Shippalgi is a kind of Korean martial arts

Korean martial arts

Korean martial arts are the martial arts that originated from Korea. Some well known Korean martial arts are hapkido, kuk sool won, and taekwondo. There has also been a revival of Korean sword arts as well as knife fighting and archery...

, a system of eighteen traditional martial practices followed in Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

 since 1759. These methods are classified into three categories (thrust, slice, and strike) and reflect strong influence from Chinese martial arts

Chinese martial arts

Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...

 and the tactical military situation of the 18th and 19th century before firearms and modern military technology replaced bladed weapons as primary-use in the Korean Army

Korean Army

Korean Army may refer to:* The Republic of Korea Army * The Korean People's Army...

.

Alternate spellings

Sibpalgi, Sipalki, Sibpalki or Sippalki are also used. The initial sound is "sh" rather than "si" as in "sip," and the final sound is more of a softer "g" than a hard "k."

Korean Martial Background

The Korean system of Shippalgi has its roots in the Korean military manual, Muyejebo

Muyejebo

The Muyejebo is a Korean martial art manual written during the reign of King Seonjo in 1598.-History:As the Imjin war dragged on for years, Korea needed a way to effectively train a large number of troops, and the Korean military adopted a training methodology based on a Chinese military manual...

 (“Martial Arts Illustrations”) which was published in 1610. Conflict with the Japanese during the Imjin War (1592 - 1598) revealed severe shortcomings in the Korean national army causing King Seonjo

Seonjo of Joseon

King Seonjo ruled in Korea between 1567 and 1608. He was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty. He is known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign, although political chaos and his incompetent leadership during the Japanese invasions of Korea...

 (1567-1608) to order reforms based on the successful training model of the Chinese General Qi Jiguang

Qi Jiguang

Qi Jiguang was a Chinese military general and national hero during the Ming Dynasty. He was best remembered for his courage and leadership in the fight against Japanese pirates along the east coast of China, as well as his reinforcement work on the Great Wall of China.-Early life:Qi Jiguang was...

 (1527 - 1587).

The Muyejebo was compiled by one of the king’s military officers, Han Gyo, and consists of 6 fighting systems. These included the Gonbang (long stick), deungpae

Deungpae

The Deungpae is a shield made of wisteria and bamboo which was used by the military of the Joseon Dynasty. The earliest Korean description can be found in the Muyejebo.-Use:...

 (shield), nangseon

Nangseon

The nangseon was a branched spear with many thorns attached to the branches. It is also called 'multi tip spear'. The blades could be dipped in poison. The nangseon was a perfect weapon for defense. It would be difficult for the opponent to get near the person holding the nangseon without getting...

 (multi-tipped spear), jangchang

Jangchang

The Jangchang, literally long spear, is a Korean weapon first described in the martial manual Muyejebo from the 16th century. The weapon was preferably made from the yew tree, but other wood could be used as well, like wood from the oaktree and chestnut....

 (long spear), dangpa

Dangpa

Dangpa is the Korean name for a three-pronged spear first described in the Muyejebo, a 16th century martial arts manual from the Joseon Dynasty.-Types:...

 (trident) and the ssangsudo (two-handed saber). During the reign of King Youngjo

Yeongjo of Joseon

Yeongjo was the twenty-first king of the Korean Joseon Dynasty. He was the second son of Sukjong by Lady Suk-bin of the Choi clan , succeeded his older brother Gyeongjong.-Reign:...

 (1724-1776) the Muyejebo was revised, and supplemented with 12 additional fighting methods by Prince Sado

Prince Sado

Crown Prince Sado was born as the second son of the Korean king Yeongjo of Joseon. Because his older brother, Prince Hyojang, had died young, in 1728, Prince Sado was born the royal heir. However, it had been reported to his father that he was mentally ill, wantonly killed people, and was very...

.

Prince Sado also originated the term "Shippalgi" - a shortened term from Bonjo Muye Sib Pal Ban ("18 Martial Arts Classes of the Yi Dynasty")- to identify this collection of skills. The 12 skills that were added include the jukjangchang

Jukjangchang

The jukjangchang, literally bamboo long spear, is the name of Korean weapon which is first mentioned in the Muyesinbo . As the name suggests, the spear was made from bamboo and quite long, about 4.2 meters. Sometimes the jukjangchang would be made of either whole bamboo stalk or pieces of bamboo...

