Long distance

Meon geori (먼 거리, "long distance") is, in kumdo, the range farther than the iljogildo (일족일도, "one step, one strike") distance. According to the Korea Kumdo Association (대한검도회), it is the range at which the opponent's attack does not reach you and your own attack does not reach them. It is also called wongeori (원거리) and, in study texts, wongan (원간).

The reference is the iljogildo distance: one step forward lets you strike, and one step back takes you out of the opponent's reach. With both in the middle guard (jungdanse, 중단세), the tips of the jukdo (죽도, bamboo sword) cross by about 10 cm. Closer than that is the short distance, geungeori (근거리), which is dangerous because each side can easily strike the other.

• The Association's manual says that from the long distance you join jukdo with the opponent, apply pressure (gongse, 공세) and move in to the iljogildo distance.
• In daeryeon (대련, sparring practice), both partners begin by pointing their jukdo at each other from the long distance.
• A study text says that at the long distance there is some margin of space and time if the opponent attacks. At iljogildo there is almost none.
• Japanese sources describe it as the usual range at the start of a bout and after the two sides separate. It is used for probing, waiting and baiting.
• The manual stresses that iljogildo is relative, not an absolute measurement. It varies with each practitioner's ability, so the boundary with the long distance varies too.