I am curious if the use of the free hand for defense against the opponent's blade is being taught anymore? Is it a part of the American curriculum? Is it still a part of the Korean curriculum to any degree?

against.....a BLADE??

run? maybe?

Yes, against a blade. I take it that stuff wasn't emphasized for you then...


There are a lot of sword and knife arts with material for the free hand or for unarmed defense against incoming blades.

I have taken some free hand against knife training...but sword? I don't see much possibility for a successful defense

I know what you mean - I didn't either. The applications are somewhat limited, and I find the unarmed vs sword stuff to be far riskier than the off-hand vs sword stuff. Still, it is a part of forms from Ssang-su up so I try to develop it.

Only two of us in my dojang got this instruction to any degree [and it was a looong time ago] so I was curious what was happening elsewhere.

I take it you're not including left hand techniques while holding the gumjip, as in Shim-ssang gumbup.

The only gumbup where I have a vague recollection of being instructed to use my free left hand is Yedo gumbup goo bon. It's at the part where you spin clock wise to execute a right hand only horizontal cut and a simultaneous left hand palm block/push while the sword continues on it's path and into a rear overhead block.

One of my pet peeves is seeing people do the right handed sword techniques while leaving their left arm dangling like a lifeless limb.

Amen! I hate that... it's like they are practicing carrying a purse.

Anyway, anytime the left hand is not on the handle of the sword - it's there to be used offensively or defensively, with or without gumjip - and that's what I am curious about.

to bring this one back from the dead, my instruction on the 'empty' or 'other' hand is limited.

the majority of the time, at least in the yedo series, during the many one handed cuts, the other hand (be it left or right) is held in at the body's center line. i understand that this is my teacher's (master Park Dong-Jin) personal preference, hence what we learn, but his explanation to me stressed balance.

in other gumbup (and in the yedo series to a lesser degree) there are some moves where the empty hand is used to help push the sword for greater speed, reach and power. one such example is in ssgb 7 before turning into yuksodopalsangse. the one-handed 45 cut was shown to me as follows:

the right hand opens and it placed on the handle where it normally grips the sword. as the cut is executed, the right hand pushes the sword into the cut for the above named reasons. the push is not continued throughout the cut but is rather a burst at the beginning. after the push and during the cut, the right hand moves and finishes to mirror the sword.

another instance of this is the spinning uppercut before the partial chakgum in ssgb10. i was told the left hand pushes on the right wrist to aid in power, reach, etc. this push is carried through longer than in ssgb 7 and the hand finishes near the shoulder with the arm in front of the body.

yet another instance is the final cut in ydgb 1.

in ssgb 6, after the draw, attack with the butt of the sword, and lateral deflection, there is a one-handed crosscut. i was taught to use the left hand to, in essence, stop the cut by blocking my own right bicep. the cut, while 'stopped' is still executed through the normal range of motion (it is not stopped short).

in the crosscut to overhead block as mentioned by Casey in ydgb 8 and 9, i was taught that the left hand it to perform a low block.

in ssgb 7, with the final 45 cut before the turn and stab (at the end) i was taught to make a low block motion with the left hand (in a mirrored action of the sword) but it was not explained to me to be a block. then again, i didn't bother to ask at the time.

these are just a few that i can think of off the top of my head. I'm curious to hear if anyone learned differently for different reasons.

I have been keeping my left hand towards my center line for no other reason than thats where i thought it belonged. Most of the others I was taught as described, but the push of the sword on the spin upper cut in SSGB 10 was very enlightening, thanks.

in thinking about it...

ssgb uses a long sword. ydgb uses a sword described as "short", but as a quick search on this forum, or in the "damned book", it is approximately the size of the swords we use.

that said, handling a ssgb-style sword one-handed would be tough. i can only suppose that inclusion of the 'helping' hand, while increasing speed, blah, blah, is also part of the theory of using the large sword.

either that, or i am just typing to hear myself... type?

No... you are following a similar logic train to the one I rode, but I am thinking mine was coal-powered while yours was diesel.


I guess with every successive generation of teachers, though, a little bit gets left out... like photocopies of photocopies? Going from the active instruction of using the off-hand in specific defensive and trapping maneuvers to where we put the hand somewhere because that's where we put the hand is not a good sign of things to come.

Good thing we all talk to each other, isn't it?

Thats why this forum is so valuable. Maybe this is part of my training to discover some parts by myself before i am taught it. To make me think about the finer points of the forms and not thr gross motor skills involved.

Once again, thank you for opening my eyes a little bit more, unfortunately, a few more episodes like this and i will not be able to close them. lol

Could you expand a bit on what you mean when you use the term 'block' in this context?

Are you referring to my post? More specifically, the part on yedo 8 and 9? Still more specifically, the overhead block or the left hand low block?

if it's about the left hand low block, then "no". at this point, i can only guess at the application.

Yes, it was to your use of the word block that I was referring, but not any specific one, just in general.

I mean, we have to call it something, and block might be a fine choice, I was just wondering if you had a specific "block" motion in mind or if it was... less defined than that.