Hi All, I was wondering if there was a Korean name for the wooden practice sword (the Japanese being Boken) we use when practicing Sword Cuts at DBN level, and the bambo practice sword (again Japanese Shinai) we use in sword sparring? Or is everything referred to as "guhm"? I ask because it probably isn't a good idea to keep referring to them by their Japanese names when practicing a Korean Martial Art! Thanks all. Quozl
Just to flesh things out a bit from this: The first one is fairly straightforward as this is the way it's said in Korean & Japanese. Mok Gum ~ bok ken [literally, wood(en) sword - 목검]. In Chinese, it's MU JIAN 木劍 This one, however, requires further explanation: Jook Dae ~ shinai 죽대 ≠ Bamboo Sword, but 죽도 does [Jook Doh - 竹刀 - actually 'bamboo blade' or 'bamboo broadsword'] BTW, since Jook Doh appears as an entry in my K-E dictionary and Jook Dae doesn't, I suspect that players of GuhmDo (Korean kendo) probably refer to their weapon as Jook Doh. IMO the euphemism of Jook Dae 竹植 could be a way devised by KSW to denigrate GuhmDo as a Korean-ized JMA, [植 DAE is a word usually pronounced in Korean as SHIK, and as DAE it translates as rod or pole, but more specifically as a holder or pipe made from bamboo (also a smoking pipe) -- as SHIK it merely means plant or vegetation]. FWIW a shinai is usually composed of four slats of bamboo which are bound together to help absorb impact which would be important in the sport of gumdo/kendo, while the wooden sword more closely corresponds to the western waster as a means of swordplay practice. I won't even pretend to know what SHINAI means, and as far as Japanese goes, CYWoo would definitely be the 'go-to' guy here on the MAP KS Forum.
Thanks KJN, this is most informative. it never ceases to amaze me the amount of information that is available out there amongst you guys. Much obliged. Now all I need is a call to CYWoo for the English translation of Shinai (or more accurately the Japanese derivation of Shinai). All the best. Quozl
Asleep at the wheel... What was I thinking??? :bang: Here I was using my various dictionaries and Babelfish, when all I needed to do was visit Wikipedia... Apparently, shinai does mean 'bamboo sword' (竹刀 しない) but is an irregular kanji reading (Japanese is heavily convoluted, and why I prefer Chinese). A good explanation from the wiki: This may account for the Korean preference to render the second portion of the term as DAE rather than DOH (their way of denoting the 'flex' in this tool). The wiki also mentions the history of how swordplay practice in Japan moved away from the wooden sword to adopt the shinai and eventually the protective body armor as well. (LINK to the wiki)
:bang: When you put it like that KJN, I could have wikied it myself :bang: Anyway, thanks for the information. As always, you are a font of knowledge (as for that matter is Choi!:hat
