Traditional Korean sword martial art. It was developed from the warrior techniques of the ancient Gogureo kingdom, experts in the handling of the combat sword, and offers numerous codified sequences, breathing techniques of concentration and meditation, cutting exercises on many supports (cutting paper, bamboo, candle snuffing, etc.) and many educational combat exercises with one or more partners. It can be practiced by everyone, from 7 years old.

History of Haidong Gumdo:

It is in the old Korean country called "Gogureo" that Haidong Gumdo was born. The first illustrations presenting the practice of Haidong Gumdo date back to a period before the European Middle Ages.

The region of "Gogureo" was well known for its sword duels, and also its internal struggles, pushing the various practitioners to refine their survival technique.

According to legend, a master named Seolbong gave the name Haidong Gumdo to the art developed in the mountains of Changbai during the Gogureo Dynasty.
Like many Asian martial arts, Haidong Gumdo builds its techniques on the basis of generally mythological animals such as:

-the Phoenix rising from its ashes,
-the Dragon for its power and its many qualities
-the Tiger for its agility and combative behavior.

Throughout Gogureo's existence, foreign invaders have come to attack it relentlessly, but each time they have suffered crushing defeats before its mighty resistance.
The heroic resistance of the Gogureotes to repel the great tenacious offensives of the Sui and the Tang for decades in the 7th century is a notable event in the history of warfare in the Middle Ages.

In 612, the army and people of Gogureo, under the command of General Ulji Mundok, brilliantly crushed 3 million men of the Sui aggression troops; later, under the famous general Yongae Somun, they thwarted Tang's pressure and acts of aggression. The great patriotism of its people and its spirit of assistance to the army were the basis of the power of Gogureo.

The developed culture of Gogureo exerted a great influence not only on Paekje and Silla and other neighboring countries of the same origin, but also on Japan. Nara Prefecture's Takamatszuga Tomb fresco, the most famous tomb fresco in Japan, and Hougu Temple's golden wooden mural, the oldest in the world, were all created by Gogureotes.

The Gogureo was a great power in the East in the Middle Ages, due to the size of its territory, the importance of its military forces, the development of its culture and the length of its existence.
Like all the other martial arts, the tradition of teaching Haidong Gumdo has been done since the Middle Ages essentially orally, from country to country, supported however by summary boards of the fundamental techniques transmitted from master to master. master.

These boards were transmitted in 1961 to the President of the World Federation of Haidong Gumdo, the Grand Master Kim Jeong Ho, making the latter the only official and recognized depositary of the ancestral techniques of Haidong Gumdo.

Thus, it was with the help of his own Master that Grand Master Kim Jeong Ho synthesized all the techniques he had learned himself, to ultimately create the current Haidong Gumdo.

Haidong Gumdo is definitely not a new martial art, because each technique corresponds to particular combat strategies that have been proven on the battlefield, putting the whole thing to the test.the techniques of saber (s) implemented techniques feet fists, projections, immobilizations etc...

Haidong Gumdo today in France:

Haidong Gumdo was established in France in 1997 by the legal deposit of the French title and has ministerial approval (FFST).

For its part,the French Association of Haidong Gumdois a body of the type Association Law 1901 and which appears as the privileged interlocutor of the Ministry or Secretariat of State for Youth and Sports.

Several Committees or Commissions have been created to guide practitioners in the development of their course, in particular:

- Rank Committee
- Practitioners' Commission for Female Representation
- Distinctions Committee
- National School of Executives
- Disability Committee
- Child Commission

The French Association of Haidong Gumdo recently received strong encouragement from His Excellency the Korean Ambassador to France as well as from his Minister, within the framework of the development of the HDGD in France and in Europe, and of course the strengthening of French relations -Korea.

The French Association of Haidong Gumdorepresented by its Headmaster Jean-François Capozzi, has been awarded several times the honors of the World Federation of Haidong Gumdo both for its technical quality and for the work carried out.

The French Association of Haidong Gumdodevelops many initiation courses throughout the territory and the number of licensees is experiencing very strong growth despite the youth of the establishment of the discipline in our hexagon.

Likewise,the National School of Executivespromotes exchanges with Korea in order to provide French instructors with additional elements on the actual content of the practice interpreted by the Korean representatives.

The French Association of Haidong Gumdo is the only official structure in France recognized by the World Haidong Gumdo Federation

Grand Master Kim Jeong Ho President of the World Haidong Gumdo Federation