Choi Hyung-guk's Column (24) The Sharp Swordsmanship of Joseon: Yeado and Joseon-Sebeop

- A Broader Perspective on Yeado

The world is not the realm of martial arts novels. Unlike in martial arts fiction, where a master's single sword movement fells countless enemies like falling leaves, such scenes never occur in reality. Moreover, even on the battlefield, no general, however brilliantly brandishing a flashing blade, can split an enemy in two with a single strike. Armor was worn precisely to prevent such outcomes. True mastery is born only through thorough and repetitive practice of fundamentals.

Yeado (銳刀), the sharp swordsmanship of Joseon.

It embodies the foundation and essence of Joseon swordsmanship. Yet distinctively, the 『Muye Dobo Tongji』 contains two different Yeado (銳刀) techniques. The reason is as follows: Originally, Yeado existed in two forms—24 individual sword techniques directly quoted from Mao Yuanyi's 『Wubei Zhi』(속칭 Joseon-Sebeop), and a connected long form of tullo that had been practiced in Joseon's military. The content from the 『Wubei Zhi』 was organized into 24 poses of 'Yeado-bo (銳刀譜).' To this, four unique poses from 'Yeado Chongbo' were added as '증(增)' (supplementary forms).

Mao Yuanyi of the Ming Dynasty spent 15 years compiling extensive military knowledge and published the 『Wubei Zhi』 in 1621. The reason was quite simple. Filled with immense patriotism, he set aside all other pursuits to devote himself solely to editing this military treatise to revive the declining Ming Dynasty.

Surveying approximately 2,000 military treatises and personally reorganizing them, the result was a comprehensive 240-volume work. From military weapons and equipment (군기) to warships for combat (병선), from military formations (진형) to martial arts training, it can be viewed as a vast military encyclopedia explained with illustrations. Notably, it even includes strategically important maps.

As such an encyclopedic resource, the 『Wubei Zhi』 was referenced when constructing Suwon Hwaseong, designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. In particular, scholars including Jeong Yak-yong cited the sections on Chinese fortress construction. Representative examples include the Noudae (弩臺), a battle facility behind Seojangdae, the highest point of Suwon Hwaseong, and the Osung-ji (五星池), five holes drilled in the Onsung gate structure to defend against fire attacks (화공).

Though the discussion has digressed slightly, because the book is so significant, Mao Yuanyi's biography is included in the preface of the 『Muye Dobo Tongji』 itself. In any case, in the original quotation from the 『Wubei Zhi』, it states 'Hao Shi Zhe De Zhi Joseon Qi Se Beop (好事者得之 朝鮮其勢法),' meaning 'from Joseon one obtained this sebeop (technique).' This was later rephrased as 'Joseon-Sebeop (朝鮮勢法)' in subsequent passages.

Chinese people intended this to mean 'this is taken from Joseon swordsmanship.' And so, Joseon swordsmanship 'Joseon-Sebeop (朝鮮勢法)' newly organized by Mao Yuanyi in China was re-imported back to Joseon under the name 'Yeado (銳刀).' Therefore, it is more appropriate for us to use the term 'Yeado (銳刀)' rather than 'Joseon-Sebeop (朝鮮勢法).'

The long connected posture form practiced by Joseon's military before the compilation of the 『Muye Dobo Tongji』 was later separately organized as 'Yeado Chongbo (銳刀總譜).' Generally, in other martial arts explanations in the 『Muye Dobo Tongji』, the individual poses are simply connected and presented in Chongbo format at the end, but in the case of Yeado, there exists another distinct connected form 'Yeado Chongbo' that appears as a completely different technique. Though this may be a difficult concept to grasp, one can perceive it with careful observation.

To explain by analogy, it is somewhat similar to the cultural adaptation of 'LA Galbi.' After the Korean War, first-generation Korean-Americans who immigrated to Los Angeles, California, missed galbi (short ribs). American food culture, which simply grills raw meat as 'steak,' combined with modest financial circumstances, led to the creation of 'LA Galbi.' Korean-style galbi, which typically requires cutting individual pieces with a knife, was reorganized in America: a cutting machine sliced it into small pieces for easy eating, and it was marinated in seasoning to work as a rice side dish, creating a distinctly Korean flavor in Los Angeles.

The original Korean galbi, which required individually carving pieces with a knife, became an inexpensive, machine-cut version due to labor cost constraints. In that process, the sweet and savory Korean flavor was realized in Los Angeles. As this style of short ribs was re-imported to Korea, it was named 'LA Galbi.' Just as 'LA Galbi' represents Korean flavor realized in America, 'Joseon-Sebeop' represents the sword taste of Joseon realized in China, which was then incorporated into the 『Muye Dobo Tongji』 under the name 'Yeado.' And the original long sword form practiced by Joseon's military was separately placed in 'Yeado Chongbo' at the end.

When Mao Yuanyi sought usable Chinese sword techniques within the Ming Dynasty, they had long since disappeared. So he obtained swordsmanship from Joseon and organized it in the 『Wubei Zhi』. Therefore, he named it 'Joseon-Sebeop.' Since the original Joseon military's 'Yeado' shared similar fundamental movements, when the 『Muye Dobo Tongji』 was compiled, both were included together.

The Joseon-Sebeop (Yeado 24 poses) organized in the 『Wubei Zhi』 consists of simple, basic movements worthy of being called 'Chosuseup (初習)' (initial learning)—primarily movements of folding the sword and then attacking, or attacking and then pointing, executed in extremely simple postures.

The overall sentence structure of Yeado is as follows: it first describes the appearance of the relevant posture (the initial stopped posture), then explains the possibilities of what attack or which part can be struck using this method (mention of core attack techniques—the second 'se' that appears—attack method), and finally provides explanation of actual movement: when moving from the first posture to the next posture, which hand and foot to use, how (the second posture) to move, what footwork to employ, and what the final posture is. It concludes with 'Ganbeop (看法),' meaning roughly 'see how it is done.'

