History
This art was developed by the late Myung Jae Nam, the first plans to teach his sword techniques as a separate art emerged in 1986. Hankumdo was first made public during the 3rd International H.K.D Games in 1997.
Master Myung wanted to develop a sword-art that would be truly Korean and easy to learn by everyone. For Koreans who already know the Korean writing system, the techniques are easy to remember, because the strikes follow the standard way in which you would write the characters with your pen. For foreigners it is usually their first encounter with the Korean writing system. At first hankumdo was introduced as a part of the hankido curriculum under the name hankumdobub (hankumdo techniques), but later Myung Jae Nam decided that it was an art that could stand on its own merits.
They are advised to learn how to write Hangul before starting with the techniques. Because the Korean writing system is fairly easy to learn (within a week you know enough to be able to read the most basic syllables) foreigners can learn the basics of hankumdo usually just as easily as the Korean students. One of the goals of Myung Jae Nam was also to give foreign students a tool to learn the Korean language.
Read more about this topic: Hankumdo
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