사)세계해동검도연합회(www.haedong-kumdo.org) 영국 피트로버그도장 외

How to do.. haedong kumdo

SWORD PLAY: Duncan Hall, left demonstrates haedong kumdo at the Cresset. (6DL0117600) Picture: DAVID LOWNDES

CO-ORDINATION and me have never been great friends.

Throwing, balancing, moving different parts of my body in opposite directions at the same time – all of those activities have a distinct possibility of leaving me either lying in a heap, or injuring myself and those around me with a badly-timed flailing of a limb.

You are talking to someone who took two years to pass a driving test, and still stalls when called upon to lift a handbrake and clutch pedal at the same time.

So adding a 3ft long sword to the end of my arm was always going to cause problems.

When I joined in the sword martial art course, haedong kumdo, my mind was divided between following what grandmaster Mark Adlington was demonstrating in front of me and not hitting the students around me.

I was certainly more Peter Sellers than Bruce Lee while trying to follow the five sword draws and one form we were being taken through – but then this is part of the discipline which makes sword martial arts different from all other types I have done before. A lot of it is about concentration, because you’re not just worrying about moving your hands and your feet any more, you also have the sword to deal with.

Haedong kumdo is a relatively new martial art, which has been developed in Korea since the early 1980s.

The name is translated into the original Korean sword techniques. Trainers use real swords weighing just over 1kg, although as students we were using wooden versions.

The class I attended was a half-hour session at the Cresset, in Bretton Centre, Bretton, Peterborough, held after martial arts tutor Paul Giffen’s weekly tang soo do classes, with Mark as the special guest.

We were all lined up in the hall following basic draws demonstrated by Mark, all starting from an imaginary sword sheath positioned on our left hip.

The five draws Mark demonstrated all did look like something out of the coolest Hong Kong movie, but it took a lot of concentration to get it even close to right. I have to confess I didn’t dare try some of the sword spinning moves for fear of sending my heavy wooden weapon flying across the class.

The class is still fairly new, with most of the members having only just started themselves, and new uniforms on their way.

But there was a lot of enthusiasm in the room for what they were all being taught – and it was surprisingly quite tiring on the arms as well as mentally.

Paul hoped to increase the length of the classes and numbers of participants as take-up increased and word spread.

He said: “We are trying to breed a new style of martial arts teaching. We are trying to keep it up-to-date and more streetwise.”

The pair are also mixing in elements of ki-do, the study of energies and the difference it can make to traditional martial arts.

It was a hard session for half-an-hour, with a lot to pick up, but both Paul and Mark assured me that once the basic techniques were mastered it got easier, and it was one of the most rewarding forms they had encountered.

Why do it:

If you’ve tried other martial arts and want something a bit different, then haedong kumdo is definitely a departure from other forms. It is very good not only for fitness but also to build up concentration.

You will need:

A sword, which can be hired or bought from the club, and initially tracksuit bottoms and a T-shirt – Paul and Mark will be able to advise you on the correct gear once you have started the classes.

It will cost:

Sessions with Paul Giffen’s Tang Soo Do classes cost £5, including the karate class, or £3.50 for the haedong kumdo session. Expect to pay up to £5 for an hour session for Mark’s classes in tang soo do or haedong kumdo. The swords can be hired from the classes or cost £10 each.

Where to go:

Giffen’s tang soo do is held on Tuesday evenings at the Cresset, in Bretton Centre, from 7pm, with haedong kumdo sessions from 8pm.
Mark Adderley’s Dragon Academy holds haedong kumdo sessions on Wednesdays from 7pm to 8pm at Yaxley Public Hall, haedong kumdo and tang soo do sessions on Sundays at Sawtry
Sports Centre from 10.30am to 11.30am, and tang soo do and kickboxing sessions on Tuesdays at Sawtry Sports Centre from 6pm to 7pm, on Wednesdays at Yaxley Public Hall from 6pm to 7pm, and on Fridays at Yaxley Public Hall from 6pm to 7pm.

More info:

Contact Paul Giffen on 07742 093325 or 01733 333523 or Mark Adlington on 01487 830601. Otherwise, check out the website at All details correct at 27/01/06