Home > Haidong gumdo is > History Haidong Gumdo is a martial art that originates from an ancient Korean kingdom called Koguryo. The true principle of Haidong Gumdo is to execute justice with the sword light that is obtained at the break of day from majestic and brilliant sunlight that glows over the East Sea. Haidong Gumdo is based on the philosophy of Jon (respect), Sa (master), Jung (importance), Do (the right way), Chung (unchanging mind), Hyo (reverence for one’s parents), Ye (respect towards others), Ui (doing good and right things). In the past Haidong Gumdo was a very valuable asset, but due to the passing age and other reasons many martial artists left society and started to live hidden away in mountains. After the Japanese invasion in 1910 Japanese martial arts, such as kendo, started to take root in Korea. But due to our new campaign to bring back traditional Korean martial arts, nowadays many of them are laying out their roots again in Korea. Haidong Gumdo is based on war techniques in which one warrior has to fight several opponents. As one can see in Haidong Gumdo’s Gumbubs (sword forms), movements are made in multiple directions and the stances are rather low. Haidong Gumdo takes pride in being the most realistic sword art handed down to us by the brave warriors of the ancient Korean kingdom of Koguryo that lasted for over 700 years, which makes Koguryo the longest standing kingdom of its time. Withstanding numerous attacks from neighboring countries for such a long period can only mean that the martial arts and the martial spirit of Koguryo were incredibly strong. 2000 Years after the Koguryo kingdom, we bring back the majestic history of Korean swordsmanship with Haidong Gumdo. The beginning of modern Haidong Gumdo In 1961 the current president of the World Haidong Gumdo Federation, Kim Jeong Ho, started to receive training from a sword master whose previous masters used to live and train in the Jangbaek mountain. Grand Master Kim Jeong Ho’s training took place in the Cheon In temple located in the Gwanahk mountain in Gyeonggi province. Grand Master Kim modernized the art that was handed down to him and established his first Dojang in Ahnyang city on July 24th, 1982. On April 10th, 1984 he founded the Korean Haidong Gumdo Association in the Seocho district of Seoul and established the World Haidong Gumdo Federation on November 25th, 1996. Currently, Haidong Gumdo is one of the world's fastest growing martial arts with 1.5 million practitioners and over 1,600 training centers in 50 countries.