Dan gum hyung

It was hot again last night and I felt it was very difficult to finish class...but I did! There were one or two moments when I just wanted to sit out and get my breath and give my body time to stop leaking sweat! It was good to get through it though, if a little tough- lots of regular breathing bringing the breaths deep down into the belly. It was good to perform when my body was under stress; I made a real effort to not let my techniques slip whilst still trying to nourish my blood with oxygen!

Towards the end of the class the dan grades ran through Dan Gum hyung (literally short sword form) or dagger form. This is a fun form to work through and if you're using a live blade it certainly keeps you attentive to your techniques. Before we started it we shared stories of injuries through dagger form: one guy in a competition dropped the blade onto his foot and it bounced out and stuck in the floor: result...stitches! Another described was an injury from the downward thrust along the line of the arm: point dug into arm and ripped open the flesh: result...stitches!

Having just looked up Dan gum in the Muye Dobo Tongji but there isn't a section on dagger (or dan gum). Other sword forms covered in the book are: Ssang Soo Do (Long Sword) and Ssang gum (twin swords).