National sword method

Bonguk Geombeop (본국검법, 本國劍法) is a Korean sword form. The name can be rendered "national sword method", and one source glosses it as "Our Land sword techniques". In kumdo it is practiced alongside Joseon Sebeop (조선세법). Wikipedia traces the two to the Muyedobotongji (무예도보통지) and the Chinese Wubei Zhi respectively.

• Textual source: the Korean Kumdo Association (대한검도회) states that it is one of the 24 arts (gi, 기) in the Muyedobotongji, issued under King Jeongjo (정조) of Joseon.
• Structure: it has 33 postures (se, 세). Of these, 12 are striking methods (gyeokbeop, 격법) and 9 are thrusting methods (jabeop, 자법), 21 cuts and thrusts in all.
• Divisions: for practice the 33 postures are grouped into three parts: chojang (초장), jungjang (중장) and jongjang (종장). The first has 13 postures and begins with Jigeom daejeoksae (지검대적세). The last has 9.
• Name and background: the term bonguk geom (본국검) is introduced in the Muyesinbo of 1759. One English source says the system is attributed to Crown Prince Sado, and that the manual stresses its antiquity through the story of the Silla youth Hwangchang (황창). The Korean Kumdo Association links it to the spirit of the Silla hwarang (화랑).

Reconstruction. The Muyedobotongji only sketches the sequence of the form and gives no detailed account of each posture, so it is hard to recover its original shape. Practitioners and schools therefore interpret it differently, and some critics argue that the version taught by the Korean Kumdo Association reflects Japanese swordsmanship.

The term bonguk geom is also used by contemporary Korean sword schools to stress their "national" character, without necessarily being directly related to the 18th-century system.