Body check

Mombadeum (몸받음) is a basic movement of kumdo. The Korea Kumdo Association (대한검도회) defines it as using the momentum left after a strike (gyeokja, 격자) to bump one's own body into the opponent, break the opponent's posture and create an opportunity to attack. Another official dojo page also lists it as momburdichim (몸부딪침, "body bumping").

How it is done

• On contact, both fists are brought up under the opponent's lower abdomen, as if lifting.
• The hips are pushed forward and the whole body's force goes into the contact.
• The contact breaks the opponent's spirit (gi, 기). When the opponent's posture collapses, the practitioner strikes at once without letting the chance pass.
• If the opponent is pushed back, the gap is used to attack. If the opponent is stronger and pushes back, the practitioner uses that force to retreat while attacking.
• One must not step back while doing mombadeum.

In practice

• In the continuous-strike drill yeongyeok (연격), mombadeum follows the front head strike (jeongmyeon meorichigi, 정면머리치기), and the sword is raised in a large motion. Alternating strikes to both sides of the head follow: four moving forward and five moving back.
• The association's textbook lists combinations such as large head strike → mombadeum → retreating strike (toegyeok, 퇴격) to the head, wrist or side.
• The receiver takes the contact short and strong, using the force of the lower abdomen (danjeon) and the spring of the waist. The receiver may also meet it with the intention of bumping back.
• The body weight is transmitted through the hands, not by pushing with them. In yeongyeok, mombadeum is to be moderated with children and older people.

Purposes (according to a Japanese–English kendo dictionary): to break the opponent's balance and create an opening, to steady one's own posture and hip position, and to build fighting spirit.

In English the movement is usually rendered "body check", the same word used by that dictionary for its Japanese counterpart.