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The art of Kumdo developed as a practice form in the 18th century, reaching something very similar to its current form when the jukdo (shinai) or practice sword, and the hogoo (Kumdo armour) were developed.
In most Kumdo the practitioner is armed with a jukdo, a bamboo practice sword that consists of four bamboo slats, a leather handgrip called the tsuka- gawa covering the tsuka (the hilt), a leather cup called the sakigawa on the tip (or kissaki), and a tsuba (the hilt, made of resin or leather) held in place by the tsuba-dome (a rubber disk). The whole is kept together under tension by a string (the tsuru) connecting the leather parts at each end, and by a leather binding around the jukdo marking out the datotsu-bu or mono uchi (the top part of the blade towards the tip) which is the kumdo cutting area.
The jukdo allows full strength cuts to be made, without the risk of killing or maiming your training partner the way that a live blade or a solid wooden dummy sword would. In Kumdo the solid wooden sword, or boken, is still used in the Kendo Kata and more rarely in waza (technique) practice in order to gain a better understanding of how the technique works with a sword, however it is not for free-sparring. The steel Katana, or alloy iaito are used by high grades in Kata demonstrations and are the standard weapon used in Iaido. Learn the proper way of holding the jukdo...
Assembled and ready for use a jukdo looks like this...
A jukdo requires constant maintenance, the slats must be checked for splintering the string joining the leather handgrip to the tip must be taut and the leather must be in good condition. In dry climates especially, the slats must be regularly oiled to keep them from splintering.
In addition to jukdo there are now plastic/resin jukdos available, which while more expensive are much longer lasting and require less maintenance. Failure to maintain the jukdo, quite apart from showing disrespect for the symbolism regarding the sword that the jukdo embodies, is a very dangerous thing, as a faulty jukdo may break up and injure your fellow practitioner.
The minimum weight and maximum length of the jukdo are regulated, varying depending on the age and sex of the person who does Kumdo, and on whether the practitioner is using one jukdo or is using a normal length jukdo in the left hand and a short jukdo in the right.
Jukdo assembly is shown in the four images below...
