Sword training again

I wrote a lengthy post on my experiences with sword training, some history and information on gyungdang (or Kyeongdang) a "short" time ago (2016???????? Damn where did all that time go??) which you can read by clicking here. A few days ago I got the chance to do some study time with the sword again because Joakim came to visit and he was kind enough to spend most of his Saturday teaching me and my teacher :-) Most of my sword training so far has been a seminar here, a training camp there, a short training session with someone here and there, looking at videos, reading books etc, so it was great to be a student and being taught again (thanks man if you're reading this :-) ). I realized to my horror that I haven't been writing much or publishing much on my blog lately so I thought I could share a little of my day with you guys and girls :)

The three of us practised outside at a school near we live. The weather was very unstable so we chose that spot so we could go under a roof if the rain started pouring down. The weather gods were kind to us though, because the sun started shining and it lasted all the time we were practising. I had just dropped Joakim off after the training session was over when the rain started pouring down :-)

This time we focused on the newly developed Kyeongdang syllabus for yellow belts (as it is taught in Cheongryong Kyeongdang Dojang which is Joakim's Dojang). That means basic cuts and thrusts, stances and footwork, as well as the first four of the Yedo Iship Sase (24 short forms of the short sword) and the first "long form" Unkwang Ryu which is one of the four Wae Gum (foreign or in this case Japanese sword) in the Muyedobotongji. The long form is a great exercise as you do a lot of squatting, jumping and cuts in short bursts. It can be divided into 5 parts where each consists of a squatting cut (you do a forward cut as you squat down using the whole movement to do the cut), then two front cuts in an upright shortish stance (think ap seogi but bendt knees and a little longer), a jumping cut where you jump up and do a front cut, followed by a posture. This last posture as well as the foot work (natural stepping or same foot stepping) is what makes the 5 parts different from each other. You could say that the form shows the same principle in 5 different ways. The performance line is straight forward in on long line. There is no fluff in this form it is very straight forward, simple yet not simple, and it is very physically demanding. Below is one of the postures that ends the first two sequences (or links them to the next one depending on how you see it)

It was a great day, and in these times you could say that sword training is perfect. There is no contact and you are always a sword distance away from anyone you are training with :-) I hope everyones training and studies goes well even in these times.