 (long bamboo spear), gichang

Gichang

The Gichang is a Korean weapon which is first described in the Muyesinbo, a Korean martial arts manual published in 1759. It later also found its way into the Muyedobotongji ....

 (flag spear), yedo (short sword), waegeom (Japanese sword), gyojeon (combat engagement with the sword), woldo

Woldo

The Woldo , was a Korean pole weapon that closely resembled the Chinese guandao , though proportionally smaller. It was so named because of its curved blade...

 (crescent sword), hyeopdo

Hyeopdo

The Hyeopdo was a pole weapon used in Korea. It is very similar to the Japanese naginata. It was also called micheomdo , which could be translated as 'eyebrow sword' because the curved blade resembled an eyebrow...

 (spear sword), ssanggeom (twin swords), jedogeom (Admiral’s Sword), bonguk geom

Bonguk geom

The Korean word Bonguk geom refers to both a sword and a sword skill which are said to have originated from the sword skills of the Hwarang from the Silla Dynasty. This is why the sword is also called Silla sword or singeom...

 (native sword), gwonbeop (fist method), and pyeongon

Pyeongon

The pyeongon is a nunchaku-like weapon used by the Joseon army and is first mentioned in a martial arts manual called Muyesinbo. The weapon was inspired by the farmer's flail to thresh rice with. In the west it mostly known as a Two Section Staff....

 (flail) for a total of 18 methods. This revised publication was titled the Muyesinbo

Muyesinbo

The Muyesinbo is Korean martial arts manual published in 1759. The book is a revision of the older Muyejebo and adds twelve methods of both armed and unarmed fighting to the original six which were descbribed in the Muyejebo...

 (“Martial Arts New Illustrations”) and published in 1759.

Both the Muyejebo and Muyesinbo formed the basis for the better known Muyedobotongji

Muyedobotongji

In 1790, King Jeongjo of Korea commissioned a book called the Muyedobotongji which was an illustrated manual of Korean martial arts. This book, written by Yi Deokmu and Pak Jega , described in detail Korea's martial arts of which an unarmed combat style of kicking and punching is extensively...

.

A modern version of Shippalgi was revitalized by Kim Kwang Suk (김광석, 1936). During the Japanese occupation of Korea, Kim spent his youth in a small Daoist community called Munam in the Korean mountains where he received his training in traditional Korean martial arts from Yun Myeong-Deok. This happened in secret, because the Japanese had outlawed the study of Korean martial arts. He also studied Eastern medicine and breathing exercises. Kim's students founded the Korean Sibpalki Association.

Between 1987 and 2002, Kim published four books about Korean martial arts.

Argentina

Yoo Soo Nam(유수남) has introduced his family style called Ion Bi Ryu ("school of swallow's secrets") to the West beginning in 1970 when he migrated to Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, this style has 18 methods, 15 with weapons and the other 3 unarmed. The unarmed methods consists of: personal defense (Ho Sin Sul), combat one to one or one against more than one opponent (Kwon Bop) and Meditation (Shim Bop).

External links

The Society for the Preservation of Sippalki Korean Sibpalki Association Netherlands Sibpalki Association Argentina Escuela de Sipalki Chung Mu - Maestro Jung Hwan Yoon - Argentina Escuela de Sipalki DAN BONG KWAN - Maestro ANDRES ESQUIVEL - Argentina
Escuela de Sipalki - Ion Bi Ryu Mendoza - Argentina Mantis Cave, which includes biographies of Sip Pal Gi/Tanglang masters from Korea Chun Dae Soung's (noted CMA Sip Pal Gi master) Website James Theros' Level 10 Kung Fu Association website's page on Sip Pal Gi Park Bok Nam's website, includes a biography of Lu Shui Tian, noted CMA Sip Pal Gi master Yong Moon's (noted CMA Sip Pal Gi master) website EmptyFlower Forum's thread on Korean CMA and Sip Pal Gi