Natural posture

Natural posture (jayeonche, 자연체): according to the Korea Kumdo Association (대한검도회), it is the body posture that forms the basis of the guard (gyeonumse, 겨눔세). It is a natural, stable state of the body with no strain. It lets the practitioner respond quickly, accurately and freely to any movement of the body and to the opponent's actions. The association adds that it is also a good posture for everyday life.

Points described by the Korea Kumdo Association:

• Raise the back of the neck and tuck in the chin.
• Lower both shoulders and straighten the back.
• Keep the waist upright and apply slight strength to the lower abdomen.
• Extend the knees lightly, with the centre of gravity slightly forward.
• Look at the whole scene rather than fixing on one point.

A Korean dojo page explains that, because forward and backward movement is especially important in kumdo, one foot is placed in front of the other, the elbow, waist and foot joints are bent slightly, and the whole body stays supple without tensing the muscles. A kumdo dojo in the United States describes kumdo as using a natural posture, a walking-standing posture with a straight spine and wide chest.

Natural posture is the starting point for the postures with the jukdo (죽도). In charyeot-kal (차렷칼), the jukdo is lowered naturally with the left hand from natural posture. Swieo-kal (쉬어칼) is the state of natural posture with the left foot beside the right and the tip of the jukdo lowered fully to the lower right. The jungdan-se (중단세), the middle guard, also builds on this base.