Muyedobot'ongji

As a result of the high frequency of warfare experienced in Northeast Asia, and in particular the destructive nature of the large number of invasions suffered by the Korean Peninsula, the majority of any documentation of Korean indigenous martial techniques and combat styles has been lost. Much of modern-day scholarship related to the classical or pre-modern Korean martial arts, in particular those that predate the Mongol invasions of Korea (during which Korean palaces and libraries that would have contained many documents germane to the study of martial arts and combat self-defense were destroyed), relies on the study of the Samguk sagi compiled by the scholar Kim Pusik and the Samguk yusa compiled by the Buddhist monk Iryeon. Both works suggest that militant attitudes between and among the three major nations of the Korean Three Kingdoms period (37 BCE – 660 AD) resulted in each nation developing an institution for training its warriors in martial arts and military sciences. The end of vassaldom to the Mongol Yuan dynasty in the mid-1300s did not bring peace to the Korean Peninsula. The withdrawal/retreat of Mongol hegemony roughly coincided with the collapse of the Kamakura Shogunate in Japan; the resultant instability and the relative lack of control exerted by the subsequent Ashikaga Shogunate led to an increase of incursions by coastal raiding forces, mostly from the Japanese islands. These pirate attacks, as well as raids from the uncontrolled regions in southern Manchuria, provided the Korean state (first as Goryeo and later as Joseon) with some rationale for rebuilding Korean military installations and units. However, as a whole, the ascendance of the Joseon dynasty in Korea in 1392 and the installation of Neo-Confucianism as its guiding philosophy meant that academics, civil pursuits, and cultural arts were overwhelmingly emphasized at the expense of martial arts and military pursuits. As a result, many national and local defense structures, as well as the training and practice of armed combat, was limited and just sufficient to repel small-scale raids and tribal attacks. The Japanese campaigns in Korea during 1592–8 found a militarily complacent Korea that was woefully unprepared to ward off a major, organized, large-scale military invasion such as the one ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. While elements of the Korean court had attempted to update and otherwise revitalize lackluster Korean military resources, they were frequently opposed by rival factions and therefore unable to make substantive improvements in Korean national defenses on a wide scale until the Japanese invasion demonstrated the need for such an emphasis. In September 1593, after the initial Japanese invasion was stalled and pushed back thanks to Ming Chinese intervention, King Seonjo established a "Royal Military Training Agency." Following the cessation of hostilities and the full retreat of Japanese forces in 1598, the Korean government sought to record all material that they had found useful. As a result, the Muye jebo – 무예제보 (literally “Martial Arts Illustrations”) was published in 1610. The work was compiled by a royal military officer, Han Kyo, and consisted of 6 weapon-based fighting systems. These included the (long stick), (shield), (multi-tipped spear), (long spear), (triple-tip spear), and the (two-handed saber). Content related to unarmed combat was not included in this manual. During the reign of King Yeongjo (r. 1724–1776) the Muye jebo was revised and supplemented with 12 additional fighting methods by Crown Prince Sado who originated the term ship pal gi – 십팔기, 十八技 (“Eighteen Fighting Methods”). Though often confused with Chinese practices of the same name and later 20th century practices, the term coined by Prince Sado, a shortened form of bonjo muye ship pal ban – 본조무예십팔반, 文章武藝十八般 ("18 Martial Arts Classes of the Yi Dynasty"), identified this collection of 18 fighting systems. This manual contained the original 6 systems of the muye jebo but also included sections for 죽창 (long bamboo spear), 기창 (flag spear), 예도 (short sword), 왜검 (Japanese sword – presumably this was in reference to the katana), 교전보 (illustrations of combat), 제독검 (admiral's sword), 본국검법 (literally "native sword methods"), 쌍검 (literally "twin swords" — this referred to the wielding of two perfectly matched swords in combat, one in each hand), 월도 (literally "moon sword" — this referred to the Korean equivalent of the Japanese naginata, but whose blade was crescent-shaped thus making it more similar to the Chinese guandao), 협도 (spear sword — the better-known Japanese counterpart would be a curved yari variant]), 편곤 (flail), and 권법 (unarmed combat — note that the hanja 拳法 means "boxing" same as ch. quán-fǎ or jap. kenpō). The Muyesinbo was revised during the reign of King Jeongjo (r. 1776–1800). The 6 fighting skills that were added were essentially the dismounted methods for such weapons as the spear, sword and flail, which had been described in previous versions for execution from horseback. 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 the ''Muyedobot'ongji'' (“Comprehensive Illustrated Manual of Martial Arts”) and was published in 1795. With the advent of firearms as the predominant method of armed conflict, the methods and techniques in the ''Muyedobot'ongji'' largely became relegated to reference material. Many copies were lost or destroyed, along with much knowledge and practice of Korean military science and martial arts, in the latter years of the Joseon dynasty, much of this occurring during the Japanese occupation of Korea in the first half of the 20th century. ==Contents==