Akshay Kumar in Kwon Bup

KWON BUP

Kwon Bup, meaning "fist fighting method", is a traditional Korean martial art of empty hand fighting. It is more commonly used as a form of stance and footwork training than as a martial arts program of study.

Dating back to the Shaolin Monastery in China, it was considered as somewhat of a Korean version of Shaolin Kung Fu. Kwon bup was developed based on the methods of the Shaolin Temple and the techniques of Jang Song-kye. These methods emphasized external style techniques including joint locks, jumping attacks, and elaborate footwork and were very elaborate and difficult to master.

The earliest written reference to Kwon Bup is found in the Muye Dobo Tongji, which has extensive documentation on the techniques and history. According to the text, kwon bup was taught as an introduction to the martial arts. It was taught to the ancient Korean military as a method of self defense and as a preparatory course to weapons and sword training. Soldiers learned kwon bup prior to learning more complex weapons arts in order to master footwork and body control. It was also taught as a method of personal self-defense for Chosun warriors.

Kwon Bup was divided into two disciplines, internal and external. The internal, Naega Kwon Bup, included techniques utilizing vital death point attacks that were handed down in secret. The external, Waega, possessed techniques including joint locks and jumping attacks that were combined with elaborate footwork. 

Jang Song-kye favored naega with an emphasis on self-defense. His philosophy dictated that one could only utilize these skills when unavoidable or in hopeless situations. Because of these secret techniques, the internal style was believed to be superior to the external style in self-defense.

An early master of naega style kwon bup, Wang Jung-nam, devised 35 training methods and 18 types of footwork. He classified them into yukro (six paths) and ship dankum (ten levels). The yukro methods were used to develop bone strength and inflict immediate damage while the ship dankum methods were intended to induce a delayed reaction. Many of these methods have been preserved in the Muye Dobo Tongji.

Kwon Bup was theorized to not be adequate for large scale combat but rather as an excellent way for beginners to start martial arts training.