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WABUKAN Arsenal · Bows and throwing · Korea

Gakgung

The Korean horn bow, short and very powerful, made of horn, bamboo and sinew. Korean archery is still practised on traditional ranges.

Gakgung
Gakgung WABUKAN illustration

Also known as

角弓 · gakgung; Korean horn bow; gungdo (archery)

Origin and history

The Korean horn bow has been used since the Three Kingdoms period and was the pride of Joseon military examinations. Traditional archery (gungdo) is still practised at archery pavilions (hwalteo), shooting at 145 m (about 476 ft) targets.

Martial arts that use it

Hwa Rang Do

Construction

A short, strongly recurved composite bow of water-buffalo horn, bamboo, wood and sinew glued with fish glue, about 1.2 m long. Archers draw with a thumb ring (gakji).

Basic techniques

Training

Ranged weapons are trained on a range with a safe backstop: stance, grip, release and breathing are repeated until the movement is identical every time. Distance increases only after the form is stable.

Safety

Only shoot or throw on a supervised range with a safe backstop, never towards anything you would not want to hit, and never retrieve while others are shooting or throwing.

Legality (general information)

Bows, throwing blades and similar weapons are often legal to own but may only be used on approved ranges or under club rules; some throwing weapons (such as shuriken or throwing stars) are banned outright in several countries. This is general information, not legal advice: check local law and your federation’s rules.

Did you know?

Traditional Korean archery targets stand at about 145 metres, much farther than in Olympic archery (70 m).

More weapons

Chakram Yumi Shuriken

Sources

Original WABUKAN text, written from these cross-checked sources (facts, not sentences).

  1. Wikipedia — Gakgung
  2. Wikipedia — Gungdo