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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, straightforward 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. 

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