Tacit Knowledge in 무예도보통지 (Muye Dobo Tongji)

The 무예도보통지 (Muye Dobo Tongji) is a comprehensive illustrated manual of martial arts written in the late Choson period, specifically 1790, by Yi Duk-moo, Park Je-ga,and Pak Dong-soo. This manual was ordered to be written by King Jungjo [1].

A previous king, King Sunjo, had fought extensively with the Japanese, and he sent a messenger to the Ming Dynasty to learn martial arts from the Chinese, who had extensive experience fighting against the Japanese [2]. The Muye Dobo Tongji therefore serves as a successor to this mission, providing important information on Ming Dynasty martial arts for Korean soldiers, as well as analysis of Japanese martial arts systems [3].

In an attempt to recreate two movement sets documented in the Muye Dobo Tongji, one with internet assistance and one without, I hope to emphasize the importance of tacit knowledge, 1:1 information transfer, and prior martial arts experience in interpreting and using these martial arts movement sets.

Demonstration on Fist Fighting (With Help From the Internet)

Provided below is the final result of my fist fighting technique, referencing pages 317-322 of the Muye Dobo Tongji:

Demonstration on Long Staff Work

Provided below is the final result of my Long Staff technique, referencing pages 48-53 and 64-72 of the Muye Dobo Tongji: