Explaining the Korean martial art of Subak

Although Korea is best known for creating Taekwondo and other martial arts, this may not have been possible without Subak. These days, Subak is a fairly obscure martial art that isn’t really known much outside of Korea. However, its influence can be seen in the likes of TKD and Taekywon.

In fact, looking back at Subak – it’s a pretty old martial art. It has been documented back to ancient times, so it’s actually thousands of years old. Some Korean artifacts such as vases depict people practicing and training Subak. The aim of this article is to hopefully educate viewers about how Subak helped shape the face of Korean martial arts forever. Whilst Subak may not be known much now, without it – Korean martial arts may look very different.

What is trained in Subak?

If you’re aware of Taekwondo, then Subak looks quite similar. As we’ve mentioned previously, Subak helped influence disciplines such as TKD so this isn’t really unsurprising. Regarding Subak, it has a strong emphasis on footwork and throwing kicks. Once again, if you’re fluent in Korean martial arts then this is the norm. In short, Korean martial arts often have a fascination with kicks.

However, what is also pretty unique about Subak is its use of slaps and punches too. Whilst you can punch in TKD, this is more common in Subak. Therefore, it’s fair to say that Subak is pretty well-rounded when it comes to striking. Interestingly, it also allows for grappling where you can hold the opponent to gain a better position. Elsewhere, you could also compare Subak to Karate in some instances. To generalize, it’s fair to say that Subak is primarily a striking-based martial art that uses kicks and slaps, with a little grappling thrown in.

What does Subak mean?

Translated literally, Subak means ‘clap’. This makes sense considering it involves a lot of face slaps as part of the combat. In other words, Subak isn’t some fancy term and is quite literal in its meaning.

Does Subak use a uniform?

In terms of uniforms, many martial arts use uniforms and certain outfits, whilst many don’t. For example, if you look at Judo then the uniform is pretty important when training, whereas in boxing a kimono isn’t necessary. In terms of Subak, it doesn’t use a uniform. If you look back at many of the ancient pictures, it often shows two people fighting whilst wearing short pants, like those in Sumo. In more modern cases, there are also pictures of Subak practitioners wearing longer pants, like those worn in Karate.

These days, there’s no specific uniform but you’re also allowed to grab the clothes if the other person is wearing them. In this sense, it’s similar to the likes of Karate whilst grappling. However, it can also be trained shirtless which changes the dynamic of grappling.

Subak also turned into a Korean dance

One of the more interesting stories to come out of Subak is that it morphed into a dance. This isn’t the first martial art to incorporate dance moves into its culture either. As seen with Capoeira, dancing can actually improve your movements and make you more fluid. This makes sense too, as Subak is based heavily on footwork. So, it’s not too coincidental that Subak led to dancing. Although the dancing part was mostly practiced in North Korea, it’s also been practiced in the South too. Having said this, actually finding someone who can teach you or perform a Subak dance would be pretty slim to none.

Can you still train Subak?

Aside from the odd gym in Korea, it’s pretty difficult to train Subak these days. Like many martial arts, it hasn’t lasted the test of time and sadly it’s now mostly forgotten about. The good news is that you can still train martial arts that are similar, or influenced heavily by Subak. The likes of Taekywon, Karate, Taekwondo, and certain other disciplines are all very similar.

Because of this, if you want to scratch the Subak itch then there are plenty of modern alternatives. Whilst these arts have their own taste and nuances, they’re probably the closest that most people will get to training Subak. What’s worth noting is that also, some Subak gyms may be called Subak in name without really offering anything different than Taekwondo for instance. This is like when some BJJ gyms say they teach luta livre – which is basically a different way of saying no-gi. So, actually training Subak may prove very difficult to put into reality.

Conclusion

To explain Subak, you could argue that it’s a cross between Taekwondo and Karate which are actually pretty similar anyway. In fact, it could even be compared to Tang Soo Do. Yet again, this is another Korean martial art that has a lot in common with its Korean contemporaries. Sadly though, if you’re looking at training Subak then there are very few options and you’d be hard-pressed to find a Subak dojo, especially outside of Korea. As a result, this martial art is filed as relevant yet obscure.

In conclusion, learning about Subak is interesting because it teaches us about the past. In doing so, it makes it easier to understand modern martial arts and that actually, they’re not that ‘new’ at all when you think about it.