Top 10 Korean Martial Arts to Know

Traditional Korean wrestling, in which both competitors grip a cloth waistband and attempt to throw the other to the ground, is the indigenous grappling sport of Korea and was historically performed at the Dano spring festival. Ssireum champions, called cheonhajangsa, were the most celebrated athletes in Joseon-era Korea.

A comprehensive Korean martial art emphasizing joint locks, throws, and kicks that create fluid, circular defensive techniques against armed and unarmed attacks. Hapkido instructors trained Korean military, police, and presidential security detail through the 1960s and 1970s, building the martial art's reputation for practical self-defense effectiveness.

A traditional Korean striking art that influenced the development of both Taekwondo and Karate, Tang Soo Do emphasizes hard linear techniques, forms practice, and the development of ki energy through meditation. Chuck Norris is the art's most internationally famous practitioner, holding an eighth-degree black belt and crediting the style with shaping his film career.

The ancient Korean folk martial art that predates Taekwondo and is characterized by fluid, rhythmic leg movements, low sweeps, and pushes rather than powerful strikes, Taekkyeon is UNESCO-listed as an intangible cultural heritage. The art was nearly lost during the Japanese colonial period and its revival is credited entirely to the preservation efforts of a single master, Song Deok-gi.

Korean sword art based on the combat techniques of ancient Goguryeo warrior-scholars, Haidong Gumdo emphasizes drawing and cutting techniques (batdo) that maximize the efficiency of the traditional Korean single-edged sword. The art has over one million practitioners internationally and is the most rapidly growing Korean martial art in the Western world.

A striking art documented in Korean records from the Goryeo Dynasty and believed to be the common ancestor of both Taekkyeon and Taekwondo, Subak is currently being reconstructed from historical texts and paintings. The art's high kicks and open-hand strikes depicted in murals at the Anak tomb complex make it the most historically significant Korean martial art for scholars of East Asian combat systems.

The Korean adaptation of Judo, practiced under slightly modified rules that emphasize ground techniques more than the Japanese parent art, has produced Olympic gold medalists in every Games since Seoul 1988. Korean Yudo's school-based curriculum makes it the most systematically taught grappling art in Korea after Taekwondo.

A comprehensive Korean martial arts system founded in 1958 by Suh In-hyuk to preserve the complete range of historical Korean combat techniques — joint locks, pressure points, throwing, weapons, and energy healing practices. Kuksool Won is the most encyclopedic of Korean martial arts and its curriculum takes over twenty years to complete at the advanced levels.

A philosophy-driven Korean martial art emphasizing the circle as the fundamental principle of all movement, Won Hwa Do combines defensive techniques with breathing exercises and mental cultivation drawn from Korean Taoist thought. The art was systematized by Park Chong-kyu in 1972 and is notable for accepting practitioners of all ages and physical conditions.

Traditional Korean wrestling, in which both competitors grip a cloth waistband and attempt to throw the other to the ground, is the indigenous grappling sport of Korea and was historically performed at the Dano spring festival. Ssireum champions, called cheonhajangsa, were the most celebrated athletes in Joseon-era Korea.

A comprehensive Korean martial art emphasizing joint locks, throws, and kicks that create fluid, circular defensive techniques against armed and unarmed attacks. Hapkido instructors trained Korean military, police, and presidential security detail through the 1960s and 1970s, building the martial art's reputation for practical self-defense effectiveness.

A traditional Korean striking art that influenced the development of both Taekwondo and Karate, Tang Soo Do emphasizes hard linear techniques, forms practice, and the development of ki energy through meditation. Chuck Norris is the art's most internationally famous practitioner, holding an eighth-degree black belt and crediting the style with shaping his film career.

The ancient Korean folk martial art that predates Taekwondo and is characterized by fluid, rhythmic leg movements, low sweeps, and pushes rather than powerful strikes, Taekkyeon is UNESCO-listed as an intangible cultural heritage. The art was nearly lost during the Japanese colonial period and its revival is credited entirely to the preservation efforts of a single master, Song Deok-gi.

Korean sword art based on the combat techniques of ancient Goguryeo warrior-scholars, Haidong Gumdo emphasizes drawing and cutting techniques (batdo) that maximize the efficiency of the traditional Korean single-edged sword. The art has over one million practitioners internationally and is the most rapidly growing Korean martial art in the Western world.

A striking art documented in Korean records from the Goryeo Dynasty and believed to be the common ancestor of both Taekkyeon and Taekwondo, Subak is currently being reconstructed from historical texts and paintings. The art's high kicks and open-hand strikes depicted in murals at the Anak tomb complex make it the most historically significant Korean martial art for scholars of East Asian combat systems.

The Korean adaptation of Judo, practiced under slightly modified rules that emphasize ground techniques more than the Japanese parent art, has produced Olympic gold medalists in every Games since Seoul 1988. Korean Yudo's school-based curriculum makes it the most systematically taught grappling art in Korea after Taekwondo.

A comprehensive Korean martial arts system founded in 1958 by Suh In-hyuk to preserve the complete range of historical Korean combat techniques — joint locks, pressure points, throwing, weapons, and energy healing practices. Kuksool Won is the most encyclopedic of Korean martial arts and its curriculum takes over twenty years to complete at the advanced levels.

A philosophy-driven Korean martial art emphasizing the circle as the fundamental principle of all movement, Won Hwa Do combines defensive techniques with breathing exercises and mental cultivation drawn from Korean Taoist thought. The art was systematized by Park Chong-kyu in 1972 and is notable for accepting practitioners of all ages and physical conditions.