Shim Gum Do, translated as the "mind sword path", is a

Korean Martial Art Korean martial arts ( or ) are fighting practices and methods which have their place in the history of Korea but have been adapted for use by both military and non-military personnel as a method of personal growth or recreation. The history of K ...

and style of Korean Swordsmanship of recent invention, originating in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

History

Shim Gum Do emerged from the enlightenment of Chang Sik Kim, during a 100-day

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

and prayer retreat at Hwagyesa temple in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, in 1965. In 1971, Chang Sik Kim established the Korean Shim Gum Do Association and began teaching Shim Gum Do in South Korea. He moved to the United States in 1974, and, in 1978 he established American Buddhist Shim Gum Do Association. The main temple, Shim Gwang Sa, was built in

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. The World Shim Gum Do Association was established there as the world's center of Shim Gum Do Associations. The central component of the system is a series of 330 forms (choreographed sequences of techniques) using the sword. The system also includes forms using two swords, a long staff, a short staff, and empty hands, as well as a series of 3000 self-defense techniques called Ho Shin Sul. Shim Gum Do schools have existed in

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Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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, and

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. The headquarters of the World Shim Gum Do Association as well as the American Buddhist Shim Gum Do Association is Shim Gwang Sa temple located in Brighton, Massachusetts.

Training

From the time of Kim’s enlightenment, training in Shim Gum Do sword techniques has focused on the use of a wooden practice sword, commonly called a ''mokgum'' in Korean. After achieving the rank of black belt, Shim Gum Do sword students may use a Korean style steel sword, which has a single-edged blade and is closely related to the Chinese

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

single-edge swords or the Japanese

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

. Shim Gum Do sword training is organized as a progression of several series of

form Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form may also refer to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter dat ...

s. New students learn a series of basic forms and then move onto beginning defense forms before attaining their yellow belt. After learning 15 of these forms, a student may test for a first dan (degree) black belt. Progression may continue through the beginning attack series and on through 14 different series of sword forms. In addition to sword forms, students may learn up to 330 empty-handed forms called Shin Boep ("body dharma"). Advanced students may study Ssang Gum Boep ("two-sword dharma"), Dan Bong Sul ("short staff art"), or Jang Bong Sul ("long staff art"), consisting of 50 forms each.

Philosophy

Although the physical techniques of Shim Gum Do are intended by Chang Sik Kim to be effective fighting techniques, Chang Sik Kim teaches that the foundation of a clear mind and harmony between mind and body’s action is the most important thing a person can learn for defense. He argues that this ideal makes Shim Gum Do a non-violent martial art. In fact, spiritual aspects are highly emphasized in this martial art. It is typically practiced in spaces set up as Buddhist sanctuaries, and students have frequent opportunities for sitting in meditation and receiving dharma instruction.

References

Korean martial arts {{DEFAULTSORT:Shim Gum Do