Unification

With Koguryo defeated, Silla went to war with the T'ang. Silla, Koguryo, and Paekche unified as a single people to battle the Chinese. China finally conceded and agreed that Silla would rule all of Korea, while still acknowledging the Chinese emperor. The land south of the Taedong River was unified under one common Silla government.

Many anecdotes survive to this day about the famous general, Kim Yu-Shin, who played a decisive role in the unification of the three kingdoms. Among the many tales, one of the most notable is about when Kim Yu-Shin, as a young man, had fallen in love with a kisaeng girl and had begun to neglect his martial art training as a result of the affair. Kim's mother learned of the matter and scolded her son severely, making him promise never to meet the young woman again. Kim Yu-Shin fell asleep on the back of his beloved horse one night and the animal, out of habit, carried the sleeping man to the doorstep of the kisaeng's house.

When Kim Yu-Shin realized where he was, he became enraged and beheaded his horse with his sword and fled to a cave deep within the mountains to purify his spirit. Kim Yu-Shin's diligent training moved the gods and a heavenly figure appeared to him and bestowed upon him an engraved sword and some special texts. It is said that these celestial gifts helped Kim Yu-Shin carry out his great task of unifying the Korean peninsula.

There are also tales of General Kim Yu-Shin's son, Won Sullong, who went to fight against the T'ang Army in a territorial dispute. When Won-Sullong returned home in defeat, his father disowned him for breaking the Hwarang precept against retreat in battle. Bitter and humiliated, Won-Sullong went deep into the mountains and concentrated on martial art training. Sometime later he entered the enemy camp alone, as a commoner, and beheaded the enemy commander. He ten died a heroic death on the spot. The existence of such moving tales as these are a reflection of the inspiration that martial artists gave to Korean society.

Historical records, such as the Samguk Sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms, written during the 12th century) and the Sui China Chronicles, indicate that the various kings of Paekche patronized the martial arts of Taekkyon and ssirum (a traditional Korean style of belt wrestling that only uses throws, not strikes). Folk stories of the time tell of martial art contests being held in the kingdom. There are merely fragmentary allusions to a double-sword dance in the nation of Karak. Karak, also known as Kaya, existed on the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula between approximately 42 BC to 562 AD. 

Samguk Sagi also refered to Chuk-guk (to kick a football, an ancient game played with a ball of leather stuffed with hair), too-ho (the game of pitch pot), Soo-bak (striking with the hands), Chu-choon (a rope swinging activity), Chuk-ma (bamboo horse), and Gum-moo (sword dance). The Tung-i Chuan section (Account of the Eastern Barbarians, a section dealing with Korea) of the San-kuo Chih (Annals of the Three States, a very famous book written in early China) mentions such activities as Gak-chuh (butting), Mok-chuh (pushing against a wheel), Chuk-ma (bamboo horse), Gake-hoe (to play, to sport), Gake-hoe (leg play), Sang-bak (to strike one another), Chol-kyo (foot soldiers school), and Cheng-kyo (to contest). These types of activities are thought to be different kinds of empty-handed martial arts that were practiced in Silla.

The Chinese regarded the ancient Korean empty-handed martial arts known as Koryo-gi (Techniques of Korea) and Yoo-kyo (a kind of wrestling) as powerful and superb martial arts forms. Linguistic scholars have recently found that Chu-Mong, the name of the founding king of Koguryo, was a special title given to prominent knights who excelled at archery in the state of Puyo. Puyo was in existence at the same time as the establishment of Koguryo.

Silla became a highly centralized Buddhist state, where the arts, not warfare, flourished. Martial arts rapidly declined during this period of peace. Descriptions in documents from the Three Kingdoms Era, such as the Samguk Yusa, the oldest document of Korean history, show that during this era, Subak remained primarily a sport and recreational activity designed to improve physical fitness (although it was nonetheless still a formidable system of self-defense). During the Silla Dynasty, the terms Subak (hand techniques) and Taekkyon (foot techniques) appeared together, indicating that both hand and foot techniques were used, just as in modern Taekwondo.

During the late Three Kingdoms Era, Subak became fragmented. Its practitioners began to go their separate ways and open their own schools of Subak. During this period of fragmentation, a new Korean martial art was formed, "Yu-sul." It was a softer grappling art that many historians believe influenced Japanese "Jujitsu." With the birth of Yu-sul, there were two different schools of martial thought on the Korean Peninsula: the hard, straight forward striking attacks of Subak and the softer, manipulative defenses of Yu-sul. However, Yu-sul declined and vanished from the Korean Peninsula almost as fast as it had developed. By the end of the seventh century, no sign of it existed.

In the northwest provinces of Korea an interesting fighting style appeared called "pakchigi." It was based on using elbows, shoulders, and the head. In fashion at the time was a long ponytail of hair, the "plait." A sharp comb or metal weight tied at the end of the pliat was swung in a way as to strike the opponent in the eyes or wrap around his neck.

Another unusual feature of ancient Korean fighting was the use of "shaku-riki" (borrowed power), where the practitioner gained strength from sources outside the body, such as from spiritual powers, herbs, and medicines. A popular fighting system called "charyok" (borrowed force) was created by Korean mountainous anchorites called "sonyings." Charyok used such techniques as kicks from a sitting position, strikes to nerve centers, and toe strikes. It also had methods of defense against different animals, such as the wolf, bull, bear, and tiger. Its most popular stance was a position where the hands were held together in front of the chest similar to praying. All main hand strikes were executed from this stance.

During this period, the common style of dress was loose trousers and a jacket held together with a belt tied around the mid-section. The style was similar to the Taekwondo and Judo uniforms of today, and was commonplace throughout the three kingdoms. In the kingdom of Paekche, the military officers wore different colored belts to indicate their rank, and in Silla, they wore colored trim on their lapels as an additional indication of rank. 

Subak's popularity increased after it was adopted by warrior groups that developed throughout the county, one of which was the sonbae. 

Go to Subak and the Sonbae