestarian skills that the cavalry should master. This includes standing upside down on the horse, repetitively jumping from one side of the horse to the other, riding under the horse, riding two horses simultaneously, etc.
Earlier texts
Muyesinbo (1759)
The Muyesinbo (or Muyeshinbo, meaning “new compendium of martial arts”) is a Korean martial arts manual published in 1759. The book is a revision of the older Muyejebo, made during the reign of King Youngjo (1724–1776). It adds twelve disciplines or “skills” of both armed and unarmed fighting by Prince Sado to the original six which were descbribed in the Muyejebo. No copies of the Muyesinbo have survived, but its contents can easily be traced back by comparing the Muyejebo and the later Muyedobotongji.
Prince Sado also originated the term Sib Pal Gi (“Eighteen Fighting Methods”), shortened from Bonjo Muye Sib Pal Ban (“18 Martial Arts Classes of the Yi Dynasty”, reflecting the Chinese concept of “Eighteen Arms of Wushu”) to identify this collection of skills.
Muyejebo (1610)
The Muyejebo-beonyeoksokjib, a book of military tactics, was published in 1610 (the 2nd year of King Gwanghaegun’s reign) by Choe Gi-nam, an officer in the Hullyeon Dogam (Directorate for Military Training). It combined two earlier books of a similar nature, Muye jebo sokjip (Collected Records of Martial Arts) and Ilbongo (A Study of Japan).
It was originally planned by King Seonjo, who had been made aware of the importance of military tactics and martial arts by the Japanese invasions between 1592 and 1598, and completed during the reign of his successor, King Gwanghaegun.
The book contains illustrations of the detailed movements of martial arts and weapons, such as the cheongnyong eonwoldo (blue dragon crescent sword), hyeopdogon (pole knife), and waegeom (Japanese sword), which individual soldiers were required to use effectively, and instructions in Korean.
Only one copy of the original Muyejebo Beonyeoksokjip survived. It was found in the library of the Keimyung University in Korea in 1998. In 2001 it was given the status of national treasure. The Keimyung University press republished the Muyejebo Beonyeoksokjip in 1999.
References:
Wikipedia, accessed 9 July 2014, Muyedobotongji
National Museum of Korea collection database, accessed 9 July 2014, Muyejebo-beonyeoksokjib: A Book on Military Science
Wikipedia, accessed 9 July 2014, Muyejebo
Wikipedia, accessed 9 July 2014, Muyesinbo
The Five Moo Do Values 