Korean Archery in the United States

For a few years now, I have been trying to establish Korean Traditional Archery (Goongdo) in the United States. It has been a somewhat difficult thing to do, for various reasons. One being, the U.S. is a very large country and interested people are spread far and wide. Another reason being, I presently spend two-thirds of my time overseas, so I have not had the chance to devote a great amount of time to organization. However, I have been receiving many inquiries from people who wish to practice Goongdo, so I think the time is right to start trying to put people in touch with each other.

First, we need to find out, for those who are interested, who is in what area. Please contact me by e-mail goongdo@hotmail.com and tell me where you are located; I will post the information and update it periodically, so people can get in touch with each other.

Also, for those who are new to Goongdo, I am putting together a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list; I hope to get it put up soon.

You may ask, "Why Goongdo?" The answer is very simple: Goongdo is a very traditional style of archery, that has many aspects that traditionalists like. We are not concerned with 'points' per se, but with how many times, out of five arrows, you can hit the target (which is 145m [159 yds.] away). Goongdo is, in many ways, unchanged from how it has been for centuries. Archers can advance in rank, much like in other martial arts; ranks are from third geup, up through ninth dan. Also, friendships made in Goongdo tend to be very strong; members are more like extended family members.

Once we find out where members are located and can start organizing into groups, Goongdo can start to take off in the U.S.!

See the Chinese characters for my US club, 'Dae Ho Jung' (Great Lakes Pavilion)

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