Jong-I Begi, or paper cutting, is one of the main testing (and competition) disciplines of Haidong Gumdo (Korean Sword Art).

It may seem simple, but it takes skill, mental discipline and practise to achieve a clean, even and precise cut across the full width of the paper at each attempt.

Paper cutting is used to measure the accuracy, speed and technique of Hweng-Dan Begi, the horizontal cut.

A thin bamboo sword, Juk Gum, is used in training for this discipline.

When you practise a horizontal cut, the sound of the bamboo sword will tell you whether the sword was angled correctly and whether you moved it (and thus your body) swiftly enough.

Noticing at which point the sound appears (ie at the very beginning of the cutting motion or mid-way/later) will tell you whether the sword has been brought into it’s correct position at the right point (as early as possible) or too late (ie. a ‘cut’ vs a ‘hit’)

Recently (as you can see in the picture) Mr.E and I have invested in a Juk Gum, one for the both of us, to ‘hear’ our technique more accurately when practising our Hweng Dan Begis.

We’ve dubbed it ‘Paper Cut’ 🙂

PS: In the second part of this video you can see Master Chul-Kyung Lee, Technical Director of EUHDGDA, demonstrating the art of Jong-I Begi.

Enjoy!