Protective gear
In kumdo, hogu (호구, 護具) is the protective gear worn for sparring. It has four parts: homyeon (head and throat), howan (hands and forearms), gap (torso) and gapsang (waist and groin).
How to say it
- Korean
- 호구hogu
- Spanish
- Protecciones
- English
- Protective gear
- Japanese
- 防具ぼうぐbōgu
Hogu (호구, 護具) is the protective equipment worn in kumdo (검도) during sparring and competition, where two practitioners strike each other with the bamboo sword (jukdo, 죽도). The Korean Wikipedia notes that the word is also used for body protection in other contact sports such as taekwondo. In kumdo it corresponds to bōgu (防具) in Japanese.
The hogu has four main parts:
- Homyeon (호면, 護面): protects the head and throat. The face is covered by a metal grille so that the jukdo cannot pierce the face.
- Howan (호완, 護腕): a pair that protects the hands and forearms.
- Gap (갑): protects the chest, abdomen and the area under the armpits.
- Gapsang (갑상): protects the waist and groin.
Some English-language sources list six elements. They add a cotton scarf worn under the helmet (myeonsugeon) and a mouthguard (ip bohodae).
A Korean dojang's guide gives the order for putting the gear on as gapsang, gap, scarf, homyeon, then howan (left first, then right). The gear is removed in the reverse order. The Korean Wikipedia adds that beginners sometimes wear only the gapsang and gap.
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