Grip leather of the jukdo

The byeonghyeok (병혁) is the leather that covers the handle of the jukdo, the bamboo sword of kumdo. It is the part held in the hands.

Byeonghyeok (병혁) is the leather that covers the handle of the jukdo (죽도), the bamboo sword used in kumdo. The Korean sources consulted say the jukdo is made of four bamboo pieces. One end is covered by the tip leather (seonhyeok, 선혁) and the other by the handle leather (byeonghyeok).

Together with the seonhyeok and the junghyeok (중혁, the middle leather that binds the bamboo pieces), it makes up the three leathers of the jukdo. These hold the bamboo together. The junghyeok keeps the pieces from separating when striking.

A valid strike lands in the area between the seonhyeok and the junghyeok, called gyeokjabu (격자부).
By handle length, the jukdo is classed as byeongjanghyeong (병장형, long handle) or byeongdanhyeong (병단형, short handle). A long handle puts the weight toward the byeonghyeok, which favors continuous strikes and close-range hits.
A jukdo whose byeonghyeok has stretched and gone loose is treated as unsafe. A Korean source also warns that if the handle is not fixed well, the byeonghyeok can turn during practice.
To take the jukdo apart for sanding, the junghyeok is undone first, then the byeonghyeok and the back string (deungjul, 등줄). The guard (kodeungi, 코등이) is removed before that.

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