Haidong Gumdo Federation Sword | Martial Arts | Delaware Photographer
Haidong Gumdo (Korean Way Of The Sword) - A Brief Introduction
I’m sure many of you are familiar with martial arts at least in some form. You’ve at least heard of taekwondo, karate, etc., and most likely seen a movie or TV show that featured it in some way. Haidong Gumdo is the Korean sword art. In comparison to the Japanese sword technique (one vs one), Haidong Gumdo primarily focuses on one vs. many or battlefield combat. There are classes available at schools that teach it. In the classes, students learn basic stances, sword forms, Korean terminology, learn and practice candle snuffing, etc. There are colored belts that signify different ranks, and testing is held every so often giving students the opportunity to go up in rank.
Yoon’s Martial Arts Haidong Gumdo Class
Almost a year ago is when I first started Haidong Gumdo classes at Yoon’s. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with the art. Since I’ve always been interested in weapons, and the concept of sword fighting has always been alluring, there was no question that I would sign up for class. If only I had known about the classes sooner. I found out about Haidong Gumdo after we already knew we were going to be going to Hawaii. I signed up anyway, knowing that I’d at least have a year of classes. The more I attended class the more I loved it, and have established friendships there at Yoon’s. The experience has been amazing.
Haidong Gumdo Federation Sword
As shown in the photos above, I had the opportunity to photograph a Haidong Gumdo Federation sword. This particular one belongs to one of my instructors, and I was thrilled when he said I could photograph it. The photo shoot went really well. The biggest challenge was photographing the sword without getting a reflection of myself or the camera on it. Overall, I had a blast taking the photos. Some of them are regular photos while others are light painted. Usually when I do light painted images there’s several photos to put together in Photoshop to create one image. Instead of doing that this time, everything was done in camera with one shot. This really brought out the detail that is in the sword, and I think it was a better result with this subject than the multiple images. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of taking these images and all of the retouching. Thank you Mr. John.
"Way of the Eastern Sea" ("Hai Dong Kumdo") - Mr. Johnny Acevedo
Websites & Social Media Links Of Interest
World Haidong Gumdo Federation
U.S.A Haidong Gumdo Federation