Examples include movements of immediately attacking after a pointing variation from the initial posture, movements of first blocking an opponent's attack and immediately counterattacking, or movements of second pointing or attacking immediately after a first attack (opponent's defense). Therefore, strictly speaking, the basic movement of Yeado 24 poses is completed in two movements. The basic individual offense-defense technique becomes 'Yeado 24 poses (plus 4 supplementary poses),' and the continuous tullo-style movement utilizing this technique becomes the so-called 'Yeado Chongbo.'

Therefore, it is not an overstatement to say that the most characteristically Joseon form of Joseon swordsmanship is embodied in 'Yeado' and 'Yeado Chongbo.' The reason is that 'Yeado' was the most formidable Joseon sword technique from a foreign perspective, while 'Yeado Chongbo' was the Joseon sword technique continuously practiced by Joseon military personnel. It is confusing enough that anyone who does not examine it closely can be misled.

- How Should the Hangeul Vernacular Translations Be Interpreted?

The 『Muye Dobo Tongji』 was produced as 4 volumes in 4 books in Classical Chinese. The problem is that classical Chinese texts compiled in Korea lack punctuation marks. If one punctuates incorrectly, nonsensical and strange translations can result. The same applies to Hangeul. Classical Chinese is so prone to misinterpretation due to punctuation issues that names of Japanese people written in Chinese characters—such as surnames ending in '~田' or '~村'—are sometimes interpreted as '~paddy field' or '~village.'

To overcome these limitations, His Majesty King Jeongjo ordered that the 『Muye Dobo Tongji』 be compiled alongside a Hangeul vernacular translation ('Eoonhabon'). The reasoning was that soldiers who could not read Classical Chinese would be able to easily interpret and understand the Hangeul version. The problem, however, is that the 'Eoonhae' (vernacular translation) uses Hangeul from the late 18th century, which the soldiers of that time could read easily, but it differs from modern Hangeul. This has created a situation requiring another translation—translating 18th-century Hangeul into modern Hangeul.

This too is quite complex. For example, consider the translation of the Chinese character '찬(鑽)' that appears in both Bongukkgeom and Yeado, the most well-known sword techniques. In Bongukkgeom, there is '찬자(鑽刺),' and in Yeado, there is '찬격(鑽擊).' The Eoonhabon records these as '비븨여.' Meaning 'to scrape,' 'to scrape and pierce,' or 'to scrape and strike'... but when translating this and reconstructing it as physical movement, how should one proceed? What is being scraped, how is it being scraped, and why must it be scraped—these explanations are necessary. If such questions remain unanswered, confusion will continue to accumulate.

To resolve this, one must consult dictionaries from around 1790, when the 『Muye Dobo Tongji』 was compiled—similar to how we today consult Korean or English dictionaries to verify word meanings. There is a book called the 『Jaemulbo (才物譜)』. It is a类書 (encyclopedic reference work) compiled in 1798 (the 22nd year of King Jeongjo's reign) by late Joseon scholar Yi Mannyeong (李晩永). In the 『Jaemulbo』, it states '찬(鑽)-천광(穿光)' and later in the explanation of '찬궁(鑽弓),' it reads '비븨 활' (scraping bow). (『才物譜』卷6, 「物譜一」 財貨.)

The '찬궁(鑽弓)' (chankung), also called '비비활' (bibihwal) or '활비비' (hwalbibi), is a tool that winds around the bowstring on the shaft of an awl. One hand operates a pressing tool made of hard, low-friction material like wood or stone pressed against the upper part of the shaft, while the other hand pulls and pushes the bow like playing a violin or saw. As the bow is pulled and pushed against the bowstring wound around the shaft, this naturally transforms into rotational motion of the shaft, causing the awl blade to scrape and bore a hole.

If the awl blade is removed from this method and wood is directly applied through friction, it becomes the '비비활' (friction bow) used for fire-starting. Therefore, the Eoonhabon description of '찬격' as '비븨여 티ᄂᆞ' corresponds to 'striking the blade by rotating it like an awl.' This explanation was added because the sword used in Yeado was fundamentally a double-edged sword technique.

For example, when using the left blade of a double-edged sword and then using the left blade again, this expression appears. In doing so, the hand holding the sword naturally moves as if rotating an awl. Simply put, it is a counterclockwise rotation as if flipping the blade. If blocked by the opponent's sword, one would rotate the sword tip counterclockwise as if wrapping it around the blocking blade.

There are additional books to examine together: the 『Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會)』 and the 『Yeokeo Yuihae (譯語類解)』, a Chinese vocabulary dictionary created by Sin Yi-haeng and others at the Joseon royal interpreters' bureau. The term '비븨' appears in these as well. Additionally, the 『Murmyeong Go (物名攷)』, a type of vocabulary dictionary compiled in the 1820s by Yu Hui (柳僖) who collected various object names explained in either Hangeul or Classical Chinese, contains a tool called '부비.' In these explanations, the Chinese character '찬(鑽)' necessarily appears. Even today, in carpentry and furniture-making, '비븨' or '부비' is used as the name for a '비비송곳' (friction awl)—a tool that bores holes by twisting (scraping) an awl shaft placed between the palms.

Just a single Chinese character '찬(鑽)' requires this much complex explanation to be understood properly. Such carefully approached terms and Chinese characters abound in the 『Muye Dobo Tongji』. This is why the path to correct martial arts restoration is difficult and complex. What appears simple on the surface requires understanding the essential meaning behind each individual movement for true comprehension. Life itself is the same way.